Reseda Goes Quietly After Day in the Sun : Woodland Hills West Awakens With 6-Run Outburst to End 14-Inning Legion Game, 14-8

It dulled the senses of even the die-hard fans, it dulled the pencils of statisticians and it darned near lulled Woodland Hills West reserve Gregg Sheren into a deep sleep.

Sheren was reclining comfortably on the bench in the top of the 14th inning Saturday when he was rudely awakened by Coach Gary Gibson. At the time, Sheren was lying on his back, hands behind his head, cap over his eyes. Thirty seconds later, Sheren was inserted as a pinch-runner, his first action in what would eventually be 5 hours, 50 minutes of baseball.

“And I told him not to fall asleep,” Gibson said. “When he ran out there, one of the umps asked if I was sure (Sheren) even knew where he was.”

Maybe he was and maybe he wasn’t, but moments later, Sheren scored the first run of a six-run outburst that led Woodland Hills West to a 14-8 win over Reseda in an American Legion District 20 Western Division game at Reseda.

With three regular-season games remaining, West (16-3) clinched the divisional title, its second in as many seasons under Gibson. Woodland Hills East is in second place at 10-6 and has six games left but has twice lost to West.

By the time the title-clincher had mercifully ended--the marathon included the final 1 2/3 innings of a game suspended June 14 and now officially a 5-3 West victory--fans were grumbling and umpires were mumbling.

Sheren, of course, was slumbering.

“That’s basically it,” he said. “I’m not used to sitting on the bench. After 15 innings or whatever of not playing, it lulled me to sleep.”

West, trailing, 8-6, rallied in the ninth to force extra innings. Greg Lederman, who started in the outfield in place of Sheren, drove home both runs in the inning with a looping two-out, bases-loaded double.

“He was the one bright spot on offense,” Gibson said. “He came through for us in the clutch a couple of times.”

Lederman, batting ninth, finished three for five and had five runs batted in.

While Lederman was bailing out West with his bat, left-hander Ryan McGuire was holding Reseda (10-7) at bay. McGuire, who pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings to close out the suspended game and earn his first win of the season, blanked Reseda over the final eight innings of the regularly scheduled game for his second victory in six hours. In 9 2/3 innings Saturday, McGuire allowed five hits, struck out 12 and walked three.

McGuire’s last pitching appearance was against Reseda, on June 14. So when called upon, like Sheren, McGuire wasn’t exactly running on empty.

“Last time against Reseda, I pulled a muscle or something in my back,” said McGuire, who will be a senior at El Camino Real High in the fall. “I hadn’t thrown since then, so I was rested.”

West starter Lance Gibson didn’t fare as well. Two wins shy of 20 in his three-year Legion career, Gibson was given a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the fifth but couldn’t hold on. Likewise, Reseda starter Tony Holiday was his own worst enemy, walking five and hitting three in 8 1/3 innings. Holiday also failed to advance seven runners in his first three plate appearances, twice hitting into inning-ending ground-outs.

“Both of those guys are better pitchers than that,” said Reseda Coach Frank DesEnfants, who sat in the stands for most of the fateful 14th. “But in general, we did OK, we held our own against them with a bunch of kids who aren’t exactly household names.”

One name that was more than a little familiar to the Gibsons was almost enough to win it for Reseda. Outfielder Tom Gibson, no relation, was four for five with a double, home run and four RBIs.

In the battle of (pitcher) Gibson vs. (hitter) Gibson, the edge clearly went to the latter, according to (coach) Gibson, father of (pitcher) Gibson.

“He’s a big kid who swings a pretty good bat, that’s for sure,” Gary Gibson said.

There were others, given the length of the game, who rolled up some good numbers, too. For West, Del Marine had four hits, including two doubles; Jason Cohen (one home run), Bobby Kim (two doubles) and Carl McFadden each had three hits. Joey Tushnet had three hits for Reseda.

Other events of note included McGuire drawing a walk five times in nine plate appearances, West stranding 22 baserunners and one preteen fan--who returned to the game after a lengthy absence--asking his mom with a straight face: “Is this a doubleheader or what?”

“It was a brutal, brutal game,” Gary Gibson said. “It’s hard to believe these are two playoff teams.”