AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL / JEFF FLETCHER : Intense Rivalry in State of Development

USC vs. UCLA. Dodgers vs. Giants. Lakers vs. Celtics.

Westlake-Royal vs. San Mateo? An American Legion rivalry between the in-state opponents grew on Sunday, when the teams met for the championship of the Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno for the third consecutive year. Westlake-Royal won, 8-3, taking its second victory in three championship meetings.

As is the case with most rivalries, the teams don’t seem to like each other.

When they met during round-robin play earlier in the week, a bench-clearing brawl erupted. During the championship game, a Westlake-Royal player was ejected for plowing into the San Mateo catcher after both teams were warned following a similar incident earlier in the game.

“They stood toe-to-toe with each other,” Westlake-Royal Coach Mike McClure said. “We instruct our kids not to throw the first punch, but they will defend themselves.”

Westlake-Royal players were apparently angered by San Mateo players “hot-dogging,” McClure said. Emotions ran particularly high after Westlake-Royal took a 5-1 lead in the first inning of the championship game.

“That set the tone for the game because (San Mateo) thought it was going to be a rout,” McClure said. “They thought they were going to kick our tails.”

San Mateo beat Westlake-Royal, 10-8, on Friday, but Westlake-Royal won the championship game behind the pitching of Jay Kenny, who gave up six hits and two earned runs in seven innings. Kenny, who will be a junior at Westlake High, won two games and was named the best pitcher of the tournament.

Bryan Fernandez and Scott Morris each had two hits in the championship game and were also named to the all-tournament team.

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Add Westlake-Royal: Westlake-Royal was the home team in all six tournament games because McClure sent out Tim Carr, who will be a junior at Westlake, to call the coin flips. Carr was six for six.

Although coaches, not players, were supposed to make the call, Westlake-Royal slipped Carr in each game for good luck.

“(The opposing coaches) try to be polite and let the kid make the call, and that’s their mistake,” McClure said.

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Fore!: When Mike Glendenning decided to play for the Valley Rangers, a Glendale-based Connie Mack team, in addition to his Woodland Hills West Legion team, he didn’t know the Rangers were scheduled to play in a tournament in Reno.

But it might have turned out to be a huge break for him.

Glendenning, a catcher and infielder, hit four home runs and drove in 12 runs in six games and won the most valuable player award at the Sierra Nevada Classic, perhaps sealing a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada, the tournament host.

Glendenning, who recently graduated from Crespi, said Nevada coaches have offered him a scholarship and that he is waiting for some final paperwork to clear. If Wolf Pack coaches had any doubts about his baseball ability, Glendenning helped ease them with a 450-foot home run over the center-field fence in Reno.

“That was his longest, but every one of them was long,” Rangers’ Coach Fred Bluhm said. “He’s shown major league power for probably the last couple years.”

Glendenning, who has a muscular 6-foot, 205-pound frame, was drafted in the 63rd round by the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this month.

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Deion of West Hills: Adam Crecion did his Deion Sanders imitation Saturday when he came directly from practice for an all-star football game to a West Hills Legion game, during which he promptly became the hero.

Crecion, a free safety at Chaminade who is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy, scooted from football practice at Pierce College directly to the baseball game at Chaminade. He showed up with West Hills batting in the bottom of the fourth and trailing, 4-2.

Pitching Coach Sid Lopez greeted Crecion with the words: “Warm up.”

Crecion threw 10 pitches in the bullpen, then struck out the first batter he faced on his way to five scoreless innings. Crecion also hit a home run in his first at-bat. West Hills won, 6-4.

“I try to bring that football mentality onto the baseball field,” Crecion said.

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Legion lines: Gabe Feldman of Las Virgenes pitched a no-hitter Sunday against Burbank North at Burbank High. Feldman, who will be a senior at Calabasas, struck out nine and walked two in seven innings. The game was called after seven innings because Las Virgenes had a 17-0 lead. . . .

Studio City, which is composed primarily of Sylmar High players, had a team batting average of .450 through 10 games, only five of which were Studio City victories. . . .

Sunland-Tujunga’s Mike Spielman was five for five and Jeff Martin hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs against Palmdale on Sunday.