Serr Homer All Kennedy Needs in City Final : Baseball: Senior catcher hits three-run blast in fifth inning to hand Golden Cougars a 3-1 victory and 4-A title.

The formula for success for the Kennedy High baseball team this season was simple: Lots of extra-base hits lead to lots of runs and lots of easy victories.

With eight starters hitting over .300 entering Thursday’s City Section 4-A Division championship game at Dodger Stadium, the plan had worked perfectly.

This time, though, only one hit would matter.

Kevin Serr hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie and give the top-seeded Golden Cougars a 3-1 victory over Carson.

Instead of its hitting, Kennedy (26-4) relied on brilliant pitching from junior right-hander Derek Morse.

Although Morse (8-3) had the highest earned-run average among Kennedy’s four regular pitchers, he was considered the ace. Morse came through, allowing two hits through six innings.

Morse finally wavered in the seventh. With one out, second-seeded Carson (23-11) loaded the bases and scored a run before pinch-hitter Adam Novak hit a comebacker to Morse, who started a 1-2-3 double play to clinch Kennedy’s first City title since 1989.

“I wasn’t really getting tired,” Morse said. “I was just trying to hit my spots.”

Morse finished with a four-hitter, struck out out five and walked one. The last pitcher to limit the opposition to one run in a 4-A final was right-hander Rod Beck, who led Grant to a 5-1 victory over Granada Hills in 1986. Beck is now an All-Star reliever with the San Francisco Giants.

The last pitcher to throw a shutout in a 4-A final was Cleveland’s Bret Saberhagen, who tossed a no-hitter in a 13-0 victory over Palisades in 1982. Saberhagen now pitches for the New York Mets.

Once Serr went deep, Morse took a deep breath.

“It was a lot easier to take control of the game after the home run,” Morse said. “I used my basic repertoire: Fastball, slider, curve and change. Probably the only thing I didn’t use much was the change.”

Morse was helped by several sparkling defensive plays.

After a shaky first inning, which included an error by second baseman Mike Ramirez on a double-play attempt, Morse started the defensive showcase in the second by grabbing a low line drive by Daniel Becerril and doubling Brian Surritt off first base.

Kennedy got rid of another baserunner with a double play in the third.

“That’s part of baseball,” Carson Coach Mike Kline said. “At our field, the grass is fast and slick, like [Dodger Stadium] is slow and thick.”

In the sixth, right fielder Adam Rofer, a defensive replacement, made a diving grab of a fly ball by Hugo Lopez.

The Golden Cougars, with their aggressive offense, were a little too aggressive early in the game.

After taking a called strike on the first pitch, leadoff hitter Terrmel Sledge fouled off three balls while working the count full.

Sledge hit a deep drive to the base of the fence in left-center, but he was thrown out by 15 feet at third trying to stretch the double into a triple.

Andy Montes and David Soto both hit their first pitches directly at the Carson defense. Montes hit a one-hopper to second baseman Becerril and Soto hit a line drive at right fielder Hugo Lopez.

Montes’ and Soto’s outs set the tone for the Golden Cougars for the next five outs. The Golden Cougars were connecting, but usually right at a fielder.

Cleanup hitter George Kassis led off the second with a deep fly ball that was covered by Josh Canales. In the third, Aldo Pinto and Mike Ramirez hit fly balls directly at Lopez.

With two out in the third, Kennedy got consecutive singles by Sledge, Montes and Soto to load the bases for Kassis, who leads Valley-area City players in runs batted in.

But Herrera (6-3) got out of the jam by coaxing Kassis to hit an easy grounder to shortstop Sterling Bullock.

“I was upset and angry, but I knew I couldn’t get upset in a game like this because we had four more innings to go,” Kassis said. “I’m happy to make mistakes if everyone else clutches up.”

Kennedy threatened again in the fourth. Serr led off with a single to left field, but Carson first baseman Simeta Taulua made a diving catch of a pop foul by Christian Bartlett.

After a fly ball to right by Jon Garland, Pinto advanced Serr to second with a single up the middle. Pinch-hitter Nick Intenzo worked Herrera to a full count, then popped up to Bullock.

After four innings, the Golden Cougars had six hits and nothing to show for it.

That would soon change.

When Herrera hit Sledge to lead off the fifth, Kline brought in Scott McClaskey, who threw a four hitter against El Camino Real two days earlier.

McClaskey got two quick outs before intentionally walking Kassis with first base open, bringing Serr to the plate.