Baseball in the Santa Clarita Valley is in full swing, with Hart leading the Foothill League while Santa Clarita Christian School (SCCS) stands atop the Heritage League.

Hart (6-7-1, 3-0-1):
Hart currently leads the Foothill League with three wins, one tie and no losses in league play.

Their most recent series against Valencia was about as close as it gets. In the first game, the two teams battled to a 10-10 tie after seven innings, with nightfall preventing extra innings. 

Photo by Lisa Ely

In the second game, Hart edged Valencia 15-14, led by Josh Whitson, who had two runs and four RBIs. 

Before that, the Hawks swept Canyon with 15-2 and 16-6 wins. Hart takes a break from league action this week but will stay busy with non-league games. 

The Hawks return to the diamond Wednesday to host Ventura at 3:30 p.m.

West Ranch (5-9, 3-1):
Despite riding a three-game losing streak, West Ranch sits in second place in the Foothill League. 

Fortunately for the Wildcats, only one of those losses came in league play, a tight 5-4 defeat to Castaic. 

Connor Clayton preparing to pitch to Golden Valley. Gino Salas | KHTS

In the first game of that series, West Ranch earned an 8-5 win, with Omar Gutierrez and Connor Clayton each scoring two runs. Clayton currently leads the Wildcats with a .463 batting average.

West Ranch will look to snap its losing streak Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. against Canyon as it aims to defend its Foothill League title.

Saugus (7-6, 3-1):
The Centurions enter the week on a three-game Foothill League winning streak. 

Saugus beat Castaic 12-9 in extra innings in the second game of their series, then swept Canyon with 11-4 and 10-3 victories. 

Gino Salas | KHTS

One of the team’s top contributors so far has been Abraham Ramirez, who leads Saugus with 17 runs, 17 hits, 22 RBIs and two triples. 

The Centurions will look to keep their league momentum going and climb the standings when they open their series against Valencia on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Castaic (7-6, 2-2):

The Coyotes have split both of their Foothill League series so far. They opened league play with a 10-9 win over Saugus before falling 12-9 in extra innings in the second game. 

In their second series, Castaic dropped game one to West Ranch, 8-5, and then lost to Trinity in non-league action before bouncing back with a 4-3 win over West Ranch to close out a demanding three-day stretch. In that win, Nathan Dudra, Uriah Ruffner, Orion Gonzalez and Aiden Arroyo each scored a run. 

Griffin Whitlach pitching against Trinity. Gino Salas | KHTS

Castaic will try to build off that victory when it opens its next series against Golden Valley on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Golden Valley (6-2, 0-2):
Golden Valley has been strong outside of league play, going 6-0, but the Grizzlies are still searching for their first Foothill League win. 

With only one league series completed, there is still plenty of time to turn things around. Through eight games, Ayden Renstrom has stood out by leading the team in stolen bases (6), runs (9), hits (12) and triples (2).

Sean Charlie Butts pitching against West Ranch. Gino Salas | KHTS

Before Golden Valley faces Castaic in league play on Wednesday, the Grizzlies will host Knight on Monday at 3:20 p.m.

Valencia (5-7-1, 0-1-1):
Valencia is in a similar position to Golden Valley, still looking for its first Foothill League win of the season. 

The Vikings opened league play with a tightly contested two-game set against Hart, beginning with a tie before falling 15-14 in the second matchup. In that loss, Tyler Wertz and Evan Conrad each scored three runs, while Justin Gaisford drove in five. 

Image by Lisa Ely

Valencia now turns its attention to a series against Saugus, with game one set for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Canyon (5-6, 0-4):
The Cowboys have hit a rough patch, dropping their last five games, including league sweeps by Hart and Saugus. Although an 0-4 start in league play is far from ideal, there is still plenty of baseball left for Canyon to regroup and reshape its season. 

Gino Salas | KHTS

Before returning to league action against West Ranch, Canyon will host Oak Park at 3:30 p.m.

SCCS (5-4, 5-1):
In the Heritage League, SCCS currently leads the standings with a near-perfect league record.

The Cardinals’ only league loss came against Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the second game of that series. Jacob Trosper has been one of the team’s top standouts, leading SCCS in home runs (3), runs (12), hits (13), RBIs (13) and doubles (3). 

The Cardinals have the week off and will return to action on March 30 when they host Faith Baptist at 7 p.m.

Trinity Classical Academy (7-5, 0-0):
Trinity sits above .500 and has yet to begin Heritage League play. During its non-league schedule, the Knights have faced two Foothill League teams, Canyon and Castaic and defeated both. 

The most recent win came Thursday against Castaic, when Trinity earned a 7-3 victory. It was a full team effort, with several players contributing runs while Andrew Carlson and Isaac Saroughlian handled the work on the mound. 

Andrew Carlson pitching against Castaic. Gino Salas | KHTS

Trinity’s non-league stretch continues Monday with a 4:15 p.m. game against Paraclete.

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