Granada Hills earns ninth consecutive victory with win over Birmingham

“Scrappy” is the word Granada Hills baseball coach Matt Matuszak uses to describe his team that has won nine consecutive games and already taken control of the West Valley League race with a 6-0 record.

The Highlanders (12-3) don’t rely on one hitter or one pitcher. It’s a group of players united and delivering when needed. The latest win came Tuesday against rival Birmingham, an 11-5 victory that gave the Highlanders a 2-0 record against the team that was considered the preseason favorite to win the City title.

A four-run first inning featured RBI doubles by Easton Hawk and Juan Tirado. Birmingham tied it at 4-4 in the second on a two-run single from Carlos Macias and a two-run home run from Gavin Taylor. Andrew Cuevo had three hits for the Highlanders, including an RBI single in the third. Hawk finished with three hits and three RBIs. Granada Hills broke the game open with a five-run fifth. Jack Nelson threw five innings of one-run relief.

The good news for Granada Hills is that its best pitcher, Hawk, a UCLA commit, still hasn’t thrown this season. He’s expected to make his season debut next week. Granada Hills also is the only team to beat Palisades this season, making the Highlanders the likely top seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs if they end up winning the West Valley title.

El Camino Real 5, Chatsworth 5: The game was halted because of darkness after 11 innings.

Carson 3, Narbonne 1: The Colts picked up the Marine League victory.

Palisades 11, Venice 1: The Dolphins improved to 10-1. Zach Gresham had two doubles and six RBIs.

El Dorado 6, El Modena 1: Jack Fishel threw a complete game, striking out four for El Dorado. Freshman Brady Abner and sophomore Diego Gonzalez each had two hits and two RBIs.

La Serna 1, Simi Valley 0: Eddie Garcia struck out 10 with no walks to help La Serna win with a walk-off in the eighth.

Moorpark 5, Camarillo 1: Rylan Stillwater threw the complete game, giving up one hit for Moorpark.

St. John Bosco 1, Mira Costa 0: Colin Caycedo threw a four-hit shutout and Hunter Friedberg had three hits for the Braves.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Crespi 2: The No. 1-ranked Knights (15-1) received two hits apiece from Dean West, Adam Shlesinger, Madden Ocko, Colin Brown and Kai Gonzaga in the Mission League victory.

St. Francis 3, Chaminade 0: Lucas Dixon contributed three hits, Holden Deitch homered and sophomore Caleb Thatcher threw the shutout, striking out nine, for St. Francis.

Loyola 5, Bishop Alemany 3: The Cubs picked up the Mission League win.

Eastvale Roosevelt 6, King 2: Christopher Romo struck out six in 3 2/3 innings for Roosevelt. Braden Annett hit two doubles.

Corona 6, Norco 5: The Panthers won in the 10th inning on a walk-off home run by Sam Burgess.

Corona Santiago 7, Corona Centennial 0: Michael Padilla struck out six, walked one and threw a four-hit shutout for surging Santiago.

Etiwanda 2, Chino Hills 1: Nicholas Neri allowed three hits in a complete game.

Tesoro 3, Trabuco Hills 1: Jake Lambdin had two hits for Tesoro.

Servite 4, Oregon Lakeridge 2: Roman Martin went two for two to lead Servite.

Arcadia 6, Glendale 5: Ian Hoffstetter improved to 6-0 and Gabe Lopez picked up the save for Arcadia. Devon Eskridge had three hits and three RBIs.

Gahr 5, West Ranch 0: Noah Andrunas, Jayson Thomas and Victor Morales combined on a four-hit shutout.

Quartz Hill 15, Knight 0: Logan Reddemann had three hits and three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Villa Park 5, Foothill 1: Brandon Luu struck out 10 in six innings. Gavin Grahovac and AJ Kordel each had three hits for Villa Park.

Arlington 3, South Hills 2: Cal Baptist commit Ryan Hetzler outduled Sterling Patick, giving up three hits for Arlington (8-4), which is on a six-game winning streak.

Softball

San Pedro 13, Rancho Dominguez 0: Bella Miller threw a five-inning no-hitter in a Marine League opener.

Granada Hills 10, Birmingham 5: Addison Moorman struck out nine for Granada Hills in a West Valley League opener. Rebecca Lozano had a two-run home run for Birmingham.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6, Bishop Alemany 1: Sarah Jacobs struck out six in six innings and Nadia Ledon and Marisela Gonzalez each had three hits for the 11-1 Knights.