Baseball: Darren Kriz gets four hits in Chaminade win over No. 1 Agoura

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When it comes to fast starts, junior Darren Kriz of West Hills Chaminade is one of the best. Last year, he was hitting over .600 in March, including a 10-for-10 streak, before he rolled his ankle and missed a month.

On Thursday, he went four for four with three RBIs to help the Eagles knock off No. 1 Agoura, 7-3, in an Easton tournament game. He’s six for eight in three games for the Eagles (3-0), who will host Saugus in Saturday’s semifinals. Harvard-Westlake will play Valencia in the other semifinal.

Agoura (2-1) could never recover after standout pitcher-hitter Tyler Cohen had to leave the game in the first inning after pulling a rib muscle. He was on the mound with the bases loaded. Andy Sondreaal replaced him and walked a run in. Chaminade ended up with 11 hits. Matt Willmore had two doubles, Myles Hager had a double and single and Sammy Mayall had an RBI double.

‘That’s a very good team,’ Chaminade Coach Frank Mutz said of the Chargers. ‘I like the way our kids came out and played hard. They really wanted to win this game. It was important to them.’

Saugus defeated Quartz Hill, 9-7. Joey Mendez went three for three with three RBIs. Alec Smith had a home run and three RBIs for Quartz Hill, which scored four runs in the top of the seventh.

Valencia defeated Crespi, 5-3. Colton Burns had a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth and A.J. Balta drove him in. Holden Mehr threw 4 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Andy Frakes had two hits for Crespi.

Harvard-Westlake defeated Oaks Christian, 5-1, handing a loss to talented pitcher Phil Bickford. Hans Hansen threw six innings for Harvard-Westlake (3-0). Arden Pabst hit a home run and had two RBIs.

-- Eric Sondheimer