Cleveland’s Off Day Follows Days Off

After being crossed up by teammates Junior Brignac and Greg Walter, the Cleveland High baseball team ran into Al Broyles on Tuesday and lost, 4-1, to Simi Valley in a Birmingham tournament game at Cleveland.

Brignac, a slick-fielding senior shortstop who entered the week hitting .400, and Walter, a senior outfielder hitting .375, skipped recent Cavalier games in the tournament and did not start Tuesday.

Cleveland Coach Steve Landress said Walter missed Saturday’s victory over Oak Park to vacation in Lake Havasu, Ariz., and Brignac, one of the area’s top pro prospects, missed Monday’s rout of Van Nuys to attend the Dodgers’ home opener.

“We really only have one rule and it’s that you can’t miss any games,” Landress said. “They hurt themselves and hurt the team and as coach I have no recourse but to sit them down.”

Broyles (3-1) took advantage of the weakened Cavaliers (10-6), allowing six hits in his second complete game. The senior right-hander struck out five, walked four and allowed an earned run in the fifth.

The Pioneers’ infield aided the cause, turning a pair of timely double plays.

“I was trying to get ahead with my fastball and then once their better hitters started sitting on it I worked in a slider, a change and a curve to throw them off,” Broyles said.

Simi Valley (7-8-1) used four walks and a hit to score twice in the third and two hits and a hit batter to score twice more in the fifth off Cleveland starter Mike Schultz (5-2).

Schultz, battling a sore back, allowed seven hits and four earned runs in five innings.

Simi Valley’s Dave Krewson remained hot at the plate with a pair of hits. The junior center fielder has hit at a .643 clip in the Pioneers’ last four games.

Walter entered the game in the fifth inning and played right field. Brignac pinch-hit in the seventh and lined out to second base.

“I thought I’d miss a couple of innings but not the whole game,” Brignac said. “I don’t get much of a break and I figured I could put baseball aside and have fun for a day but it got taken the wrong way.”

Landress said several pro scouts from outside the region appeared Monday to appraise the Cavalier shortstop and were not impressed when he did not show.

“[Brignac]’s one of the best high school players in the country and from what [the scouts] told me they had thought he was worth a lot of money,” Landress said. “Now, who knows? It’s sad but he’ll learn.”

Brignac, signed to play football at Washington, was unconcerned.

“Just because I took a day’s vacation doesn’t mean I don’t want to play,” he said. “If they stop looking at me because I took a day off then they shouldn’t have been looking at me in the first place.”