Palma Decides Eight Is Enough as Sylmar Claims a 3-2 Victory

Pitcher Albert Palma took matters into his own hands Thursday, driving in Henry Maldonado from third base with a one-out single in the eighth inning to give Sylmar a 3-2 victory over North Hollywood in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game at Sylmar.

Palma (4-2) allowed one earned run, striking out six and walking two while scattering six hits for the Centurions (17-3, 12-0).

Poly 4, Grant 1--Gus Danuelos (3-0) pitched a five-hitter and struck out four for the Parrots (18-5-1, 10-1) in a Valley Pac-8 game at Poly.

Monroe 8, Van Nuys 0--Adam Kaplan pitched a two-hitter, striking out four and walking none for the Vikings (8-11, 7-5) in a Valley Pac-8 Conference victory at Monroe.

Reseda 9, Canoga Park 6--Alphonso Sanez had two home runs and drove in five runs for the Regents (9-6, 7-4) in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game at Reseda.

Verdugo Hills 14, Eagle Rock 2--Jimmy Stevenson, Jeff Martin and Jo Guereque combined for nine of the Dons’ 17 hits in a Northern Conference game at Eagle Rock. Ethan Slimak had three RBIs and Stevenson added two.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

Chatsworth 11, Taft 3--Parisa Plant had a triple and drove in three runs for the Chancellors (8-4, 5-4) in a Northwest Valley Conference game at Chatsworth.

Granada Hills 5, San Fernando 4--Jessica Creith and Amy Matthews each had three hits for the Highlanders (10-8, 5-3), who broke a three-game losing streak.

El Camino Real 10, Birmingham 3--Kristen Gutekunst doubled and tripled for the Conquistadores in a Northwest Valley Conference game at Birmingham.

Kennedy 8, Cleveland 1--Sandra Durazo hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and Jennifer Del Real added a two-run homer in the third, to lift the Golden Cougars (14-1, 9-0) over the Cavaliers (4-6, 3-6) in a Northwest Valley Conference game.

Reseda 3, Canoga Park 2--Kristy Rebbeck pitched a no-hitter, but had to double home Rosie Yeatts in the seventh inning to ensure victory for the Regents (13-4, 7-1) in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game at Reseda.

The Hunters (3-10, 1-8) took a 2-1 lead into the seventh, scoring unearned runs in the second and fifth innings.

Van Nuys 6, Poly 3--Veronica De La Cueva hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for the Wolves (10-6, 6-3) in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game.

Monroe 10, Sylmar 3--Kelley Hall (6-5) pitched a four-hitter for the Vikings (7-6) in a Valley Pac-8 game at Sylmar (9-9, 5-4).

Thousand Oaks 13, Channel Islands 0--Jennifer Sharron (13-5) struck out six in four no-hit innings for the Lancers (14-5, 5-4) in the Marmonte League victory at Channel Islands, but was pulled to rest because Thousand Oaks is playing eight games in eight days.

Sharron did not issue any walks, but hit the first batter she faced. Erica Hanson drove in two runs on four hits, including a solo home run for the Lancers, and Jamie Dunn drove in three runs on three hits.

Saugus 4, Valencia 0--Jamie Gillies pitched six innings, striking out six and allowing one hit, as the Centurions (18-4, 6-0) won a Foothill League game at Saugus.

Oak Park 2, La Reina 0--Kaylene Boldroff (8-4) pitched a two-hitter and drove in both runs at Oak Park as the Eagles (11-8, 6-0) took a two-game lead over the second-place Regents in the Tri-Valley League.

Burroughs 8, Burbank 5--Chantel Jimenez had two hits, including a two-run double in the second inning for the Indians (13-6, 4-2) in a Foothill League game at Burroughs.

Susie Rodriguez had a two-run single in the first inning for the Bulldogs (4-14, 1-5).

Quartz Hill 5, Antelope Valley 4--Jodie Cox pitched a four-hitter and struck out 11 as the Rebels (12-8, 5-1) won a Golden League game at Quartz Hill.

Fillmore 11, Bishop Diego 5--Naomi Qualls (6-1) struck out six in three innings as the Flashes (13-4, 4-2) won a Tri-Valley League game at Fillmore. Nicole Ortiz pitched the final four innings and struck out eight.

Westlake 4, Royal 3--Kelly DeArman hit a sacrifice fly that scored Michelle Notaro with one out in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Warriors (11-8, 4-6) over the Highlanders in a Marmonte League game at Westlake.

BOYS’ TRACK

El Camino Real 72, Taft 55--Roderick Crow and Corey Taylor each won three events as the Conquistadores rebounded from last week’s narrow loss to Birmingham with a solid victory over the Toreadors (5-2, 5-2) in the Northwest Valley Conference meet.

Crow timed 22.3 seconds in the 220-yard dash and leaped 21 feet 2 inches in the long jump and 43-4 in the triple jump.

Taylor won the 120-yard high hurdles in 15.8, the 330 intermediates in 42.5 and the high jump at 6 feet for the Conquistadores (6-1, 6-1).

DIVING

Marmonte League finals--Sophomore Alexis Sowa of Thousand Oaks beat defending champion Tracy Thall of Westlake, 511.45 to 476.70 in the girls’ final.

Newbury Park’s Charles Law beat Erik Patton of Westlake, 481.30 to 480.30, in the boys’ final.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Granada Hills d. Cleveland, 15-1, 15-8, 15-2--Don Puathasnanon had seven kills and five aces for the Highlanders (10-2, 7-2) in a Northwest Valley Conference match at Cleveland (2-9, 2-7).