One Swing is All Cougars Need for City 4-A Championship : City Championship: Kennedy’s Serr hits first home run in championship game since 1987.

It took awhile for the big bats of Kennedy High’s baseball team to produce any runs, but one swing in the fifth inning Thursday night answered this question:

Would the Golden Cougars’ explosive offense shrink in spacious Dodger Stadium?

No, Serr.

Exclamation point.

With two outs, no score and runners on first and second base, Kennedy’s Kevin Serr unloaded on a 1-0 fastball from Carson pitcher Scott McClaskey.

Dodger Stadium couldn’t hold it. Serr’s blast sailed over the 370-foot sign and landed three rows up in the vacant left-field bleachers, powering the Golden Cougars (26-4) to a 3-1 victory in the City Section 4-A Division championship game.

“It’s the greatest moment of my life,” Serr said. “The best feeling on earth.”

The Golden Cougars had been hitting the ball hard--six base hits and three line-drive outs to the outfield to that point. Leadoff batter Terrmel Sledge opened the bottom of the first with a double to the gap in left-center field.

But Sledge was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

The only bang heard between Sledge’s gapper and Serr’s gamer was the detonation of a large firecracker on top of the Carson dugout while Kennedy batted in the fourth.

Kennedy couldn’t ignite anything offensively, despite getting five singles in a stretch of seven at-bats.

Three consecutive singles in the third loaded the bases, but clean-up hitter George Kassis (.436 batting average, 41 runs batted in) grounded to short with two outs.

Serr and Aldo Pinto each singled in the fourth, but pinch hitter Nick Intenzo popped to end the inning.

After Carson starter David Herrera (6-3) hit Sledge with a pitch to open the fifth, he was replaced by McClaskey, who walked Kassis intentionally.

Was that a mistake?

Yes, Serr.

“I have respect for the guy behind me,” Kassis said, referring to Serr. “He showed what he could do. It’s happened a couple times before, and Kevin hasn’t clutched up.”

The senior catcher’s seventh home run of the season, which gave him 31 RBIs, was the biggest of his career. It was the first home run in a 4-A final since 1987, when Poly’s Danny Gil and Canoga Park’s Mike Kerber homered in a 5-4 Canoga Park victory.

“I fantasized about it all season long,” said Serr, who had two hits in three at-bats. “But it’s not one of those things that you actually think is going to happen.”

Serr’s contribution didn’t end with his home run. He called pitches for junior Derek Morse, who pitched a complete game and nearly recorded the first shutout in a 4-A final since Cleveland’s Bret Saberhagen hurled a no-hitter against Palisades in 1982.

“It was a lot easier to take control of the game after the home run,” Morse said. “It gave us a cushion. It was pretty much the best feeling in the world.”

Morse was behind in the count to only three of 27 batters, and 63 of 86 pitches were strikes.

Serr and Morse worked together to end the game in the seventh. Morse fielded a nubber off the bat of pinch hitter Adam Novak and threw to Serr for a force at home. Serr then threw to first base for a game-ending double play, the third of the night for Kennedy.

“Kevin’s the best catcher I’ve ever played with,” Morse said. “On an 0-2 count, if I lose it, he’s always going to knock it down and keep it in front of him. And that gives me confidence to throw it anywhere.”