Baseball: Harvard-Westlake beats Notre Dame in eight innings

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Sherman Oaks Notre Dame almost did enough to win its Mission League showdown on Tuesday with North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake. The Knights fouled off enough balls and took enough pitches that by the sixth inning, after 108 pitches, Harvard-Westlake ace Lucas Giolito had to leave the game.

Giolito, who hadn’t allowed an earned run all season, gave up one hit in 5 1/3 innings. But he walked six and left with a 4-1 advantage. With Giolito gone, Notre Dame scored three runs in the sixth to tie the game.

Harvard-Westlake (9-4, 1-0), however, broke through for four runs in the top of the eighth, two of which were unearned, to secure a 9-5 victory. Jason Garfinkel and Wes Peacock contributed RBI singles.

The game was important because, for any school that has Mission League title aspirations, finding a way to beat Giolito (3-0) this season could be the key to winning a title. Notre Dame (12-4, 3-2) lost a great opportunity, considering Giolito was not at his best. Nick Huynh hit an RBI double off him in the second and had an RBI single in the seventh for Notre Dame.

‘I’d say it was a bit of a struggle,’ said Giolito, a 6-foot-6 junior right-hander who has committed to UCLA. ‘I didn’t find it until the third inning. I have to take the blame. I didn’t get ahead of the batters. I have to do a better job.’

Harvard-Westlake’s hitters bailed out the Wolverine pitchers. Sam Horn had a two-run single in the third, and freshman Jack Flaherty was able to make contact in the seventh, getting a ground ball that was muffed for an error to score a run.

Harvard-Westlake, hurt by two games rained out earlier this season, has to play Alemany on Thursday, Notre Dame on Friday, then Alemany again on Monday.

‘The depth of our pitching staff is going to have to come into play,’ Coach Matt LaCour said.

-- Eric Sondheimer