All photos by Benjamin Becher

CHAVEZ RAVINE – El Camino capped a dominant season with a flawless championship performance, shutting down Venice from the start in a 2-0 victory.

The Royals set the tone early, forcing the Gondoliers into their style of play. Head coach Josh Lienhard was confident pregame that, “If we do what we do well,” the Royals would control the outcome. And they did exactly that.

Venice’s ace, Noel Moreno Jr., opened sharp, nipping at the corners and getting soft contact, allowing only catcher Adan Viner’s two-out single but no runs in the top of the first.

Venice threatened in their half: Eli Altamirano lined out, Canon King battled for a walk, and Daniel Quiroz singled to put two on with one out. But El Camino starter Devin Gonor, with Viner’s timely mound visit, stayed composed. A sharp grounder to the 5-6 hole was snagged by Troy Shaw, who lunged to tag out King on his way to third. Gonor then struck out the next batter to escape the jam, keeping it scoreless after one.

In the bottom of the second, Luke Howe made a running catch in the right-center gap, followed by clean plays from Gavin Farley at short and Jackson Sellz at second, showcasing the Royals’ airtight defense.

El Camino broke through in the top of the third. Luigi Tanner reached on an error and stole second, Farley followed with a walk. Sellz laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners over, and Viner walked to load the bases. Howe then did his job, smacking a sacrifice fly to left, deep enough to score Tanner. Moreno Jr. got Shaw to fly out, stranding two Royals. Still, the damage was done: Royals 1, Gondoliers 0.

Ryan Shepard led off the bottom of the third with a sharp single, but Gonor picked him off with a slick move, catching him off guard. It was a quirky play, but classic Royals capitalizing on every opportunity. Energized, Gonor struck out Altamirano and got King to foul out on a diving catch by Shaw.

The game settled into a pitchers’ duel between Moreno Jr. and Gonor, which suited El Camino perfectly. With Gonor and Howe anchoring the staff all season long, these low-scoring battles were the Royals’ comfort zone – and their advantage.

Gonor gave up an infield single to Nesbitt to start the fifth, and a sac bunt moved the pinch runner to second–Venice’s first runner in scoring position since the opening frame. Farley made another clean play on a ground ball, held the runner, then fired to first for the out. Altamirano followed with a deep shot, but left fielder Vince Venia hauled it in. As they headed to the sixth, it was clear–this 1-0 game had the Royal’s DNA all over it.

In the top of the sixth, Lienhard sent Howe to the bullpen to get ready as a precaution, while Moreno Jr. continued dealing for Venice, ending the frame by inducing an inning-ending force out to keep the score 1-0.

Gonor returned in the bottom half to face the heart of the Gondoliers’ lineup. King, hitless after a five-hit semifinal, struck out on a series of left-on-left breaking balls. Quiroz flied out, then Shaw made a stellar play deep at third, with Christian Gastellum scooping the throw to finish a clean 1-2-3 inning.

Moreno Jr. came back out for the top of the seventh but walked Venia on five pitches and Quiroz took over on the mound. Gastellum sacrificed pinch runner Brandon Adams to second with a perfect bunt. Then sophomore pinch-hitter RJ De La Rosa roped a triple just over third base to drive in a key insurance run. “Just knowing my team can rely on me to get on base, it feels amazing.” De La Rosa said. “Playing on the biggest stage is an honor.”

Farley grounded to Shepard, who had taken over at short, and held De La Rosa before getting the out at first. Lienhard sent in Joey Hernandez to pinch-hit, but Quiroz struck him out to limit the damage to one run and a 2-0 El Camino lead.

Gonor stayed in to close the game and finish what he started. Calm and composed, he got Dominguez on a grounder, then struck out Lippman with a wicked changeup.

With two outs, Nesbit, who had one of the three base hits for the Gondoliers, smashed a hot shot to the 5–6 hole, but Farley made the play cleanly and fired a one-hopper to first. Gastellum scooped it clean to seal the win–and the City Championship.

Gonor’s complete-game shutout moved him to 11-1 on the season with a 1.47 ERA. “I grew up the biggest Kershaw fan in the world,” he said of pitching at Dodger Stadium. “Just to be able to do what (Kershaw) does? It’s truly a dream come true.”

Gonor and Howe are a classic 1-2 punch, built to go the distance. Together, they’ve racked up 10 complete games and 5 shutouts. With the regional brackets to be released on June 1, any opponent will have to contend with one or the other. And that’s a problem.

Coach Lienhard praised his pitching and defense: “We knew going in we were going to be really, really good at that. (And) we returned all of our pitchers from last year.” As for the team’s success? “Seven 3-year varsity guys. They’re resilient and they understood their roles. They came to play, which was awesome.”

The win ties El Camino Real with Chatsworth at 10 for the most baseball titles in CIF Los Angeles City Section history, cementing the West Valley’s reputation as a baseball hotbed.