El Camino Real’s Wolf Is Pitcher Perfect Against Banning : Preps: Left-hander retires all 21 Pilot batters and the Conquistadores win, 5-0, in a City 4-A quarterfinal game.

Banning High’s baseball team traveled to Woodland Hills on Thursday hoping to play a perfect game and upset top-seeded El Camino Real in the City Section 4-A Division quarterfinals.

As it turned out, the Pilots did participate in a perfect effort. But it wasn’t what they had in mind.

El Camino Real left-hander Randy Wolf retired all 21 Banning batters to pitch a perfect game and post his second consecutive no-hitter in a 5-0 victory. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior had nine strikeouts and allowed only three balls to be hit out of the infield.

Of Wolf’s 76 pitches, 59 were strikes. He improved to 10-1.

“He just had great stuff,” Banning catcher Joe Gama said. “We’ve never faced a pitcher like him. He had all our good hitters jammed.”

Gama, a senior who bats cleanup, said the Pilots were looking forward to playing the division’s top-rated team. But their enthusiasm was soon tempered by Wolf’s dominating pitching.

“We felt excited at school,” Gama said. “This being my last game, I was pumped up. To end it with a perfect game, it’s a heartbreaker.”

Banning Coach Syl Saavedra said Wolf was easily the best pitcher the Pilots faced this season.

“He’s got a blazing fastball,” said Saavedra, whose team finished 15-9. “When you sit on the fastball, he comes back with a curveball. Our kids didn’t know what to expect.”

Perhaps most surprised by Wolf’s perfect game was the pitcher himself. When he pitched a no-hitter May 18 in a 3-0 victory over Taft, Wolf considered it a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment.

“I didn’t think I’d ever do it again,” he said.

However, last week’s no-hitter now must take second-billing in the family scrapbook behind Thursday’s performance.

“I’m surprised I didn’t walk anybody,” Wolf said. “I don’t know what it was. Everything was going right across the plate.”

Wolf said his teammates never mentioned during the game that he was working on a no-hitter.

“They wouldn’t dare say anything,” he said. “They’re probably the most superstitious team in the world.”

El Camino Real (22-2), which will meet Monroe in the semifinals Tuesday, got only four hits against Banning right-hander Mario Soto (8-4). But the Conquistadores took advantage of two Banning errors to score four unearned runs. Soto also hurt his effort by giving up seven walks and hitting a batter.

Chris Seal’s run-scoring single gave the Conquistadores a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and they added an unearned run in the fourth on an infield single by Justin Martin that scored Mike Smith from third. The run was set up by a throwing error by Banning third baseman Robert Villicana.

El Camino Real extended its lead with three unearned runs in the sixth after a throwing error by Soto. Dan Cey, the son of former Dodger third baseman Ron Cey, capped the scoring with a two-run double.