For Chatsworth, Just a Bad Day

Chatsworth High baseball Coach Tom Meusborn will now summarize the Chancellors’ 7-5 loss to Canyon on Tuesday in the final game of pool play in the Westside tournament:

“I think we did a bad job pitching, a bad job fielding and a bad job hitting,” he said, though fielding was probably most instrumental in the defeat.

After the Chancellors battled from a 4-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth, Canyon had runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the inning. Cowboy third baseman Mike Bench hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Josh Rawitch, who let the ball go through his legs. It rolled between the right fielder and center fielder and both runners scored, giving Canyon a 6-5 lead.

The Cowboys added a run when Bench stole third and scored on catcher Brandon Murphy’s wild throw. Chatsworth (2-1), The Times’ No. 1-ranked team in the region, made four errors.

Chatsworth still won its pool and advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Chancellors will play host to Buena on Thursday.

Left-hander Pat McDermott (1-0) picked up the victory in relief for the Cowboys (1-1-1). He gave up one run in 2 2/3 innings.

Chatsworth fell behind, 4-0, but started to come back after Murphy was plowed at the plate by Canyon’s Rick Harbo in the bottom of the third. Harbo was ejected. The Chancellors then raced screaming out of their dugout and had to be restrained from fighting by the umpires.

That emotion carried over into the top of the fourth, when Chatsworth scored one run, and the fifth, when Chatsworth scored four more to take the lead. But it didn’t last.

“If that’s what it’s got to take to get us ready to play--our catcher getting knocked out--then we’re not going to win many games,” Meusborn said. “When we’re not ready to play, we are a very average team.”