inning

Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.

Senior Ray Pelayo of San Fernando kept throwing strikes, keeping El Camino Real off balance for 7⅔ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.

Hudson December threw six scoreless innings for El Camino Real and Andrew Katzman struck out three in two scoreless innings.

South Torrance 4, El Segundo 3: In a battle of unbeaten Pioneer League teams, South Torrance (6-0) received a walk-off single from Owen Rhodes in the bottom of the seventh. El Segundo tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, three-run home run by Chase Mattoon. Issac Orozco struck out nine in five innings and also homered for the Spartans.

Crespi 3, Saugus 2: Justin Kim had two RBIs for the Celts.

Sylmar 7, Legacy 1: Rickee Luevano threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts.

Sierra Canyon 12, West Ranch 1: Isaias Tirado hit a three-run home run and four pitchers combined to give up five hits.

Mater Dei 15, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) 1: Ezekiel Lara had three hits and five RBIs in Texas. Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath.

St. John Bosco 1, Gahr 0: Star closer Jack Champlin got a strikeout to end the game, finishing two shutout innings of relief. Champlin drove in the game’s only run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Julian Garcia struck out six with no walks in five innings for St. John Bosco.

San Juan Hills 11, Cypress 0: Garrett Gandolfo threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Clay Riggs contributed three RBIs for San Juan Hills.

Santa Margarita 1, Damien 0: Warren Gravely IV had the only RBI in the Eagles’ win. Tyler Unter struck out six in five shutout innings.

Garfield 9, Cleveland 7: Omar Martinez had three hits and Victor Alvarez drove in three runs for Garfield. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits for Cleveland.

Palos Verdes 8, West Torrance 0: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in five innings and Asher Friedman had a home run and a double for Palos Verdes.

Valencia 12, Chatsworth 0: An eight-run second inning helped lead the Vikings to a five-inning win.

Bishop Amat 13, Gardena Serra 2: Joaquin Ortiz finished with three hits and four RBIs.

Corona Centennial 19, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Devin Bishop and Emiliano Castaneda each hit home runs for Centennial. Ethan Miller had a double and triple.

Servite 6, Anaheim Canyon 1: Mickey Cabral went three for four and Cole Grothues struck out three in 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief.

Corona Santiago 5, Crean Lutheran 4: Jonathan Thorton delivered three hits and two RBIs for the Sharks.

Fullerton 1, Chaparral 0: Garrett Wrightman threw four innings of scoreless relief and Caleb Brown had an RBI double in the third inning for Fullerton.

Edison 11, Tesoro 7: Ben Wilson hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs for Edison.

El Dorado 10, Granada Hills 4: Lorenzo Favela hit a three-run home run to lead El Dorado.

Ayala 7, San Dimas 1: Caleb Trugman struck out nine with zero walks in a complete game.

Loyola 14, Venice 1: Wyatt Clougherty had three hits and Luca Marucci contributed three RBIs for Loyola.

Softball

JSerra 2, Norco 0: In Arizona, the Lions knocked off No. 1-ranked Norco behind Liliana Escobar, who struck out 13 in six innings.

Norco 5, Torrance 0: Coral Williams struck out 10 in six innings. Leighton Gray and Rae Logue hit home runs.

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 2: Natalia Amezquita had a two-run single for Pacifica, which later defeated Orange Lutheran 6-2.

Orange Lutheran 7, Perry 1: Mia Scott had four RBIs for the Lancers.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 15, Culver City 0: Ellayne Tellez-Perez had three hits and five RBIs.

The day after he saved the Dodgers’ season, Will Klein was hungry. He ordered from Mod Pizza.

He drove over to pick up his order. The guy that handed him the pizza told him he looked just like Will Klein.

“You should just look at the name on the order,” Klein told him.

Chaos ensued.

“He actually started screaming,” Klein said. “He just started flipping out, which was funny.”

Thing is, if it were two days earlier, the guy would have had no idea what Klein looked like. Neither would you.

On Oct. 26, Klein was the last man in the Dodgers’ bullpen, a wild thing on his fourth organization in two years, a last-minute addition to the World Series roster.

On Oct. 27, the Dodgers played 18 innings, and the last man in the Dodgers’ bullpen delivered the game of his life: four shutout innings, holding the Toronto Blue Jays at bay until Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run.

Dodgers pitcher Will Klein celebrates during the 16th inning of Game 3 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 27.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

When Klein returned to the clubhouse, Sandy Koufax walked over to shake hands and congratulate him.

That was Game 3 of the World Series. The Dodgers, the significantly older team, slogged through the next two games, batting .164 and losing both.

If not for Klein, that would have been the end. The Blue Jays would have won the series in five games, and there would have been no Kiké Hernández launching a game-ending double play on the run in Game 6, no Miguel Rojas tying home run and game-saving throw in Game 7, no Andy Pages game-saving catch and Will Smith winning home run in Game 7, no Yoshinobu Yamamoto winning Game 6 as a starter and Game 7 as a reliever.

There would have been no parade.

When Klein rescued the Dodgers, he had pitched one inning in the previous 30 days.

“You can never take your mind out of it,” he said. “You’ve got to stay prepared. Something might come up, and you don’t want to be the guy that gets thrown in the fire and just burns.”

The Dodgers are not shy about grabbing a minor league pitcher, telling him what he can do better and what he should stop doing, and seeing what sticks. If nothing sticks, the Dodgers are also not shy about spitting out the pitcher and designating him for assignment.

In his minor league career, Klein struck out 13 batters every nine innings, which is tremendous. He walked seven batters every nine innings, which is hideous.

The Dodgers scrapped his slider, mixed in a sweeper, and told him his arm was so good that he should stop trying to make perfect pitches and just let fly.

“A lot of times, pitchers are guilty of giving hitters too much credit, and hitters are guilty of giving pitchers too much credit,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

“Part of our job is to show them information that helps instill some confidence. I think that really landed with Will.”

In his four September appearances with the Dodgers — after a minor-league stint to apply the team’s advice — he faced 17 batters, walked one, and did not give up a run. That’s why he isn’t buying the suggestion that something suddenly clicked in the World Series.

“Things were incrementally getting better,” he said, “and then you add that to the atmosphere. It amplifies it to 100. All the prep work and mental stuff that I had been doing, I finally got a chance to shine.”

Said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: “He’s done it in the highest of leverage. You can’t manufacture that. You’ve got to live it and do it. So, since he’s done it, I think he’s got a real confidence.”

Dodgers pitcher Will Klein speaks during DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 31.

(John McCoy / Getty Images)

Klein last started a game three years ago, at triple A. After making 72 pitches in those four innings of Game 3, did he entertain the thought that maybe, just maybe, he was meant to be a starter after all?

“No,” he said abruptly. “I hate waiting four or five days to pitch and knowing exactly when I’m going to pitch.

“When I did, the anxiety just built. I want to go pitch. I hate sitting there and waiting. That kind of eats at you. I like being able to go out to the bullpen and have a chance to pitch every day.”

The Dodgers are so deep that Klein might not make the team out of spring training. Whatever happens, he’ll always have Game 3.

In the wake of that game, a fan wanted to buy a Klein jersey but could not find one. So the fan made one himself before Game 4, using white electrical tape on the back of a Dodger blue jersey. I showed Klein a picture.

“That’s cool,” Klein said. “That’s pretty funny.”

Dave Wong, a Dodgers fan living in San Francisco Giants territory, also wanted to buy a Klein jersey.

“They didn’t have a jersey for him,” Wong said.

He settled for the Dodger blue T-shirt he found online and wore it to last Friday’s Cactus League game against the Giants, with these words in white letters: “Will Klein Appreciation Shirt.”

This, then, would be a Will Klein Appreciation Column.

Defending Southern Section Division 1 champion St. John Bosco, the top team in The Times’ high school baseball rankings, began its season Friday with an 8-0 win over La Serna.

Julian Garcia, who missed last season while recovering from an arm injury, was impressive in his debut. He struck out five with no walks and no hits in four innings. Closer Jack Champlin continued to blank the Lancers, getting the final two outs, one on a strikeout.

Noah Everly had three hits and James Clark added two hits and two RBIs.

Orange Lutheran 10, Crespi 0: Gary Morse struck out eight in five innings and Brady Murrietta had two hits and two RBIs for the Lancers.

Gahr 1, El Dorado 0: A ninth-inning run ended the pitching duel. Jake Ourique gave up one hit in six innings for Gahr.

Harvard-Westlake 3, Cypress 0: Evan Alexander, Jake Chung and Nate Blum combined for the shutout. Jake Kim had two RBIs.

JSerra 17, Prosper (Texas) 9: Brise Boop had a home run, a double and four RBIs, and Blake Bowen homered and finished with thee hits for JSerra in Texas.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2, Servite 0: Beckett Berg gave up three hits in six innings. Jacob Madrid and Malakye Matsumoto each had two hits for 4-0 Notre Dame.

Granada Hills 6, Sylmar 1: Max Szczech had a home run, double and single for the Highlanders.

Moorpark 7, Rio Mesa 3: Carson Cerny had a home run, a triple and five RBIs for Moorpark. He also struck out three in three innings. Cody Brossard threw four shutout innings of relief.

Hart 4, Bishop Alemany 2: Hayden Rhodes and Jaiden Chan had RBI hits for Hart, which received six shutout innings from pitcher Cayden Kollasch.

Birmingham 4, San Marcos 2: A two-run fifth lifted the Patriots. Aidan Martinez got his second save.

South Hills 4, Bonita 0: Carson Baker threw a four-hitter with five strikeouts for South Hills. Richie Soto hit a home run.

Los Alamitos 8, Yucaipa 1: Cruz D’Errico had a two-run double and Will McCullough had two hits and two RBIs for Los Alamitos.

El Camino Real 8, Sun Valley Poly 5: An eight-run third inning propelled the Royals. Hudson December gave up no runs in five innings for El Camino Real. RJ De La Rosa had two hits and two RBIs. Blake Dubin had a double, a single and three RBIs.

Sierra Canyon 3, West Ranch 1: Kingston Monette and Mac Kennedy combined on a five-hitter for Sierra Canyon.

Bell 10, South El Monte 1: Adolfo Esquivel finished with two hits and two RBIs and also threw four hitless innings.

La Cañada 9, Arcadia 2: Will Park and Joe Bell each had two hits and two RBIs for La Cañada. Scott Burns struck out seven.

Santa Margarita 4, Loyola 3: The Eagles picked up a run in the top of the seventh to beat their second Mission League team this week. Warren Gravely IV contributed two doubles.

Westlake 6, Highland 1: Blake Miller and Dylan Lee had two hits each for Westlake.

Fountain Valley 4, Tesoro 1: Josh Grack had three hits, including a home run, to lead Fountain Valley. He also threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Carson 5, West Torrance 0: Skylar Vinson threw five scoreless innings and also had two hits for the Colts.

Newport Harbor 6, Foothill 1: Gavin Guy struck out seven and had two hits for 5-0 Newport Harbor. Henry Mann went three for three.

Boys’ basketball

Gardena Serra 57, Pilibos 51: Chinemerem Anyikwa scored 25 points to help Serra win the Southern Section Division 5 championship at Azusa Pacific. Demetri Galadjyan scored 23 points for Pilibos.

Girls’ basketball

St. Margaret’s 57, Murrieta Valley 41: Jayden Witten had 19 points, one of four players in double figures, to help St. Margaret’s win the Division 3 championship.

Savanna 46, Warren 25: Jazara Madrid led Savanna to the Division 6 title with 16 points.

Crescenta Valley 51, Saugus 43: Kelin Shajanian scored 14 points and Anik Nortikyan contributed 11 rebounds to lead the Falcons to the Southern Section Division 2 championship.

The duo of pitcher Jordan Ayala and shortstop Dylan Seward is going to do big things for Norco High baseball.

A little peek into their potential could be seen on Saturday against Great Oak. Ayala, a sophomore, gave up one hit in six innings striking out five and walking none. Seward, a junior committed to Tennessee, had three hits as the leadoff batter. Norco won 9-0. Jayden Serna had a three-run home run.

Bishop Alemany 9, El Camino Real 1: Brody Thompson and Daniel Aceves each had two hits for the 2-0 Warriors.

Loyola 9, West Ranch 5: Bobby Rapp, Mac Taw, Matthew Favela, Brandon Bendel each had two hits for Loyola.

Huntington Beach 3, Servite 0: Four pitchers combined for the shutout, striking out nine for Huntington Beach.

Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Corona Centennial 1: Pitchers Cade Tessier, Cash Matlock and Brody Jakel combined for eight strikeouts for Pacifica.

Oaks Christian 8, Buena 2: The Lions (3-0) two hits each from Ryan Sheffer and Jack Brinkman. Christian Ipsen had eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Calabasas 2, Cleveland 1: Jayden Singer had no walks in five innings and Harrison Beck contributed three hits for 2-0 Calabasas.

Simi Valley 8, Granada Hills 2: Evan Rodriguez had two hits and two RBIs for the Pioneers.

El Dorado 6, Sierra Canyon 3: Julian Rodriguez struck out six in five innings for 2-0 El Dorado.

Long Beach Millikan 10, Murrieta Valley 0: Daunte Bell had 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Fullerton 11, La Palma Kennedy 1: Noah Wise recorded six strikeouts in three innings for Fullerton.

Quartz Hill 3, Camarillo 1: Parker White threw six scoreless innings and Cole Gregory had three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus 6, Cypress 5: The Centurions dropped to 1-1.

Mira Costa 3, Crossroads 2: Emmett Maloney struck out four and gave up one hit in three scoreless innings of relief for Mira Costa. Ace Tarango had three hits.

Paraclete 10, Valencia 1: Mason Jacobo threw six innings to pick up the win for Paraclete.

Carson 11, Hawthorne 0: James Markel had two hits and two RBIs.

Foothill 8, Long Beach Wilson 7: Presley Gaborno had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for Foothill, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit. Evrett Rycroft had three hits and two RBIs. James Mirabile had three hits and four RBIs for Wilson.

Westlake 21, Oxnard Pacifica 2: Dylan Lee hit two home runs for the Warriors and finished with four hits and seven RBIs. Blake Miller had five RBIs.

Softball

Long Beach Millikan 7, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: The Rams scored seven runs in the seventh inning. Two doubles and two RBIs from Abby Everrett were key. Riley McAndrew threw the shutout. Earlier, Notre Dame defeated Huntington Beach 13-1. Keira Luderer had four hits, including a home run.

Granada Hills 15, Irvine Valley 0: Zoe Justman contributed four hits and five RBIs for Granada Hills.

Jared Grindlinger, considered one of the top high school baseball prospects from the class of 2027, is reclassifying and will graduate as part of this year’s class, making him eligible for the 2026 amateur draft, Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure confirmed on Thursday.

Grindlinger is a left-handed 16-year-old pitcher who throws 93 to 95 mph. His brother, Trent, is a freshman at Tennessee, so that option of joining his brother at the end of this season is also possible. He’s uncommitted, but his decision to graduate this spring will add another top pitching talent for pro scouts to evaluate.

Medure said he was already receiving numerous calls on Thursday after word became known, and increased scrutiny is something with which Grindlinger will have to deal.

“He understands the pressure about what’s about to happen,” Medure said.

Grindlinger made his season debut on Wednesday against Loyola, striking out four and giving up five hits and three runs in three innings.

Grindlinger began the process in the fall of perhaps graduating early taking online classes.