With a fastball hitting 95 mph Wednesday night, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Justin Lee has the kind of speed that gets the attention of professional scouts. His future college coach, UCLA’s John Savage, was behind home plate for Lee’s showdown against Mission League rivals Harvard-Westlake.
Aided by greater confidence in his abilities, Lee significantly improved his command during his final season. He struckout six, walked one and gave up two hits in six innings to help the Knights (9-1, 5-1) beat the Wolverines 2-1 at Notre Dame.
“I know they are rough, so I went to them and trusted my stuff,” Lee said.
Notre Dame scored two goals for Harvard-Westlake ace Thomas Bridges in the first inning on RBI singles by Ryan Limerock and Madden Ocko.
Lee was in charge. Twice he hit Harvard-Westlake standout junior Bryce Rainer with flashy fastballs. However, in the sixth, Rainer sent a fastball over the net into right field for a home run.
“I take my hat off to him,” Lee said. “He’s a really good hitter.”
As usual in the Notre Dame vs. Harvard-Westlake, no win comes easy, so the Wolverines pushed for closer Levi Sterling in the seventh inning. Will Gasparino, who made his first appearance of the season after breaking his hand, led with a single and finished third with two outs. Cade Goldstein worked the count to 3-and-2 against Sterling and dropped the pitches before Sterling got the strikeout to end and save the game.
The two teams resume action Thursday and Friday at Harvard-Westlake.
Freshman coach Shaun Kort continues to generate enthusiasm at St. Francis. First, the Golden Knights defeated Harvard-Westlake and on Tuesday handed Sierra Canyon its first loss, 3-0. Kalani Quiroz hit a 2-run home run and saved. Caleb Thatcher pitched five shutout innings.
The No. 1 Santa Margarita improved to 4-0 in Trinity League and dropped defending Division 1 champions JSerra to 0-4 with a 7-1 victory over the Lions. Collin Clarke hit seven in 6 2/3 innings and Blake Wilson had three hits and two RBI’s.
Source: LA Times
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