AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL DISTRICT 20 PLAYOFFS : Top-Seeded Chatsworth Ousted After Error-Prone Performance

Chatsworth won 18 of its first 19 games this season and coasted into the American Legion District 20 playoffs as the No. 1-seeded team.

But after committing 10 errors and allowing nine unearned runs over two games, Chatsworth was last seen Wednesday trying to find a place to hide at Birmingham High.

Chatsworth was knocked out of the eight-team playoffs without winning a game when Rick Savala held Chatsworth to four hits in San Fernando’s 5-0 win. Chatsworth was beaten, 7-1, by Woodland Hills West in an earlier game Wednesday.

“It was just one of those days,” Chatsworth Coach Pete Redfern said. “One of those things. One of those days.”

Forgive Redfern if he couldn’t quite pinpoint the demise of his team, which lost five of its past six games and finished 19-6 overall. Chatsworth had more errors (10) than hits (eight) and mustered only one run in 18 innings.

“What’s bad is that we play real hard to earn the No. 1 seed and this happens,” said Redfern, who criticized a tournament bracket that forced Chatsworth to play a doubleheader Wednesday. “But we committed more errors than we had hits, and you can’t win when you do that.”

That was evident against Woodland Hills. Chatsworth players dropped two routine fly balls and allowed six unearned runs in a loss that included sharp verbal exchanges between teams.

Woodland Hills (17-7), a wild-card entrant, took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Sean Boldt’s double. In the fourth, Woodland Hills loaded the bases on an error, a single and a walk. Another walk forced home Mike Smith and gave Woodland Hills a 2-0 lead.

Chatsworth scored its only run in the sixth when Doug Dean walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored when catcher Justin Stark dropped a relay at home following Nestor Martinez’s single.

Chatsworth’s Dan Rodriguez (4-1) allowed only four hits and struck out seven through six innings, but his defense failed in the seventh. After Rodriguez struck out the first two hitters, Martinez, the second baseman, lost a routine popup in the sun and Woodland Hills loaded the bases on walks to Aaron Weiss and Stark.

Greg Lederman followed with a single that barely eluded diving shortstop Tommy Lee, then scooted past left fielder Billy Blair and rolled to the fence. Three runs scored on the play, extending Woodland Hills’ lead to 5-1.

“Woodland Hills should go home, wrap that game up in a package, and say ‘Thank you,’ ” Redfern said. “We gave it to them. They should have been walloped.”

In the eighth, Woodland Hills scored two runs when Chatsworth center fielder Scott Carpenter dropped a two-out fly ball with the bases loaded.

A six-run lead was more than enough for Boldt (5-3), a feisty right-hander who allowed no earned runs and struck out nine. In the fifth, Boldt struck out Carpenter to end the inning, then laced Carpenter with a verbal jousting as he left the field.

Boldt received a warning from the home plate umpire.

“Pitching pumps me up, especially against these guys,” Boldt said. “They’re a bunch of pop-offs.”

Redfern said the same of Woodland Hills.

“We showed some class when we swept them in a doubleheader earlier this season, but all they could do (Wednesday) was pop off,” Redfern said.

Woodland Hills will meet Sepulveda (19-5) today at 12:30 p.m. at Birmingham.

San Fernando 5, Chatsworth 0--Savala used a well-placed assortment of pitches to extend his scoreless streak to 16 innings.

Savala (5-3), who Sunday threw a four-hit, seven-inning shutout against Van Nuys, struck out seven and walked three. He retired 15 of the last 16 hitters.

Savala received all the support he needed on Ethan Rodriguez’s single in the third that scored David Rojas, who singled and advanced to third on an error.

Fernando Ortega and Rojas each had two hits for San Fernando (17-8).

Sun Valley 5, Granada Hills West 4--Robert Aros and Eddie Castellanos each doubled for Sun Valley (18-7), which overcame a three-run, first-inning deficit in a game at Pierce College.

Dave Cipolla and Manny Valencia each had two hits, and Heath McElwee extended his hitting streak to 18 games for Granada Hills (17-8), which was eliminated.