DIV. I: CAMARILLO MAKES IT TO THE BIG TIME YOUNG DOMINATES AS SCORPIONS ADVANCE TO FINAL CAMARILLO 7, L.B. POLY 3.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

FULLERTON - Delmon Young already has broken all of coach Scott Cline's batting records at Camarillo High, and now Young can top Cline in another way, by leading the Scorpions to the school's first Southern Section baseball title.

Young dominated at the plate and on the mound Tuesday night, as he hit a two-run home run and allowed four hits in 6 1/3 innings to lead the Scorpions to a 7-3 victory over Long Beach Poly in the Division I semifinals at Cal State Fullerton.

Cline played for the Scorpions the last time they reached a final, in 1985, and now he will try to coach them to the championship Saturday against Lakewood, a 4-1 semifinal winner over Righetti of Santa Maria, at Edison Field at 7:30 p.m. Camarillo improved to 29-4 and Long Beach Poly finished 22-9.

``We haven't been back since my senior year, Cline said. ``That's a lot of years in between.''

Young (5-1), whose fastball regularly tops 90 mph, allowed just one run on two hits through six innings, but tired in the seventh as his pitch count reached the 80s. He was chased from the game after Brandon Mann's two-run single, but reliever Travis Sutton got the last two outs.

``We thought we had a chance since last summer, when we won the (American Legion) championship,'' Young said.

In the bottom of the sixth, Young helped clinch the Scorpions' victory when he crushed a hanging slider over the left-field fence for a two-run home run, his 17th of the season. Young also singled and scored in the first, tripled and scored in the third and hit a run scoring fielders choice groundout in the fourth.

Young, batting near .600 for a good part of the season, had just one hit in his 10 previous playoff at-bats.

``I told him to take a strike (in his first at-bat),'' Cline said. ``I wanted him to relax. He's still a 16-year-old kid and he gets nervous sometimes.''

When asked what he thought of Young, Poly coach Bill Powell said, ``You want me to give you the Lasorda speech? He's a man playing with kids.''

Camarillo looked to be facing a big challenge in Jackrabbits starting pitcher James McDonald, who also featured a blistering fastball and had lost only one game this season.

Camarillo loaded the bases with one out in the first, and Justin Frash scored Garrett Barlow with a sacrifice fly. The Jackrabbits could have escaped with just one run allowed, but shortstop Russell Vastano booted Andrew Berkovich's easy grounder, which allowed Young to score.

Young and Brad Boyer hit consecutive triples to open the third inning, and Berkovich's one-out single scored Boyer for a 4-0 Camarillo lead.

Young's high chopper to third base scored Sutton from third in the fourth inning. Poly scored its only other run in the fourth.