Chatsworth Celebrates at West’s Expense : American Legion baseball: Rodriguez, Nickens lead sweep of Woodland Hills that clinches share of division title.

Doug Dean pounded a ball over the fence for a home run Saturday, then was pounded by his American Legion Chatsworth teammates. Brandon Nickens patted him on the batting helmet with his glove. Nestor Martinez whacked him, with considerable emotion, in the same location.

The whole team did likewise as part of an impromptu celebration as Dean crossed the plate. Dean shot a mean glance in their direction.

“Hey,” Nickens said after the game. “When a guy hits a home run, he has to pay the price.”

The real toll, though, was exacted from Woodland Hills West as Chatsworth swept a doubleheader to clinch a share of the District 20 Western Division championship at El Camino Real High.

After squeaking by, 3-2, in the opener, Chatsworth racked up 12 hits to beat West in the second game, 9-7. Chatsworth, which has four games remaining in the regular season, holds a 4 1/2-game lead over West, which has five games remaining.

Chatsworth (18-1) qualified for a berth in the divisional playoffs because it twice defeated West (13-5) in head-to-head play, which would serve as the divisional tiebreaker should the teams finish tied when the regular season ends Sunday.

In the first game, left-hander Danny Rodriguez (4-0) held West--the defending division, district and state champion--to three hits and outdueled Sean Boldt. Rodriguez, batting for himself for the first time, also started the winning rally by drawing a leadoff walk in the third.

With West leading, 1-0, Boldt (4-2) issued his lone walk when he threw four consecutive balls to Rodriguez. Dean singled to left, and, one out later, Martinez drove in two runs with an opposite-field double over the head of left fielder Mike Smith, who misjudged the ball. Billy Blair then doubled home Martinez.

“The way Nestor swings, the ball probably curved away from (Smith),” Chatsworth Coach Pete Redfern said.

Dozens of Rodriguez’s pitches curved and swerved away from West. He allowed a solo home run by Justin Stark in the sixth as West closed within a run but retired the side in order in the seventh and final inning. He struck out five and walked four.

“We’ve definitely got the pitching,” Redfern said. “Danny threw a helluva ballgame in the first game and Brandon was just as tough.”

In the second game, Nickens (4-0) was handed a three-run lead in the third as Chatsworth hammered Terry Morrow (5-1). Martinez again sparked the inning with a run-scoring liner to shallow left that Smith failed to flag with a dive, allowing Martinez to scoot into second. Adam Pearlman singled home Martinez and, after moving to second on a ground out, scored on a single by Rob Garbo for a 4-1 lead.

Dean extended the lead to 6-1 with a two-run homer off Morrow in the fourth. Nickens allowed three earned runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked three.

Chatsworth, whose team folded in 1989 and resumed play last season, likely will be the top-seeded team when the district playoffs begin next week.

“It gets more serious every day, with every win,” Nickens said. “When we came out, everybody thought, ‘OK, this is Legion, let’s have some fun and kick back.’

“Then we won five games in a row, then 10, then 13. Now we want to travel. This is a great opportunity.”