Kennedy Has the Right Stuff at Right Time

Two Kennedy High sophomores young enough to dream the impossible and old enough to make it happen lifted the Golden Cougars to a record-tying sixth City baseball championship Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over El Camino Real before a crowd of more than 5,000 at Dodger Stadium.

Eric Moore, a 15-year-old designated hitter who started the season on junior varsity, hit a two-run, two-out triple in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie. Adam Geery, a 16-year-old pitcher, threw all seven innings, striking out seven and walking none.

The victory ties Kennedy (23-11-1) with Fremont and Dorsey for the most City baseball titles in the upper division.

“This is a big one because no one on the team has won [a City title] before,” Coach Manny Alvarado said. “It’s like taking a kid to Disneyland.”

When Geery struck out Christian Hariot to end the game, it was a deeply personal moment dedicated to his father who died when Geery was 6.

“The last pitch, when I struck out that guy, I just went on my knee and pointed to the sky because that was for him,” Geery said. “I can’t even speak. I can compare this to one thing--playing catch with my dad.”

It was a crushing defeat for four-time champion El Camino Real (21-9), which took a 2-1 lead into the seventh, then broke down defensively three times, twice on bunts and another on a rundown play to open the way for Kennedy’s comeback.

Sophomore pitcher Greg Acheatel of El Camino Real was flirting with the first shutout in City final history since Bret Saberhagen’s no-hitter for Cleveland High in 1982. He retired 11 consecutive batters and allowed only one hit through five innings.

But El Camino Real’s 1-0 lead vanished in the sixth. Brandon Burton led off with a single, pinch-runner Isaac Montes was sacrificed to second and scored on Jon McKim’s RBI double.

El Camino Real regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth on pinch-hitter Casey Caplan’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

But Acheatel was pulled after walking Phil Avlas to start the seventh. Then came the Conquistadores’ blunders with reliever Nick Teslik on the mound. First Geery bunted hard up the first-base line. First baseman Jason Kort decided to let it roll, and it stayed fair for a single.

Next up was Chad Shaw, who bunted the ball back to the mound. Teslik couldn’t make the play, loading the bases with none out. Danny Mata forced Avlas at the plate, then Burton hit a sacrifice fly to score the tying run.

Teslik was on the verge of escaping when Mata broke toward second on an attempted steal. Second baseman Sean Thomas got the ball from Teslik, forced Mata back to first, then hesitated when he had a chance to tag him. Instead of a final out, Mata ended up on second, giving Moore the opportunity to win the game.

Moore hit a line drive over the head of shortstop Conor Jackson, and the ball rolled to the left-field fence for a two-run triple.

Geery was challenged early on, but he made good pitches with runners in scoring position and turned to his defense to provide support.

In the City Invitational, Juan Rodriguez pitched a complete game and contributed a double to lead Venice past Narbonne, 4-1.

Venice (17-14) opened a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Robert Marquez and an RBI double by Thomas Spencer. Narbonne finished 14-18.