HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Thousand Oaks Keeps Pace in Marmonte Race

Thousand Oaks High came from behind to defeat Royal, 9-5, Friday and keep pace with first-place Simi Valley in the Marmonte League race. Simi Valley remains a half-game ahead of the Lancers with two to play, including a game between the teams Wednesday at Thousand Oaks.

With Royal leading, 5-3, in the sixth inning, Thousand Oaks (16-5-1, 9-2-1 in league play) took the lead on a two-run double by Jeff Naster, whose grand slam in the seventh Wednesday beat Camarillo.

Lancer Brian Sturges clubbed his fourth and fifth home runs for single runs in the first and seventh innings. Sturges, a senior catcher, also doubled, scored three runs and drove in three. Senior second baseman Ryan Kritscher homered, doubled and scored twice.

The comeback made a winner of Mike Lee (4-0), who pitched his third complete game.

For Royal (15-5, 6-5), Dave Landaker and Tim Casagrande each had two hits.

Granada Hills 4, Cleveland 3--Heath McElwee went two for three and combined with Bryan Martin on a six-hitter to lead Granada Hills (16-6-1, 11-3-1) past the Cavaliers (7-11, 6-9) in a North Valley League game at Cleveland. Mike Petruzates (3-3), who threw a six-hitter, went two for two with two runs batted in for Cleveland.

Chatsworth 20, Reseda 2--Chatsworth took advantage of 13 hits and 15 walks in the West Valley League game. Mitch Root had a two-run home run--his seventh homer--and Mike Muir hit a three-run home run for Chatsworth (15-6-1, 11-3-1). Adam Pearlman chipped in with two doubles and three RBIs. Ruben Guerra had two hits and two RBIs for Reseda.

Taft 4, El Camino Real 3 (eight innings)--After sitting out two weeks because of questions regarding his eligibility, Taft’s Nathan Voytek earned a complete-game victory in the West Valley League game.

Voytek (5-1) was reinstated by a City Section appeals committee Tuesday, although Taft had to forfeit all four of his previous victories.

Matt Allison singled to drive in Warren Stewart with the winning run in the eighth. John Erganian hit a solo home run to put Taft ahead, 3-2, in the seventh, and El Camino Real’s Gregg Sheren tripled in a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the score.

Kennedy 9, San Fernando 5--Troy Bourne (two for four with three runs), Rick Nadeau (two for three with two RBIs) and Joe Bernas (two for two with a run and an RBI) led host Kennedy (14-8, 10-5) in the North Valley League game.

Grant 12, North Hollywood 6--Justin Howard went two for three with two RBIs and three runs and Holvik Castro (4-6) pitched a complete game for Grant (11-11, 9-6) in an East Valley League game. For North Hollywood (4-16, 3-12), Mike Lewis had three hits, including a home run.

Van Nuys 13, Canoga Park 7--Tony Gonzalez went four for four with a triple and home run and drove in six runs to lead Van Nuys (5-13, 4-11) to a Mid-Valley League victory. Alex Alvarenga added three hits and three RBIs.

Harvard 1, St. Francis 0--Junior right-hander Greg Peters (4-4) threw a no-hitter for Harvard (8-12, 4-4) in a San Fernando League game. He struck out four, walked two and hit one batter. Ed Saito’s double scored Adam Richards in the second inning.

Camarillo 8, Newbury Park 1--Corey Tucker and Mike Muncy each homered and David Nathaniel doubled three times for Camarillo in the Marmonte League game. Newbury Park’s Jason Cash homered.

Westlake 14, Agoura 5--Rico Lagattuta had two hits, two RBIs and scored two runs for Westlake (9-12-1, 4-7-1) in the Marmonte League game. Agoura’s Rich Jacobellis had two hits and scored three runs.

Antelope Valley 6, Canyon 4--Jack Cox hit two solo home runs for host Antelope Valley (10-9, 8-5) in the Golden League game. Cox’s second blast broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth. Dave Bilder and Oscar Silva each had two hits for Canyon.

Hart 10, San Gabriel 4--R.J. Simone and Alan Ray each had three hits to lead the Indians’ 13-hit attack in a Foothill League game. Simone (7-0), who threw a six-hitter, and John Aguilar each homered for Hart.

Schurr 14, Burroughs 13 (eight innings)--Burroughs blew a 9-0 third-inning lead in the Foothill League game. Schurr touched Burroughs’ standout right-hander Mike Rossiter for three runs in the fourth and six in the fifth.

Hueneme 2, Ventura 1--Jose Reyes’ two-run single in the sixth inning broke a scoreless tie and helped the Vikings (15-6, 8-4) beat Ventura (8-14, 5-7) in a Channel League game at Hueneme.

Oxnard 10, San Marcos 7--Steve Meek was three for three with two doubles and Brian Lane had two hits and scored three runs for host Oxnard in the Channel League game. Mondo Carrillo (1-4) struck out eight and walked one in 5 1/3 innings.

Montclair Prep 17, Village Christian 2--Montclair Prep (16-3, 9-0) clinched its ninth consecutive Alpha League title. Russell Ortiz (9-1) pitched six innings and went four for four. Shad Knighton (four hits, five RBIs), Andy Shaw (three hits) and Brent Polacheck (three hits) also contributed for the Mounties.

Fillmore 16, Nordhoff 4--Art Sosa went five for five and drove in three runs as Fillmore (15-2-1, 9-1-1) won a Frontier League game at home. Anthony Chessani had two hits and three RBIs for Fillmore.

Hoover 3, Muir 2--Rob Wally scored the winning run in the sixth inning of the Pacific League game. Young Park pitched a two-hitter and struck out nine.

Chaminade 6, Santa Clara 3--Chaminade’s Ryan Graves (3-1) loaded the bases with none out in the first inning of the nonleague game but escaped without allowing a run and went on to throw six innings.

St. Genevieve 10, Bell-Jeff 1--Bobby Kite (2-2) earned the victory and was two for three with a solo home run for host St. Genevieve in the San Fernando League game. Sergio Ramos was three for three for St. Genevieve (8-8, 2-6).

Oak Park 10, Bishop Diego 0--Jeff Gibbons (6-1) pitched a one-hitter, striking out nine and walking none for visiting Oak Park (11-6, 6-4) in a Tri-Valley League game. His no-hit bid was ended with a two-out single in the seventh inning.