High School Baseball : Alemany Earns a Shot at Westside Title

Alemany High’s first five batters each collected two hits and combined for nine runs batted in as the Indians coasted past Santa Monica, 11-2, Thursday at Alemany in the Blue Division championship semifinal of the Westside tournament.

Cleanup hitter John Lite led the attack, going two for two with three RBIs. Lite (2-0) also pitched a three-hit complete game, striking out seven and walking two.

Leadoff batter Greg Thompson was two for three with two RBIs and scored three runs for Alemany (3-1), which will play Notre Dame for the Blue Division championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame.

In other Westside tournament games:

Chatsworth 13, Rio Mesa 5--Jason Evans and Eric Johnson each hit home runs to highlight an eight-run eighth inning in the third-place Blue Division semifinal.

Evans belted a grand slam and Johnson added a two-run shot to offset the Chancellors’ poor defensive performance. Chatsworth (2-2) committed six errors.

Senior right-hander Derek Wallace (2-0) struck out eight and yielded only four hits. All of Rio Mesa’s runs were unearned.

Rich Aude also homered for Chatsworth.

Kennedy 7, Montclair Prep 6--Danny Gugler’s two-run, seventh-inning single lifted the host Golden Cougars to a come-from-behind win in the third-place Red Division semifinal.

With one out and Kennedy trailing, 6-5, Gugler lined a single to center to score Mike Murray and Gino Tagliaferri.

Palmer Drain (1-0), who pitched to only four batters, earned the win in relief of starter Mitch Cizek, who struck out seven through six innings.

Montclair Prep scored two runs on four hits to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning. But Garrett Anderson belted a three-run home run in the third to give Kennedy a 3-2 lead.

Brent Polacheck’s sixth-inning, two-run double gave Montclair Prep (2-2) a 6-5 lead.

Camarillo 12, San Pedro 4--The Scorpions took a 10-0 lead after three innings and coasted to victory in the third-place Red Division semifinal at San Pedro.

Steve Biggs (2-0) struck out five and walked three while pitching a complete-game six-hitter. Matt Tackett was three for four, including a double, and had one RBI.

Camarillo will play host to Kennedy on Saturday at Camarillo.

University 8, Chaminade 7--University scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to tie and once in the bottom of the eighth to win the seventh-place Blue Division semifinal.

The Eagles (0-4), committed five errors, raising their season total to 17.

Pete Miller, Justin Stark and Colin Havert all were two for four.

Westchester 15, Canyon 6--The Comets pounded Canyon starter Ben Ealy for 12 hits and 12 runs in the first four innings of the Blue Division seventh-place semifinal at Westchester.

Corey Byars was a bright spot for Canyon (1-3), going three for four.

Hamilton 8, Harvard 1--Aaron Delatorre hurled a complete-game three-hitter in the seventh-place Red Division semifinal at Hamilton.

Jay Fields was two for four with an RBI to lead Hamilton (1-3).

LOARA TOURNAMENT

Newbury Park 12, Diamond Bar 10--Diamond Bar scored five seventh-inning runs but fell short in a fourth-round game at Diamond Bar.

Jeremy Dewey, who started for Newbury Park (4-1-1), returned in the bottom of the seventh with one out to retire the final two batters and notch his first save.

Wayne Cook, who was four for five with three RBIs, led the Panthers’ 19-hit attack.

NONLEAGUE

Monroe 8, Buckley 2--Senior catcher Adam Clark’s three-run home run highlighted a five-run first inning as the defending City Section 4-A Division champion Vikings opened the season with a win at Buckley.

St. Bonaventure 8, Calabasas 7--Jesus Ramirez of St. Bonaventure provided the game-winning hit with a bases-loaded, two-out triple in the top of the seventh at Calabasas.