Baseball: Max Fried strikes out 10 in 3-0 Harvard-Westlake victory

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It was a comfortable, relaxed Max Fried on the mound for top-seeded Studio City Harvard-Westlake on Thursday in its Southern Section Division 2 playoff opener against Ventura. And the senior left-hander came through with a three-hitter, striking out 10 and walking one in a 3-0 victory.

Sophomore Tyler Urbach had an RBI single and a double to lead the Wolverines (24-4-1) offensively against Ventura pitcher Reed Nothwang.

Last week, Fried (8-2) suffered his worst performance of the season in a loss against Loyola. He went back to basics, used his fastball that was consistently above 90 mph and kept throwing strikes.

‘I’ve been tense the last couple of outings,’ Fried said. ‘I had to go back to what I’ve been doing all year, and it was relax and trust yourself.’

Harvard-Westlake will play at Placentia Valencia in a second-round game on Tuesday. Sophomore Jack Flaherty is expected to start on the mound.

-- Eric Sondheimer