By the Wade, Taft Takes Care of El Camino Real

Taft High’s struggling baseball team got a major boost Tuesday, upsetting El Camino Real, 6-4, in a West Valley League game at Taft.

Justin Wade (3-8) pitched a four-hitter for Taft (6-16, 2-11 in league play), striking out 15 and walking three.

Eric Haut’s two-run double in the sixth inning gave Taft a 5-2 lead.

Mike Leduc homered twice for the Conquistadores (16-5, 9-4), including a two-run blast in the seventh inning.

In other games:

Chaminade 11, Alemany 0--Jason Urquidez, a sophomore, pitched a no-hitter and struck out 10 in a Mission League game at Alemany.

Jon Higashi had three hits, including two off of his brother, Brad, and drove in three runs for Chaminade (16-6, 5-4). Ryan Soroka hit a two-run home run.

Chatsworth 8, Birmingham 1--Mike Kunes (8-1) allowed three hits and struck out six for host Chatsworth (19-3, 12-1) in a West Valley League game.

Steve Kracow had two doubles and a triple and drove in two runs.

Raul Campos homered for Birmingham.

Granada Hills 16, Cleveland 5--Peter Gunny hit a grand slam and a two-run home run in a North Valley League game.

Jon Bringuier hit a two-run home run for the Highlanders (17-5, 10-3), and Jeremy Rooney had three hits, including two doubles.

North Hollywood 12, Grant 6--Mike Koran homered twice and had four RBIs and Andy Gutierrez doubled and homered to help North Hollywood (6-19, 4-8) upset the Lancers (16-6, 10-3) in an East Valley League game.

Van Nuys 10, Canoga Park 0--Danny Flores of Van Nuys (6-11, 4-8) allowed one hit in a Mid-Valley League game at Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

Crescenta Valley 10, Glendale 2--Mark McCauley had a three-run, inside-the-park home run and Tim Balkey had a two-run home run for the Falcons in a Pacific League game at Glendale.

Kevin Rinder (6-2) struck out eight in six innings for Crescenta Valley (18-2, 11-1).

Hoover 8, Pasadena 7--Casey Langenberger’s run-scoring double and Vince De Las Alas’s two-run single in the sixth inning put host Hoover (13-7, 7-5) ahead to stay in a Pacific League game.

Notre Dame 5, Loyola 2--Ryan Cowsill (5-1) struck out eight and Jon Horwitz and John Puccinelli each belted two-run home runs for the Knights (20-4, 10-1) in a Mission League game at Loyola.

Canyon 9, Valencia 5--Mike Kennedy had three hits for host Canyon (10-11, 8-4) in a Foothill League game.

Chris Rippe had two doubles for Valencia (12-8-1, 5-6-1).

Saugus 6, Burbank 4--Wes Travis hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift host Saugus (10-12-1, 4-7-1) in a Foothill League game.

Hart 9, Burroughs 8--Jamie Shields hit a game-winning single in the eighth inning of a Foothill League game at Hart.

Nolan LaMar’s two-run home run in the sixth inning for Hart (19-4, 11-1) tied the score, 8-8.

Calabasas 7, Nordhoff 0--Tony Sulser (6-2) struck out nine and allowed three hits for Calabasas (10-11, 7-3) in a Frontier League game at Nordhoff.

Lancaster 15, Littlerock 8--Colton Walter had a home run and two doubles and Mike Hewson had two doubles for Lancaster (13-6, 8-3) in a Golden League game at Littlerock.

Delwyn Young and Adam Fabela each homered twice for Littlerock (6-11, 3-8).