Sylmar Booted Out, 9-0

Eddie Degerman needed little support Friday. But sure received his share.

Degerman, a senior right-hander for Granada Hills High, turned in one of his best performances of the season, pitching a four-hitter with nine strikeouts, and Granada Hills broke open a close game to rout Sylmar, 9-0, in a first-round City Championship baseball playoff game at Granada Hills.

Degerman (9-2), who had 14 and 15 strikeouts in games this season, shackled the Spartans (19-8) on four singles and allowed few hard-hit balls while leading No. 7-seeded Granada Hills (20-9) to a second-round matchup at home against No. 15-seeded Roosevelt, a 5-3 winner over Kennedy.

Degerman also did his part with the bat, contributing a single in a five-run fifth inning that snapped a scoreless tie and a run-scoring double to highlight a four-run sixth.

It was the seventh complete game for Degerman, who struck out four of the first six batters and allowed only an infield single through three innings.

“He’s always good to go seven,” Coach Steve Thompson of Granada Hills said. “It’s his durability and his mental toughness. Sometimes, I yell at him and he yells back at me. But it’s OK.”

Degerman caught an earful from spectators, mostly of an encouraging nature, throughout the game. A handful of schoolmates kept track of his strikeout total by posting K’s on the left-field fence.

“That’s the first time they’ve done that,” Degerman said. “Just some friends of mine. I didn’t try to look at it much.

“I just tried to make the right pitches. The fastball felt good and I had good speed on my curve. I tried to stay consistent the whole game.”

Marco Estrada (10-2) of Sylmar kept pace with Degerman until the fifth, stranding runners at third base in the first and third innings.

Estrada escaped the second when Brendan Bartholomew lined out to second baseman David Madrigal, who relayed to first for a double play.

In the fifth, Bobby Baca scored from third on a passed ball and the game grew lopsided. Scott Rapkin, Chris Zakosek and pinch-hitter Tom Schultz followed with run-scoring doubles.

In the sixth, Erik Hagstrom chased Estrada with a leadoff double. Degerman and Rapkin added run-scoring doubles.

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