HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Culver City’s Dunlap Hits Four Homers

Troy Dunlap of Culver City High liked what he saw Saturday as he dug into the batter’s box at Faith Baptist: a left-field fence only 230 feet from home plate.

Dunlap, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior outfielder, hit four home runs--all over the left-field fence--as Culver City routed Faith Baptist, 23-1, in the first round of the Redondo-Palos Verdes tournament. The four homers tied a Southern Section single-game record set by Carey Windes of St. John Bosco against St. Anthony in 1985.

Dunlap blasted solo home runs in the first and fifth innings, launched a two-run shot in the sixth and added a grand slam to highlight a nine-run seventh. All told, Dunlap was six for eight with eight runs batted in.

“And his hardest hit ball was an out,” Culver City Coach Bill Coates said. “The left fielder made a tremendous catch at the wall.”

Faith Baptist Coach Harry Morgan said that it wouldn’t have mattered if the wall were moved back.

“They were all hard-hit balls,” Morgan said. “I don’t want to take anything away from him.”

Senior left-hander Mauricio Estavil (3-0) pitched five innings to earn the win. Freshman David Tibor and Lawrence Kennedy each singled for Faith Baptist (1-3).

In other games:

Royal 6, West Torrance 5 (nine innings)--Will Egan was three for four and Royal (4-2) rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in a first-round game of the Redondo-Palos Verdes tournament.

Crespi 12, North Torrance 2--Rick Marino was two for four with four RBIs and Scott Barton was two for three with two RBIs as the Celts (6-2-1) coasted in a first-round game of the Redondo-Palos Verdes tournament.

Alemany 3, La Serna 2--Joey Rosselli struck out two in the seventh inning to preserve the Indians’ victory in the first-round game of the Redondo-Palos Verdes tournament. Leo Tejada drove in two runs and Greg Thompson drove in one for Alemany (4-4).

Village Christian 16-6, Murphy 0-1--Matt Bates and Matt Smay pitched complete games in leading Village Christian (7-0) to a doubleheader sweep at Cal State Los Angeles.

In the first game, Bates (2-0), a left-hander, struck out seven, surrendered just three hits and walked one in notching the shutout. Teammates Matt Henzie and Geoff Agnor each drove in two runs. In the second game, Smay (2-0) fired a one-hitter, struck out 12 and walked three. Herbie Gonzalez, Mark Vail and Panos Panay each had two hits for Village Christian (7-0).

Channel Islands 13-12, Ventura 5-8--Jacob Cruz went five for seven on the day to lead host Channel Islands (6-3) to a sweep of a nonleague doubleheader.

In the opener, winner Angel Aragon (1-1) surrendered just one hit through four innings and teammates Richard Tepezano and Manuel Padilla hit home runs.

In the second game, paced by two-run doubles from Cruz and winner Jose Gastelum (1-0) in the bottom of the sixth inning, Channel Islands notched a come-from-behind win. Also in the six-run sixth inning, Tepezano drove in his 15th run of the season.

Harvard 8-15, Brentwood 3-2--Harvard (3-6) collected 19 hits in the nonleague doubleheader at Brentwood.

Jono Pivo was three for three and scored three runs in the first game. Mike Wolf was two for three, including a run-scoring double.

In the second game, Bobby Mason was two for two with six RBIs. Mason hit a three-run home run and a three-run triple. Junior right-hander Joel Saxton yielded one hit and one walk while striking out three in four innings.

St. Genevieve 6, Oak Park 5--Winning pitcher Carlos Concha (3-0) scored on an errant relay throw after a single by Mike Hoffman in the bottom of the seventh to propel St. Genevieve in the Highland Hall tournament championship game.

Highland Hall 5, Providence 4--Robert Ramirez (3-1) pitched the first four innings and had two hits to lead Highland Hall, the second-ranked school in Small Schools, in the third-place game in the Highland Hall tournament.