Sylmar Trims Poly, 1-0, in East Valley Play

SUN VALLEY — It was a test of baseball’s checks and balances. Hard-hitting sluggers versus virtually unyielding pitchers.

When the Sylmar and Poly high baseball teams faced off in a key East Valley League matchup Monday, 15 starters came into the game batting .300 or better. And the two starting pitchers each had an earned-run average of less than a run.

In the end, Sylmar’s top batter, Art Diaz, ended the pitchers’ duel with a run-scoring single in the eighth inning to give the Spartans a 1-0 victory over Poly.

Meanwhile, the Spartans relied heavily on senior right-hander Carlos Velazco, who allowed just two hits in eight innings and helped Sylmar notch its 16th consecutive victory.

Velazco (9-1), who struck out six and did not walk a batter, helped the Spartans put a little more distance between Sylmar (20-3, 11-0 in league play) and second-place Poly (17-3, 9-2), which will conclude the two-game series on Wednesday.

Sylmar’s Tommy Mitchell led off the eighth with a base hit to left, advanced to second on Steve Zamora’s sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Hiram Damwijk’s groundout, setting the stage for Diaz’s heroics.