Chatsworth Party Places a Close Call

Most of Chatsworth High’s baseball players stayed over at first baseman George Spadier’s house Tuesday night. They didn’t go to sleep until 4 a.m.

The players were so excited after defeating Roosevelt, 2-1, to win the City Championship at Dodger Stadium they called Coach Tom Meusborn.

This would have been fine, except it was 2:30 in the morning.

Prank calls to your coach usually result in running laps until your feet are ready to fall off.

“He was so excited about the victory we all agreed he wouldn’t care,” catcher Danny Dominguez said.

Pitcher Justin Cassel daringly dialed Meusborn’s number and put him on speaker phone.

“I was still awake,” Meusborn said. “I told them to leave me alone.”

Truth be told, Meusborn was thrilled to hear from his players, because he didn’t want the night to end either.

Chatsworth’s school-record 31st victory and fourth City Championship was the culmination of a four-game stretch few teams have equaled in City Section playoff history.

Chatsworth’s pitchers allowed two runs in 28 innings and its fielders committed only one error.

“That’s an incredible job,” Meusborn said.

It didn’t matter that the Chancellors scored only 12 runs in four playoff games and batted .267. They proved that pitching and defense wins championships.

Joe Guntz (14-0) virtually wrapped up City player of the year with a 10-strikeout performance. His final strikeout of Francisco Figueroa on a 3-and-2 pitch in the seventh inning with the tying and winning runs on base was typical of Guntz.

While many in attendance were nervous wrecks, Guntz stood calmly on the mound, revealing nothing.

“He doesn’t get rattled,” Dominguez said. “I don’t know why. I have to admit I was getting nervous behind the plate. Joe just tells you, ‘I’m fine. I’ll get a double play here, a double play there. Don’t worry about me.’ ”

Either trying to scare Guntz or inspire him, Meusborn had Sean Richards warming up in the bullpen in the seventh. Not that he was ever going to pull the junior left-hander.

“Joe was being Joe,” Meusborn said. “I’ve seen him throw better. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he competed and got himself out of jams.”

Chatsworth (31-2) finished 10-0 in one-run games, another astonishing statistic for a team that thrived in pressure situations.

There were unsung contributors. The fielding of shortstop Ryan Barba was crucial all season. He had the challenge of replacing a four-year starter, Matt Fisher, and responded by making five errors in 33 games.

“He did a tremendous job,” Meusborn said.

Dominguez was another key player. The pitching staff had complete confidence in him at catcher. Chatsworth was 25-0 with Dominguez in the lineup.

At Dodger Stadium, he didn’t allow any passed balls or wild pitches.

“It was great,” he said. “It was one of the biggest games of my life.”

Teams hoping to compete for the City title next season had better find a way to defeat Guntz, who is 25-0 in two seasons. The Chancellors return seven starters, including freshman Jason Dominguez, who had two hits at Dodger Stadium and was 6-0 with a 2.08 earned-run average.