Canon King and Venice High look to earn a trip to Dodger Stadium
"This feels great," King said later. "We've worked so hard for four years."
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Venice (27-2) is tantalizingly close to earning a trip to Dodger Stadium to play for the City Section Open Division baseball championship. The Gondoliers play Sylmar at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the semifinals. The other matchup as part of a doubleheader has El Camino Real facing Birmingham at 3 p.m.
In many ways, these two games impose far more pressure on players than reaching the championship game, because each player so badly wants to make it to Dodger Stadium to fulfill dreams of a lifetime.
"It's magical," King said.
To see King's smile and excitement last week after hitting his sixth home run in a 4-1 playoff win over Chatsworth offered a hint of his value and importance to a surging Gondoliers team. He's a three-time Western League MVP.
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He's committed to Cal State San Marcos, has gotten all A's for four years on his report card except for one B in chemistry freshman year and one B in AP Spanish. He's a born leader and "loves" being named Canon by his father, a high school teacher and former amateur rapper whose best friend had Canon as his last name.
"The energy is infectious," he said of the team's success. "It's all coming together. Our team chemistry has been high. Our practices have been so productive."
Coach Kevin Brockway has 16 seniors on the roster. The Gondoliers haven't won an upper division championship since 1972 and are trying to follow the same improbable path as last year's champion, Bell, which hadn't been to a final since 1953.
Venice was given the No. 1 seed even though El Camino Real and Birmingham came from the stronger West Valley League. But the Gondoliers went 18-0 in the Western League and have the defensive prowess to do well, with a solid catcher in Charlie Nisbet, a dependable shortstop in Daniel Quiroz and King in center field.
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Sylmar, the Valley Mission League champion, went to Dodger Stadium jtwo years ago for the Division I championship game. Pitcher Alex Martinez remembers starting at third base as a freshman.
"It's crazy," he said of the atmosphere. "Overwhelming for sure. It looks different, even when the ball is up in the air. It blends in."
He threw a shutout last week in Sylmar's Open Division win over Cleveland. Coach Ray Rivera has come to rely on him as a pitcher and hitter.
"He trusts me with the ball and in special situations," Martinez said.
He thinks the Spartans are coming into Tuesday's game feeling good about themselves.
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"This team is special this year," he said. "This team can beat anyone if we play our game."
Venice knows the challenge ahead, first having to get past Sylmar, then one of the two West Valley League powers, El Camino Real or Birmingham.
Whatever happens, King is ready, though he's thankful the games are 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Gondoliers don't do well with morning games.
"We're notorious for Saturday morning games," he said.
He'll get everyone to go to bed early the night before. None of them will sleep well anyway thinking of the possibilities.
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"Surreal," is how King put it if the Gondoliers can make it to Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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