Chatsworth's Baseball Team Readies For Competitive National Classic Tourney

Chatsworth High’s baseball team has won five in a row heading into a West Valley League game today at 3 p.m. at Granada Hills, but the real action begins Monday in the National Classic tournament in Orange County – one of the nation’s most competitive tournaments.

To win the National Classic, the winning team must win four games in four days, so the tournament is a grueling test for pitching staffs, and that’s what might give Chatsworth the edge. The Chancellors have a deep staff led by Aaron Brown, Steven Karkenny, Christian Lopez and Angel Rodriguez, all of whom are top returning players from last year’s team.

Chatsworth (11-2) opens against Clovis West at 1 p.m. Monday at Esperanza High in Anaheim. If the Chancellors win, they meet the Esperanza-Christian Brothers winner Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Esperanza.

“It’s not just a test for our pitching staff, it’s a big test for our whole team,” Karkenny said.

Chatsworth defeated Granada Hills 7-2 on Wednesday in the first part of a two-game series. Raul Camas and Kiefer Kofman had two hits, and Karkenny hit a two-run triple. Rodriguez (4-1) struck out six in five innings, and Lopez pitched the final two innings, striking out the last four in a row.

The Chancellors travel to Granada Hills on Friday for a 3 p.m. game.

Two other local teams, Chaminade and Alemany, are participating in the 16-team field, and both of them have strong pitching, too. Chaminade is led by Mathew Troupe, Dalton Brown and Michael Dingilian, and Alemany has Ryan Paramo and Cody Thompson.

KEEPING TABS

Former Chatsworth baseball standout Mike Moustakas, the state’s all-time career home run leader now playing in the Kansas City Royals organization, was among the last cuts at the end of spring training. He’s back in Triple-A, and Moustakas is off to a slow start with a .188 battinng average in seven games.

CHATSWORTH SOFTBALL LOOKS TO FIND THE GROOVE

A year after advancing to the City Section Div. I softball final, Chatsworth continues to have difficult time rebuilding with new players, as the roster includes five freshmen and three sophomores.

The Chancellors have lost three of four heading into the Thousand Oaks tournament, where they’ll open against Oxnard at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Chatsworth plays two games on Saturday, then two games a week later on April 23 before entering the final stretch of West Valley League competition.

One bright spot has been the play of Kaitlin Ryder. She’s riding a six-game hitting streak, and overall she’s batting .472 with four home runs. Another freshman, Tesharra Hill, is batting .370 with one home run and 13 RBIs.

SIERRA CANYON’S BASEBALL TEAM BACK IN ACTION

Because of rain delays combined with quirk in the schedule, Sierra Canyon’s baseball team finally played its first Delphic League game Tuesday, losing 15-4 to Windward. The Trailblazers (2-3-1) are struggling at the plate with a team batting average of .190, but sophomore Brian Tucker has performed well with a .389 batting average including two triples.