El Segundo Is on the Verge of Winning Area 4 Legion Title

El Segundo’s American Legion baseball team will play for the Area 4 championship today, bidding for its eighth area title since 1976.

El Segundo, the only unbeaten team remaining in the double-elimination tournament with a 3-0 record, will play either Cerritos Gahr or Lakewood at 5 p.m. at Blair Field in Long Beach. Gahr and Lakewood played Wednesday night, with the winner advancing to today’s final.

A victory will give El Segundo the area title. If El Segundo loses, a second game would follow to determine the champion.

El Segundo (28-7) put itself in commanding position Tuesday night with a 13-2 victory over Lakewood. The team had 11 hits, led by Lawrence Norris, Mike Poor and Jamin Kear, who each had two hits and three runs batted in. Marco Estrada and Ryan McCloskey also had two hits apiece.

A two-run single by Norris highlighted a five-run first inning and Poor’s two-run double was the big hit in a three-run second.

Left-hander David Reed, a senior at El Segundo High, gave up two hits in three innings and improved to 10-1. El Segundo used four pitchers in the game to keep its staff fresh for today’s final.

The area champion advances to the state tournament Aug. 7-10 in Yountville, north of Napa.

This is the third consecutive year El Segundo has reached the Area 4 final. The team won the title in 1991 and lost last season to Gahr. El Segundo also won area titles in 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1986 and 1987 under Coach John Stevenson.