three-run home run

Since he became head coach at Birmingham in 2007, Matt Mowry is 0 for 18 when it comes to winning a West Valley League baseball title. He’s won five City titles but the Patriots haven’t been able to figure out how to win a league title.

A showdown against defending City champion El Camino Real on Tuesday didn’t start or end well for the Patriots. The Royals (10-3, 4-0) scored five runs in the first inning on six hits and coasted to an 8-3 win over Birmingham (10-2, 3-1).

The big hits in the first inning were an RBI double by JJ Saffie, a two-run double by Blake Dubin and an RBI single by Ryan Hauptman. For the second consecutive game, Birmingham pitcher Nathan Soto couldn’t make it out of the first inning. ECR starter Jackson Sellz, celebrating his 17th birthday, threw six innings before Hauptman came in to get the save. Ryan Glassman, Macai Friedman and Shane Bogacz each had two hits.

Birmingham is getting help starting Friday when transfers Masen Ruiz (Chatsworth), Toni Mendoza (Chatsworth) and Larkin Fleming (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) become eligible. All could become starters. The two teams play again twice next month.

Fullerton 7, Ocean View 5: Luke Gonzalez had two doubles to help Fullerton come back from a 5-3 deficit.

Los Alamitos 4, Marina 0: Ryan Deck struck out seven, walked none and gave up two hits in the shutout. Cruz Derrico finished with three hits.

St. Bernard 5, Bishop Amat 4: Juan Sandoval struck out five in a complete game for St. Bernard.

Newport Beach 9, Edison 0: Gavin Guy struck out six in 5 1/3 innings and also hit a three-run home run.

Santa Margarita 2, Servite 0: Sophomore Tyler George struck out four, walked none and threw a two-hit shutout. He also hit a home run.

Santa Monica 10, Leuzinger 1: Ryan Breslo had three hits for Santa Monica.

Oaks Christian 5, Newbury Park 2: Luke Puls, Ryan Sheffer and Oliver Dauskurdas each had two hits for Oaks Christian (9-2).

Calabasas 10, Thousand Oaks 9: The Coyotes handed Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 10 consecutive victories in a wild Marmonte League opener. The Lancers wiped out an 8-1 deficit with seven runs in the fifth inning to tie the score. Conner Kingston ended the game with a scoreless seventh for the save. Landon Carson had four RBIs for the Lancers. Michael Morales had three hits for the Coyotes.

Westlake 2, Agoura 1: Jaxson Neckien had two hits for the Warriors.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 10, Crespi 0: Malakye Matsumoto hit a grand slam and threw two scoreless innings of relief for 11-0 Notre Dame. Beckett Berg threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Sierra Canyon 8, Chaminade 2: Isaias Tirado and Aiden Jahng each hit home runs and Armando Solorio threw four shutout innings.

St. Francis 6, Bishop Alemany 4: Daniel Izaguirre had three hits for St. Francis in the Mission League win. Brody Thompson, Chase Stevenson and Alex Noble hit home runs for Alemany.

La Mirada 5, Gahr 1: Jacob Oropeza threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

El Modena 3, Villa Park 0: Three pitchers combined on a no-hitter.

Softball

Huntington Beach 17, Fountain Valley 0: Bree Carlson hit three home runs for the Oilers.

Murrieta Mesa 7, Great Oak 0: Lilly Hauser struck out 13 and also had a two-run double to lead unbeaten Murrieta Mesa.

Oaks Christian 9, Newbury Park 3: Giabella Otani had two hits and three RBIs.

What a start to the high school baseball season for pitcher Landon Hovermale of Norco. On Wednesday in his latest stellar outing, he threw six shutout innings in Norco’s 3-0 win over Gahr.

In 18 2/3 innings this season, Hovermale has allowed zero runs while striking out 27 and walking one. That’s called great pitching for the 5-1 Cougars. He’s committed to Grand Canyon.

Mira Costa 6, Torrance 4: Joaquin Scholer had two doubles in Mira Costa’s Bay League win.

Rancho Christian 13, Hillcrest 0: Jake Brande retired all 15 batters and had seven strikeouts while Sean Downs hit a grand slam in the five-inning win.

Bell 4, San Pedro 0: The Eagles (9-1) received six scoreless innings from Jayden Rojas, who gave up one hit and struck out seven.

San Fernando 9, Cleveland 5: Armando Villegas had a three-run double to lead the Tigers.

Carson 7, Granada Hills 5: Kris Sinclair went three for four with two RBIs for Carson.

Chatsworth 1, Sylmar 0: Isaiah Sanchez threw the shutout and Vicente Martinez had two hits.

Monroe 3, Eagle Rock 1: The Vikings (8-0) received 10 strikeouts from Miguel Gonzalez, who gave up two hits.

Hart 15, Canyon Country Canyon 2: Joaquin Durazo hit a three-run home run and Matix Frithsmith finished with four RBIs in Hart’s Foothill League opener. Hayden Rhodes and Anthony Cavarretta also hit home runs.

West Ranch 15, Golden Valley 1: Ty Diaz hit two home runs and had a double to lead West Ranch. Connor Clayton and Caydin Wilson also hit home runs.

Los Alamitos 9, Fountain Valley 5: Cruz D’Errico had four hits to lead a Los Alamitos comebacik.

St. John Bosco 11, Damien 0: Twins James and Miles Clark had a big day for the No. 1-ranked Braves. James contributed four hits, including two doubles, and Miles had a home run and three RBIs. Jack Champlin showed he’s not only a closer, throwing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks as a starting pitcher.

Servite 9, San Juan Hills 6: Mikey Cabral led the way with three hits and two RBIs and John Sullivan had two doubles for Servite.

Newport Harbor 11, Marina 2: Henry Mann had two hits, Gavin Guy had a two-run double and Ryan Williams homered to help Newport Harbor improve to 7-0.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6, St. Francis 2: Dru Wilson, Malakye Matsumoto, Jake Noroian and Troy Trejo each had two hits for Notre Dame (6-0, 2-0).

Bishop Alemany 6, Crespi 0: DC Ravago threw five scoreless innings and Chase Stevenson hit a two-run home run.

Loyola 8, Chaminade 0: Sheriff Hall threw five scoreless innings and Magnus Mayer had a two-run double for Loyola.

Harvard-Westlake 6, Sierra Canyon 0: Evan Alexander struck out nine and gave up one hit in six innings and freshman Louis Lappe of El Segundo Little League fame hit his first high school home run for Harvard-Westlake. Ethan Price also homered.

Huntington Beach 13, Edison 3: Owen Bone finished with three hits, including a home run, and Jared Grindlinger had two hits and two RBIs for the Oilers.

Etiwanda 4, Rancho Cucamonga 1: Adam Ornelas had three hits and Luke Severns had a two-run single. Michael Aleman threw a complete game.

Softball

Simi Valley 4, Carson 2: Parker Ong struck out eight for Simi Valley. Ruby Grajeda homered for Carson.

Santa Monica 2, Carson 1: Ruby Grajeda had three hits for Carson.

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.