Hart-Warming Moment Makes Ford’s Season

In the what-else-is-new department, Hart defeated Burroughs, 10-1, Friday to improve to 23-0, 13-0 in Foothill League play.

But in what seemed like another routine win, the Indians found something special--the play of senior Jerry Ford.

Ford, who has suffered from cerebral palsy since birth, was sent in to pinch-hit for Darin Tsukashima in the sixth inning, only his fourth at-bat of the season. But, for the first time in league play, Ford made contact--hitting a ground ball to third base.

And when the Burroughs third baseman threw the ball away, Ford was aboard. Tsukashima re-entered to pinch-run.

“I think in a lot of ways he’s an inspiration to our team,” Murray said. “He goes out every day in practice and runs the same drills as everyone else.

“He’s got a lot of courage, I tell you. He’s a great guy to have around.”

Burroughs hit-man: First-year Burroughs Coach Ed Knaggs deserves credit for taking a team that last season finished fifth in the Foothill League with a 3-12 record to its current standing of third at 7-6. But Knaggs is the first to say that the revival of Indian baseball has been facilitated by one big bat.

That bat belongs to E. J. Pape.

And that bat has produced a .466 batting average, 4 home runs and 17 RBIs.

“E. J. just lives to hit,” Knaggs said. “He’s without question the best player on our team. And he’s the player everyone on our team looks to in the clutch.”

The bespectacled Pape owns a fluid and powerful stroke that has drawn looks from such schools as Arizona and USC.

“Every at-bat, he gets some great swings in,” Knaggs said. “He’s just got all the intangibles. He’s so intense out there I’d want to describe him as a tiger, but I don’t know if that’s strong enough.”

And while Pape, a right-handed hitter, might be one of the most feared hitters in the Foothill League, he also has created notoriety for himself in practice.

It seems that when taking batting practice, Pape has a tendency to knock the ball into the Burroughs tennis courts beyond the left-center-field fence.

“The other day a match was going on and E. J. kept knocking ‘em out there,” Knaggs said. “Finally the tennis coach got angry and came to me and said, ‘Can’t you get your team to hit the balls somewhere else?’ ”

Knaggs’ response?

“I said, ‘Coach, it’s only one guy.’ ”

Add Pape: His snappy moniker of E. J. was his own creation.

Pape, whose first name is Edward, went to Knaggs earlier this season and professed his desire for a name to better suit his game.

“He came up to me and said, ‘Coach, I don’t think Edward is a good baseball name,’ ” said Knaggs, who sports the name Pape discarded. “He said, ‘E. J. Now there’s a real baseball name.’ ”

Flashback: Kennedy High rocked San Fernando, 7-3, Wednesday to remain in a tie for first in the Mid-Valley League baseball race. In the process the Golden Cougars, who have won six consecutive games, shelled Tiger right-hander Frank Serna.

For Kennedy Coach Dick Whitney, the win jogged his memory, as did Monday’s win over rival Granada Hills.

Last season, Serna and San Fernando defeated Kennedy in the second game of league play, but the Golden Cougars blasted Serna at Kennedy in the third meeting between the schools.

“Last year, Serna did a nice job against us over there, but when he came over here we hit three straight home runs off him,” Whitney said.

Serna lasted 1 innings and allowed four runs.

Whitney saw several parallels between the play of this team and the 1985 Golden Cougars, who won the City Section 4-A Division title.

“I dug out an old tape . . . and over the weekend I watched one of the Granada games from 1985,” Whitney said. “We got blown out by Granada, but then we lost to them by one run, just like this year.

“Then we came back and we beat them, 4-0, in the last round.”

This season, Kennedy lost the first two games, the second by a score of 7-6.

“When I told the team about it, I said, ‘I don’t know if history ever repeats itself, but up until now, the same things have happened with Granada that happened then,’ ” he said.

Kennedy proceeded to bury Granada Hills, 12-2.

Left is all right: Shortstop Mark David’s turnaround has helped solidify the left side of Poly’s infield. After going 2 for 18 in the first round of East Valley League play, he has had 20 hits in 48 at-bats with 3 home runs, 9 doubles and 2 triples.

Sophomore Gabe Chavez, a junior varsity player before spring vacation, played third base for Poly during the Holt-Goodman tournament and has been there since. He is batting .300 (9 for 30) and has played solid defense.

Poly (16-3, 14-1) clinched its second consecutive league title with a 16-13 victory over Verdugo Hills on Wednesday.

Six is enough: Granada Hills’ 15-5, 10-15, 15-6, 10-15, 15-6 volleyball victory over El Camino Real on Wednesday was both impressive and exhausting. Only six Highlander players suited up for the match.

“The team really pulled together,” Coach Tom Harp said, “but they were dragging at the end.”

Granada Hills, which finished second in the West Valley League with a 9-3 record, started the season with 12 players, but injury and academic ineligibility reduced the roster to six.

“It’s been stressful,” Harp said. “Every game is close.”

Granada Hills won its last four matches despite having only one player taller than 6 feet. Gudge Crittenden, a 5-8 senior, and Dan Govenar played in the front row for the first time this year.

Leon the giant: Last Tuesday Faith Baptist knocked off Bel-Air Prep, ranked fourth in the Southern Section 1-A Division, and Friday the Contenders upset second-ranked Crossroads, 11-9. Faith Baptist (13-7, 5-3) has won three consecutive Delphic League games.

Rich Leon has been a key, hitting four home runs and driving in 13 runs in the streak. Leon has 32 hits and his batting average has been near .500 all season.

Through Monday’s games, only Simi Valley’s Scott Sharts (.528) and Joe Cascione (.508) of St. Genevieve have better averages among Valley-area Southern Section players.

Steven Herbert and staff writers Tim Brown and Chris J. Parker contributed to this notebook.