BASEBALL BEAT: EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer

Palmdale High baseball coach Lance Pierson's strategic move - ordering ace Matt Harrington to intentionally walk Highland slugger John Santor to load the bases in the fifth inning Monday - backfired when Brandon Golphenee hit a grand slam and Highland went on to win 13-3.

The loss was significant: It dropped the Falcons into a first-place tie with the Bulldogs in the Golden League.

Harrington, the best pitcher in the Golden League, said he did not agree with the decision to walk Santor - even though Santor already had two home runs in the game.

``I didn't want to walk John Santor. I wanted to pitch to him,'' Harrington said. ``But it was a coach's decision, that's his choice. You can't go against the coach.''

Pierson said he decided to walk to Santor because the wind was gusting to right field - both of Santor's previous homers were to right - and Golphenee had struck out his first two at-bats.

``Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't,'' said Pierson, who guided Palmdale to the Division I semifinals in his first year last season. ``I know Matt was disappointed because he really wanted to pitch to Santor. Matt is such a battler.''

Golphenee said he understood the strategy.

``I had two strikeouts so it did seem logical at the time,'' Golphenee said. ``But then, when the count got to 3-and-1, it was over. I knew Matt had to throw a fastball, so it was on. I hit the ball real solid.''

Santor's stats: Santor hit another home run in a 16-5 victory over Antelope Valley on Wednesday, giving the senior second baseman a school-record 12 homers and 43 RBI. He is batting .551.

Only the Young: Several Golden League hitters besides Santor are enjoying big seasons - Palmdale's Chris Testa and Matt Plante, Highland's Jason Kubel and Jason Allec, Lancaster's Mike Hewson, Littlerock's Mike Arvizo and Quartz Hill's Travis Allen are among them - but no one is doing better than Delwyn Young of Littlerock.

Young, a junior shortstop, hit two home runs against Lancaster on Tuesday and another against Palmdale on Wednesday, giving Young a state-best 13. He is batting .530 with 28 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases in 17 games. He has only 22 RBI because he bats leadoff.

The last days: Boron's Richie Sheasley, who will start at pitcher in an important Desert Mountain League game at Mammoth at 3:15 p.m. today, is winding down a four-sport career than goes down as one of the best in small-schools history.

Sheasley has eight wins, four home runs and a .430 batting average for the 12-4 Bobcats this season, most likely putting him on the All-Southern Section Division V team for the second straight season.

In football, Sheasley, a receiver/defensive back, made All-Southern Section (all divisions), led Boron to the Division XII championship last fall and finished with the second-most career interceptions (31) in California history.

He also made dominated in basketball (two-time All-Desert Mountain League pick) and track.

``I've had a lot of fun, but I really can't wait to take a break'' said Sheasley, who plans to play football at Bakersfield College next year. ``There has been so much pressure to do well for so long.''

Last Place: It has been a very long season for Michael Place and his Antelope Valley teammates. The Antelopes (4-17, 0-12) remained winless in league with a 16-5 loss to Palmdale on Wednesday - almost all of their losses have been by the 10-run mercy rule.

``It's been rough, very rough,'' said Place, a junior center fielder who entered the week with a .550 batting average. ``What makes it even harder for me is that I was on this team when I was a freshman and we were Golden League champions. But I have never planned on quitting, and I have never considered transferring either.''

Headin' to the Beach: Lancaster first baseman Eric Sundberg has accepted a full academic scholarship to Long Beach State, where he plans to play baseball as a recruited walk-on.