AMERICAN LEGION : HITS ABOUND AS EAST BESTS WEST EAST 9, WEST 7.

Byline: Tom Crowther Special to the Daily News

It was a day of hits and misses for some of the top players in the area Sunday afternoon.

Two American Legion All-Star squads combined for 26 hits (including nine doubles and a triple) to keep pace with 16 strikeouts in an unusually close District 20 All-Star game at Birmingham High School. Steve Guerrero's (Sun Valley) two-run single highlighted a three-run fourth inning, which put the East ahead for good as it held off the West for a 9-7 victory.

``I was ahead in the count,'' said Guerrero, whose line drive scored Nic Rickor (Central Valley) and Abe Montiel (North Hollywood West), who started the inning with singles. ``I was looking for a fastball, saw it, and went after it.''

Montiel caught a break when his fly ball was lost in the sun and landed between the right fielder and second basemen. It was the kind of breaks the East would cash in on all day.

Van Nuys East's Mike Acosta followed up Guerrero's heroics two batters later, lacing a two-out, 3-2 pitch into left field for an RBI which gave the East a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.

The East took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when West starting pitcher Corey Briggs (Palmdale) struggled. He hit the game's leadoff batter with the first pitch, then walked the next two batters to load the bases. Mission Hills' Bill Scott and Fernando Rios of Verdugo Hills both knocked in runs with singles before Briggs got a strikeout to retire the side.

Matt Blaney of Glendale legged out an infield hit to start the top of the eighth inning for the East. He moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third on the first steal attempt of the game, and eventually scored when West right fielder Zach Fields dropped a short fly ball. It looked to be an insurance run, but when the West rallied for two runs in the ninth it would prove to be the game-winner.

``We didn't run much on purpose'' said East co-coach Jody Breeden, coaching in his sixth All-Star game. ``We wanted the kids to hit and they did. It was fun, and it was good exposure for a lot of these kids.''

Nearly a dozen scouts and college coaches were spotted by Breeden in the stands.

``We were all hittin', we were all throwin,' '' West coach Pat Eggleston said. ``We've had (All-Star) games where one team won by 18 runs. It was good to see this one competitive.''

The West tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning when Anthony Barton (Antelope Valley South) doubled home a run and Brian Baron of Newhall-Saugus grounded out to score Frank DiPoma, who had singled earlier in the inning. The West closed to within 9-7 in the ninth when Brian Fatur (Las Virgenes East) knocked home two runs with a one-out single. East pitcher John Ennis struck out Fields to close the game. Jared Mills, who worked the third and fourth innings earned the win.