Verdugo Hills baseball defeats Taft to win City Division I title after slow start

LOS ANGELES — Verdugo Hills’ baseball team executed its game plan with precision after going through a tumultuous start to the season, and it found itself one out away from making history at Dodger Stadium.

One more defensive play was needed after Dons senior Anthony Velasquez threw strikes and kept the lineup for Taft off balance in the CIF LA City Section Division I championship Saturday.

A ball belted hard to left center by Taft second baseman Brian Strasberg was chased by junior Verdugo Hills’ Moises Rodriguez. The left fielder angled, sprinted and reached up with his left arm and made the catch for the final out, securing Verdugo Hills’ 3-1 triumph over Taft.

The win gave No. 13-seeded Verdugo Hills (14-18) its second CIF LA City Section title.

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“I can’t describe how proud I am of my team,” Rodriguez said. “We started the season slow until the playoffs started. We changed our mentality and we changed the way we thought about the game.”

Verdugo Hills climbed to the top after starting the season by losing seven of its first 10 games.

Rodriguez took an active leadership role and became a vocal leader. Then came May 2 and a game on the road against traditional powerhouse Chatsworth, a program with 10 LA City Section titles.

Verdugo Hills won the game 8-4 and from that point things changed. The Dons had won five of their last six games before entering Dodger Stadium to play Taft.

“That’s what it is, is building that confidence,” Verdugo Hills coach Angel Espindola said. “Once we got that win, we believed we could play with anybody. We all know in baseball that when you play with confidence, it frees up your ability. We brought the boys together, we made sure that they knew they could play at this level.”

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In the top of the first, designated hitter Cutlor Fannon roped an RBI double into left field that scored Velasquez as Verdugo Hills scored first.

It was repeated pressure from the Dons, led by Fannon, who finished 2 for 4, while Velasquez allowed just one earned run.

No. 10 seed Taft (13-18) made a major step this season in its building process by reaching the Division I final led by fourth-year coach Tommy Derry, who graduated from El Camino Real in 2014 and played college baseball at San Francisco State and City College of San Francisco.

Derry viewed the opportunity of playing at Dodger Stadium as another step, as he hopes to turn the Toreadors into a program that churns out college-ready talent like his alma mater off of Valley Circle.

Taft starting pitcher Sebastian Gamez threw a complete game but couldn’t get the offensive push needed as he allowed just two earned runs.

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“It’s a program builder and gives something for the young guys something to work to and knowing they can actually get there,” Derry said. “You can make it there. Hats off to Verdugo. They won the game and played better than us. Nothing is guaranteed and there’s no guarantees you make it here again, but we left it all on the line. Nothing you can do about it.”

Third baseman Victor Jara had one the game’s highlight plays with a catch along the third base railing that seemed like it might have been made by Max Muncy or Justin Turner.

Derry knows there is still a long way to go before comparing his program to El Camino Real or Birmingham, which met in the Open Division final Saturday. But he likes where the team foundation is headed.

“We say family every day and that’s what it is,” Derry said. “It’s a family and it’s about the grind. You have to build that grind and build that team chemistry together.”