LITTLE LEAGUE DISTRICT 40: SHERMAN OAKS COMES BACK TEAM UPSETS NORTHRIDGE, FORCES SECOND GAME TODAY SHER. OAKS 11, NORTHRIDGE 5.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

Down by five runs in the second inning and his team facing elimination, pitcher Andrew David didn't panic.

The right-hander patiently waited for his Sherman Oaks Little League All- Star teammates to rally, and they did. Sherman Oaks (6-1) scored seven runs in the third inning and held on for a surprising 11-5 District 40 baseball victory over favored Northridge (3-1) before an overflow crowd Wednesday at Northridge.

``I'm just glad we get to keep playing,'' said David, who held Northridge to three singles over the final 4 2/3 innings and retired seven of the final eight batters. ``Before the game, my dad told to just be glad that we got here, so I just pitched as well as I could and tried not to give up many solid hits.''

After losing its opener 17 days ago, Sherman Oaks staved off elimination for the sixth consecutive time. The 11- and 12-year-olds meet Northridge again in the championship game of the 12-team, double-elimination tournament at 5 p.m. today at Northridge.

Northridge, which last year won the District 40 and Section 2 titles before losing in the Division III semifinals, had seemed invincible after outscoring its first three opponents 35-2. But against Sherman Oaks, three pitchers combined for eight walks and six wild pitches, and Northridge committed three errors and allowed four passed balls.

Northridge, hoping to rebound from such a wobbly loss, will count on right-hander Elie Gluck to hold down Sherman Oaks today. Gluck pitched a no-hitter in the first round on July 3 but hasn't pitched since. He'll oppose right-hander Matt Stoller.

The District 40 winner qualifies for the Section 2 tournament beginning Saturday at Northridge.

``We're still confident because every kid on our team wants to win,'' Gluck said. ``My opinion is I think we'll come back.''

Sherman Oaks has come from behind before. The team erased a five-run deficit to defeat Granada Hills on July 6 to begin its climb out of the losers' bracket.

``Our kids have shown a lot of heart,'' Sherman Oaks manager Jamie Krug said. ``It looked bad today, but nobody told the kids. And Andrew David is as polished a baseball player as any 12-year-old you'll ever see. He was just unflappable today.

``We have a great team. It's no accident when you win six games in a row in District 40. I don't know what's going to happen (today), but we're very relaxed and we're going to have a lot of fun.''

Krug used an unconventional batting order with all his power hitters at the bottom of the lineup - and it worked. The bottom four hitters - Stoller, Aaron Crug, Danny Wise and David - combined for four of the team's six RBI.

Northridge manager Jonathan Gluck was hoping his team would rebound from its disastrous third inning. But no rally came.

``I have no clue what happened,'' manager Gluck said. ``I don't like our position as much as I did before, but we're hoping to come back. I think we'll be fine.''

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Sherman Oaks pitcher Andrew David (front) celebrates after pitching his team to an 11-5 victory over Northridge in the District 40 Little League Baseball tournament Wednesday.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer