Baseball: Alonzo Garcia gets start for San Fernando

San Fernando Coach Armando Gomez has chosen ace Alonzo Garcia (12-0) to start on the mound for the Tigers' 3 p.m. game against Chatsworth at USC's Dedeaux Field in the City Section Division I semifinal.

Kiefman Kofman will pitch for Chatsworth, which is seeded No. 2. These two schools met in last year's City final at Dodger Stadium, with San Fernando winning, 8-6.

Comedian George Lopez gave a pregame pep talk to San Fernando players.

-- Eric Sonheimer

Softball: Narbonne wins City Invitational crown

Precious Suarez singled to score Sabrina Delgado with the decisive run in the second inning and #8-seeded Harbor City Narbonne held off #11-seeded Maywood Academy, 4-3, in the Los Angeles City Section Invitational Division final at UCLA's Easton Stadium.

Stephanie Chacon's RBI single cut Narbonne's lead to one in the top of the seventh and Chacon stole second to move into scoring position with two outs, but Andrea Casillas lined out to shortstop to end the game.

Maywood Academy (16-4) scored twice in the top of the first inning, but Narbonne (9-16) answered with three runs in the bottom half. Senior first baseman Kristina Torrez doubled, tripled and scored a run for the Gauchos, who won their third Invitational title in four years.

-- Steve Galluzzo  

Photo: Narbonne players with the winner's plaque and trophy after beating Maywood Academy in the City Invitational final. Credit: Steve Galluzzo / For The Times

Baseball: Community Harvest wins City Div. III title

Forrest Riley II singled to center field to score William Henriquez with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and lift Sherman Oaks Community Harvest to a 8-7 victory over Animo Venice in the Los Angeles City Section Division III championship game at USC's Dedeaux Field.

Starter Ricky Juarez did not allow a hit in the first five innings, staking the top-seeded Golden Eagles (18-3) to a 7-1 lead, but the third-seeded Pirates (14-5) rallied for two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to force extra innings.

"I'm a pull hitter and I was looking for something I could drive in the gap," said Riley II, a senior headed to Cal State Dominguez Hills. "He was pitching me high so I expected it up in the zone, I put a good swing on it and it was game over. Baseball has no time limit and we play hard until the last out."

Baseball: Who's going to be the next David Berg?

There could be a lot more high school pitchers volunteering to become sidearmers the way former La Puente Bishop Amat standout David Berg has performed at the college level as a freshman for UCLA.

Berg has appeared in a Pac-12 record 43 games and appeared in 18 consecutive games. He was named to the all-Pac-12 team. He joined UCLA as a walk-on this season.

Bishop Amat pitching Coach Chris Beck turned him into a sidearmer as a junior. "He might be the steal of the century," Beck said.

There's one high school pitcher who could get lots of attention next season because he's already a sidearmer. That's Andy Frakes from Encino Crespi. He was a first-team all-league choice as a junior.

Crespi Coach Scott Muckey has had great success with sidearmers, including past Celt standouts Dan Carroll, Jon Cuccias and Pat Bennett.

Frakes will be a pitcher to watch in 2013 and there could be more after all the attention Berg figures to receive in the NCAA playoffs that begin on Friday.

-- Eric Sondheimer

 

Baseball: Southern Section finals to be streamed live

The Southern Section Division 1, 2 and 3 baseball championship games on Friday at Dodger Stadium will be streamed live on FoxSportsWest.com.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Track: State championships to be broadcast on Sunday

There will be no live broadcast of the state track and field championships on Friday and Saturday in Clovis.

The TV broadcast will air Sunday at 7 p.m. on Time Warner Cable's Channel 101.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Baseball: Southern Section championship schedule

SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

Championships

Friday at Dodger Stadium

Div. 3: #1 Bonita vs. #3 Alhambra, 1:30 p.m.

Div. 2: Aliso Niguel vs. #2 Garden Grove Pacifica, 4:30 p.m.

Div. 1: Corona vs. Newbury Park, 7:30 p.m.

 

Saturday at UC Riverside

Div. 7: #1 Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian vs. Firebaugh, 10 a.m.

Div. 5: #1 Paraclete vs. #3 Woodcrest Christian, 1 p.m.

Div. 6: #1 Lancaster Desert Christian vs. #2 Capistrano Valley Christian, 4 p.m.

Div. 4: #1 Palm Desert vs. Temple City, 7:30 p.m.

Softball: Southern Section championship schedule

SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

Championships

Friday at Barber Park (Irvine)

Div. 7: #1 Pomona Catholic vs. #2 Bell-Jeff, 3 p.m.

Div. 6: Kern Valley vs. #1 Citrus Valley, 5:15 p.m.

Div. 4: Garden Grove vs. Kaiser, 7:30 p.m.

 

Saturday at Barber Park (Irvine)

Div. 3: #1 Chino Hills vs. South Torrance, 10 a.m.

Div. 5: #2 Beaumont vs. #1 La Canada, 12:30 p.m.

Div. 2: Chino vs. Don Lugo, 3:30 p.m.

Div. 1: #1 Norco vs. Corona Santiago, 6 p.m.

ECR fans need a police escort or helicopter

If you're a dedicated fan of Woodland Hills El Camino Real, you might want to rent a helicopter on Wednesday.

The softball team plays Carson at 4:30 p.m. at UCLA for the City Section softball championship.

The baseball team plays San Pedro at 6 p.m. at USC in a semifinal game of the City Section Division I playoffs.

Good luck on traffic.

-- Eric Sondheimer

 

Baseball: Ty Moore is Gatorade state player of the year

UCLA-bound Ty Moore of Santa Ana Mater Dei has been selected the Gatorade state player of the year in baseball.

Moore was 12-1 on the mound this season with an 0.83 ERA. He also batted .412 with 23 RBIs and 10 steals in 10 attempts.

He had a 3.77 grade-point average. He becomes a finalist for the national player of the year award.

-- Eric Sondheimer