Sports

THE REMATCH

In one of the biggest games of the season, pitcher Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl struck out 14 and threw a two-hitter as University beat Westchester, 4-3, Tuesday in a Western League game at Westchester.

The victory gave the Warriors (13-9, 11-2 in conference) a one-game lead over the Comets. The two teams will meet again today at University.

University secured the win on Kashi Jobrani’s run-scoring single in the fifth. After giving up a base hit in the seventh, Kurtz-Nicholl struck out two batters and got Ben Bishop to bounce back to the mound for the final out.

Jon Beckerman is hopeful that the Warriors can sweep the Comets for the first time in his three-year coaching career at University.

“It’s a pretty big game,” Beckerman said. “It will either put us up two games with three to play or we’re just even again.”

THE REMATCH II

Everything was going smoothly for Crossroads, which scored three runs on two home runs in the first inning against Delphic League rival Brentwood on Tuesday. But then the Roadrunners got caught looking the wrong way.

The Roadrunners gave up seven unearned runs on eight errors to lose, 14-9, at Brentwood.

“Our fielders were not prepared to have the ball hit to them,” Crossroads Coach Bill Keep said. “They weren’t looking to catch the ball.”

Shortstop Jake Willens had two doubles and scored three runs to lead the Eagles (13-6, 5-2 in the Delphic League). Crossroads center fielder David Taylor had a single, triple and a home run and drove in three runs to lead the Roadrunners (10-10, 6-1).

The two teams play again at 7 p.m. Friday at Clover Park.

If Crossroads wins, the Roadrunners capture the Delphic League title for the 11th time. Brentwood could win the title if it beats Crossroads and wins its next two games against Whitney.

STAR STRUCK

If you watch serial dramas, you may recognize R.J. Francis as the actor who plays Trevor Whitsig on NBC’s “Sisters.” For those who follow high school baseball, Francis is the standout pitcher for Beverly Hills.

On Friday, Francis pitched a five-hitter and struck out 12 as the Normans defeated Centennial, 6-1, in an Ocean League game. He has a 5-3 record with a 1.80 earned-run average and 49 strikeouts in 42 innings.

“There is no doubt he is a big high school star,” Beverly Hills Coach Bill Erickson said. “He has good velocity and an outstanding curveball. He knows how to pitch.”

Erickson said that Francis is among the four best pitchers he has coached at Beverly Hills. The others are Ryan Karp, who pitches in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, former San Francisco Giants farmhand David Cantrell and former Tulane standout Jason Goldberg.

But the Normans are not a one-pitcher team.

Contributing to their six-game winning streak has been junior pitcher Richard Wall, who has a 5-1 record.

“We were off to a horrendous start because we didn’t have a second pitcher,” Erickson said. “Richard resurrected us. He is still learning, but he’s doing really well.”

Senior center fielder Allan Jacoby, who has a .466 batting average and 27 stolen bases, and junior third baseman Kenny Harvey (.478, two home runs and 22 RBI) have been the dominating batters in the Normans’ lineup.

POWER SWITCH

The City Section volleyball power has switched from a school located near Santa Monica beach to one on Texas Avenue.

University, which supplanted Palisades as the Westside power, entered this week’s City 4-A Division playoffs as the defending champion and top-seeded team.

In their opening match, the Warriors swept Taft, 15-2, 15-0, 15-10, on Tuesday.

The Warriors, who have won five championships, are led by senior swing hitter Mike Rupp, sophomore swing hitter Mark Williams and senior middle blocker Jon Jonah. Junior opposite setter Raoul Williams, who played for the Junior National Team in Puerto Rico, is ineligible for the playoffs.

“We miss not having Raoul,” University Coach Neal Newman said, “but we have other players who are catching up to him in ability.”

Rupp, who signed with UC Irvine, has stepped up his play and was named the Western League’s most valuable player. He was selected to the City 4-A all-star team as a junior.

BACK TO BUSINESS

Palisades Coach Bud Kling had to rearrange the lineup a few times, but he has the Dolphins headed toward a possible championship winning season.

The Dolphins have won 19 City Section team tennis titles, including nine in the past 15 seasons under Kling. But their last championship came in 1989.

The top-seeded Dolphins played fourth-seeded El Camino Real yesterday in the 4-A semifinals. A victory would put Palisades in the finals against No. 2 Taft or No. 3 Granada Hills at 2 p.m. Thursday the Racquet Centre in Studio City.

“Our biggest accomplishment was that we played well despite so many injuries,” Kling said. “We haven’t been able to keep 10 players healthy all season.”

The Dolphins have played without preseason No. 1 singles player Brian Friedman, who has tendinitis in his right shoulder. Friedman sat out the first two playoff matches and dropped from the individual finals, but hopes to play in the team championship if Palisades qualifies. Eddie Kim, a junior varsity player, took Friedman’s place on Wednesday.

“Brian hasn’t played singles for us because of injuries, but we hope to squeeze some doubles matches out of him,” Kling said.

Freshman Danny Westerman, another potential standout, has missed one-quarter of the season because of injuries.

“I think the fact we have a lot of depth has helped us,” Kling said. “We have several players who are interchangeable parts of our lineup.”

Senior Jason Ebin, who played on the City runner-up doubles team, has switched from No. 1 doubles to No. 1 singles depending on where Kling needs his skills the most.

ALUMNI NEWS

Former Notre Dame Academy softball player Jennifer Dahl is now a sophomore pitcher for Rider University.

Entering this week’s game, Dahl had a 12-3 record with the 12th lowest ERA in the nation. As a high school senior, Dahl led Notre Dame to the Sunshine League championship and was named to the Southern Section Divison V all-star team.