Meusborn Close to His Sixth Title

Chatsworth can put Coach Tom Meusborn, who won his 400th baseball game in the first round of the City Section playoffs, in elite company if it defeats West Valley League rival Woodland Hills El Camino Real in the championship game at 3:30 p.m. today at Dodger Stadium.

A victory would give Meusborn his sixth City title in 16 seasons, tying him with Les Haserot, who guided Los Angeles Fremont to championships in 1939, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1948.

Even though Chatsworth, 29-3 overall, is seeded No. 1 in the tournament, second-seeded El Camino Real (27-6) has assumed the favorite’s role based on beating the Chancellors in two of three league games.

Junior right-hander Eric Pettis (7-1, 1.67 earned-run average) will get the start for El Camino Real, which is coached by Matt LaCour, a Chatsworth graduate who once served as an assistant to Meusborn

Chatsworth, which has had trouble coming up with a reliable No. 2 pitcher, will start junior right-hander Josh Ravin (4-1), who was academically ineligible the last two years and got demoted at midseason because he struggled to throw strikes. But Ravin has the team’s best arm and was the winning pitcher in the City quarterfinals against Palisades.

Sophomores Mike Moustakas and Matt Dominguez of Chatsworth have 53 and 48 runs batted in, respectively. El Camino Real seniors Sammy Donabedian and Ryan Lavarnway are each batting .500, and junior Shaun Kort has 10 home runs and is 10-1 on the mound. He figures to be available in relief.

It’s the 37th consecutive year that the City final will be held at Dodger Stadium. San Fernando Valley teams will have won 32 of the last 33 City titles.

Eric Sondheimer

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Boys’ Volleyball

Two-time defending champion Los Angeles Loyola is seeking to become the Southern Section’s most decorated boys’ volleyball program when it plays Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the Division I championship match at 6 tonight at Cypress College.

The second-seeded Cubs (28-5) have won seven section titles, which ties them with Santa Ynez for most in section history, but they will have their work cut out for them against the top-seeded Mustangs (33-1).

Led by Hawaii-bound senior Matt Rawson and junior Jason Palacios, Mira Costa has won 27 consecutive matches, including a 25-20, 28-30, 25-15, 25-22 nonleague victory over Loyola on April 27. C.J. Schellenberg and Jim Hirschmann lead the Loyola attack.

Fourth-seeded Valencia (29-6), coming off an upset of top-seeded Santa Barbara, is seeking its third consecutive Division II title in a 3:30 p.m. match against second-seeded Corona del Mar (26-7). It’s Valencia’s fifth consecutive appearance in a section final.

Top-seeded Orange Lutheran (17-4) plays second-seeded Oxnard (20-6) for the Division III title at 1 p.m. Top-seeded Westlake Village Oaks Christian (27-1) plays second-seeded South Pasadena (22-5) in the Division IV match at 4 p.m., and the Division V final between top-seeded Calabasas Viewpoint (29-0) and third-seeded Pasadena Poly (26-3) is at 1:30 p.m.

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-- Peter Yoon