Verdugo Hills' Unexpected Hero Pitches 1-Hitter to Win City title at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES — Verdugo Hills had to dig deep to beat Sylmar in the semifinal earlier in the week.

The Dons' top pitcher Jered Smith threw 95 pitches. Then their go-to closer Jack Iafrate threw 92 more before Verdugo Hills finally won 2-1 in 10 innings.

"It made us think about a different plan for Dodger Stadium," Verdugo Hills coach Angel Espindola said. "It took almost everything we had."

But the key words: "almost everything." Not everything.

Left to take on the brunt of the day was senior pitcher Anthony Velasquez, who threw a complete game and allowed just one hit to anchor the Dons' to a 3-1 victory over Taft to win the LA City Section Division I title at Dodger Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The victory marked Verdugo Hills' second Division I City title in program history and first since 2018.

"Anthony was unbelievable. He stepped up as a senior and I'm extremely proud of him," Espindola said.

Verdugo Hills celebrates is 3-1 win over Taft in the LA City Section Division I final at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, May 23, 2026. | Donn Parris

Velasquez was somewhat in disbelief after the performance.

"I don't even know how I was feeling," he said. "I was so excited and happy to just be out there and help my team out. Around the 4th or 5th inning I started to feel more confident."

Velasquez finished with 91 pitches, one strikeout and six walked batters.

In the sixth inning, Velasquez was in trouble. Taft had two runners on and one out, but shortstop Ethan Garcia made the play of the game when he fielded a hard hit grounder to his left, stepped on second base and fired the ball to first for a double-play to get out of the inning.

"I trusted my defense. They won us the game today," Velasquez said.

Cultor Fannon was the hot bat for Verdugo Hills Saturday, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs. He scored Velasquez from second base in the first inning, then later drove in a run in the top of the seventh to give the Dons a 3-1 advantage.

Taft (13-18) had its lone run come in the third inning down 2-0 when Brian Strasburger hit a grounder to the second baseman, who decided to throw to first for the easy out. It allowed Grant Joyce to score on a fielder's choice.

Taft pitcher Sebastian Gomez (L) threw a complete game, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, walked five and had five strikeouts.

Verdugo Hills (14-18) was the only non-West Valley League team to participate in the two championship games at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. The Open Division featured Birmingham and El Camino Real, and Taft is a West Valley League team, too. It's the league that dominates the City when it comes to baseball, but the Dons had something to say about that this spring.

"It makes the win a little sweeter," Espindola said of beating a West Valley League team.

"We beat Chatsworth this year, too," he added with a chuckle. "We're chipping away."

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