May 27--There was a point in the 26-year coaching career of Chatsworth High's Tom Meusborn that he had red hair.
"Back in the day," Meusborn said.
Now he'll be turning to a junior pitcher with red hair, Ryan Roche, to deliver a 10th City Section baseball championship for the Chancellors.
Chatsworth will play El Camino Real for the Division I title on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. The Division II final will match Franklin against Eagle Rock at 10 a.m.
It's a West Valley League rivalry second to none in the City Section for Division I.
Meusborn has coached eight City champions but he's only 1-5 against El Camino Real in title games. Roche is the surprise standout for the top-seeded Chancellors.
He rarely pitched as a sophomore. He wasn't supposed to be a No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher this season with the return of Josh Garcia and Tommy Palomera. But a knee injury to Palomera opened the way for Roche, who is 9-0 and keeps throwing strikes.
"He competes," Meusborn said.
Roche has wanted to pitch for Chatsworth at Dodger Stadium since he was in the fourth grade.
"I've been ready for this all year," he said.
Chatsworth is seeded No. 1. El Camino Real is seeded No. 2. Jordan Berg is expected to be on the mound for the Conquistadores, the defending City champs. The two teams split their regular-season league series.
Perhaps the best players on the field will be playing catcher. El Camino Real's Eric Yang is the co-City player of the year headed to UC Santa Barbara. Chatsworth's Daniel Zakosek had three hits in a semifinal win over Reseda Cleveland.
Both teams will likely need help out of the bullpen in what could be the decisive moment of the game. Chatsworth has Palomera ready to go. El Camino Real has the improving Elan Filous.
Admission is $10.
eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
Twitter: @LATSondheimer
