Glendale’s 9-7 Victory Bumps Granada Hills From Legion Playoffs

Granada Hills Manager Bill Hines has heard that bunk about close games being fun. Leads are what Hines enjoys, the bigger, the better.

But the only Granada Hills’ leads that Hines saw in the District 20 American Legion playoffs Saturday were small and short-lived. Glendale, which scored five runs in the final three innings, saw to that and eliminated Granada Hills with a 9-7 victory at Birmingham High.

“We hit the ball hard, but we just had two or three innings that we didn’t get the breaks,” Hines said. “This ballclub has done a great job and won a lot of respect for the games we’ve played in this tournament.”

Randy Cooper’s dramatic two-run, ninth-inning home run to left-center field, his third extra-base hit of the afternoon, clinched Glendale’s victory. The win moved Glendale into a second game Saturday in which the team scored a 10-9 victory over Reseda-Cleveland to secure a spot in today’s championship round and an automatic berth in the Area 6 playoffs, which begin Thursday at Moorpark College.

Van Nuys-Notre Dame and Glendale, the district’s two representatives in the Area 6 tournament, meet today at 11 a.m. at Birmingham to play for the tournament championship. Because Van Nuys-Notre Dame is undefeated and Glendale has one loss, Glendale must sweep a doubleheader to win the tournament.

Trailing 7-5 going into the ninth Saturday, Granada Hills rallied for two runs on a wild pitch and Mike Murray’s run-scoring single. Brian Roth started the rally with a walk, his 15th consecutive time on base in the last four games. Scott Roth singled to right sending Joe Reed, who ran for Roth, to third. Reed scored on relief pitcher Sung Ko’s wild pitch before Murray singled to tie the game.

Granada Hills’ season ended on a controversial call at first base. After scoring two runs to tie in the ninth, Granada Hills had the bases loaded and only one out when Mike Schlesinger grounded into a double play. Hines vehemently protested the out call at first base, a call that he still questioned afterward.

“It was a close call, what can you do?” Hines said. “The umpire had a better look than we did.”

Hines disputed more calls than just the season-ending play at first base, however.

“We really felt that the home plate umpire had a lot of problems out there for both sides today,” he said. “His strike zone was way too small.”

Granada Hills took a 5-4 lead on Murray’s run-scoring single in the seventh. Brian Roth started the rally by doubling to left-center field. Reed, running for Roth, moved to third after Danny Gugler reached first on Manny Colomes’ fielding error. Murray rapped a sharp single between third and shortstop to score Reed.

Glendale’s defensive miscues helped keep Granada Hills in the game. Granada Hills scored its first two runs in the first and second innings on passed balls by catcher Greg Zaun.

An error allowed Granada Hills to load the bases in the third. Pat DeBoer reached first on pitcher Kyle Ball’s throwing error, Gino Tagliaferri walked and Brian Roth singled to load the bases. Granada Hills did not score, however, after Scott Roth hit into a double play and Gugler grounded out to end the inning.

“We don’t play that kind of defense,” Glendale Coach Mike Macdonald said.

Pitcher Colin Hines started for Granada Hills and left with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. Relief pitcher Arnie Aguinaga walked home a run and allowed a two-run single by Ko that put Glendale ahead, 7-5, the final scoring before the pivotal ninth.

Granada Hills finished with a 17-8 overall record, 2-2 in the double-elimination tournament. Brian Roth led Granada Hills with eight runs batted in in the tournament, including a two-run home run Friday to lift Granada Hills to a 12-11 victory over Woodland Hills.