Sports Prep Summary: Granada Hills wins West Valley League baseball title

Jackson Lyons' Granada Hills High jersey was covered in dirt after a header slide in the fifth inning after his two-run triple gave the Highlanders the lead against Birmingham on Thursday.

“We worked so hard for this moment,” he said. “This film captured everything.”

Granada Hills' fifth-inning three-run rally led the Highlanders to a 4-2 victory, giving them their fourth straight West Valley League championship and the likely No. 1 seed in the City Section Open Division playoffs when the matchups are played on to be announced Saturday. Birmingham (12-3) ended up losing its last three league games and finishing in second place.

Birmingham had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a wild pitch and a ground out. Juan Tirado hit a home run in the third for Granada Hills (13-2). Then the Highlanders got Lyons' clutch triple to right field, followed by an RBI single from Jack Donohoe. Collin Azoy finished with two scoreless innings.

Read more: Preseason Sports Summary: Granada Hills wins Open Division softball playoff opener 11-0

Granada Hills pitchers Easton Hawk, Alex Schmidt and Azoy had strong performances and won the league title. The Highlanders finished the regular season with a 5-0 win over Cleveland, a 2-0 win over Birmingham and Thursday's triumph.

Now they have to figure out how to do better in the playoffs. They haven't made it to Dodger Stadium in the last three seasons. Lyons knows what he would do with his dirty shirt.

“If I make it to Dodger Stadium, this jersey will get dirty and I’ll put it on a plaque,” ​​he said.

Birmingham is back where he likes it – in the role of underdog. In 18 years under coach Matt Mowry, the Patriots have never won a league title, but have won five city titles. Both teams expect to meet again on May 25 at Dodger Stadium. But Birmingham has some pitching issues, having lost its No. 2 pitcher to an arm injury. The Open Division playoffs begin Tuesday, with the top four finishers receiving a bye in the first round.

Cleveland 3, Taft 0: Joshua Pearlstein pitched a two-hit shutout. Taft is in third place in the West Valley League, El Camino Real is fourth and Cleveland is fifth.

Soft ball

Garden Grove Pacifica 13, Oaks Christian 2: Kaniya Bragg had four hits and five RBIs and Brynne Nally allowed two runs in six innings for Pacifica. Bragg hit a three-run home run in the fourth. Pacifica will play JSerra in the Division 1 semifinals on Saturday.

Orange Lutheran 7, Anaheim Canyon 4: Zara Mineo finished the game with three RBIs and Olivia Oskorus had three hits to lead Orange Lutheran, which will face Murrieta Mesa in the semifinals. Sam Gresham had a three-run home run for Canyon.

JSerra 2, Great Oak 0: Abby Ford scored 13 points with a walk to lead JSerra. Angelina Jimenez hit a solo home run for the Lions.

Murrieta Mesa 12, Huntington Beach 0: Lilly Hauser had five RBIs and also struck out 12 and allowed one hit for Murrieta Mesa.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.