Goldberg Gives El Camino Real-ity Lesson

Nothing seemed to go as planned for the El Camino Real High baseball team, even before its game against Granada Hills on Tuesday.

As both teams’ players stood at attention awaiting the national anthem, El Camino Real Coach Mike Maio discovered the field’s sound system was broken. Maio improvised and led the players in the pledge of allegiance.

Then El Camino Real had to face the music.

Granada Hills pitcher Josh Goldberg tossed a three-hitter to outduel ace Randy Wolf, 1-0, in the Northwest Valley Conference opener for both teams.

The defeat was El Camino Real’s first in 13 games and Wolf’s first defeat in eight starts dating to May 4, 1993.

“It’s a reality check,” said Wolf, a senior left-hander. “I pitched all right, but there were a lot of things I wish I did better.”

Wolf (3-1), last season’s City Section 4-A player of the year, struck out eight, worked his way out of several tight spots and allowed only five hits. Unfortunately for El Camino Real (5-1), one of those hits was a run-scoring double by center fielder Jimmy Landress in the third inning.

Landress drove a fastball from Wolf into the left-center field gap, driving home Bryan Weinstein from second base.

Granada Hills (5-1) hung on thanks to Goldberg (3-1), a senior left-hander.

Twice El Camino Real baserunners advanced to third base with two out, but both times Goldberg retired the next batter. In the fourth, he got Matt Tays on a called third strike, and in the sixth knocked down Tays’ comebacker with his bare hand and threw him out to end the inning.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while,” Goldberg said. “I came out and I was, boom--strike! Everything was working. I kept throwing strikes and I stayed on throughout the whole game.”

He was aided in the sixth by third baseman Eddie Kinsler, who made a diving catch of Steve Riback’s leadoff pop fly.

“That was the play of the game,” Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh said. “If he doesn’t make that play, El Camino Real probably scores.

“(Goldberg) pitched a great game. They don’t get any bigger than this.”