Valley Pulls Off a Triple Play : University Is Finished by Fishman

WOODLAND HILLS — Shaun Fishman is glad to be back and the El Camino Real High baseball team has to be happy to have him.

Fishman, a senior right-hander who sat out nearly a month because of a hamstring injury, picked up a victory in relief of Kurt Birkins against Westchester on Tuesday and did the same Thursday as the Conquistadores beat University, 8-3, in a City Section 4-A Division quarterfinal game at El Camino Real.

El Camino Real (18-10) reached the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season and will play Chatsworth Tuesday at a site to be determined.

Chatsworth defeated Cleveland, 9-5, in another quarterfinal game Thursday.

The Conquistadores scored five runs in the first inning and added another run in the second to give Birkins, a junior left-hander, a 6-0 lead.

Things weren’t quite so comfortable in the third inning, when Birkins allowed three runs on three hits, a walk and an error.

But Fishman (6-5) came on with two out in the third, struck out Darryl West to end the inning and allowed the Warriors (19-13) only two hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Fishman struck out five and walked none.

“It was not a bad outing,” Fishman said. “You gotta take control and that’s what we did today. I’m loving this. I’m glad to be out here again.”

Woody Cliffords and Jared Maiden each had two hits for El Camino Real.

Dan Williams’ two-out, two-run double off Andres Navarro (5-5) closed out the Conquistadores’ five-run first. Woody Cliffords and Raymond Leduc had run-scoring singles and Birkins hit a sacrifice fly for the first three runs.

El Camino Real expanded the lead to 6-0 with a run in the second inning. Cliffords, who went two for two and walked once, was hit by a pitch and later scored on Joe Merchan’s two-out double to right field.

The Conquistadores added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.