It Wasn’t Fierce or Farce as Granada Hills Wins, 3-2

Long after the players from Granada Hills High and Kennedy toss their spikes in the closet and go on to become doctors or lawyers or gas station attendants, they will remember the fierce rivalry between their schools.

Their on-the-field battles have included shouting matches, shoving wars--and possibly the best overall talent in the Valley. Of the past 11 City titles, Granada Hills and Kennedy have claimed seven, including last year’s championship by Kennedy.

The teams got together again Tuesday for the first of three Mid-Valley League games, and Granada Hills emerged with a 3-2 victory to claim temporary bragging rights.

But while the game demonstrated that each team again has solid talent--there were more scouts at Tuesday’s game than you could shake a contract at--the bitterness was nowhere to be found.

In the past, Granada Hills-Kennedy games have been contested as though the players’ lives were at stake. On Tuesday, you could have found more noise in a library.

With Granada Hills (6-1 overall, 3-0 in league) leading, 3-2, in the fifth, Highlanders Coach Darryl Stroh told his team, “The first one to fall asleep gets a slap.”

“It wasn’t as emotional as it has been in the past,” Granada Hills shortstop Greg Fowble said. “I guess everyone was tired of the talking and just wanted to play.”

That was evident by both teams’ performance.

Sean Casey was the deciding factor in the well-played game. Granada Hills had him and Kennedy didn’t.

Casey (4-1), a transfer from Alemany, pitched a solid game, limiting Kennedy (4-3, 1-2) to three hits while striking out six. He was equally effective at the plate, collecting three of Granada Hills’ seven hits, including an RBI single in the Highlanders’ three-run fourth.

The Golden Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the first when Gary Pina led off with a walk and later scored on Kevin Wittke’s double off the left-field fence. Kennedy scored again in the fourth to pull to within 3-2, but never got a man past second base the rest of the way.