Roundup: Birmingham settles for soccer tie with El Camino Real en route to winning league title
There's not too many times to celebrate a tie in soccer, but Lake Balboa Birmingham's 2-2 tie with Woodland Hills El Camino Real on Thursday clinched the Patriots the West Valley League championship and a No. 1 seed in the City Section Division I playoffs that begin next Friday.
It was a match with the intensity level of a City final and the overall quality of the play was tremendous. It was the first time Birmingham (12-0-1) trailed this season after El Camino Real received goals in the second half from Jose Coto and Tom Rabinovitch. The Patriots responded with a header from Enrique Pineda to tie the game, his second goal on the night.
Birmingham's David Diaz contributed the most spectacular assist in the first half, giving a flip back to Pineda, who drove the ball past goalie Kenny Palos.
With 32 minutes left, Enrique Pineda scores off amazing assist from David Diaz. Birmingham 1, ECR 0. pic.twitter.com/x6XfIEndE4
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) May 7, 2021
"That was a very tough game but set us up nicely for the playoffs," Birmingham coach EB Madha said.
Said Diaz: "It was tough. They wanted it, but at the end of the day, we didn't lose. It was a wake-up call."
Birmingham ties it 2-2. pic.twitter.com/CBPlrIXNFJ
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) May 7, 2021
Baseball
Birmingham 3, Chatsworth 1: Ricky Martinez struck out seven in six innings and Gavin Taylor had two hits to help the defending City Section champs improve to 4-0 in the West Valley League.
Taft 4, El Camino Real 3: The Toreadors broke a long losing streak to their neighborhood rivals from Woodland Hills.
Granada Hills 4, Reseda Cleveland 1: The Highlanders improved to 4-0 in the West Valley League with an eight-inning victory. Will White had a key RBI single in the eighth.
Venice 7, Hamilton 4: The Gondoliers won the Western League game at Fairfax after being told they can no longer use their new campus baseball field because of a neighbor's complaint about balls heading onto the property.
Thousand Oaks 8, Westlake 2: Max Muncy hit a grand slam and Cody Carson shut out the Warriors for six innings to help the Lancers improve to 18-0.
Agoura 6, Westlake Village Oaks Christian 1: Matt Tamura pitched and hit the Chargers to victory.
Calabasas 4, Newbury Park 1: Chase Call hit his seventh home run and finished with three RBIs.
Corona Centennial 4, Corona Santiago 0: Chris Scovel struck out six and threw a two-hit shutout.
Corona del Mar 6, Laguna Beach 1: Matthew Decrona threw a complete game with six strikeouts.
Corona 6, Norco 5: Jon Dias picked up his fourth save for Corona.
King 13, Roosevelt 0: Jase Evangelista had two hits and three RBIs.
La Puente Bishop Amat 9, Santa Fe Springs St. Paul 7: Tyler White went four for five and Izaiah Ayala hit a home run for Bishop Amat.
San Clemente 2, San Juan Hills 1: Matt McGreevy had the walk-off single in the eighth.
Los Alamitos 6, Fountain Valley 0: The Griffins got a strong pitching performance from Joshua Donegan, who allowed three hits in 5 1/3 innings.
South Hills 7, Diamond Bar 1: Marcos Rosales went three for four.
Citrus Valley 11, Yucaipa 6: A nine-run fourth inning sparked Citrus Valley, which took advantage of five errors.
Softball
El Camino Real 8, Birmingham 2: Jillian Kelly struck out nine and Nahnny Sobetzko hit a three-run home run.
A WALK-OFF HOME RUN AGAIN! Jo Jo Krause crushes one over center field to cap off another VINTAGE @PedroSoftball comeback, down 5-0 & 8-4, they somehow beat Carson 9-8 for sole possession of 1st in the Marine League! @breezepreps @latsondheimer @SBLiveCA @DamianCalhoun pic.twitter.com/z1d8KyTs3k
— Jamaal Street (@JamaalStreet) May 7, 2021
San Pedro 9, Carson 8: Jo Jo Krause's two-run home run gave San Pedro the dramatic walk-off victory.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2, Woodland Hills Louisville 0: Ella Parker hit her ninth home run and also pitched the Knights into first place in the Mission League, inflicting a rare loss on pitcher Grace Luderer.
Sun Valley Village Christian 10, Pasadena Maranatha 0: Bree Brennan threw five innings, striking out 13.
Boys' basketball
Santa Clarita Christian 64, Heritage Christian 52: Tiago Soares scored 27 points in the win.
Girls' basketball
Studio City Harvard-Westlake 56, Palisades 34: Kiki Iriafen finished with 16 points.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.