Prep sports roundup: Birmingham closes in on league title after win over El Camino Real

Posted along the left-field fence at Birmingham High are the years it won City Section baseball titles: 1964, 1966, 1969, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023.

Nowhere is there any recognition for winning a West Valley League title. That’s because the current coach, Matt Mowry, has won five City titles and zero league titles during his 20 seasons. He might need to make room for a first West Valley title after the Patriots completed a two-game sweep this week of El Camino Real, winning on Friday 9-1.

Nathan Soto struck out five and walked none in six innings. Carlos Acuna, Toni Mendoza and Jordan Lindsay each had two hits.

The Patriots (22-4, 11-2) have a one-game lead over El Camino Real (18-8, 10-3) going into a two-game series with Cleveland next week. Athletic director Rick Prizant has always joked with Mowry that he wants City titles, not necessarily league titles, but the players were determined this season to end Mowry’s drought.

“Our guys came in with a good approach and stuck to it and performed in all aspects,” Mowry said.

The hitters continued their mastery of El Camino Real pitching, hitting one ball after another to right field. During a seven-run third inning, Aidan Martinez had the big hit, a two-run double down the right-field line. Acuna followed with an RBI single, Mendoza had a two-run single and JuJu Monroe-Truitt had an RBI single.

Chatsworth 1, Cleveland 0: Isaiah Sanchez threw a five-hit shutout for the Chancellors.

Granada Hills 5, Taft 1: Foss Bohlen struck out seven in six innings for the Highlanders, who close the regular season with a two-game series against El Camino Real next week.

Monroe 7, Chavez 1: The Vikings clinched the East Valley League title, their first league title since 1995. Felipe Gonzalez threw six scoreless innings.

Bell 11, Legacy 1: Jayden Rojas struck out six with no walks in five innings while giving up one hit. Armando Aguilar had two hits and two RBIs.

Garfield 11, South East 1: CJ Aguayo had a three-run triple and Victor Alvarez added three RBIs for Garfield.

Norco 7, Corona 2: Dylan Seward and Jacob Melendez hit home runs to help Norco clinch the Big VIII League championship. Melendez threw a complete game with five strikeouts and no walks.

Corona Santiago 7, Corona Centennial 6: Striker Pence homered for the Sharks. Jesse Mendoza had three hits for Centennial.

Villa Park 2, Cypress 0: Logan Hoppie threw the complete game with six strikeouts for Villa Park.

Oaks Christian 8, Calabasas 7: KJ Henrich broke a 7-7 tie with an RBI double in the seventh. Carson Sheffer hit his fourth home run and finished with three RBIs. Jack Brinkman had three hits. Auron Blackledge and Evan Barak homered for Calabasas.

Westlake 15, Newbury Park 6: Holden Backus had two hits and four RBIs for Westlake. Carson Richter hit a grand slam for Newbury Park.

Thousand Oaks 5, Agoura 4: The Lancers rallied from a 4-0 deficit. Jake Ange had a home run.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2, Bishop Alemany 0: Holden Newhouse and JuJu Diaz-Jones combined for the shutout to help the Knights clinch a playoff spot from the Mission League.

Chaminade 9, Harvard-Westlake 5: Anthony Costa and Robby Morgan each had two hits and two RBIs and Isaiah Hearn hit a three-run home run to lead the Eagles. Louis Lappe went four for four to lead Harvard-Westlake.

Sierra Canyon 10, Loyola 0: Theo Swafford had a double and three-run home run for Sierra Canyon.

St. Francis 10, Crespi 6: Danny Izaguirre had two hits and four RBIs for St. Francis.

Temecula Valley 3, Vista Murrieta 2: Taden Krogsgaard had two hits for Temecula Valley.

JSerra 9, Santa Margarita 6: The Lions completed a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita. Blake Bowen hit a home run in all three games. Shane D’Arcy had three hits for JSerra.

St. John Bosco 6, Mater Dei 3: Jhett Ohira had two hits and two RBIs for the Braves. Sebastian Navarro homered for Mater Dei.

Orange Lutheran 3, Servite 1: Sam Principe threw a complete game, giving up three hits for Orange Lutheran.

Huntington Beach 8, Newport Harbor 1: Parker Leoff contributed two doubles for Huntington Beach.

West Ranch 10, Hart 2: Ty Diaz went three for three and Caydin Wilson had three RBIs as West Ranch earned a share of the Foothill League title.

Valencia 14, Golden Valley 1: Zach Davis had three hits and three RBIs for Valencia.

Redondo Union 10, Mira Costa 4: Keiji Hattori led the way with three hits for Redondo Union.

Softball

Granada Hills 16, Taft 2: Dahlia Perez had a grand slam during a 15-run second inning.

JSerra 3, Orange Lutheran 1: Liliana Escobar recorded 13 strikeouts and gave up three hits in the Trinity League win.

Norco 11, Corona Santiago 0: Peyton May struck out 13 and Sadie Burroughs hit a three-run home run for Norco.