baseball

Monday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Angelou 14, Diego Rivera 0

Chavez 7, Grant 2

Cleveland 6, Chatsworth 2

Community Charter 21, Bert Corona 11

Eagle Rock 20, Contreras 0

Garfield 10, Huntington Park 0

King/Drew 4, Fremont 1

LA Hamilton 12, Westchester 2

Marquez 15, Maywood Academy 3

Maywood CES 5, Sotomayor 1

Mendez 7, RFK Community 1

North Hollywood 7, San Fernando 0

Northridge Academy 16, Reseda 6

Palisades 13, LA University 3

Port of LA 15, Dorsey 1

Santee 12, Los Angeles 2

SOCES 10, Arleta 0

Sun Valley Magnet 14, Lakeview Charter 3

Sylmar 6, Granada Hills Kennedy 4

Torres 20, Elizabeth 0

Verdugo Hills 2, Sun Valley Poly 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alta Loma 3, Colony 0

Arroyo 14, El Monte 0

Calvary Baptist 20, Packinghouse Christian 0

Canyon Country Canyon 11, Oak Park 3

Corona Santiago 6, Corona 2

Culver City 6, North Torrance 2

Downey 8, Santa Fe 6

Etiwanda 19, Los Osos 5

Garey 2, Sierra Vista 1

Indian Springs 3, San Jacinto 1

Knight 12, Golden Valley 6

La Quinta 12, Xavier Prep 2

Lennox Academy 21, HMSA 6

Linfield Christian 5, Ontario Christian 2

Long Beach Poly 10, St. Anthony 2

Loyola 12, Paramount 2

Moreno Valley 2, Long Beach Wilson 0

Ocean View 9, Sonora 6

Orange County Pacifica Christian 26, Horizon Christian 0

Oxnard 6, Grace 1

Palm Desert 5, Palm Springs 1

Paraclete 20, Trinity Classical Academy 6

Riverside North 9, Vista del Lago 8

Rosemead 3, Gabrielino 1

Shadow Hills 6, Rancho Mirage 5

Sherman Indian 18, California Military Institute 8

South Hills 4, San Dimas 1

South Pasadena 4, Alhambra 2

St. Bonaventure 10, Channel Islands 0

INTERSECTIONAL

California 12, Nevada Spanish Springs 6

Highland 5, Oregon Canby 5

Oregon Central Catholic 8, Quartz Hill 3

Oregon Lincoln 13, South Gate 0

Summit 4, Oregon West Linn 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Animo Robinson 23, Stella 9

Bernstein 25, Mendez 24

Chatsworth 8, Eagle Rock 0

East Valley 28, Grant 9

Harbor Teacher 17, Dorsey 3

Jefferson 25, Santee 15

King/Drew 23, Locke 7

LACES 10, Westchester 2

Lakeview Charter 18, Bert Corona 1

LA Roosevelt 11, South Gate 9

LA University 28, Fairfax 0

Legacy 13, South East 0

Lincoln 17, Bell 2

Middle College 34, AHSA 17

Orthopaedic 16, Torres 4

Port of LA 15, Fremont 0

RFK Community 21, Belmont 9

San Pedro 4, Garfield 3

SOCES 17, VAAS 0

Triumph Charter 26, Valor Academy 5

Van Nuys 23, Franklin 8

Venice 20, Palisades 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 10, ACE 9

Anza Hamilton 8, United Christian Academy 7

Aquinas 7, Upland 6

Arroyo 7, El Monte 3

Azusa 5, Sierra Vista 3

Beckman 11, Irvine 0

Bishop Conaty-Loreto 14, Immaculate Heart 4

Burbank Burroughs 12, Vasquez 2

California Military Institute 27, Sherman Indian 13

Calvary Baptist 27, Packinghouse Christian 2

Capistrano Valley Christian 15, Ocean View 10

Chaparral 3, Elsinore 1

Corona Centennial 5, Edison 3

Gabrielino 10, Rosemead 9

Hacienda Heights Wilson 8, Bell Gardens 7

JSerra 8, West Torrance 0

La Salle 8, Rio Hondo Prep 1

Los Altos 1, San Juan Hills 0

Mayfair 4, Garden Grove 3

North Torrance 7, Hart 2

Ontario Christian 13, Linfield Christian 3

San Jacinto 11, Lakeside 7

Shadow Hills 10, Rancho Mirage 1

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 5, La Canada 2

South El Monte 25, Mountain View 0

South Pasadena 10, Duarte 8

Temecula Valley 15, Temecula Prep 0

Valley Christian 7, Heritage Christian 3

Westminster La Quinta 15, Samueli Academy 5

INTERSECTIONAL

Animo Watts 29, Animo Leadership 28

Beaumont 9, Oregon Marist 0

El Camino Real 10, Peninsula 0

Lynwood 6, Rancho Dominguez 4

Marquez 13, Firebaugh 0

Mira Costa 10, Wilmington Banning 9

Oak Park 11, Granada Hills Kennedy 1

Corona baseball is receiving some competition in Big VIII League play this season. Norco is supposed to be the Panthers’ primary competition, but it was Corona Santiago handing the Panthers their first defeat Monday.

Troy Randall had three hits and threw three innings of scoreless relief in a 6-2 home victory. The teams play again Wednesday at Corona, with ace Striker Pence on the mound for Santiago.

Santiago (10-2) took advantage of rare wildness by Corona starting pitcher Mason Sims, who walked four in two innings. Randall and starting pitcher Ben Lewis held Corona’s top four batters hitless with eight strikeouts.

Cleveland 6, Chatsworth 2: The Cavaliers continued their march toward third place in the West Valley League. Max Salazar had three hits. Joshua Pearlstein threw a complete game with five strikeouts.

Taft 9, Granada Hills 7: The Toreadors scored three runs in the ninth inning for a West Valley League win. Nathan Swinson had a home run and Julian Antolin recorded three hits and three RBIs. Max Szczech had four hits, including a home run, for Granada Hills.

Garfield 10, Huntington Park 0: Omar Martinez had two hits and two RBIs and Michael Agredano struck out six in 3⅔ innings for Garfield.

South Hills 4, San Dimas 1: Marc Morales threw three scoreless innings of relief for South Hills.

Loyola 12, Paramount 2: Jack Murray contributed three hits for the Cubs.

Etiwanda 19, Los Osos 5: Angel Mejia finished with three hits and seven RBIs, including a grand slam.

When UCLA baseball coach John Savage scouts prospects, he looks at their projections and skill upside. Most important, he wants players dedicated to the culture he’s developed during his 22 years as a coach.

“We want people that fit into our program, that want to be a part of a winning culture,” he said.

Most of his current roster consists of players who came up short in last year’s College World Series. This year, the No. 1 team in the country has its eyes set on winning a national title in Omaha. The Bruins (21-2 overall, 9-0 in the Big Ten) are coming off a three-game weekend home sweep of Maryland.

The Times spoke to Savage about the expectations the Bruins set for themselves and his longevity with UCLA. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your team entered the year ranked No. 1 nationally and has gotten off to a strong start. How have you managed expectations?

Savage: It’s really about the people you have in the clubhouse. They’ve been born and raised through our program. Now it’s their junior years. They went to Omaha their sophomore year. They had a difficult year their freshman year. It’s been a work in progress, and I think the expectations are probably the heaviest inside our room. Everybody’s held to a very high standard and they believe in one another, they believe in the program. It’s refreshing to coach people that want to be coached, and to have people that love UCLA, and want to stay at UCLA.

After returning a large percentage of last year’s production, what differences have you noticed in this roster compared to previous teams?

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Savage: I think the leadership is fantastic. Roch Cholowsky, Cashel Dugger, Michael Barnett, Jack O’Connor — our captains, they do a wonderful job of making sure guys are accountable. Everybody’s a year older. Everybody’s a little stronger. Everybody’s a little faster. A lot of guys that work extremely hard to upgrade their physicality, and then certainly it’s a mental game. We’ve worked really hard on the mental side of things to make sure that we’re combining both phases.

What has allowed your program to retain so much of its core talent year to year?

Savage: I would say loyalty, personal relationships, wanting to be at UCLA, to get a degree from UCLA, coaching staff, facilities, location. But, I would say most importantly, relationships. We didn’t win a national championship last year and these guys seem to be on that sort of mission.

Last season’s run to Omaha ended just short of the championship series. How much has that experience motivated this year’s group early in the season?

Savage: You see where you’re going. People always talk about Omaha, but if you never go, it’s hard to really envision what it looks like. It’s something that if you experience, you want to go back. It’s the mecca of college baseball and the city of Omaha has done a wonderful job of developing this tournament over 75 years. It’s an experience that you go and you definitely want to go back as a player and certainly as a coach.

How has recruiting or roster construction changed, if at all, now that UCLA is competing in the Big Ten instead of the Pac-12?

Savage: It’s still UCLA. I’ve been here 22 years, we’ve produced 30 major leaguers. It’s a place that you certainly could go and enjoy your college life and go play in the major leagues. The Big Ten is getting better in baseball, with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington. Obviously, it has helped the baseball side of things quite a bit. But there’s a lot of programs that are investing throughout the Big Ten in baseball and it’s only going to get better. Baseball is baseball. You gotta go play any time, anywhere.

With the travel demands that come with a conference like the Big Ten, what adjustments have you made to keep players fresh and focused?

Savage: We don’t charter. We’re all commercial. We fly out of LAX on Wednesday morning and we get back late Sunday night. It’s a challenge and it’s certainly one that it’s a daily and weekly operation. In terms of managing school, they all go to class. Not a lot of remote classes, really, so we love the challenge and the opportunity to grow as a young player and a young person.

You’re now in your 22nd season leading the Bruins. What has kept you motivated to continue evolving as a coach after more than two decades in Westwood?

Savage: I love being at UCLA. I love what it stands for. It’s a combination that I’m really looking for in terms of baseball, schedule, league, school — it’s just an elite combination. You have to make sure you’re grounded. You have to make sure you’re very consistent. You have to make sure that you have true values that are consistent with the university and that equates to winning. Winning is really, really difficult, especially now at the Power 4 level.

When players leave UCLA after their careers — whether they go to pro baseball or move on to other careers — what do you hope they carry with them from their time in your program?

Savage: That they understand how to be a contributor to an organization, to a business, how to lead a family, how to lead a group in work. Just be a person that people like to be around and a person that has a vision, that they want to get better and they want to do well in their lives and they want to have impact on other lives. That’s ultimately what we’re looking for, that they can handle themselves in any phase of life.

UCLA men are out, UCLA women stay strong

UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. tries to get through UCLA’s Trent Perry, from left, Donovan Dent and Eric Dailey Jr. in the first half Monday.

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

UCLA coach Mick Cronin never wavered.

If senior forward Tyler Bilodeau felt any pain, he was not playing the NCAA tournament.

The No. 7 seed Bruins could not overcome No. 2 seed UConn’s interior game and suffered a 73-57 loss. The Bruins kept it close early, trailing by just five at halftime.

Cronin will help UCLA cope with the sudden end to its season and then immediately work on sorting out next season’s roster.

While fans questioned Cronin’s aggressive coaching style, the Bruins did play significantly improved defense through the final four weeks of their season and his players never wavered in their support of him.

Now Cronin will start over, working to forge comparable buy-in from the next wave of players.

The UCLA women walk to the bench during a time out against Cal Baptist.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It’s rare for a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA tournament to miss the Sweet 16, but the Bruins (32-1) say they expect a big test when they face No. 8 seed Oklahoma State (24-9) at 7 p.m. Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.

It will be the final game the Bruins’ celebrated senior class will play at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA coach Cori Close provided the following scouting report on Oklahoma State.

“I think that what stands out is their ability to shoot the three, their versatility, their work down the tunnel with the high ball screen,” Close said. “They’re extremely good in transition. It’s going to be so important for us to make them play later into the shot clock, which is going to be easier said than done. But I guess with the exception they don’t have like a really tall big, but they actually remind me in terms of their style and some of the actions that they run of Oklahoma. Their guard play.

“And one of the big things that we talk a lot about is trying to make them play later in the clock than they’re comfortable with. Now we go through all the analytics, and the later you have them play in the shot clock, the less efficient they become. They’re 13th in the country in offensive efficiency. They’re really, really good.

“Defensively I think that we obviously need to really hunt the paint. We’ve got some advantages with our size there. But they’re a really good team.”

Survey says

We asked “How far will the UCLA men advance in the NCAA men’s tournament. After 648 votes, the results:

They lose in the second round, 36.5%
They lose in the Sweet 16, 27.5%
They lose in the Elite Eight, 17.3%
They win it all, 12.6%
They lose in the first round, 3.2%
They lose in the Final Four, 2.5%
They lose in the championship game, 0.4%

In case you missed it

UCLA overcomes slow start to open NCAA tournament title bid with a blowout win

Jordan Chiles goes perfect again as UCLA sweeps Big Ten gymnastics titles

UCLA freshmen draw on their elite gymnastics roots to help Bruins push for championships

Without Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA edges Central Florida to advance at NCAA tournament

How UCLA guard Kiki Rice became the Bruins’ ace and top WNBA draft prospect

UCLA men’s basketball eager to mount deep tournament run

March Madness women’s tournament analysis: Teams and players to watch

UCLA was snubbed by women’s NCAA tournament selection committee

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. One month into the high school baseball season, the top teams in the City Section are becoming clear.

Top City teams emerge

With league play having begun, top teams are stepping forward in City Section baseball one month into the season.

To no one’s surprise, West Valley League rivals Birmingham (10-1, 3-0) and El Camino Real (9-3, 3-0) deserve to be ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the City Section going into their first matchup of the season Tuesday at Birmingham. They are slated to play three league games. Both teams’ pitching has been outstanding.

Birmingham junior Nathan Soto is 3-0 with an 0.34 ERA. Sophomore Carlos Acuna is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA. El Camino Real’s Jackson Sellz is 3-0 with an 0.54 ERA. Hudson December and Andrew Katz have also contributed on the mound. Look for a low-scoring game with some bunts Tuesday.

Bell (12-1, 2-0) is back to playing the way the Eagles performed in 2024 when they won the City title. Jayden Rojas, the City player of the year as a sophomore, is batting .421 and 4-0 on the mound with an 0.32 ERA. The Eagles are the heavy favorite to win the Eastern League.

Carson (9-1-1, 3-0) has taken early charge of the Marine League race, getting some clutch hits from Skylar Vinson.

Sun Valley Poly (6-3, 3-0) already has wins over Sylmar, North Hollywood and Kennedy in the Valley Mission League. Fabian Bravo is the pitcher/hitter to watch.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Monroe at 11-0 and now the favorite to win the East Valley League. Four-year varsity pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is 4-0 with an 0.85 ERA and 32 strikeouts and only three walks in 24 2/3 innings. The leading hitter with 21 hits is junior Luis Martinez. The Vikings have yet to face a top opponent, so it remains to be seen which playoff division they will end up in.

Garfield, Sylmar, San Fernando, Cleveland and Narbonne are all capable of working their way into an Open Division playoff berths after slow starts.

Basketball awards time

Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon was The Times’ boys’ basketball player of the year.

(Craig Weston)

During a season in which the individual talent for boys and girls basketball was extraordinary, earning all-star recognition became quite an achievement.

The Times’ boys’ basketball player is Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon. Here’s the report.

Here’s the 10-player All-Star team for boys.

Coach Mike LeDuc of Damien holds up his granddaughter after guiding his team to the state Division I championship.

(Greg Stein)

The boys’ coach of the year is Mike LeDuc of Damien. Here’s the report.

Here’s the final top 25 rankings.

The Times’ girls’ basketball player of the year is Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian.

Here’s the 10-player girls All-Star team.

The girls’ coach of the year is Alicia Komaki of Sierra Canyon.

Here’s the links to the complete all-star package.

Baseball

Corona’s Anthony Murphy is fired up.

(Nick Koza)

The versatile Anthony Murphy of Corona showed off his speed and power in 8-3 win over King, getting a home run, triple, double and single. That’s called hitting for a cycle. And he almost did it again in the next game with a home run, a double and two singles. He also struck out all three batters he faced in a relief role.

Corona (7-0) is set to face Corona Santiago (9-2) in a three-game series this week. To say scouts will be out en masse when Santiago’s Striker Pence pitches Wednesday might be an understatement. He’s only a sophomore with a fastball that can reach 100 mph. The games are Monday at Santiago, Wednesday at Corona and Friday at Santiago.

Santa Margarita has lost standout shortstop Brody Schumaker for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury. Freshman Cooper Holland provided a lift in Las Vegas with 11 RBIs. The new shortstop is sophomore Warren Wulfemeyer, whose grandfather, Mark, is one of the most recognizable names in Orange County basketball history.

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Justin Lee, the 2023 player of the year by The Times, was clocked throwing his fastball between 97 and 99 mph pitching for UCLA.

Two unbeaten teams, St. John Bosco and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in this week’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times. St. John Bosco has shut out five of its seven opponents. Jack Champlin is creating options for the St. John Bosco coaching staff. He continues to be a great closer but is also effective as a starter.

The National High School Invitational begins Wednesday in Cary, N.C. Southern California is well represented with Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco, Aquinas and Harvard-Westlakek participating.

Friday marks the end of the sit-out transfer period in the Southern Section. Players who did not move become eligible. Bishop Alemany could be the team to watch. Mikey Martinez, who helped Crespi win the Mission League title last season as a pitcher and outfielder, will join the Warriors.

Softball

Murrieta Mesa continues to dominate with 14 consecutive wins to start the season. Sophomore Tatum Wolff is hitting .533 with 24 hits, including eight doubles.

Chaminade is 9-0 and came through with a break-through win over defending Mission League champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7-6, scoring five runs in the seventh. The Eagles have an outstanding sophomore pitcher in Finley Suppan, the daughter of former major leaguer Jeff Suppan. Here’s the report.

JSerra (13-2), Fullerton (11-1), Norco (9-2), Oaks Christian (10-1) and Etiwanda (14-1) continue to be teams on the rise.

City Section softball is wide open as teams test themselves against Southern Section opponents. Defending champion Granada Hills is 5-5.

Banning is 7-6. Carson is 7-5. They will join San Pedro in another tough Marine League battle.

Track and field

The impressive early marks in the 100 meters for boys signals some real fast times will be coming later in the spring.

Benjamin Harris of Servite leads the way at 10.23 seconds. Next are Quran Clayton Jr. of Oak Hills and Jorden Wells of Servite at 10.28. Others include Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance (10.34), Zion Phelps of Loyola (10.39), Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.43), Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra (10.51), Quincy Hearn of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (10.52) and AJ McBean of Mira Costa (10.55).

Many are football players using track to get faster, and college recruiters are noticing.

Ejam Yohannes of Loyola has stamped himself the favorite in the 400 with a time of 46.11. Imagine if he improves a little what he might be running coming June.

Dean Guzman of Moorpark cleared 6-9 in the high jump at the Maurice Greene Invitational.

For girls, Olivia Kirk of Calabasas ran a state-leading 11.51 in the 100 meters at Oaks Christian. Teammate Malia Rainey ran 11.76. Kirk also has the leading 200 time at 23.46.

Sophomore Grace Smith from Claremont ran the 800 in 2:08.80 at the Hi-Racer Meet of Champions.

Volleyball

Loyola’s JP Wardy, left, tries to tip the ball past Mira Costa’s Colby Graham, center, and Miles Crotty during a match at Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach on March 20, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Always expect drama and excitement when volleyball rivals Loyola and Mira Costa meet. It happened again Friday, with Mira Costa rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Cubs in five sets. It was a remarkable performance turned in by junior Mateo Fuerbringer, who recorded 37 kills. He’s committed to UCLA.

Here’s the report.

Saugus defeated the host Chancellors to win the Chatsworth tournament championship.

So long Angelo Gasca

Venice coach Angelo Gasca showing off City Division I title trophy in 2021.

(Cliff Kensinger)

The high school sports community was in mourning after the death of Venice football coach Angelo Gasca. He was 65.

Few have made a bigger impact for their community on and off the field than Gasca, who was involved as a coach at Venice for 36 years and also played for the Gondoliers.

Here’s a look at the impact he made.

Notes . . .

Todd Quinsey is the new football coach at Ayala. . . .

Christian Collins of St. John Bosco, a McDonald’s All-American, has committed to USC. . . .

Inglewood guard Jason Crowe Jr. was selected the Gatorade state player of the year. . . .

Jon Palarz has resigned after 17 years as basketball coach at Calabasas. . . .

Former Granada Hills Kennedy football coach Dion Lambert is the new defensive coordinator at Simi Valley. . . .

Brandon Clifford has been named the basketball coach at Campbell Hall. He last coached in Greensboro, N.C. . ..

Derek Allen is the new boys water polo coach at Agoura. . . .

United Teachers Los Angeles has announced members would strike on April 14 if no deal is reached with the Los Angeles Unified School District. That would disrupt spring sports in the City Section, likely forcing games to be postponed or canceled based on previous strikes. Charter schools such as Birmingham and Granada Hills would not be affected since their teachers have separate contracts. . . .

Dylan O’Leary is the new football coach at San Dimas after being an assistant at South Hills. . . .

Quarterbacks continue to transfer in preparation for the 2026 high school football season. Here’s the latest from the transfer portal.

From the archives: Gage Jump

In 2021, JSerra pitcher Gage Jump delivers a pitch against Harvard-Westlake.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Former JSerra pitcher Gage Jump has become one of the top pitching prospects in the Oakland Athletics organization. The left-hander originally signed with UCLA before transferring to LSU. He was drafted No. 74 overall in 2024. He’s listed at 6-feet tall but throws with power.

Here’s a story from 2020 on opening day.

Recommendations

From On3, a story on the controversy in Nevada, where public schools in Clark County are moving to independent status as protest against Bishop Gorman’s powerful football program.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the fifth week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. ST. JOHN BOSCO (7-0): Five shutouts in seven games; 1

2. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (10-0): Big week for Malayke Matsumoto; 4

3. CORONA (7-0): Anthony Murphy hits for cycle, then comes close again; 2

4. ORANGE LUTHERAN (3-1): Headed to North Carolina for National Invitational; 3

5. NORCO (7-1): Three-game series with King this week; 5

6. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (8-3): Bishop Alemany exposes pitching issues; 6

7. HUNTINGTON BEACH (7-2-1): 6-0 start in Sunset League; 8

8. GAHR (5-4-1): Three-game series with La Mirada; 7

9. SIERRA CANYON (9-3): Brayden Goldstein has become a top hitter; 9

10. ROYAL (9-1): Sixteen-strikeout performance from Dustin Dunwoody vs. Simi Valley; 10

11. AQUINAS (6-0): Three-game sweep of Arrowhead Christian; 11

12. SANTA MARGARITA (9-2): Freshman Cooper Holland provides lift after losing Brody Schumaker to injury; 12

13. BISHOP ALEMANY (8-3): Warriors about to get stronger by adding Mikey Martinez on Friday; NR

14. OAKS CHRISTIAN (8-2): Opens Marmonte League vs. Newbury Park; 15

15. SOUTH HILLS (10-1): Big series vs. San Dimas this week; 16

16. CYPRESS (8-3): League showdown this week with Foothill; 17

17. LA MIRADA (8-2): Kaden Corns is 3-0 with 2.17 ERA; 18

18. AYALA (8-1): Three-game series with Glendora; 19

19. EL DORADO (8-5): Xavi Cadena has four home runs; 14

20. THOUSAND OAKS (10-0): Three-game series vs. Calabasas; 21

21. NEWPORT HARBOR (9-2): Took two of three from Corona del Mar; 22

22. SOUTH TORRANCE (10-0): Two-game series with El Segundo this week; 24

23. FOOTHILL (9-3): Pitching has been outstanding; NR

24. SERVITE (7-3): Three-game series with Santa Margarita this week; NR

25. CORONA SANTIAGO (9-2): Striker Pence is contributing with his arm and bat; NR

Friday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Arleta 4, VAAS 2

Bell 17, Huntington Park 1

Carson 6, Wilmington Banning 4

Cleveland 3, Taft 2

Eagle Rock 6, Sotomayor 0

El Camino Real 6, Chatsworth 3

Hollywood 22, Contreras 3

LA Wilson 14, Roybal 2

Jefferson 14, Diego Rivera 3

LACES 6, Fairfax 2

Monroe 14, Van Nuys 2

Palisades 13, LA Hamilton 2

San Pedro 4, Narbonne 3

SOCES 18, Panorama 2

South Gate 17, South East 2

Triumph Charter 12, CALS Early College 1

Vaughn 11, Grant 1

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 14, Lucerne Valley 4

Alemany 10, Harvard-Westlake 4

Anaheim 2, Saddleback 0

Anaheim Canyon 5, Crean Lutheran 4

Apple Valley 3, Ridgecrest Burroughs 2

Arcadia 10, Hoover 0

Ayala 6, Chino Hills 1

Bassett 5, La Puente 4

Beaumont 6, La Quinta 0

Big Bear 13, Loma Linda Academy 7

Bishop Amat 7, St. Paul 0

Buena 16, Oxnard 6

Camarillo 8, Oak Park 3

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 5, St. Monica 1

Castaic 4, West Ranch 3

Chadwick 4, Rio Hondo Prep 2

CIMSA 23, Victor Valley Christian 4

Corona del Mar 8, Newport Harbor 1

Corona Santiago 9, Eastvale Roosevelt 1

Costa Mesa 4, Bonita 2

Crescenta Valley 3, Pasadena 1

Dana Hills 6, Capistrano Valley 1

Dos Pueblos 6, Oxnard Pacifica 3

El Dorado 4, Villa Park 2

El Modena 3, Brea Olinda 2

Estancia 6, Savanna 5

Fillmore 8, Carpinteria 6

Ganesha 4, Edgewood 1

Great Oak 8, San Clemente 2

Hart 15, Valencia 14

Hawthorne 6, HMSA 3

Hemet 12, Perris 1

Heritage Christian 13, Village Christian 3

Hesperia 19, Sultana 10

Hesperia Christian 14, Bethel Christian 6

Highland 4, Quartz Hill 2

Hillcrest 19, Lakeside 1

Hueneme 9, Santa Paula 5

Huntington Beach 13, Marina 1

Irvine 11, Irvine University 5

Kaiser 7, Northview 4

Katella 12, Buena Park 5

Knight 13, Antelope Valley 0

La Canada 6, San Marino 0

Laguna Beach 2, Sage Hill 1

Laguna Hills 7, Ocean View 4

Lancaster 15, Palmdale 4

Loara 3, Century 2

Liberty 8, Heritage 1

Long Beach Jordan 11, Rolling Hills Prep 8

Long Beach Poly 2, Lakewood 1

Long Beach Wilson 1, Millikan 0

Los Alamitos 6, Edison 5

Loyola 5, St. Francis 4

Magnolia 10, Santa Ana Valley 5

Maranatha 6, Whittier Christian 3

Mark Keppel 4, Bell Gardens 1

Mary Star of the Sea 31, Verbum Dei 0

Mission Viejo 7, Capistrano Valley Christian 0

Monrovia 5, South Pasadena 3

Montebello 12, Oxford Academy 0

Norco 7, Corona Centennial 4

Norwalk 4, Firebaugh 0

Nuview Bridge 11, San Jacinto Leadership 1

Oak Hills 11, Serrano 7

Orange 17, Balsa Grande 11

Paramount 18, Lynwood 1

Patriot 7, Jurupa Valley 6

Pioneer Valley 10, Bishop Diego 0

Placentia Valencia 8, Santa Ana 4

Pomona 15, Workman 5

Ramona 10, Rubidoux 0

Rancho Christian 6 Citrus Hill 4

Rancho Verde 12, Vista del Lago 0

Redondo Union 6, Mira Costa 2

Riverside North 11, Canyon Springs 6

Riverside Poly 1, Arlington 0

Rosemead 11, Pioneer 5

Royal 6, Simi Valley 2

Salesian 14, SAt. Genevieve 4

San Bernardino 19, Pacific 11

Santa Barbara 4, Rio Mesa 3

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 11, Southlands Christian 9

Santa Ynez 15, Malibu 9

Saugus 10, Canyon Country Canyon 3

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 5, Chaminade 4

Sierra Canton 19, Crespi 2

Silver Valley 19, ACE 18

South Torrance 9, North Torrance 2

St. Anthony 1, Bosco Tech 0

St. Bonaventure 12, Grace 4

St. John Bosco 13, JSerra 0

St. Margaret’s 6, Portola 2

Tesoro 3, Murrieta Valley 0

Valley View 6, Orange Vista 0

Ventura 3, San Marcos 2

Warren 6, Downey 5

Western 14, Garden Grove Santiago 13

Westminster 15, Whitney 6

Woodbridge 7, Northwood 1

INTERSECTIONAL

Fullerton 12, Idaho Owyhee 2

Marquez 4, Mountain View 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Animo Leadership 23, Alliance Ouchi 18

Chatsworth 5, Chavez 1

Cleveland 13, SOCES 3

Fremont 14, Diego Rivera 4

Harbor Teacher 11, LA Roosevelt 2

Marquez 11, Eagle Rock 3

Monroe 31, Canoga Park 30

Sylmar 9, Van Nuys 2

Taft 11, Northridge Academy 5

SOUTHERN SECTION

ACE 21, Silver Valley 0

Anaheim 12, Loara 1

Apple Valley 5, Quartz Hill 1

Aquinas 10, Carter 4

Arbor View 11, Sultana 0

Ayala 8, Diamond Bar 0

Azusa 6, Baldwin Park 4

Big Bear 18, Lucerne Valley 0

Bishop Montgomery 5, Rosary Academy 4

Canyon Springs 7, West Valley 1

Cathedral City 10, Palm Springs 0

Colony 10, Don Lugo 6

Coronado 7, Lakewood 6

Costa Mesa 17, Samueli Academy 6

Dana Hills 13, Northwood 3

Dos Pueblos 12, Oxnard Pacifica 2

Duarte 10, Gahr 0

Heritage Christian 14, Village Christian 3

Hesperia 18, Granite Hills 17

Hesperia Christian 20, Bethel Christian 8

Jurupa Valley 7, Patriot 6

La Canada 15, Muir 11

La Puente 13, Bassett 1

Mission Bay 10, Mayfield 0

Monrovia 25, Blair 1

Norte Vista 20, La Sierra 9

Northview 2, Los Osos 2

Oceanside 9, Santa Ana Foothill 6

Orange 10, Western 0

Ramona 16, Rubidoux 0

Rancho Christian 17, Sherman Indian 7

Rancho Cucamonga 12, Ontario Christian 7

Redlands East Valley 14, Heritage 2

Riverside King 10, Corona 1

Riverside Poly 10, Santa Margarita 0

San Bernardino 32, Pacific 4

San Clemente 6, Spanish Springs 2

San Dimas 10, South El Monte 6

San Marcos 6, Ventura 4

Sierra Canyon 12, Shadow Ridge 2

Sierra Vista 11, Nogales 9

South Pasadena 8, San Marino 7

Valley View 4, Riverside North 1

INTERSECTIONAL

Bakersfield Frontier 4, Paraclete 2

Carson 15, Galena 0

Carson 9, Louisville 2

Eastside 2, Bakersfield Ridgeview 0

Eastside 9, Chavez 5

Flintridge Scared Heart 12, La Jolla Country Day 0

Louisville 3, Nevada Foothill 3

Mission Viejo 6, Nevada Douglas 5

Paraclete 8, Tulare Union 4

Santa Margarita 6, Nevada Reed 0

Trabuco Hills 18, Galena 4

Utah Lehi 3, Mission Viejo 0

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Today we continue our series looking at the NL West, position by position.

NL West, the third basemen

Let’s look at the third basemen and shorstops, ranked from best to worst. Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page.

San Diego
Manny Machado
Last season: .275/.335/.460, 33 doubles, 27 homers, 95 RBIs, 118 OPS+
Career: .279/.338/.486, 94 OPS+, 124 OPS+

Though, as Yogi Berra famously said, “Nobody likes Manny Machado,” you have to give the devil his due. Machado is one of the best third basemen in the game, not just the NL West. He hits for average and power and is a defensive stalwart at third. It has already been eight years since he was with the Dodgers.

San Francisco
Matt Chapman
Last season: .231/.340/.430, 23 doubles, 21 homers, 61 RBIs, 120 OPS+
Career: .240/.330/.458, 119 OPS+

Similar to Max Muncy offensively, Chapman gets the nod because he is a five-time Gold Glove winner at third and stays in the lineup more consistently.

Dodgers
Max Muncy
Last season: .243/.376/.470, 10 doubles, 19 homers, 67 RBIs, 136 OPS+
Career: .229/.354/.474, 124 OPS+

There will come a time this season when Muncy will go on one of his notorious cold streaks. Some will say the Dodgers should dump him. Nonsense. He is one of the 10 best third basemen in the league and is a steal at only $10 million this season.

Arizona
Nolan Arenado
Last season: .237/.289/.377, 18 doubles, 12 homers, 52 RBIs, 87 OPS+
Career: .282/.338/.507, 119 OPS+

He finished third in MVP voting in 2022, but has been in decline since then. Can a new team help him recapture some former glory?

Colorado
Kyle Karros
Last season: .226/.308/.377, 4 doubles, 1 homer, 9 RBIs, 58 OPS+
Career: .226/.308/.377, 58 OPS+

Yes, he’s the son of former Dodger Eric Karros. Don’t let those offensive numbers fool you, they were in limited playing time. He is one of the Rockies’ top prospects and has a bright future. He is only 23.

Shortstop

Dodgers
Mookie Betts
Last season: .258/.326/.406, 23 doubles, 20 homers, 82 RBIs, 104 OPS+
Career: .290/.369/.512, 135 OPS+

I’ve been writing this newsletter for 12 seasons now, and sometimes I get things very, very wrong. I was against moving Betts to short. But I was wrong. He’s already Gold Glove level there, and here’s guessing his bat rebounds to elite levels this season, because one thing I have learned is to not bet against Mookie Betts.

Arizona
Geraldo Perdomo
Last season: .290/.389/.462, 33 doubles, 20 homers, 100 RBIs, 136 OPS+
Career: .253/.348/.374, 101 OPS+

If his new level of offense reached last season is for real (his previous high in homers was six), then he could easily move up to No. 1 on this list.

San Francisco
Willy Adames
Last season: .225/.318/.421, 22 doubles, 30 homers, 87 RBIs, 111 OPS+
Career: .244/.321/.440, 109 OPS+

He signed a seven-year, $182-million deal with the Giants before last season, then got off to a horrible start, dampening his overall numbers, which were pretty good despite that. There are a lot of good shortstops in the NL West.

San Diego
Xander Bogaerts
Last season: .263/.328/.391, 30 doubles, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, 99 OPS+
Career: .287/.350/.446, 114 OPS+

Still a good fielder, but his offense has regressed, as he has been below average the last two seasons.

Colorado
Ezequiel Tovar
Last season: .253/.294/.400, 18 doubles, 9 homers, 33 RBIs, 83 OPS+
Career: .258/.291/.429, 88 OPS+

Tovar has never met a pitch he wouldn’t swing at, but when he does connect he hits it hard. He won the Gold Glove in 2024, but last season was a setback for him, in part due to injuries.

In case you missed it

Andrew Friedman on team culture, the upcoming season and ‘noise’ around the Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani pitches effectively in first spring training start. ‘He expects perfection’

‘It wasn’t just my name.’ Why Miguel Rojas was bothered by erroneous suspension report

And finally

Max Muncy hits an important home run in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Thursday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

North Hollywood 5, Granada Hills Kennedy 3

Sun Valley Poly 11, Sylmar 9

Verdugo Hills 5, San Fernando 3

WISH Academy 11, Washington Prep 5

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 6, Granite Hills 4

Alhambra 10, Schurr 2

Animo Leadership 6, Compton Early College 3

Arroyo 14, Glendale 0

Banning 9, Yucca Valley 8

Beverly Hills 13, Lennox Academy 3

Bloomington 10, Carter 0

Buckley 7, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 6

Campbell Hall 6, Brentwood 1

Chaparral 8, Citrus Valley 3

Charter Oak 3, El Rancho 2

Chino 7, Don Lugo 1

Compton Centennial 7, Lawndale 5

Covina 9, Pasadena Marshall 8

Diamond Ranch 5, Chaffey 4

Eisenhower 2, Colton 1

Environmental Charter 13, Ambassador 6

Etiwanda 2, Santa Ana Foothill 0

Gabrielino 23, Southlands Christian 4

Garden Grove 14, Rancho Alamitos 1

Glendora 14, Western Christian 3

Grace 29, Santa Clara 2

Grand Terrace 12, Arroyo Valley 0

Heritage Christian 12, Village Christian 1

La Mirada 7, Aliso Niguel 1

La Quinta 11, Rancho Mirage 0

Leuzinger 4, Culver City 3

Maranatha 12, Whittier Christian 4

Milken 4, Burbank Providence 1

Montebello 18, San Gabriel 0

Newbury Park 7, Buena 1

Norwalk 8, Sante Fe 3

Ontario 6, Montclair 3

Orange County Pacifica Christian 7, Laguna Beach 4

Palm Springs 17, Xavier Prep 4

Palo Verde 8, Bellflower 7

Redlands 15, Hesperia Christian 0

Redlands East Valley 18, Silverado 1

Rolling Hills Prep 13, HMSA 4

Rowland 3, Diamond Bar 1

San Juan Hills 11, Riverside Prep 10

Santa Clarita Christian 4, Desert Christian 0

Santa Monica 8, Calabasas 4

Santa Rosa Academy 9, San Jacinto Valley Academy 8

Shadow Hills 5, Palm Desert 3

South Hills 11, Los Altos 3

Summit 5, Rialto 1

Temecula Prep 14, SJDLCS 1

Temecula Valley 11, Trabuco Hills 0

Temescal Canyon 5, San Dimas 3

Trinity Classical Academy 7, Castaic 3

Twentynine Palms 4, AAE 2

Victory Valley 4, Barstow 3

Webb 16 La Puente 2

West Torrance 9, New Roads 0

West Valley 14, San Jacinto 4

INTERSECTIONAL

Borrego Springs 12, Anza Hamilton 0

Colorado Legend 10, La Habra 5

Eagle Rock 19, CALS Early College 1

Fullerton 14, Colorado Mullen 4

Gahr 7, Utah American Fork 1

Inglewood 16, Dorsey 1

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 7, Port of LA 4

WISH Academy 11, Washington Prep 5

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Animo Robinson 24, Animo Watts 14

Bell 11, Huntington Park 6

Bernstein 25, Contreras 12

Central City Value 18, Vaughn 14

Dorsey 21, Dymally 0

East Valley 20, Panorama 4

Garfield 6, LA Roosevelt 2

Hollywood 18, Belmont 5

Mendez 20, Roybal 8

SOCES 15, Northridge Academy 4

Triumph Charter 19, Bert Corona 1

Westchester 15, Narbonne 13

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alhambra 16, Mark Keppel 0

Aliso Niguel 4, El Toro 1

Alta Loma 6, Citrus Valley 2

Arrowhead Christian 19, Woodcrest Christian 2

Barstow 4, Victor valley 2

Beaumont 7, Rancho Verde 1

Bonita 20, Claremont 6

California 5, Sante Fe 4

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 5, Bishop Conaty-Loretto 2

Castaic 13, Golden Valley 4

Chadwick 22, Westridge 1

Chaffey 9, Diamond Ranch 0

Chaminade 7, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6

Coastal Academy 9, Mayfield 0

Crescenta Valley 23, Hoover 0

Cypress 3, Segerstrom 0

Desert Christian Academy 11, California Military Institute 10

Don Lugo 3, Chino 2

Eastside 11, Littlerock 4

El Cajon Christian 8, Trabuco Hills 2

El Dorado 10, Mayfair 0

El Modena 9, La Habra 6

El Rancho 15, Arroyo 5

Fillmore 15, Channel Islands 4

Firebaugh 19, Hawthorne 13

Fontana 11, Bethel Christian 2

Foothill Tech 12, Bishop Diego 0

Fullerton 6, Los Altos 1

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 1

Gahr 10, Cerritos 0

Garden Grove 11, Westminster 1

Granite Hills 12, Adelanto 4

Hemet 16, United Christian Academy 5

Hesperia Christian 17, Immanuel Christian 2

Highland 2, Quartz Hill 1

Indio 18, Lakeside 1

Indio 14, Temecula Prep 1

Irvine University 9, San Marino 8

Jurupa Hills 16, San Gorgonio 0

Kaiser 14, Grand Terrace 5

Knight 14, Antelope Valley 1

Lakeside 7, San Jacinto 6

La Mirada 5, Valley Christian 0

La Quinta 10, Rancho Mirage 0

La Salle 13, Mary Star of the Sea 2

La Serna 16, Whittier 4

Lennox Academy 14, Compton Early College 8

Leuzinger 9, Culver City 6

Liberty 10, Linfield Christian 4

Los Alamitos 6, Huntington Beach 5

Marina 6, Edison 0

Millikan 9, Lakewood 0

Mira Costa 9, Bishop Montgomery 8

Mission Viejo 2, El Cajon Christian 1

Moorpark 14, Royal 2

Moreno Valley 9, Vista del Lago 6

Muir 18, Glendale 3

Murrieta Valley 15, Chaparral 5

Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 4

North Torrance 6, Santa Monica 1

Northwood 8, Irvine 0

Oak Park 5, Camarillo 4

Ontario 5, Montclair 0

Oxnard 5, Buena 1

Paloma Valley 15, Tahquitz 2

Palos Verdes 4, El Segundo 0

Paraclete 9, Lakewood St. Joseph 4

Pasadena 19, Immaculate Heart 8

Pasadena Poly 10, Flintridge Prep 0

Rialto 18, Eisenhower 8

Ridgecrest Burroughs 31, Silver Valley 1

Riverside Notre Dame 6, United Christian Academy 0

Riverside Poly 2, Shadow Ridge 0

San Jacinto 15, Temecula Prep 1

San Juan Hills 8, Tesoro 5

Santa Ana Foothill 17, Esperanza 0

Santa Paula 18, Nordhoff 1

Saugus 3, Valencia 2

Schurr 25, San Gabriel 0

Shadow Hills 21, Palm Desert 14

Shadow Ridge 8, Louisville 4

Simi Valley 5, Newbury Park 4

St. Bernard d. San Gabriel Mission, forfeit

St. Bonaventure 20, Del Sol 0

St. Monica 16, St. Anthony 2

St. Paul 10, Bishop Amat 0

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 18, Gardena Serra 5

Summit 20, Arroyo Valley 0

Temecula Valley 4, Great Oak 2

Viewpoint 10, Brentwood 0

Warren 9, La Palma Kennedy 1

West Covina 9, Southlands Christian 8

Western Christian 16, San Dimas 15

West Ranch 13, Canyon Country Canyon 4

Whittier Christian 3, Maranatha 1

Windward 11, Archer 8

Yucaipa 5, Rancho Cucamonga 3

Yucca Valley 19, Banning 9

INTERSECTIONAL

Anza Hamilton 10, Borrego Springs 0

Eagle Rock 6, Alemany 4

Harvard-Westlake 6, El Camino Real 3

Nevada Bishop Gorman 5, Mission Viejo 1

Nevada Spanish Springs 7, Carson 4

Rio Hondo Prep 3, San Diego 2

Riverside Poly 9, Nevada Reed 0

San Fernando 4, Tri-City Christian 3

Sierra Canyon 17, Nevada Douglas 0

Sierra Canyon 3, Nevada Reed 2

Sun Valley Magnet 7, Lakeview Charter 6

Thousand Oaks 9, Granada Hills 4

Torrance 7, Legacy 2

Trabuco Hills 4, Nevada Bishop Gorman 4

Utah Lehi 10, Carson 5

Caracas, March 18, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic after defeating the United States 3–2 on Tuesday at LoanDepot Park in Miami. 

The Caribbean nation’s first major international baseball title was secured thanks to a decisive double by Eugenio Suárez that broke a tie in the top of the ninth inning.

“I have no words. Seeing Javier (Sanoja) score on my double in the ninth was the greatest moment of my life. We knew we could do it. Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we are the champions. This is a celebration for the whole country,” Suárez told Fox Sports after the game.

The United States had tied the score at 2-2 in the eighth inning when Bryce Harper launched a two-run home run against Venezuelan reliever Andrés Machado.

Earlier in the game, a sacrifice fly from Maikel García in the third inning and a home run by Wilyer Abreu in the fifth—off rookie pitcher Nolan McLean—had given Venezuela a 2–0 lead before a crowd of 36,490 people that was heavily in favor of the South American team.

Sports journalist Jason Mackey said he had never witnessed such passionate fan support at a sporting event—not even at the Super Bowl. Venezuela’s victory also sparked spontaneous celebrations in several cities across the country, including the capital, with fireworks displays and caravans blaring horns along the main avenues.

Venezuela finished the tournament with six wins and one loss, the latter coming against the Dominican Republic during the group stage. Before reaching the championship, the Venezuelan squad defeated three-time tournament champion Japan 8–5 in the quarterfinals and Italy 4–2 in the semifinals. 

The tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Maikel García, emphasized that the team’s motivation centered on representing the country. “We didn’t play the final to represent Dominicans or Latinos. We did it for Venezuela. Maybe some people didn’t like that, but the jersey said Venezuela, not Latin America,” he said.

Meanwhile, the US team fielded the most star-studded roster in its history but fell short in its second consecutive final to extend its winless draught to nine years. The Americans had previously lost the 2023 final 3–2 to Japan.

Following the victory, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared Wednesday a National Day of Jubilation, encouraging people to celebrate in public squares, parks, and sports fields. She also invited the public to attend a large concert titled “Venezuela Triunfa Unida” (“Venezuela Triumphs United”).

For his part, US President Donald Trump used the moment to again suggest that Venezuela could become a US state. “Statehood,” he wrote on his Truth Social account.

In the run-up to the final, Trump had posted a similar message: “Good things have been happening to Venezuela lately. I wonder what this magic is… the 51st state?”

Tuesday’s final happened in the wake of the US’ January 3 military strikes against Caracas and nearby areas that also saw special forces kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In the two months since, the two countries have fast-tracked a rapprochement and reestablished diplomatic ties. Despite the strong political overtones surrounding the matchup, players and coaches largely avoided commenting on the state of relations between the two nations.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL, SOFTBALL SCORES
Wednesday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION
Arleta 7, VAAS 1
Bell 12, Huntington Park 0
Birmingham 9, Chatsworth 3
Bravo 18, King/Drew 0
Canoga Park 7, AMIT 5
Carson 3, San Pedro 1
Cleveland 10, Granada Hills 4
El Camino Real 5, Taft 0
Fremont 13, Stella 0
Fulton 17, Panorama 6
Garfield 6, LA Roosevelt 1
Monroe 11, Van Nuys 1
Northridge Academy 10, East Valley 0
Palisades 12, LA Hamilton 2 (5 innings)
SOCES 13, Reseda 0
South Gate 4, South East 2
Vaughn 13, Grant 0
Venice 10, Westchester 0 (5 innings)
Wilmington Banning 4, Narbonne 3

SOUTHERN SECTION
Alta Loma 8, Rancho Cucamonga 4
Aquinas 7, Arrowhead Christian 2
Ayala 7, Northview 1
Baldwin Park 7, Garey 2
Beaumont 6, Riverside Notre Dame 1
Bishop Diego 18, Del Sol 1
Bloomington Christian 18, Joshua Springs Christian 6
Brea Olinda 5, Anaheim Canyon 2
Canyon Springs 5, Riverside North 4
Carpinteria 4, Fillmore 1
Century 11, Godinez 1
Cerritos 7, Garden Grove 1
Chaparral 16, Cornerstone Christian 2
Claremont 2, Walnut 1
Colony 13, Chaffey 3
Corona 8, Riverside King 3
Corona Santiago 9, Eastvale Roosevelt 4
Crean Lutheran 15, Esperanza 9
El Modena 7, Katella 3
El Segundo 8, St. Bernard 1
El Toro 8, Sunny Hills 0
Foothill Tech 19, Cate 1
Fountain Valley 7, Capistrano Valley 2
Harvard-Westlake 17, Alemany 0
Hemet 21, Perris 1
Hesperia 17, Apple Valley 7
Highland 6, Quartz Hill 2
Hillcrest 16, Lakeside 0
Huntington Beach 5, Marina 3
Indian Springs 14, Pacific 4
Indio 20, Desert Hot Springs 2
Knight 14, Antelope Valley 0
Laguna Beach 7, Sage Hill 1
La Canada 7, South Pasadena 6
Lakewood 19, Long Beach Cabrillo 4
La Mirada 7, Riverside Prep 0
Littlerock 15, Eastside 1
Loma Linda Academy 16, Redlands Adventist Academy 5
Long Beach Wilson 12, Compton 0
Los Alamitos 7, Edison 6
Loyola 11, St. Francis 0
Miller 11, San Bernardino 0
Millikan 10, Long Beach Jordan 0
Mira Costa 19, West Torrance 2
Newport Harbor 4, Corona del Mar 2
New Roads 24, Shalhevet 1
Norco 12, Corona Centennial 4
Nordhoff 1, Channel Islands 0
North Torrance 6, Peninsula 4
Oak Park 5, Malibu 1
Orange Lutheran 8, Damien 5
Palmdale 8, Lancaster 7
Paloma Valley 7, Moreno Valley 5
Palos Verdes 7, Torrance 3
Patriot 9, La Sierra 2
Portola 13, St. Margaret’s 1
Ramona 23, Jurupa Valley 3
Rancho Christian 13, Citrus Hill 0
Rancho Verde 14, Vista del Lago 0
Ridgecrest Burroughs 7, Oak Hills 6
Riverside Poly 8, Arlington 5
Royal 12, Camarillo 0
Rubidoux 6, Norte Vista 2
Salesian 8, Flintridge Prep 5
San Clemente 7, El Dorado 3
Santa Fe 8, El Rancho 7
Santa Paula 8, Hueneme 1
Saugus 11, Canyon Country Canyon 4
Serrano 4, Sultana 3
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 11, Chaminade 0
Sierra Canyon 14, Crespi 3
Sierra Vista 4, Azusa 3
Simi Valley 6, Moorpark 5
St. John Bosco 5, JSerra 1
Temecula Valley 15, Capistrano Valley Christian 4
United Christian Academy 20, California Military Institute 7
University Prep 5, Vasquez 1
Valencia 10, Hart 10
Valley View 11, Orange Vista 2
Vista Murrieta 10, Chino Hills 1
Warren 5, Downey 3
West Ranch 8, Castaic 5
Whittier 3, California 2
Windward 4, Culver City 3
Yorba Linda 5, San Juan Hills 4
Yucaipa 9, San Dimas 5

INTERSECTIONAL
Bakersfield Liberty 16, Heritage 2
Santa Margarita 15, Brother Rice (MI) 3

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION
Animo Venice 14, Middle College 3
Bravo 13, Arleta 0
LAAAE 24, Animo Watts 6
LA Hamilton 18, Hollywood 2
Monroe 22, Fulton 13
Orthopaedic 17, Fremont 5
Paramount 7, Marquez 0
Sun Valley Poly 14, Cleveland 2
Sylmar 19, Canoga Park 0
Van Nuys 7, Reseda 6
Verdugo Hills 17, North Hollywood 4

SOUTHERN SECTION
Anaheim 7, Garden Grove Santiago 6
Aquinas 10, Arrowhead Christian 0
Arbor View 8, Sierra Canyon 1
Ayala 15, Walnut 2
Bonita 2, Diamond Bar 0
Canyon Springs 16, Vista del Lago 10
Colony 2, Covina 2
Costa Mesa 17, Orange 10
Crean Lutheran 11, Laguna Hills 1
Duarte 21, Nogales 9
Eastside 17, Golden Valley 14
Edgewood 12, West Covina 10
El Monte 21, Workman 13
El Toro 5, Woodbridge 3
Etiwanda 8, Crescenta Valley 4
Garey 14, Baldwin Park 4
Hesperia 16, Fontana 4
Lakewood St. Joseph 6, Norwalk 0
Magnolia 18, Estancia 7
Mater Dei 8, Villa Park 6
Miller 9, San Bernardino 2
Newbury Park 2, Oak Park 1
Norte Vista 17, Rubidoux 4
Oaks Christian 6, Rio Mesa 1
Ontario Christian 8, University Prep 2
Paloma Valley 5, Corona Santiago 3
Patriot 15, La Sierra 0
Peninsula 20, Narbonne 12
Ramona 8, Jurupa Valley 0
Ramona Convent 4, Viewpoint 3
Redlands East Valley 4, San Jacinto 0
Riverside King 11, Arlington 1
Riverside North 16, Redlands 0
Santa Ana Valley 8, Loara 5
St. Genevieve 14, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 12
Tahquitz 11, Cathedral City 4
Valley Christian 10, Long Beach Wilson 2

INTERSECTIONAL
Burbank Providence 16, Fairfax 1
Mira Costa 2, Legacy 1
Paramount 7, Marquez 0
Peninsula 20, Narbonne 12
Wilmington Banning 4, Redondo 3

Strong pitching, good hitting and solid hitting has led to a 9-0 start for the Sherman Oaks Notre Dame baseball team.

On Wednesday, Malakye Matsumoto threw two scoreless innings of relief and had three hits and four RBIs in Notre Dame’s 11-0 win over Chaminade. The Knights are 4-0 in Mission League play. Dru Wilson homered and had two RBIs. Troy Trejo added two RBIs.

Corona 8, King 3: Anthony Murphy hit for the cycle — home run, triple, double and single — in the Big VIII League win.

Norco 12, Corona Centennial 4: Dylan Seward had three hits and Zion Martinez added three hits and four RBIs.

Corona Santiago 9, Roosevelt 4: Striker Pence struck out eight and gave up no hits in four innings.

Sierra Canyon 14, Crespi 3: Bryaden Goldstein and Cody Gallegos each had two hits and three RBIs.

Loyola 11, St. Francis 0: Robert Rapp had three hits and five RBIs.

Harvard-Westlake 17, Bishop Alemany 0: Avenging its first loss in Mission League play Tuesday, the Wolverines received home runs from James Tronstein and Jake Kim. Ethan Alexander gave up one hit in 5 1/3 innings.

Carson 3, San Pedro 1: Sal Carrillo picked up the save in the Marine League.

Banning 4, Narbonne 3: Santiago Meza had the game-winning single in the ninth and AJ Herrera threw all nine innings for Banning.

El Camino Real 5, Taft 0: Jackson Sellz struck out 10 and RJ De La Rosa had two hits and three RBIs.

Cleveland 10, Granada Hills 4: Joshua Pearlstein and Elliot Schoenwald each had three hits for Cleveland.

Birmingham 9, Chatsworth 3: Julius Monroe-Truitt broke through for three hits in the West Valley League win.

Bell 12, Huntington Park 0: Vincent Rubio led Bell with three hits and four RBIs in a five-inning win. Jayden Rojas struck out six in three innings.

Garfield 6, Roosevelt 1: Mayo Robles went three for three to lead the Bulldogs.

St. John Bosco 5, JSerra 1: Jhett Ohira hit a two-run home run and Jack Champlin continued perfection as a closer for the Braves.

Orange Lutheran 8, Damien 5: Gavin Hottie hit two home runs for Orange Lutheran.

Santa Margarita 15, Brother Rice 3: Freshman Cooper Holland continued his impressive hitting in Las Vegas

Los Alamitos 7, Edison 6: Rowan Shelley had two hits and four RBIs in the eight-inning victory.

Fountain Valley 7, Capistrano Valley 2: Ethan Cortez had two hits and two RBIs for Fountain Valley.

Huntington Beach 5, Marina 3: Tanner Brown homered and Christian Haupt threw four innings of scoreless relief for Huntington Beach.

Newport Harbor 4, Corona del Mar 2: Henry Mann’s two-run triple in the fifth broke a 2-2 tie.

Palos Verdes 7, Torrance 3: Charles Hoye finished with three hits for Palos Verdes.

Ayala 7, Northview 1: Jaden Valenzuela and Caleb Trugman each had three hits for Ayala.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Today we continue our series looking at the NL West, position by position.

NL West, the first basemen

Let’s look at the first and second basemen, ranked from best to worst. Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page.

Dodgers
Freddie Freeman
Last season: .295/.367/.502, 39 doubles, 24 homers, 90 RBIs, 141 OPS+
Career: .300/.386/.511, 142 OPS+

Freeman’s ankle never seemed 100% last season, and he still put up solid numbers. He has said he wants to hit .300 again after failing to do so the past two seasons. There are only three current players (minimum 2,000 plate appearances) with a career batting average of at least .300: Freeman, Luis Arráez (.317) and Jose Altuve (.303). The top 10 in career batting average among active players:

1. Arráez, .317
2. Altuve, .303
3. Freeman, .300
4. Trea Turner, .297
5. Yordan Alvarez, .297
6. Bo Bichette, .294
7. Mike Trout, .294
8. Aaron Judge, .294
9. Mookie Betts, .290
10. Yandy Díaz, .290

San Francisco
Rafael Devers
Last season: .252/.372/.479, 33 doubles, 35 homers, 109 RBIs, 140 OPS+
Career: .276/.349/.506, 129 OPS+

Devers was acquired at the trade deadline from Boston. Oracle Park didn’t seem to dampen his numbers as much as it does to others, as he hit 11 homers there and 20 overall with the Giants. He’s not exactly Wes Parker at first base, but he is a solid run producer.

San Diego
Gavin Sheets
Last season: .252/.317/.429, 28 doubles, 19 homers, 71 RBIs, 105 OPS+
Career: .236/.301/.397, 94 OPS+

Sheets was a big surprise for the Padres last season, hitting better than he had in four seasons with the White Sox. He will get the majority of starts against right-handers, but could sit against tough lefties.

“The big thing for me has been controlling the strike zone, getting walks and being disciplined,” Sheets said about his improved hitting this spring. “You get swings like this and you build off the two of those things, you can really put the two of those things together.”

Arizona
Carlos Santana
Last season: .219/.308/.325, 11 doubles, 11 homers, 54 RBIs, 77 OPS+
Career: .241/.352/.425, 112 OPS+

How old is Carlos Santana? He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers in 2004. He was traded to Cleveland in 2008 for Casey Blake, who retired in 2011. He was a solid player for the then Indians, twice finishing in the top 20 in MVP voting, but he is well into his decline stage now.

Colorado
Edouard Julien
Last season: .220/.309/.324, 10 doubles, three homers, 12 RBIs, 76 OPS+
Career: .232/.336/.382, 99 OPS+

Julien finished seventh in rookie of the year voting in 2023 when he hit .263/.381/.459 for the Minnesota Twins in a little over half the season. It has been all downhill since then. The Twins traded him to Colorado in January, and the Rockies get to see if they can unlock whatever was working for him three years ago.

Second base

Arizona
Ketel Marte
Last season: .283/.376/.517, 28 doubles, 28 homers, 72 RBIs, 145 OPS+
Career: .281/.351/.472, 121 OPS+

He has won back-to-back NL Silver Sluggers, finished third in 2024 NL MVP balloting and had an OPS+ of 145 last season. He is the key to the Diamondbacks’ offense and one of the more underrated players in the game.

San Diego
Jake Cronenworth
Last season: .246/.367/.377, 20 doubles, 11 homers, 59 RBIs, 108 OPS+
Career: .247/.335/.406, 107 OPS+

Cronenworth is one of those guys who don’t make the headlines but quietly puts up steady production every day. Every team needs a player or two such as Cronenworth, a guy you can pencil into the lineup every day and not have to worry about him.

Dodgers
Miguel Rojas
Last season: .262/.318/.397, 18 doubles, seven homers, 27 RBIs, 100 OPS+
Career: .260/.314/.362, 86 OPS+

He apparently had some sort of big hit in the World Series last season. I must have missed it. Hyeseong Kim and Santiago Espinal could also get playing time at second until Tommy Edman is able to return.

San Francisco
Luis Arráez
Last season: .292/.327/.392, 30 doubles, eight homers, 61 RBIs, 99 OPS+
Career: .317/.363/.413, 115 OPS+

How valuable is a guy whose value lies almost entirely in his batting average? Arráez has won three batting titles, three years in a row, with three different teams. He is with a new team again this year. He has mild power, draws few walks, is terrible on defense. But he can get line drive singles all day long.

Colorado
Tyler Freeman
Last season: .281/.354/.361, 20 doubles, two homers, 31 RBIs, 92 OPS+
Career: .247/.324/.342, 85 OPS+

It appears, according to MLB.com, that Freeman has edged out Willi Castro for the job. Either one can play multiple positions and will probably get plenty of time everywhere on a team that is expected to lose 100 games again.

In case you missed it

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s lead-up to Dodgers opening day ‘hard to put into words’

‘There’s endless possibilities.’ Mookie Betts embraces Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s training methods

And finally

Freddie Freeman hits the walk-off homer in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL, SOFTBALL SCORES
Tuesday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION
Collins Family 10, Smidt Tech 6

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 12, ACE 2
Agoura 13, Trinity Classical Academy 1
Alemany 6, Harvard-Westlake 5
Alhambra 16, Schurr 0
Ambassador 5, Shalhevet 4
Anaheim 9, Bolsa Grande 7
Arcadia 18, Hoover 2
Anza Hamilton 13, California Lutheran 3
Banning 12, Rim of the World 7
Beverly Hills 12, Inglewood 6
Bishop Amat 13, St. Paul 3
Bloomington 10, Colton 4
Bonita 9, Charter Oak 6
Brea Olinda 2, El Modena 1
Brentwood 8, Campbell Hall 2
Buckley 12, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 1
Buena 10, Oxnard 8
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 12, St. Monica 2
Capistrano Valley Christian 19, Webb 1
Chadwick 5, Flintridge Prep 4
Chino 14, Chaffey 1
CIMSA 9, Lucerne Valley 7
Crescenta Valley 12, Pasadena 0
Crossroads 6, Viewpoint 4
Culver City 16, Leuzinger 3
Cypress 5, Villa Park 3
Dana Hills 6, Linfield Christian 4
Desert Christian Academy 19, California Military Institute 3
Desert Hot Springs 8, Desert Mirage 2
Diamond Bar 11, Hacienda Heights Wilson 1
Don Lugo 11, Montclair 3
Downey 6, Warren 3
Edgewood 15, El Monte 0
Environmental Charter 16, Animo Leadership 9
Estancia 2, Loara 0
Firebaugh 19, Dominguez 9
Fontana 10, Big Bear 0
Ganesha 1, Mission Viejo 0
Grand Terrace 5, Rialto 0
Heritage Christian 5, Village Christian 3
Huntington Beach 6, Marina 1
Irvine University 7, Irvine 4
Kaiser 12, Eisenhower 2
Katella 12, Buena Park 4
Laguna Hills 8, Ocean View 6
La Mirada 4, Etiwanda 2
Lawndale 2, Compton Centennial 0
Los Alamitos 5, Edison 3
Los Amigos 15, Garden Grove Santiago 1
Magnolia 5, Western 4
Maranatha 10, Whittier Christian 0
Mark Keppel 5, Bell Gardens 3
Mary Star of the Sea 9, Salesian 7
Montebello 14, San Gabriel 0
Murrieta Valley 4, El Toro 2
New Roads 10, de Toledo 0
Newport Harbor 5, Corona del Mar 1
Norwalk 9, Lynwood 3
Nuview Bridge 12, San Jacinto Leadership Academy 2
Ontario 3, Diamond Ranch 2
Orange 17, Rancho Alamitos 1
Orange County Pacifica Christian 14, Western Christian 8
Oxnard Pacifica 10, Dos Pueblos 2
Paraclete 8, Cathedral 3
Redlands 10, San Gorgonio 1
Rio Hondo Prep 4, Pasadena Poly 2
Rio Mesa 4, Santa Barbara 1
Riverside Notre Dame 13, Hesperia Christian 2
Rosemead 22, Southlands Christian 1
Rowland 11, Pasadena Marshall 9
San Marcos 7, Ventura 3
San Jacinto Valley Academy 12, Santa Rosa Academy 7
Santa Ana 13, Godinez Fundamental 0
Santa Ana Foothill 11, Citrus Valley 0
Santa Clarita Christian 8, Desert Christian 6
Savanna 7, Westminster La Quinta 0
Servite 6, Aliso Niguel 2
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 13, Chaminade 2
Sierra Canyon 3, Crespi 1
SLOCA 13, Coast Union 2
St. Anthony 7, Bosco Tech 1
St. Bonaventure 17, Grace 0
St. Francis 6, Loyola 2
St. John Bosco 6, JSerra 0
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 18, St. Genevieve 4
Summit 22, Jurupa Hills 4
Tahquitz 4, Elsinore 0
Temescal Canyon 7, Murrieta Mesa 5
Temecula Prep 13, SJDLCS 3
United Christian Academy 26, Sherman Indian 4
Upland 3, Glendora 0
Villanova Prep 1, Ojai Valley 0
Westminster 7, Placentia Valencia 5
West Valley 9, San Jacinto 8
Woodbridge 5, Northwood 0

INTERSECTIONAL
Bellflower 6, Legend 1
Gahr 5, T.C. Roberson (NC) 2
La Habra 7, Henderson (NV) Liberty 1
Redondo Union 2, Valor Christian (CO) 0
Redondo Union 10, Las Vegas (NV) Desert Oasis 1
Stoneman Douglas (FL) 7, Santa Margarita 6

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION
Central City Value 15, CNDLC 0

SOUTHERN SECTION
Agoura 9, Rio Mesa 0
Alhambra 18, Westridge 0
Alta Loma 5, Rancho Cucamonga 4
Anza Hamilton 2, Temecula Prep 1
Arcadia 12, San Dimas 7
Beaumont 14, Apple Valley 3
Big Bear 13, ACE 3
Bishop Amat 14, Bishop Montgomery 1
Brea Olinda 7, El Dorado 6
Brentwood 16, Crossroads 4
Cajon 14, Sultana 3
California 4, La Serna 3
Calvary Baptist 7, Bethel Christian 0
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 11, St. Anthony 1
Carter 11, Kaiser 8
Chino 18, Chaffey 8
CIMSA 21, Lucerne Valley 1
Colony 6, Jurupa Hills 4
CSDR 1, NSLA 0
Dana Hills 5, Tesoro 3
Desert Chapel 20, Public Safety Academy 17
Desert Christian Academy 15, California Military Institute 11
Desert Hot Springs 19, Desert Mirage 3
Don Lugo 23, Montclair 1
Dos Pueblos 23, Oxnard Pacifica 1
Downey 21, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6
Eastside 11, Antelope Valley 1
Edison d. Newport Harbor, forfeit
Eisenhower 16, San Gorgonio 3
El Modena 13, Anaheim Canyon 5
El Segundo 9, North Torrance 3
El Toro 12, Irvine 0
Fillmore 16, Nordhoff 0
Firebaugh 18, Compton Early College 3
Flintridge Prep 19, Mountain View 4
Flintridge Sacred Heart 4, Muir 2
Ganesha 11, Corona Centennial 5
Garden Grove Pacifica 6, Eastvale Roosevelt 5
Glendora 13, Claremont 5
Grace 14, Foothill Tech 0
Grand Terrace 10, Summit 0
Great Oak 4, Chaparral 0
Harvard-Westlake 11, Louisville 7
Highland 14, Littlerock 3
HMSA 21, Animo Leadership 1
Hesperia 7, Adelanto 6
Hueneme 13, Channel Islands 10
Huntington Beach 14, Corona del Mar 0
Immaculate Heart 17, Webb 4
Indio 14, Tahquitz 2
JSerra 8, Aliso Niguel 2
La Canada 5, San Marino 2
La Salle 11, Ramona Convent 1
Lawndale 28, Compton Centennial 9
Leuzinger 6, Culver City 5
Maranatha 21, Pasadena 0
Marymount 18, Lennox Academy 9
Mayfield 10, Montebello 8
Monrovia 13, South Pasadena 2
Murrieta Mesa 12, Temecula Valley 0
Nuview Bridge 22, San Jacinto Leadership 3
Oak Park 24, Calabasas 2
Ontario 7, Diamond Ranch 0
Oxnard 8, Buena 1
Paraclete 6, St. Paul 0
Placentia Valencia 5, Buena Park 2
Quartz Hill 11, Lancaster 0
Rialto 12, Arroyo Valley 10
Ridgecrest Burroughs 9, Barstow 1
Riverside North 13, Linfield Christian 3
Rosary Academy 25, Bishop Conaty-Loretto 1
Rowland 13, El Monte 6
Royal 11, Newbury Park 4
San Juan Hills 12, Garden Grove 4
Santa Monica 13, Hawthorne 0
San Marcos 1, Ventura 0
Santa Rosa Academy 18, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3
Saugus 13, Canyon Country Canyon 2
South Torrance 7, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 4
St. Bonaventure 18, Bishop Diego 0
St. Monica 15, Mary Star of the Sea 14
Twentynine Palms 13, Moreno Valley 6
United Christian Academy 18, Sherman Indian 3
Valencia 4, Hart 3
Viewpoint 10, Archer 0
Warren 15, Norwalk 3
Western Christian 6, Ontario Christian 5
Westlake 12, Moorpark 6
West Ranch 13, Castaic 5
West Valley 16, Bloomington 15
Whittier 16, El Rancho 11
Woodcrest Christian 15, Perris 1
Yorba Linda 19, Beckman 10

INTERSECTIONAL
Bonsai 20, Victor Christian Academy 7

Venezuela upset the star-studded host nation to win a politically charged showdown in Miami.

Venezuela scored a stunning 3-2 upset over tournament hosts United States to capture the World Baseball Classic for the first time on Tuesday in a tense final played out against a backdrop of political tensions.

Eugenio Suarez drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to seal a victory for Venezuela over an American lineup that had been hyped as a baseball “dream team”.

Trailing for most of the game, the Team USA looked to have hauled themselves back into the contest when Bryce Harper blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning.

But Harper’s salvo proved to be in vain as Venezuela regained the lead in the ninth inning, punishing a shaky performance from USA reliever Garrett Whitlock to clinch victory.

“What can I say, it’s amazing,” Venezuela hero Suarez said. “Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we win the championship today. This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”

Suarez’s winning double settled a final that had got under way in a raucous atmosphere at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, with a large contingent of Venezuela fans in a sold-out crowd of 36,190 booing the USA lineup during pre-game introductions.

US President Donald Trump, whose government captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January, had stoked tensions with a social media post on Monday, congratulating Venezuela for reaching the final while simultaneously suggesting the country could become the US’s “51st state”.

Trump again returned to the theme moments after Tuesday’s defeat, declaring in a post on his Truth Social platform: “STATEHOOD!!! President DJT.”

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced the ousted Maduro, declared a “national day of jubilation” on Wednesday.

“This triumph is the victory of the passion, talent and unity that define us as Venezuelans,” Rodriguez wrote on X.

“An achievement that will remain forever in the heart of our country. ¡VIVA VENEZUELA!”

Venezuela dominate

Venezuela, whose players had been instructed by team management to avoid commenting on politics throughout the tournament, dominated the vaunted Team USA lineup for long periods, with starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez stifling the American batters led by New York Yankees home run king Aaron Judge.

The South Americans took the lead in the top of the third as USA starter Nolan McLean struggled for command from the mound.

Salvador Perez singled to get on base before Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr drew a walk.

A wild pitch from McLean left Venezuela with runners on second and third base, and on the next pitch, Kansas City Royals slugger Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly allowed Perez to score.

With the USA bats continuing to flail against Rodriguez, the Venezuelans doubled their lead in the top of the fifth inning.

McLean delivered a four-seam fastball into the centre of the strike zone, and Boston Red Sox left-fielder Wilyer Abreu duly pounced, crushing a 414-foot (126-metre) solo home run to centre field for a 2-0 lead.

Venezuela appeared to be closing in on victory, but were jolted by Harper’s 432-foot (132-metre) home run to centre field off reliever Andres Machado in the eighth.

But the USA rally was short-lived, and Venezuela grabbed the lead again in the ninth when Luis Arraez drew a lead-off walk from Whitlock before Suarez’s blast to left centre field gave Venezuela the winning run.

Closer Daniel Palencia removed Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in quick succession to seal Venezuela’s triumph.

MIAMI — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rebounding from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 Tuesday night on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth.

Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead before a roaring pro-Latin America crowd. Meanwhile, left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits through the seventh.

Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs in the eighth and Bryce Harper drove the second straight changeup from Andrés Machado over the center-field fence for a two-run homer that tied it. Harper slowly trotted around the bases and took time at third to salute coach Dino Ebel.

Luis Arraez walked against Garrett Whitlock starting the ninth. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just ahead of catcher Will Smith’s throw and came home when Suárez doubled to the left-center gap. Suárez spread his arms wide and pointed to the sky at second base while teammates streamed from the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.

Daniel Palencia struck out two in a perfect bottom half to finish a three-hitter and get his third save of the WBC, striking out Roman Anthony to end the game. Venezuelans ran onto the infield to celebrate as the Americans stared while leaning on their dugout railing.

“Nobody believed in Venezuela but now we win the championship,” Suárez said. “This is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country.”

Despite a heralded roster of stars led by Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the U.S. lost its second straight final of baseball’s premier international event and remained without a title since 2017.

Venezuela celebrates its victory.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the championship game and hit .222 with five RBIs in the tournament, while Harper batted .214 with three RBIs and Alex Bregman .143 with four RBIs. The U.S. scored nine runs in the three knockout-round games while batting .188.

Ahead of a matchup with political overtones, players and coaches avoided discussing the government turmoil between the nations, heightened when the U.S. military captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in January. The sellout crowd of 36,190 at LoanDepot Park was heavily pro-Venezuela, with some booing American players during the introductions.

Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. The U.S. took the title in 2017 and lost the 2023 final to three-time champion Japan on this same field.

While the U.S., Japan and the Dominican Republic got much of the attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela’s success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters last year, second-most from outside the U.S. behind the Dominican Republic’s 100.

Venezuela went ahead in the third inning against McLean, getting the start because Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers decided the two-time Cy Young Award winner would make only a first-round appearance.

Salvador Perez sliced a first-pitch single and Ronald Acuña Jr. walked with one out. The runners advanced when McLean bounced a curveball, and Garcia followed with a sac fly to center.

Abreu doubled the lead when he drove a fastball 414 feet to center. His helmet fell off when he rounded second and he hopped in excitement as he neared the plate, where he was greeted by a line of teammates.

Rodriguez gave up one hit in 4 1/3 innings before Venezuela turned to its bullpen.

U.S. players had arrived at LoanDepot Park in game-worn U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys coordinated by outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jack Hughes, who scored the gold medal-winning goal against Canada last month.

In a darkened ballpark filled by fans wearing wristbands with festive blinking lights, Judge and Arraez led the teams down the foul lines for the introductions while carrying their nation’s flags.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Today we start a series looking at the NL West, position by position, and we meet our new sports columnist.

NL West, the catchers

It seems like a good time to look at the starting lineups for all the teams in the NL West. The Dodgers are prohibitive favorites to win the division, with some prognosticators thinking they will be the only team in the division to finish above .500.

Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projection has the NL West finishing like this.

1. Dodgers, 105-57
2. San Francisco, 81-81
2. San Diego, 81-81
4. Arizona, 79-83
5. Colorado, 61-101

It seems to me at least one other team will finish above .500, but, that’s why they play the games. A lot of projections had Toronto not even making the postseason last year. So take it with a grain of salt.

Now, let’s look at the catchers, ranked from best to worst. Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page.

Dodgers
Will Smith
Last season: .296/.404/.497, 20 doubles, 17 homers, 61 RBIs
Career: .264/.358/.476, 128 OPS+

Smith, who turns 31 on March 28, is the best catcher in baseball and he is a steal at only $14 million a season through 2033. Of catchers who started at least 81 games last season, he was eighth in caught stealing at 25.5%. Some will argue that Cal Raleigh or Alejandro Kirk are better, but when you consider the total package, I put Smith first. Of course, if Raleigh’s huge step up in offense that he took last season is for real, then he could certainly slot ahead of Smith.

Arizona
Gabriel Moreno
Last season: .285/.353/.433, 12 doubles, nine homers, 40 RBIs
Career: .281/.349/.404, 108 OPS+

Moreno has inflammation in his right elbow, but it appears he will be ready for opening day. He has had quite a few injuries the last couple of seasons.

Colorado
Hunter Goodman
Last season: .278/.323/.520, 28 doubles, 31 homers, 91 RBIs
Career: .248/.292/.482, 102 OPS+

Goodman was one of the few bright spots for the Rockies, who lost 119 games last season. Last season was his first good season at the plate. He was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award. Earlier this spring training, he had this to say about his defense: “I mean, last year for the whole first half, was kind of like I was in fight-or-flight mode the whole game behind the dish. So just trying to get to where I’m comfortable on the plate and working to get these guys strikes and call better games and stuff like that.”

San Francisco
Patrick Bailey
Last season: .222/.277/.325, six homers, 55 RBIs
Career: .230/.287/.340, 78 OPS+

Bailey is solid defensively, and has proven to be a master at when to challenge a ball/strike call under the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System (more on that in a future newsletter). Bailey has also focused on his swing in the offseason and has been a much better hitter this spring.

San Diego
Freddy Fermin
Last season: .251/.297/.339, 13 doubles, five homers, 26 RBIs
Career: .264/.309/.376, 91 OPS+

The Padres acquired Fermin from the Royals at the trade deadline last season, and loved how he handled the pitching staff, much like the Dodgers with Ben Rortvedt. He will be backed up Luis Campusano, who hit .336 in triple A but isn’t exactly Johnny Bench behind the plate.

Meet our new columnist

We have a new columnist at The Times, Mirjam Swanson. She will be covering all sports, but here’s guessing she will be writing quite a bit of opinion about the Dodgers. So, let’s get to know her.

Q. Welcome to The Times. What was the road that led you here?

Swanson: Thank you! Oh, it’s been a long and windy road, scenic let’s say. I grew up in Southern California, so it was always my dream to work for the L.A. Times. But journalism is a tough business. And I know I’m not the only mom out there who has turned down and/or taken jobs based on what was best for her children. Plus, I’ve always had this problem of getting really into whatever I’m covering, whether it was action sports or local politics or World Series runs. So while the dream of working at the Times persisted, I was also always happy with what was right in front of me, never desperate to move on. But here I am now, finally, better for the journey, I think.

Q. You will be an all-sports columnist, but we’ll focus on the Dodgers since this is a Dodgers newsletter. Do you have a favorite moment in Dodger history?

Swanson: The moment in Dodgers history that will stick with me most is …

… hmm. The Dodgers’ history books could fill a library — where to start?

I was in the backseat of the family car on a freeway somewhere in Southern California listening to Kirk Gibson put his signature on the improbable 1988 season with his impossibly clutch pinch-hit home run in Game 1 of the World Series. And I was in the ballpark when Gibby met Freddie in 2024, feeling the stadium shake and watching on a TV in the overflow media workspace, feeling awe and angst. Freddie Freeman with grand timing that night, right on deadline.

Watched Shohei Ohtani turn Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS into a Little League game with 10 strikeouts and three home runs. There might never be a greater individual game — or there might be. Put nothing past Ohtani, including the inconceivable.

And I won’t forget my L.A. neighborhood erupting over Miguel Rojas’ “no-way!” ninth-inning solo shot in Game 7 of last season’s World Series.

But all of that is a long and windy way to arrive at this: It’s Andy Pages’ catch.

That’s not recency bias, either. It’s that the play was so confounding, so unexpected, the plot twist no one saw coming. Violent and athletic and hilarious. A whole movie in 10 seconds.

We might not have expected it to be Rojas to hit that season-saving home run, but our brains are trained to accept seeing a home run in such a moment. But an outfielder coming out of nowhere, running down and over his own teammate to make an improbable, impossible season-saving catch for the final out in the ninth inning of Game 7? Wasn’t on my bingo card.

I think about that play daily, it was so cool.

Q. What do you see as the biggest obstacle for the team this season?

Swanson: The answer is health, of course. But the Dodgers are so deep, they’ve done as much as a club can to fortify itself against inevitable injuries and ailments throughout a season, so it feels like less of a concern than it’s supposed to be.

So it’ll be mental. Having to handle the weight of trying to three-peat, of everyone either desperately wanting to see them do it or rooting desperately against them doing it. Every other team is going to treat their games against the Dodgers like it’s the World Series. That should make for good baseball, but it also will test these guys’ psychological stamina.

Manager Dave Roberts said the other night that he felt more pressure to repeat than three-peat, and that at this point, the Dodgers are playing with house money. That might be true, but there’s no ignoring the historic opportunity, either. Heady stuff for a team that’s set up as well as a team can be to do it if players can keep their edge.

Q. I get quite a bit of email from fans saying Roberts is overrated and that anyone could manage this team to the World Series. What are your thoughts on Roberts as a manager?

Swanson: I know some of these people.

And I hope they’re on no one’s jury, because evidence evidently means nothing to them.

A guy I know, an otherwise relatively rational dude, told me after the Dodgers repeated: “The only bad thing about this is Dave Roberts is going to be around longer.”

As if there was any bad thing for fans of the team about the Dodgers’ repeating. You really have to want to be unhappy about something if you’re anti-the manager who has won three World Series crowns in six seasons.

As if it’s automatic to pilot a team with so many talented players, to keep them happy and motivated and locked in, to manage these millionaires with understandable egos. That’s actually so much harder to do than to coach up a team of prospects with modest expectations.

And to pull so many of the right levers along the way, too?

Yeah, Roberts is elite at what he does. And apparently his haters are elite at what they do too.

Q. Is a lockout inevitable after the season, and does baseball need a salary cap?

Swanson: Sigh.

Yes, probably.

No, probably not.

All the salary cap is going to do is save the smarter-than-you Dodgers’ ownership group money while everyone keeps chasing them. It won’t level the playing field, but it will give owners cover for not paying their players as much as they could — and possibly cost us all priceless opportunities to watch Ohtani play baseball while the owners and players arm wrestle over finances offstage.

Sigh.

Q. Lastly, how many games will the Dodgers win this season?

Swanson: Fewer than 100.

Yes, they’re the most talented team money could buy. But every other team is going to give everything it has in every game against the Dodgers. And the Dodgers aren’t going to match that energy every time out — or 117 times out, if you’re hoping the major league record + World Series three-peat combo is on the menu.

The regular season isn’t what it’s really about for the Dodgers. They’ll be conservative with their approach, they won’t push anyone to do anything that could diminish their performance in the postseason. They’re going to play it cool … until they’re not.

And it’s going to drive observers along the way nuts, because it will cost them some games. But let’s try not to fret too much, Dodgers fans. Try not be too hard on Roberts.

Because only one number really matters: Three.

Dodger Stadium has a new field name

The Dodgers agreed to a deal granting Uniqlo naming rights to the field at Dodger Stadium. Though not officially announced by the Dodgers, the name likely will be Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

Uniqlo is a Japan-based clothing brand. This is just another example of the revenue the Dodgers are generating because of Shohei Ohtani.

But here’s guessing that no one will call it Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

Opening day starter will be…

Dave Roberts said Monday that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the opening day starter on March 26 against Arizona at Dodger Stadium. It will be the second straight opening day start for Yamamoto, and after all he did in the postseason last year, it is much deserved.

And the number is….

Some of you who haven’t seen any spring training games have asked what numbers the new Dodgers are wearing.

Edwin Díaz is wearing No. 3, last worn by Chris Taylor and also worn by such Dodger luminaries as Steve Sax, Willie Davis and Billy Cox. He becomes the 40th Dodger to wear No. 3.

Kyle Tucker is wearing No. 23, last worn by Michael Conforto (I hope that’s not a bad omen) and also worn by, among others, Adrián González, Eric Karros, Kirk Gibson, Jim Wynn, Claude Osteen and Don Zimmer.

In case you missed it

Yoshinobu Yamamoto named Dodgers’ opening-day starter for second straight season

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani apologizes for ‘shortcomings’ in Japan’s early exit from WBC

Dodgers reportedly agree to deal with Uniqlo for naming rights to Dodger Stadium field

Swanson: Yoshinobu Yamamoto might not wear a cape, but he has super powers

‘Bigger than baseball.’ Why being in Puerto Rico for WBC meant so much to Kiké Hernández

Blake Snell throws first bullpen session of spring training, taking key step forward

Dodgers prospect James Tibbs III attempts to show staying power after multiple trades

And finally

Kyle Tucker hits his first home run with the Dodgers. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Monday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Alliance Ouchi 13, Rise Kohyang 5

Carson 5, Narbonne 3

Fremont 8, Marquez 4

Garfield 9, LA Roosevelt 4

Huntington Park 15, Maywood Academy 4

San Fernando 6, Granada Hills Kennedy 4

Sotomayor 3, Rancho Dominguez 1

Sun Valley Poly 1, North Hollywood 0

Sylmar 6, Verdugo Hills 2

Torres 8, Gardena 4

Vaughn 8, Eagle Rock 7

SOUTHERN SECTION

Ambassador 9, Whitney 7

Aquinas 10, Arrowhead Christian 1

Baldwin Park 23, Pioneer 5

Beaumont 12, Jurupa Hills 9

Beckman 4, Woodbridge 1

Bloomington Christian 12, Joshua Springs Christian 7

Calvary Baptist 25. Packinghouse Christian 0

Calvin Christian 14, California Lutheran 3

Capistrano Valley 12, Northwood 1

Chino Hills 5, Colony 3

Corona 3, Riverside King 0

Corona Santiago 11, Eastvale Roosevelt 3

Crean Lutheran 7, Sunny Hills 5

de Toledo 8, Hoover 7

Desert Christian 15, Valley Torah 0

El Toro 4, Esperanza 3

Granite Hills 8, Eastside 0

Great Oak 4, La Palma Kennedy 1

La Quinta 13, Palm Springs 5

La Serna 4, Monrovia 4

Loma Linda Academy 16, Desert Chapel 4

Meadows School 8, Bellflower 7

Milken 9, Malibu 6

Mission Viejo 8, Irvine University 0

Norco 8, Corona Centennial 4

North Torrance 12, St. Monica 1

Oak Park 7, Windward 4

Palm Desert 18, Rancho Mirage 0

Paramount 6, Cerritos 5

Redlands East Valley 16, Indio 3

Riverside Prep 4, Sonora 1

Rolling Hills Prep 6, HMSA 4

San Clemente 3, Sonora 0

San Juan Hills 7, El Dorado 2

San Marino 6, California 5

Serrano 10, Adelanto 7

Shadow Hills 12, Xavier Prep 1

South Hills 10, Los Altos 1

St. Bernard 8, La Salle 3

Twentynine Palms 21, CIMSA 3

Valley Christian 13, Bishop Montgomery 0

Whittier 11, Gabrielino 1

Woodcrest Christian 6, Chaparral 5

Yucca Valley 4, Desert Hot Springs 3

YULA 5, Shalhevet 3

INTERSECTIONAL

Berkeley Prep 4, Gahr 1

Calabasas 12, Taft 1

Compton 5, King/Drew 1

Garden Grove Pacifica 6, Parker (CO) Legend 2

Lakeview Charter 14, Community Charter 4

Redlands Adventist Academy 16, Public Safety Academy

Santa Margarita 13, Mountain Vista (CO) 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Animo Venice 25, Animo Robinson 5

Bell 18, Huntington Park 4

Bernstein 23, Belmont 2

Contreras 24, Roybal 14

Discovery 20, Locke 6

Fremont 21, Dymally 0

Garfield 10, LA Roosevelt 0

Harbor Teacher 11, Narbonne 8

Hollywood 15, RFK Community 1

LA Marshall 18, USC-MAE 1

Middle College 29, LAAAE 8

Northridge Academy 17, Grant 0

Rancho Dominguez 8, Orthopaedic 6

South Gate 5, South East 1

VAAS 21, Panorama 5

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 14, ACE 3

Aquinas 10, Riverside Notre Dame 3

Arlington 15, Vista del Lago 2

Arrowhead Christian 4, Hesperia Christian 1

Chino 7, Diamond Bar 6

Corona 15, Walnut 1

Covina 17, Muir 13

Crean Lutheran 11, Tustin 1

Elsinore 10, Irvine University 4

Garey 8, Sierra Vista 5

Grace 12, Del Sol 0

Godinez 14, Estancia 3

Lakewood 12, Valley Christian 5

Los Osos 6, Canyon Springs 1

Maranatha 11, Heritage Christian 1

Newport Harbor 13, Portola 11

Northwood 3, Trabuco Hills 1

Oaks Christian 11, Crescenta Valley 6

Orange 2, Santa Ana 0

Oxford Academy 15, Loara 14

Palm Desert 13, Rancho Mirage 12

Palos Verdes 12, South Torrance 7

Pasadena Marshall 21, Bassett 8

Redlands 9, Fontana 7

RSCSM 21, Mesa Grande Academy 7

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 23, Glendale 4

Twentynine Palms 13, Moreno Valley 10

Yucca Valley 1, Desert Hot Springs 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Animo Watts 22, Stella 13

Burbank Providence 14, Van Nuys 0

Dorsey 1, Inglewood 1

El Segundo 7, Wilmington Banning 4

Port of LA 9, Peninsula 8

Redondo Union 10, LA Hamilton 0

Sierra Canyon 16, El Camino Real 0

Waiting patiently as he watched Ethan Schiefelbein, then Seth Hernandez perform as ace pitchers for Corona, junior left-hander Mason Sims has now assumed that role — and what a performance he turned in Monday during a Big VIII League game.

Sims struck out 12 with no walks in six innings of Corona’s 3-0 win over King. He gave up four hits. Anakin Tolman picked up the save in the seventh. Sims learned from the two current minor-league pitchers when he was a freshman and sophomore. He showed potential and is set to lead the Panthers’ pitching staff for the next two years.

Norco 8, Corona Centennial 4: Dylan Seward had a triple and three RBIs for the Cougars. Centennial got nine hits off Norco ace Landon Hovermale.

Corona Santiago 11, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Striker Pence hit a home run, double and finished with four RBIs and Ben Lewis struck out 11 in five innings for Santiago. Max Eldridge had three hits and three RBIs.

San Juan Hills 7, El Dorado 2: Derrick Robertson contributed three hits for San Juan Hills.

Santa Margarita 13, Mountain Vista 2: Cooper Holland had three hits and six RBIs, including a grand slam, for the Eagles. Luke Blanchard added three hits.

South Hills 10, Los Altos 1: Diego Villarreal hit a grand slam for South Hills.

Carson 5, Narbonne 3: Joseph Meza struck out seven in five innings and Skylar Vinson and Fernando Barajas each had two hits for Carson in the Marine League opener.

Banning 3, San Pedro 2: AJ Herrera had the save and Oscar Chavez and Ethan Camejo contributed two hits each for Banning.

Calabasas 12, Taft 1: Trevor Chang had a grand slam and seven RBIs for Calabasas.

Garfield 9, Roosevelt 4: Angel Zamudio had a two-run double and Nate Vasquez had two hits and RBIs for Garfield.

San Fernando 6, Kennedy 4: Alex Torres improved to 3-0 and Armando Villegas had a double and single in the Valley Mission League win.

Sylmar 6, Verdugo Hills 2: Rickee Luevano went four for four and delivered a three-run home run for Sylmar.

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the fourth week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. ST. JOHN BOSCO (4-0): Trinity League play begins vs. JSerra; 1

2. CORONA (4-0): Danny De La Torre is six for seven hitting; 2

3. ORANGE LUTHERAN (2-1): Faces Damien this week before trip to North Carolina; 3

4. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (7-0): Dru Wilson is nine for 19 hitting; 4

5. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (7-1): Freshman Louis Lappe gets his first home run in high school; 5

6. NORCO (5-1): No runs allowed in 18 2/3 innings for Landon Hovermale; 7

7. GAHR (3-3): The pitching has been outstanding; 6

8. HUNTINGTON BEACH (4-2-1): Oilers get three-game sweep of rival Edison; 9

9. SIERRA CANYON (6-3): Armando Solorio emerging as ace; 8

10. ROYAL (7-1): Dustin Dunwoody eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings vs. Moorpark; 10

11. AQUINAS (3-0): Showdown with Arrowhead Christian this week; 13

12. SANTA MARGARITA (7-1): Brody Schumaker has four hits, seven RBIs vs. Los Osos; 16

13. MATER DEI (4-2): Three-game series with Santa Margarita; 11

14. EL DORADO (6-3): Pitching continues to be strong; 12

15. OAKS CHRISTIAN (7-2): Sophomore Dane Disney leads team with 11 hits; 14

16. SOUTH HILLS (7-1): Carson Baker continues to hit, pitch with the best; 15

17. CYPRESS (6-3): Bats came alive in two-game sweep of JSerra; 18

18. LA MIRADA (5-2): Faces Etiwanda on Wednesday; 19

19. AYALA (6-1): Ivan Ruddell is 10 for 16 hitting; 21

20. CORONA CENTENNIAL (5-3): Showdown with Norco this week; 20

21. THOUSAND OAKS (10-0): Is Jack Wilson back playing for the Lancers?; NR

22. NEWPORT HARBOR (7-1): Rivalry games against Corona del Mar this week; 22

23. VILLA PARK (7-2-1): Jack McGuire off to good start on mound; 23

24. SOUTH TORRANCE (8-0): Eleven hits, 10 RBIs for Owen Rhodes; 24

25. ALISO NIGUEL (7-0-1): Eleven hits for Carson Etnire; NR

It started with a Shohei shot.

Ohtani began the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo for Team Japan with a double on the first pitch he saw and then, one inning later, a grand slam … of course he did.

It continued with an espresso shot …

The hitters of lovable Team Italy celebrated home runs with shots of Italian espresso in a dugout dripping with cheek kisses and caffeine.

After hitting three homers against Mexico, Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino told Fox that he was, “beaned up.”

Truly, this blip of a tournament has been beaned up, a glorious 10 days of deafening cheers and eye-blacked tears, fans dressed like discount popes and bald eagles, TV ratings through the roof, baseball at its October best … in the middle of spring training?

Italy’s Jac Caglianone takes a shot of espresso as he celebrates with teammate Vinnie Pasquantino after hitting a solo home run against the U.S. during the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday in Houston.

(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)

What a thing! What a treat!

All hail the WBC, 20 years old and all grown up, its sixth incarnation stealing the stage in a sweet spot during NBA doldrums and before March Madness.

Have you watched any of it? Have you been energized by all of it? It’s been like two weeks of All-Star games, only the players are serious. It’s been like when baseball was part of the Olympics, only the players are all truly the best in the world.

In the middle of the most boring part of the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, it’s like a Superhero League. Two weeks before opening day, it’s like the final week of a pennant race.

It’s competitive, and it’s crazy, and Friday’s quarterfinals were filled with both.

There was giant Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going airborne to score a run for the Dominican Republic against Korea, and then leaping up and pumping his fist as if he had just won the World Series.

There was Juan Soto flying home to score an inning later, his head-first dive celebrated by Soto doing a swim move in the dugout.

Then there was Team USA’s David Bednar, screaming along with the chanting crowd as he worked out of a seventh-inning jam in a win over Canada.

In a tournament filled with equal parts emotion and edginess, Team USA now plays the Dominican Republic Sunday in Miami in a semifinal that could be the most-watched game of this season before the season starts.

Paul Skenes versus a lineup so deep Julio Rodriguez bats seventh? A team led by Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper versus a team featuring Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr?

Dominican Republic’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dives past South Korea catcher Park Dong-won to score on a double by Junior Caminero during the World Baseball Classic on Friday in Miami.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

“I expect it to be one of the best games of all time,” said Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa.

No, the WBC isn’t as big as the World Series. One notable player said it’s even bigger.

“The Classic kind of feels above the World Series,” Kiké Hernández told reporters earlier this spring. “Maybe it’s because of what we have on the chest,”

Hernández, who didn’t play for his home country Puerto Rico because he is recovering from elbow surgery, nonetheless showed up in San Juan for the pool-play games.

He was so excited when Puerto Rico beat Panama on a walk-off home run, he texted Dodgers baseball president Andrew Friedman and asked if he could accompany the team to Houston for the knockout round. Friedman of course said yes.

Yes, yes, yes, more, more, more.

Before this spring, I had watched exactly one WBC at-bat. The entire deal felt cheesy and contrived. American players didn’t appear to care. American players would rather lounge through the final days of spring training in occasional games and on countless golf courses

Other countries loved it. Other countries caused a ruckus. The fan experience was highlighted by a memorable and deafening 2009 final at Dodger Stadium featured a Japan victory over South Korea in a game that many observers said was the loudest they ever attended.

Not me. Didn’t care. I pretty much ignored the whole thing until stumbling upon that one at-bat, the final out in the 2023 title game, that stunning dramatic strikeout of Mike Trout by then-Angel teammate Ohtani to give Japan the title.

Ohtani threw his cap and glove in a rare show of emotion, setting off a wild and sincere celebration as my ignorant self finally realized, “Hey, this is a thing.”

Three years later, the American players have agreed, stacking the roster with stars like Judge and Harper, kids like Pete Crow-Armstrong, vets like Kyle Schwarber and Big Dumpers named Cal Raleigh, all transforming this occasional baseball oddity into must-see TV.

You know how one can tell it’s real American baseball? The team spent its first week mired in social media drama and a second-guessing controversy.

American right fielder Aaron Judge celebrates his team’s win over Canada during a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game on Friday in Houston.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Tarik Skubal, the game’s best pitcher, found himself defending his patriotism after leaving the tournament early to better prepare for his opening day start with the Detroit Tigers.

First, he admitted he was surprised at how bad he felt about abandoning Team USA. That seemed to be a theme in a clubhouse that has been stunned at how much this matters.

“I totally misread how I would feel,” he said.

Then, he seemed genuinely hurt that people think he is turning his back on the flag.

“It’s just not fair,” he told the Athletic, later adding, “If they know me, though, and they know me on a personal level and they know what my peers think of me, I don’t think it’s fair to say those things.”

Also finding himself in hot water was USA manager Mark DeRosa, who nearly allowed his team to be eliminated in pool play because he didn’t know the rules.

When Team USA played Italy on Tuesday night, DeRosa rested most of his starters, nearly used retired Clayton Kershaw and basically managed the game as if he thought they didn’t need to win to guarantee advancement to the next round.

Guess what? They needed to win. But they didn’t win, losing 8-6 in a shocking upset. So they were forced to sweat out the Italy-Mexico game on Wednesday, where another Italian upset allowed them to back into the quarterfinals.

DeRosa claimed he knew the rules all along, which he clearly did not.

Before the game against Italy, in an interview on the MLB Network, he said, “Our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”

After the game, DeRosa claimed he just, “misspoke”

And then Thursday he told the media, “I was well aware that we had to win the game.”

The 16-year journeyman clearly messed up, and then tried to cover up, and here’s guessing even if Team USA wins this tournament, he won’t be managing them in the 2028 Olympics or in any future WBC events.

Seems like the perfect job for Dave Roberts, no?

Meanwhile, one American player had a dissenting view about the status of this tournament, Harper offering a tired argument.

“Obviously, the WBC has been great, but it’s not the Olympics, right?” he told reporters. “That’s no disrespect to the WBC or anything, but everybody knows that when the Olympics are on, everybody’s watching. It doesn’t matter what sport it is; it could be the most random sport, and it’s got all the fans watching it.”

Wrong. Here’s guessing more fans will be watching Sunday night in a matchup for the ages. Then, imagine if Team USA wins and plays Japan on Tuesday night for the championship?

With the sport headed toward a seemingly inevitable work stoppage this winter, this could be the sweet beginnings of a long farewell. Soak it in. Enjoy the buzz. Get all beaned up. March madness indeed.

Saturday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Cleveland 6, San Pedro 4

Gardena 11, Animo Leadership 2

LA University 12, Environmental Charter 1

Santee 22, Mendez 13

South East 3, Sylmar 2

Verdugo Hills 1, Franklin 0

Wilmington Banning 7, Port of LA 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Aliso Niguel 9, Murrieta Valley 4

Aquinas 12, Capistrano Valley 2

Buena 7, St. Bonaventure 3

Calabasas 1, Santa Monica 0

Claremont 8, Adelanto 2

Colton 5, Arroyo Valley 0

Dos Pueblos 6, Lompoc 3

El Dorado 2, West Ranch 0

Foothill Tech 5, Trinity Classical Academy 4

Ganesha 2, Mission Viejo 1

Glendora 7, Charter Oak 6

Golden Valley 16, Nordhoff 12

Granite Hills 2, Fontana 1

Hacienda Heights Wilson 13, Tustin 7

Jurupa Hills 8, Orange Vista 2

Kaiser 1, West Covina 0

Katella 14, Chaparral 3

Laguna Beach 5, Costa Mesa 3

Linfield Christian 3, El Toro 0

Long Beach Jordan 12, El Monte 0

Loyola 8, Cathedral 0

Mayfair 22, Lynwood 0

Mira Costa 7, Lakewood 0

Moorpark 17, Channel Islands 0

Mountain View 5, Avalon 3

Norco 1, Great Oak 0

Nuview Bridge 8, Eisenhower 4

Oaks Christian 9, Hart 0

Pasadena Marshall 9, Santa Clarita Christian 8

Ramona 8, Sunny Hills 6

Redlands 13, Rim of the World 0

Rio Hondo Prep 10, Orange Glen 1

Riverside Prep 5, Yucaipa 2

San Gorgonio 14, Big Bear 7

Santa Ana Foothill 14, Walnut 2

Santa Ynez 27, Dunn 0

Silverado 5, Pasadena Poly 1

St. Anthony 17, Artesia 11

Tesoro 4, Sunny Hills 1

Torrance 10, West Torrance 0

Trabuco Hills 10, Long Beach Wilson 8

Troy 13, Victor Valley 3

University Prep 22, Immanuel Christian 0

Valencia 8, Simi Valley 0

Valley View 13, Heritage 5

Warren 7, Santa Fe 1

Whitney 7, Western 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Bloomington Christian 13, Austin (TX) NYOS Charter 4

Burbank Burroughs 6, LA Marshall 5

El Dorado 17, Campo Verde 4

Garfield 3, Whittier Christian 1

Hueneme 9, Idaho Falls (ID) Skyline 2

Indian Springs 20, Public Safety Academy 2

Oxnard 4, Idaho Falls (ID) Skyline 3

Palm Desert 5, Rancho Bernardo 2

Palos Verdes 4, Palisades 3

San Jose More 11, Valley Christian Academy 1

Sonora 11, Legacy 4

Temecula Valley 7, Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman 4

University Prep 9, Boron 2

Valley Christian 10, South Gate 9

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

LA Marshall 12, Bell 1

Santee 27, Mendez 25

SOUTHERN SECTION

Agoura 4, Torrance 0

Alemany 15, Montebello 2

Alemany 18, Irvine 3

Alhambra 10, Ramona Convent 4

Arcadia 8, Paramount 0

Alta Loma 6, Summit 5

Alta Loma 5, Los Osos 1

Capistrano Valley 9, Corona Santiago 4

Chaparral 11, Katella 7

Downey 11, La Palma Kennedy 1

Elsinore 10, Covina 3

Etiwanda 10, Redlands East Valley 4

Firebaugh 11, Long Beach Cabrillo 6

Glendora 5, Yucaipa 3

Glendora 4, Capistrano Valley 2

Grace 6, Hemet 5

Hesperia 16, Victor Valley 14

Highland 6, Apple Valley 2

Highland 18, Apple Valley 6

Hillcrest 1, Diamond Bar 0

JSerra 6, Oaks Christian 1

Jurupa Hills 11, Garden Grove 10

Kaiser 12, Flintridge Prep 2

Kaiser 11, Lompoc Cabrillo 0

Lakewood 4, Whittier Christian 3

Lakewood St. Joseph 8, Placentia Valencia 3

Lakewood St. Joseph 8, Warren 3

Maranatha 7, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 5

Mayfair 9, Garden Grove 3

Mayfair 19, Jurupa Hills 2

Northview 7, Grand Terrace 6

San Dimas 9, Paramount 4

Santa Fe 9, Riverside North 0

Santa Fe 6, Downey 4

Santa Monica 8, Bishop Montgomery 4

Schurr 11, Covina 0

Schurr 11, Elsinore 4

Segerstrom 9, Walnut 7

Simi Valley 3, Redondo Union 0

South Hills 6, Hemet 2

South Torrance 13, West Torrance 0

Upland 8, Arrowhead Christian 0

Valencia 2, Buena 0

Victor Valley 11, Hesperia 8

Vista Murrieta 9, Oak Hills 5

Walnut 7, Katella 5

Warren 12, Placentia Valencia 1

Western Christian 8, Summit 5

Whittier Christian 17, Grace 5

Yucaipa I, La Palma Kennedy 1

INTERSECTIONAL

Carson 15, Bishop Montgomery 6

Carson 12, Culver City 1

Cypress 5, Granada Hills 0

Fountain Valley 11, LA University 1

Glendale 15, Maywood CES 5

Granada Hills 14, El Rancho 6

Legacy 5, San Dimas 2

Maywood CES 17, St. Mary’s Academy 10

Redondo Union 7, San Pedro 1

Riverside King 12, Sanger 0

Simi Valley 4, Wilmington Banning 1

Venice 4, Maranatha 0

Venice 13, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 4

Sophomore pitcher Carlos Acuna, building upon his outstanding freshman season, threw a one-hit shutout on Friday in Birmingham’s 5-0 West Valley League win over Taft.

He lost his no-hit bid when the first hitter of the seventh inning singled. He finished with seven strikeouts. In 24 innings this season, Acuna is 3-0 with 29 strikeouts, eight walks and a 1.16 earned-run average.

Cypress 14, JSerra 2: Tyler Vladic had five hits and Noah Johnson contributed five RBIs to lead Cypress.

Foothill 7, Cajon 0: Evrett Rycroft struck out two and walked none in six scoreless innings.

Huntington Beach 4, Edison 1: Tanner Brown struck out seven with no walks in six innings and Jared Grindlinger had two hits for the Oilers.

El Camino Real 6, Cleveland 1: Hudson December threw a complete game for the Royals.

Granada Hills 8, Chatsworth 5: Nicholas Penaranda finished with three hits for Granada Hills.

Villa Park 6, La Habra 1: Jack McGuire struck out 10 and threw 6 2/3 innings for Villa Park.

Garfield 3, Venice 2: The Bulldogs scored a run in the ninth on an error to break a 2-2 deadlock. Michael Santillan had three hits for Garfield.

Bell 11, Palisades 3: Jayden Gonzalez had a home run and three RBIs for 10-1 Bell.

Palos Verdes 3, Mira Costa 1: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in 4⅓ innings to lead Palos Verdes.

Fountain Valley 6, Los Alamitos 2: Ethan Cortez had a two-run single for Fountain Valley.

Marina 5, Newport Harbor 4: Three hits from Elijah Herald helped Marina hand Newport Harbor its first loss.

Santa Margarita 19, Los Osos 9: Brody Schumacher drove in seven runs on four hits, including a home run and double.