Brotherly Love Helps Chatsworth Win Again, 5-4

Freshman Jason Dominguez of Chatsworth High stood on the mound in the 11th inning Friday determined to win the game for his brother, Danny, who was in the dugout lying on his back with his right ankle wrapped in a bandage after a violent eighth-inning collision at the plate.

“That’s not supposed to happen,” Jason said. “I know it’s baseball, but I took it to heart. It got our team pumped up.”

When Jason got the final batter to ground out, Chatsworth had pulled out a 5-4 victory over Las Vegas Chaparral in an emotional 3 1/2-hour Bishop Gorman tournament game at Chaparral.

Gregg Wallis was hitless in five at-bats until hitting a two-out, two-strike run-scoring double in the top of the 11th to break a 4-4 tie.

Chatsworth (18-0) rallied from a 3-1 deficit behind Ryan Barba, who finished with four hits. Barba’s run-scoring double in the sixth tied the score, 3-3.

Chaparral (15-7), one of the top teams in Las Vegas, was in position to win the game in the seventh. The Cowboys had runners on first and third with one out, but Justin Cassel got a strikeout and pop out.

Real drama unfolded in the eighth. Chatsworth took a 4-3 lead when Jared Halpert put down a suicide squeeze to score pinch runner Keith Renno.

A hit batter, bloop single and error gave Chapparal runners at second and third with none out in the bottom of the eighth. Then came the game’s most emotional moment. John Kelbel hit a ground ball to second baseman Wallis, who threw it to catcher Dominguez.

John West, Chaparral’s catcher, intentionally rammed Dominguez while trying to score from third. Under high school rules, West was immediately declared out and ejected.

Cassel was ejected after saying something while Dominguez rolled in the dirt in pain.

“It was uncalled for,” Coach Tom Meusborn said of the collision. “He went to barrel [Dominguez] over and there was no call for that.”

Sean Richards replaced Cassel and surrendered a game-tying RBI single to Jason Fredirico, then picked off two runners to keep the score at 4-4.

“It was a real crazy game but a test of character for us,” Meusborn said. “If you’re going to be a real good team, you have to come from behind and show some heart in extra innings.

“Our pitchers gave us a chance and we found a way to win.”

Richards shut out Chapparal for 1 2/3 innings and Dominguez (5-0) pitched two shutout innings.

Danny Dominguez was expected to have X-rays taken Friday night to determine the seriousness of his injury.

“[Danny] is a bulldog and saved the game,” Wallis said.

In other Bishop Gorman tournament games:

Chaminade 19, Gardena 2--Sidearmer Bobby Livingston, a senior making the first start of his career, allowed two unearned runs in four innings, striking out three and walking none to lift the Eagles in a game stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

D.J. Milonas had two run-scoring doubles, Andrew Yaffe had two singles and two runs batted in, and Kevin Steinhardt hit a three-run pinch triple for Chaminade (12-2).

Livingston was Chaminade’s bullpen catcher last season and was going to be cut this year until he learned to throw sidearm.

“You don’t have to throw gas, just get it over the plate and let it move,” he said.