Orange Lutheran took care of business in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs with two outs and holding on to defeat Mater Dei, 4-1, in a Trinity League game at Hart Park in Orange.
With the victory, the Lancers clinched a share of the league title.
Josh Doyle, a sophomore left-fielder, had a run-scoring double in the sixth and sophomore designated hitter Dillon Bryant followed with a two-run single. Gerrit Cole, pictured, who finished with a three-hitter and 11 strikeouts, then put the Monarchs to bed by striking out the side in the seventh to improve to 7-1.
"When we're on a roll -- we're unstoppable,'' Cole said afterward.
You may think the Mira Costa Mustangs will coast for the remainder of the season. You may think they will tinker and tweak for the last few games to prepare for the postseason.
You would be wrong.
Sure, Mira Costa (25-5, 7-0) has already clinched the Bay League crown but it has one big match remaining -- or should we say one big grudge match.
On Friday, the Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in the Southern Section Division I coaches' poll, will play host
to nonleague opponent Santa Barbara, which has handed Mira Costa two of
its five losses this season. The Dons are ranked No. 2 in Division II.
All tied at 1-1 in this Trinity League game between No. 4 Orange Lutheran and No. 5 Mater Dei at Hart Park in Orange.
Cory Hahn led off the top of the sixth with a perfectly placed bunt up the third-base line. Orange Lutheran pitcher Gerrit Cole bobbled the ball, then threw wildly to first, allowing Hahn to take second on the play.
Cole then threw a wild pitch, allowing Hahn to reach third with no outs.
With the infield in, sophomore Jacob Medina slapped a 3-1 pitch up the middle to drive in the tying run.
Not much has changed since the last time I checked in. Orange Lutheran, ranked No. 4 in the Southland by The Times, leads, 1-0, heading into the top of the sixth inning against No. 5 Mater Dei at Hart Park in Orange.
Gerrit Cole has given up one hit and one walk through five innings, striking out six and driving in the only run with a first-inning two-out single.
Junior right-hander Aaron Northcraft hasn't been bad either for the Monarchs, giving up only three hits through five innings.
This game is moving quicker than a McDonald's drive-thru line at lunch hour.
Nice evening for a ballgame here at Hart Park in Orange.
Orange Lutheran, ranked No. 4 in the Southland by The Times, is hosting No. 5 Mater Dei in a Trinity League showdown.
Gerrit Cole is on the mound for the Lancers and he helped his cause with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first inning and his team leads, 1-0, in the bottom of the second.
Cole gave up a base hit in the first but bounced back to strike out the first two batters in the second while retiring the side in order.
There are great games, then there are classics. Today's was a mega-classic.
For nine innings, West Torrance and host Palos Verdes each painted a masterpiece -- yielding a combined no runs -- then, in the 10th, the Warriors' Aaron DeGuire launched a double off the center-field wall, scoring Mason Morioko for the lone run of Wednesday's game.
The Warriors and the Sea Kings are now tied for first place in the
Bay League and will play each other again on Friday at West Torrance.
Richard Brehaut has flown underneath the radar of football scouts for a while now. But the lack of attention from the powers that be could very well end up becoming a thing of the past, considering all the recognition the junior from Los Osos has been receiving lately.
The 6-foot-2 quarterback picked up his first offer, from San Diego St., in March. Soon after, Boise St. and Colorado followed suit. Not surprisingly, Arizona and Washington St. joined in on the Brehaut sweepstakes last week. All of a sudden, there are plenty of programs waiting for a commitment.
An offer from Arizona St. looms as a possibility, and Purdue and Notre Dame are rumored to have been in contact with him. UCLA
is interested, too, so don't be surprised to see the Bruins step up
their efforts to land Brehaut, who can no longer be considered an
afterthought on the recruiting landscape.
Michael Philipp and Gavin Pascarella have called the Inland Empire home for quite some time, a majority of their respective lives, in fact. This time next year, however, both juniors figure to be on the verge of moving on, leaving their I.E. nest for a new adventure in college.
Philipp is one of the most sought-after guards on the West Coast. Nearly every PAC-10 school, with the exception of USC, is recruiting the 6-foot-4, 300-plus pounder from Arroyo Valley. If the big-time buzz surrounding Phillip continues, his status as a sleeper on the national scene could be a temporary thing.
Laron Armstead, a 6-foot-5 senior All-City basketball player at Fremont, has accepted a scholarship to Loyola Marymount.
First-year Coach Bill Bayno recruited Armstead, who averaged nearly 20 points for the City Section semifinalists.
Armstead was rewarded for his outstanding academics, dedication and character. He refused to abandon Fremont when the school was banned from the playoffs for two years for rule violations.
Just a reminder, there will be a South Bay brouhaha in about two hours when West Torrance heads to Palos Verdes. Game time is at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday.
A couple of things are on the line.
First, there is Palos Verdes' unbelievable 20-game win streak. Second, there's the Bay League crown. Palos Verdes (23-3, 6-0) has not lost since March 12 while West Torrance (20-3, 5-1) has won 17 of 18 games. Hopefully, both teams will throw their undefeated aces -- Kyle Petter for West Torrance and Nate Halverson for the Sea Kings.
The chase for the (unofficial) Southern Section girls lacrosse crown gets underway with opening-round playoff games Friday and Saturday.
The eight-team Orange County playoff gets underway with quarterfinal action Friday:
#8 Aliso Niguel vs. #1 Beckman at Hicks Canyon Elementary (Irvine), 4:30 p.m. #5 Tesoro at #4 St. Margaret’s, 5 p.m. #6 Trabuco Hills at #3 Los Alamitos, 4 p.m. #7 Mission Viejo at #2 Foothill, 4 p.m.
The Orange County semifinals will be played Monday, and the final May 7 at Trabuco Hills at 7 p.m. The Orange County champion will play the North Division champion for an overall championship May 9 at 5 p.m., also at Trabuco Hills.
Greg Gano, the coach at Los Altos, is stepping down as football coach effective immediately. Gano, 51, will still remain at the school as athletic director, softball coach and teacher. He coaches his daughter, Courtney, a freshman, on the softball team that just clinched its third Miramonte League title yesterday with a 9-0 win over Diamond Ranch.
Gano endured one of the toughest football seasons of his life last year. Los Altos finished 4-6 and winless in league play after starting the season 3-0. Season-ending injuries to team captains OL/DL Josh Contreras (Week 4), TE/DL Ray Rodriguez (Week 5) and RB Bryce-Mahmud McBride (Week 7) became too much to overcome, physically and emotionally.
Gano's lasting image on the game around Los Altos, however, will be that of a very successful coach.
Los Altos Coach Greg Gano has decided to "step away" from football. Gano, who won six league titles and three Southern Section titles during his 11 years as head coach, will remain at the school as athletic director, softball coach and teacher.
Felipe Aguilar, 25, will replace Gano as football coach. Aguilar, who played quarterback for Gano in the late 1990s, was the team's offensive coordinator last season and has been teaching at the school for four years.
Here's a list of five things to know about for Friday's slate of games.
1- With Cal State Fullerton-bound Noe Ramirez expected to throw, Alhambra will host Montebello at 3:15 p.m. A win by Alhambra will clinch the Almont League for a fourth consecutive season for the Moors. If you haven't seen Ramirez, pictured, pitch, do yourself a favor and go check him out. His curve is worth the trip alone.
2- Bonita's 8-2 win against Charter Oak on Tuesday sets up a battle for first place in the Miramonte League for when the two teams do it again at Charter Oak at 3:15 p.m. Charter Oak (11-10, 7-2), which got off to a horrific 1-6 start, has displayed of late some of that form that made them Southern Section Division IV champions last year. If you go to the game, be sure to check out Bonita's Jiovanni Mier, who's batting .458, and Jason Plowman, both are juniors.
Chatsworth's reputation preceded it going into the season and maybe that's the reason it was chosen as the No. 1 seed for the City Section playoffs, which begin Thursday night.
The one-loss Chancellors got the nod ahead of Palisades, which hasn't lost a best three-out-of-five match all year. West Valley co-winner Granada Hills got the No. 3 seed, Valley Mission League winner Sylmar is No. 4, Western runner-up Venice is No. 5 and Sunset Six League champion Van Nuys was picked sixth in the 32-team draw.
Chatsworth suffered a late-season sweep on its home court at the hands of reigning City champion Granada Hills--a setback that seemingly left the door open for Western League champion Palisades to grab the No. 1 spot. As the two highest seeds, Chatsworth and Palisades have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The finals are May 17 at Cal State Northridge, where Palisades won its last City title in 1998.
Since then, West Valley League teams have won nine consecutive section titles. Until its streak ends that league will continue to get the benefit of the doubt at seeding time.
First-round losers drop to an Invitational bracket and winners stay in the Championship draw. Visit the City Section website at www.cif-la.org for complete City, Invitational and Small Schools pairings.
Here's the schedule for baseball games in the Southland today and tonight. Start times for non-tournament games are usually around 3 p.m. (unless noted), but if you need specifics, contact the schools.
CITY EASTERN Bell at Los Angeles Jordan Garfield at South East Huntington Park at South Gate
Paramount won its second consecutive San Gabriel Valley League title Tuesday with a 5-3 victory over Gahr. The Pirates, ranked No. 12 in the Southland by The Times, opened with four runs in the first inning and never looked back.
Senior Andrew Hernandez, who had an RBI single in the first and made two terrific defensive plays, stopped by to chat after the game. Hernandez is among a group of Paramount players who began their high school career by playing on the undefeated freshman team. The next season, that group helped to lead Paramount to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division III playoffs. The last two seasons, they've won league titles. And Hernandez says they are not done. Listen to the interview.
Aaron Meschuk, who guided St. Michael's Prep into the Southern Section playoffs the last two seasons, has been named the first head football coach for Crean Lutheran South, according to the Irvine school's athletic director, Brian Underwood.
Meschuk, who has eight years of head coaching experience, also directed Western Christian to the 2000 Christian League title.
Crean Lutheran Southl, nicknamed the Saints, doesn't play its first game until the 2009 season.
Junior pitcher Eddie Magallon was accurate with every one of his throws, with the exception of two: When he gave up a three-run home run to Sonny Burgueno in the second inning and when he failed to empty a water cooler on his coach.
Paramount, behind another strong performance from Magallon (8-1), clinched its second consecutive San Gabriel Valley League title with a 5-3 victory over Gahr, winners of 23 league titles during the last four decades.
After demonstrating great command of his stuff during a complete-game masterpiece in which he retired the last 13 batters he faced, Magallon, holding a medium-sized water cooler, sneaked behind Paramount Coach Cameron Chinn while he was being interviewed. Magallon missed, however, spilling all of the cooler's contents onto the grass and not onto Chinn's back.
One round down, three to go ... and not a single upset to write about. What's a blogger to do?
Form held on Monday in the first round of the City Section Championship Division team playoffs, but barely. Fifth-seeded Carson escaped by the slimmest possible margin, 15-14 1/2, against Cleveland, the lowest seed in the 12-team bracket. No. 8 Venice beat No. 9 Chatsworth, 18-11 1/2, and No. 7 Marshall beat No. 10 El Camino Real by the same score. No. 6 Granada Hills was impressive in dispatching No. 11 Franklin, 25 1/2-4.
The top four teams -- Taft, Palisades, Eagle Rock and Van Nuys -- had byes in the first round.
Higher-seeded team will host quarterfinal matches on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Here are the matchups: Venice visits top-seeded Taft; Carson is at No. 4 Van Nuys; Granada Hills travels to No. 3 Eagle Rock and No. 7 Marshall visits No. 2 Palisades. Look for Taft and Palisades to win easily but the other two matches could be close, especially if Carson steps it up a notch and Granada Hills plays as well as it did Monday.
Click here to view the Championship Division bracket or here for the Invitational Division bracket.
Here's a listing of senior baseball players from the SF Valley/North region who've either signed or committed to colleges. I'm pretty sure this is nearly all of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some commitments I didn't know about since guys are making decisions on a daily basis.
(Shawn Smith of Saugus, pictured, is heading to Cal State Northridge.)
In a perfect world, maybe Crenshaw's Alia Williams would have homered in the bottom of the seventh inning in a tightly contested game, but the world isn't perfect, even though Williams' swing has been.
Williams hit her 18th home run of the season on Monday -- in her 18th game, no less -- and set a state record in the process as she led Crenshaw to a 25-0 Coliseum League victory over Jefferson. She had three hits and seven RBIs, which gave her 62 on the season, but 18 was the number that mattered as Crenshaw (15-3) won the league with a 10-0 record.
She broke the single-season record first set by Lisa Dodd of San Diego University City in 2003. Last season, San Pedro's Perelini Koria hit 17.
Oak Park middle blocker Stephen Thompson, a former All Tri-Valley League selection, has committed to Loyola University-Chicago. The 6-foot-5, four-year varsity starter decided to go with the Ramblers (cool nickname) after making what must have been a frighteningly-cold recruiting trip to the Division I school back in February.
However, no one has had any luck cooling down Thompson once he hits the court. He's played a key role in pushing Oak Park to a top ranking in the Southern Section Division IV coaches' poll, and I'm sure he's eager to lead the Eagles to the divisional title after they fell one game short of a championship in 2006.
Heading into the penultimate week of the spring sports season, I thought I'd give everybody out there a quick rundown of some of the names who are making an impact:
Nik Rodarte, pictured, continues to play a central role in Notre Dame's Mission League and Division III title aspirations. He's sporting a 1.81 ERA through 50 innings and, dating back to last year, he's won 11 of his last 12 starts. None of those wins came against wimpy teams, either. Rodarte is also sporting a .379 batting average and 23 RBIs -- three of which came on a walk-off, three-run double in a 7-6 victory over Alemany on Friday. It'll be interesting to see how Rodarte compares side-by-side with Crespi's talented pitching stable next week.
I've changed a few diapers in my day, tossed a few shirts that were permanently stained with slimy spit up and watched "I Love Lucy" reruns at 3 a.m. with a milk bottle in one hand and a remote control in the other.
Wouldn't pass up the experience for anything.
That's why I commend Richard Bancroft for his decision to give up his position as head football coach at Canyon Springs in order to spend more time with his young son, Asher, who was born April 17.
He'll have plenty of time to get back to coaching, but you rarely get a second chance to raise your young children.
Playoff action in Southern Section boys' lacrosse continues Wednesday with semifinal action in Orange County after the top four seeds all won opening-round games Monday.
The schedule: No. 1 Foothill (19-2) at No. 4 JSerra (17-5), Wednesday, 5 p.m. No. 2 Corona del Mar (16-3) at No. 3 St. Margaret’s (20-2), Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
The Orange County championship game will be Friday at Trabuco Hills at 7 p.m.; the Orange County champion will take on the North Division champion on May 9 at Trabuco Hills for the unofficial Southern Section championship.
Lauren Cruz, then a sophomore, was not happy that she and her teammates had to play on an old field while the baseball team enjoyed the luxuries of a new $900,000 complex. They won.
That loss to Gabrielino last month was in their first game on their new field.
Today, before Alhambra's game against Almont League leader Keppel, officials will dedicate the field with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m.
There's no love lost when Los Altos and Diamond Ranch meet. Whether it's on the football field or the softball diamond, the games are usually tight battles. It's interesting to point out that football coaches Greg Gano and Roddy Layton are also the softball coaches at Los Altos and Diamond Ranch, respectively.
Two-time defending Miramonte League champion Los Altos (16-5, 7-1) has a chance to clinch another title today/Tuesday when it plays at Diamond Ranch at 3:15 p.m. Diamond Ranch (10-10, 5-4), which beat Los Altos, 2-0, the first time they played, is in second place and technically still in the race.
The Fairfax spring basketball league made its debut Monday night, and defending City Section champion Taft had no problem defeating Crespi without North Carolina-bound Larry Drew Jr., the Toreadors' starting point guard for four years.
However, Michael Williams, Taft's sixth man last season, left little doubt that he should be one of the top guards in the City Section next season. Coach Derrick Taylor made it clear to everyone that Williams was the team's best shooter last season, and he should have more opportunities to score this season.
It's late and I'm grumpy. So just let me vent like a steaming, screaming train whistle...
Nothing makes me more crazed, more vengeful, more explosively nuclear -- OK, I'm a tad melodramatic at 1 o'clock in the morning -- than when I go to MaxPreps.com and cannot find statistics on a player. I came up with three possible scenarios why a coach will not upload stats onto the web site:
That's when I went out to watch Petter pitch and witnessed why Fullerton would want the kid. He's the most coveted of baseball players -- a power-pitching lefty who can throw three different pitches for strikes.
Petter recently made it official -- he signed a letter of intent to play for Fullerton.
Here's the schedule for baseball games in the Southland today/Tuesday and tonight. Start times for non-tournament games are usually around 3 p.m. (unless noted), but if you need specifics, contact the schools.
CITY SECTION
COLISEUM
Crenshaw at Locke
Jefferson at Dorsey
Manual Arts at Fremont
FREEWAY
Los Angeles CES at Elizabeth
Orthopaedic at Community Harvest
West Adams at Harbor Teacher Prep
This was not a surprise: Long Beach Wilson's Aaron Hicks made the list. He's an uber-talent -- from the .507 batting average to the 33 stolen bases to the 66 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched.
Only two weeks left in the polls, err, I mean season. Even though not everybody will play everybody in the playoffs, I'm curious. Are you curious? I'm curious to know who people think is the best baseball team in the SGV right now.
I have my opinion on who I think would win in a four-team tournament but this blog is not about me, it's about you. So let me know who you think is the best by voting and also by leaving a comment.
I'm not sure if
Paramount is in the San Gabriel Valley area, but... they do play in the San Gabriel Valley League? And my editor didn't object to a recent comment left on this blog by Paramount baseball coach Cameron Chinn, so, I think I'm safe to do this post.
And why do I want to talk about Paramount? Because they are having a great season. Again.
Now that he knows he's going to be a big-time college ballplayer, maybe Birgel will have a breakout game against Royal on Wednesday. And I'm sure no one on the Lancers' squad would mind, especially since the game will be knee-deep in playoff and Marmonte League title implications.
Oh, and special thanks to track and field guru Mike Kennedy for doing the legwork on this one.
With the playoffs practically 90 feet ahead of us, I figured it was a good time for everyone to predict which Southern Section Division I team will be doing the Dodger Stadium dogpile on May 30. I realize there's a lot of baseball still to be played, but several teams have proved they're championship material.
So...
NOTE: Somebody who loves Orange Lutheran decided not to vote fairly and
I had to repost this poll. I apologize to the three or so people who
voted before the cookie monster decided to play. Hopefully, everything
stays fair from here on out.
The Southern Section's marquee Pac-5 Division, along with the Southwest Division, will settle its football championships this fall at Angels Stadium -- and not Home Depot Center -- on Dec. 13.
"We are pleased to be returning to a familiar and friendly venue in in Angels Stadium of Anaheim," Southern Section Commissioner Jim Staunton said in a release.
Hogwash.
The Southern Section announced Monday it could not come to terms with the Home Depot Center, which was obviously the first choice, and for good reason. Anyone who has attended high school football games at Angels Stadium and HDC are well aware that the Carson facility is the superior venue for
these events.
Funeral services for DeShawn Newton, a freshman at L.A. Murphy and the team's starting point guard last season, are scheduled for Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Tex. A car wash fundraiser to help his family will be held the same day at Bourbon Street Fish on Prairie Avenue in Inglewood.
Newton, who would have turned 15 on May 10, collapsed Saturday during an Amateur Athletic Union boys' basketball tournament game in Grand Prairie, Tex. and was later pronounced dead at Arlington Medical Center. Autopsy results are pending.
Other than the climates they play in and topography surrounding their baseball diamonds, little else seems to separate Big Bear and Desert Hot Springs.
After splitting their games against each other last week, the teams are tied for first in the De Anza League with 7-2 records.
Desert Hot Springs bounced back from its first league loss, a 6-4 setback Tuesday to Yucca Valley, and defeated visiting Big Bear, 6-5, on Thursday to regain sole possession of first place. That lasted about 24 hours, as the the Golden Eagles went up the mountain and were hammered by host Big Bear, 18-4, on Friday.
Richard Wiard, who has won more than 400 basketball games as a coach and guided Bishop Amat to four consecutive state championship games and two state titles, said "it is the right time" to take a year-long sabbatical from coaching and focus on getting a second Masters degree from Azusa Pacifica.
Wiard, 43, is working toward an Administration credential. The basketball program, which won state titles in 2005 and 2006, will be under the direction of his assistant, Chris Morrison.
"I will not be there," Wiard said. "That's not fair to Chris. If you're not at practice, you shouldn't be making those decisions in games. I'm not even sure I'll have time for the games."
Saugus Coach Jason Bornn said Rodriguez is considering Army, but has not started the progress toward becoming a cadet.
Rodriguez and 2,000-yard menace Ryan Zirbel will be the Foothill League's most-formidable offensive duo next fall. It'll be interesting to see how they cope being paired with a fresh-faced defensive contingent that's lost all of its starters.
"There's a lot of question marks right now," Bornn said. "Hopefully, we'll plug in all the holes over the summer."
Orange Lutheran took care of business in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs with two outs and holding on to defeat Mater Dei, 4-1, in a Trinity League game at Hart Park in Orange.
