Tournament Final Showcases Top Teams

The 30-team Redondo baseball tournament concludes Saturday night with an outstanding championship-game matchup between West Torrance and Lakewood at 7:30 at Redondo Union High.

West Torrance began the week 17-0 after winning the El Segundo tournament with a 4-3 victory over Encino Crespi last weekend.

West Torrance, which has hit 28 home runs, is led by junior Nelson Caraballo, who is batting .469 with six homers and is 5-0 with a 1.81 earned-run average.

Outfielder Han Yi has seven homers and 28 runs batted in. Justin Su’a is batting .490 and is 5-0 on the mound, and left-hander Mike Sutherland is 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA.

“We’ve been doing a good job hitting when we’re not pitching well and pitching when we’re not hitting well,” West Torrance Coach Harry Jenkins said. “But we’ll need to play very well in all areas Saturday.”

Lakewood (18-2) is led by second baseman Brian Gazerro, batting .521 with 23 RBIs, and first baseman Mike Hofius, hitting .451 with 21 RBIs.

Seniors Joe Lakey (6-1) and Corey Hicks (4-0) are the top pitchers.

Lakewood will play a 1 p.m. game in the La Palma Kennedy tournament Saturday before playing West Torrance later that night.

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Loyola’s track team defeated North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake on Tuesday, completing its 12th consecutive season without a league dual-meet loss.

Loyola, the Mission League champion, last won a Southern Section championship in 1984. The Cubs won the 2-A title that year and were Division III runners-up in 1993-95 and ’98.

Juniors Robbie Hambleton and Matt Ware and senior Rodney Diggs have led Loyola this season.

Hambleton ran a school-record 21.39 in the 200 meters at Mt. SAC and also runs the 400, and 400 and 1,600 relays. Ware, who has already committed to play football at UCLA, runs the 100 and 200 and also long jumps. Diggs runs the 200, 400 and both relays.