It was only last week when Huntington Beach was unbeaten in the Sunset League and running away with the the league title. Now Newport Harbor (13-3) is closing fast, pulling to within one game of the Oilers (14-2) after Gavin Guy threw a five-hit shutout on Tuesday to beat the Oilers 1-0.
Guy struck out eight and walked. one. Keoni Wun drove in the game’s only run in the third inning with an RBI single. The two teams close the regular season with games Wednesday at Huntington Beach and Friday at Newport Harbor.
Marina 5, Fountain Valley 1: Jaxon Vilardi threw the complete game for Marina.
Edison 16, Corona del Mar 3: Cody Kruis had three hits and five RBIs for Edison, including three doubles.
St. John Bosco 7, Mater Dei 0: Julian Garcia struck out 10 in six innings while giving up no hits and Jaden Jackson and James Clark each hit home runs to help the Braves clinch at least a share of the Trinity League championship. Jack Champlin added two RBIs.
JSerra 8, Santa Margarita 7: Blake Bowen hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh for JSerra.
Orange Lutheran 3, Servite 0: Cooper Sides gave up three hits in six innings and Marcus Greis got the save.
Sierra Canyon 11, Loyola 2: Brayden Goldstein hit a home run and double, Theo Swafford had three hits and Carl McMullen had three hits and three RBIs for the Trailblazers.
Harvard-Westlake 12, Chaminade 3: Nate Blum had three hits, Ira Rootman contributed two hits and two RBIs and James Tronstein homered for the Wolverines.
Bishop Alemany 5, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3: Mikey Martinez had two hits for the Warriors and also got the save.
St. Francis 4, Crespi 2: Caysen Sullivan struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.
Ganesha 2, Palos Verdes 1: Logan Schmidt gave up two hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Brentwood 7, Viewpoint 0: Jack Kaplan threw a perfect game with 15 strikeouts.
Santa Monica 6, Culver City 5: The Vikings scored three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to clinch the Ocean League championship. The Vikings are 23-0 in league play the last two years.
Temecula Valley 16, Vista Murrieta 0: The Golden Bears clinched the Southwestern League title. Taden Krogsgaard threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Newbury Park 5, Westlake 4: Jack Klein had an RBI single in the sixth for the Panthers. Jaxson Neckien and Cade Atkinson each had two hits for Westlake.
Agoura 12, Thousand Oaks 2: Tyler Starling had three hits, including a home run, and Jordan Tagawa also had three hits for Agoura.
Calabasas 10, Oaks Christian 9: With two out in the top of the seventh, Oaks Christian had a chance to tie when the pitch went to the backstop. But it was retrieved and Oaks Christian’s runner was tagged out at the plate trying to score, ending the game. Michael Morales had three hits for Calabasas. Robert Sheffer hit two home runs for Oaks Christian. Luis Puls had a home run and six RBIs.
San Clemente 6, El Toro 0: Bob Erspamer struck out seven in five scoreless innings and Dax Conrad had two hits and two RBIs.
Softball
Murrieta Mesa 13, Great Oak 0: Tatum Wolff hit a three-run home run and also threw five shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3, Sierra Canyon 1: Nadia Ledon had two hits and Aliyah Garcia gave up two hits in six innings.
JSerra 5, Santa Margarita 2: Liliana Escobar struck out 14 for JSerra.
Mater Dei 6, Orange Lutheran 5: Aly Carrillo and Tulutululelei Sale each hit home runs in the Trinity League upset for the Monarchs.
Chaminade 11, Louisville 0: Finley Suppan struck out seven with no walks in six innings. Kyriel Fletcher had three hits.
Pitching coach Gus Rico was having dinner on Thursday when head coach Matt Mowry of Birmingham High complimented him on closer Aidan Martinez recording all seven of his outs on strikeouts.
“I had no idea,” Rico said. “Everything is a blur when I’m calling pitches.”
Martinez is throwing some blurs these days after returning this season following Tommy John surgery in June 2024. He touched 92 mph with his fastball and has been improving each week, getting better command and walking fewer batters. He has 28 strikeouts in 15 innings and three saves.
Birmingham is one game behind El Camino Real in the West Valley League standings going into showdown week, playing El Camino Real on Wednesday at home and Friday on the road. The Patriots need a sweep to have a chance at their first league title under Mowry, who prefers winning City titles.
With Martinez throwing so well, it would be a good strategy for opposing teams to make sure they are leading going into the last two innings.
“He’s got a bright future,” Rico said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Five years ago, longtime baseball coach Joe Cascione left coaching the sport to start a women’s tennis team at Mission College.
On Wednesday, Mission College won the state women’s tennis championship armed with local players from Kennedy, Granada Hills, Sylmar and Birmingham high schools, among others.
It’s quite an achievement to win it all with local athletes.
Key contributors included Amy Nghiem, Priscilla Grinner and America Fragoso from Granada Hills; Jaelyn Rivera from Birmingham; Josilyn Rivera and Natalia Ponce from Kennedy; Alitzel Ortega Partida from Golden Valley; Genesis Nochez from West Ranch and Kristen Bonzon from Sylmar.
Cascione singled out his players for their passion and commitment.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sylmar coach Ray Rivera is smiling. His favorite major league team, the San Francisco Giants, beat the Dodgers twice this week with great pitching. And his favorite high school team, the Spartans, swept a two-game series from Sun Valley Poly with their own great pitching to move three games up in the Valley Mission League race with four to play.
Sylmar pitchers gave up no runs in 14 innings this week. After Matthew Torres threw a no-hitter on Monday against Poly, Alex Martinez took the ball Thursday and recorded six shutout innings in a 10-0 win over the Parrots. He gave up three hits and struck out five.
Tim Sepulveda finished with three hits. Sylmar is 17-6 and 10-1 in league.
Verdugo Hills 10, San Fernando 4: Anthony Velasquez had a two-run double and finished with three RBIs for the Dons.
El Camino Real 5, Chatsworth 1: Ryan Glassman had two hits and two RBIs and Shane Bogacz finished with two hits, including an RBI double, for El Camino Real. Hudson December gave up one hit in five innings.
Taft 5, Cleveland 2: Victor Jara had a two-run single to lead the Toreadors.
Bell 3, Garfield 1: Jayden Rojas struck out six in six innings. He also had two hits.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Sierra. Canyon 5: The Knights ended a six-game losing streak. Jake Noroian had three hits and Jacob Madrid homered.
Alta Loma 2, South Hills 0: Logan Stein threw a one-hit shutout.
Thousand Oaks 4, Westlake 3: Preston Lee contributed an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh and lift Thousand Oaks to victory.
Oaks Christian 6, Agoura 5: The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Ryan Sheffer tied it with an RBI single and KJ Henrich won it with an RBI single. Carson Sheffer finished with two doubles. Tyler Starling homered for Agoura.
Villa Park 4, La Serna 0: Logan Hoppie struck out six and gave up two hits in six innings.
Aliso Niguel 3, San Clemente 1: Chad Alderman threw a complete game and Henry Drews had three hits.
Softball
Anaheim Canyon 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 1: Kelsey Perez struck out 11 for Canyon.
Carson 4, San Pedro 3: Ashannalee Titialii had two hits and Simi Mafoe homered for Carson.
Chaminade 7, Sierra Canyon 4: Siena Greenlinger had two hits and two RBIs.
It’s not every day that umpires decide a player used an illegal bat in a high school baseball game, so Wednesday’s Mission League game between host Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon began with a bang. A Sierra Canyon batter in the first inning was declared out after the umpires inspected the aluminum bat following an appeal from Notre Dame.
Sierra Canyon coach Tom Meusborn had a brief discussion with the umpires but their decision was not reversed. The bat apparently had a crack, which caused a strange sound. So began a sometimes tense, nearly four-hour game for second place in the Mission League.
Sierra Canyon scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a one-run lead, keyed by an RBI double from Brayden Goldstein and a bases loaded walk. In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights received two walks with one out. Sierra Canyon brought in sophomore pitcher Milo Benattar, who got a fly out and force play to save a 3-2 victory.
Sierra Canyon is 8-3 in league and Notre Dame 7-4.
It’s the first inning. 20 minutes have passed and now the umpires call out Sierra Canyon batter for using illegal bat. Never a boring a day in Mission League. pic.twitter.com/baEJB95FwW
Harvard-Westlake 12, St. Francis 1: The Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings, received home runs and four RBIs each from James Tronstein and Ira Rootman. Evan Alexander struck out 10 in 4 1/3 innings.
Chaminade 7, Crespi 0: Jackson Schroeder struck out 11 and gave up one hit. Isaiah Hearn and Robby Morgan each hit home runs.
Loyola 11, Bishop Alemany 4: Bobby Rapp had three hits to lead the Cubs.
Simi Valley 8, Royal 3: The Pioneers handed their rivals a first Coastal Canyon League defeat. Ryan Whiston had three hits, including two doubles.
Garfield 3, Bell 1: The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 in the Eastern League with a nine-inning win, possibly locking up a City Section Open Division playoff spot. Michael Santillan broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the ninth.
Cypress 1, Foothill 0: Jake DeLaquil had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Drew Slevcove struck out 13 in eight scoreless innings. Landon Smith pitched the final two innings for Cypress. Caden Lauridsen threw nine scoreless innings for Foothill.
St. John Bosco 6, Servite 3: Brayden Krakowski threw four innings of scoreless relief. Aaron Garcia had two RBIs.
Mater Dei 8, JSerra 5: Jack Reis hit a home run and Ezekiel Lara, Jaxon Olmstead and Emilio Young each had two hits for Mater Dei.
King 4, Corona Centennial 1: Eli Lipson had a two-run double and Jason Jones threw a complete game.
Corona 17, Eastvale Roosevelt 5: Adrian Ruiz had three hits and four RBIs.
Norco 3, Corona Santiago 2: After a scoreless game for five innings, Norco broke through for three runs in the sixth. Marcus Blanton had a two-run single. Santiago scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh before Jordan Ayala got the final out on a strikeout.
El Dorado 1, La Habra 0: Juilian Rodriguez struck out five and walked none in throwing the shutout. Brady Abner drove in the winning run in the sixth.
Gahr 9, Warren 1: Bryce Morrison gave up one run in five innings with six strikeouts and Andres Gonzalez had two hits and three RBIs.
San Clemente 2, Aliso Niguel 1: Easton Muraira threw a complete game for the Tritons.
Huntington Beach 4, Los Alamitos 2: Jared Grindlinger struck out eight in five innings.
Rancho Christian 10, Hillcrest 0: Jake Brande struck out 12 in five innings and gave up one hit. Hudson Abbe and Sean Downs each hit home runs.
Bishop Amat 4, La Salle 2: The Lancers clinched the Del Rey League title. Joaquin Ortiz went three for three.
Ayala 13, Diamond Bar 3: Easton Sarmiento finished with three hits and Dylan Wood added two hits and two RBIs.
Oaks Christian 2, Agoura 1: Justin Baird struck out eight in six innings for Oaks Christian. Carson Sheffer had two hits.
Mira Costa 7, West Torrance 1: Caden Ceman finished with three hits.
Torrance 4, Palos Verdes 3: Tessei Magori delivered a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Softball
Norco 15, Corona Centennial 0: Peyton May gave up one hit and struck out 10 with no walks and Camryn May contributed three RBIs.
Birmingham never wins the West Valley League baseball championship. But the Patriots are certainly putting themselves within striking distance of first-place El Camino Real.
They remained one game behind El Camino Real after an 8-0 win over Granada Hills on Tuesday in which Carlos Acuna gave up one hit in six innings and struck out 11. He also had two hits. Sebastian Valadez and Toni Mendoza each had two hits and two RBIs.
El Camino Real and Birmingham play a two-game series beginning April 29.
Harvard-Westlake 2, St. Francis 0: Junior Justin Kirchner threw six scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts and Ira Rootman had a home run and two RBIs.
Loyola 9, Bishop Alemany 3: Sophomore Austin Junk had a three-run home run and double and Luca Marucci also homered in the Cubs’ Mission League win. Mikey Martinez homered for Alemany.
Chaminade 12, Crespi 5: Bronson Jackson, Isaiah Hearn and Robby Morgan each hit home runs in the Mission League win. Kystan Bell had three hits for Crespi.
St. John Bosco 6, Servite 0: Julian Garcia showed off overpowering stuff, striking out 12 with no walks while giving up two hits to help the Braves (17-5, 9-1) remain in first place in the Trinity League. Jaden Jackson had two hits and two RBIs.
Orange Lutheran 6, Santa Margarita 3: The top-ranked Lancers scored four runs in the seventh to overcome a 3-2 deficit. Hamilton Friedberg had three hits and three RBIs and CJ Weinstein added three hits.
Newbury Park 6, Calabasas 5: Jack Laubacher had two hits and three RBIs in the Panthers’ eight-inning win.
Westlake 5, Thousand Oaks 3: The Warriors stayed in first place in the Marmonte League. Jaxson Necklen hit two home runs and Blake Miller added a home run, double, single and two RBIs.
Newport Harbor 8, Fountain Valley 1: Gavin Guy threw six innings in the Sunset League win.
Huntington Beach 6, Los Alamitos 3: Jared Grindlinger hit two doubles to keep Huntington Beach unbeaten in the Sunset League.
Gahr 2, Warren 1: Andres Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Gahr.
La Mirada 6, Downey 1: Michael Burgueno went four for four and Jacob Oropeza contributed two doubles.
San Clemente 4, Aliso Niguel 1: Bob Erspamer gave up two hits with six strikeouts in a complete game.
Martin Dugard is a prolific author and writer. He’s also an assistant cross-country coach at Santa Margarita after being head coach at JSerra for 15 years.
His newest book is “The Long Run,” which discusses the 1970s running boom and is a narrative history of four who sparked the marathon boom: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz.
He’s going to have a book signing on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo.
Don’t be surprised if he tries to run from Rancho Santa Margarita to his book signing.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
With more than 40 years of coaching experience, Tom Harp of Granada Hills sure knows how to pull off upsets in boys volleyball.
His team created some uncertainty for the City Section playoffs by knocking off the likely No. 1 seed, Chatsworth, on Monday with a five-set victory, 24-26, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12.
“It was an amazing match,” Harp said. “It was some of the hardest spikes I’ve seen in a long time from both teams.”
RJ Francisco of Granada Hills had 19 kills and setter Shawn Meza contributed 46 assists. Granada Hills pulled into a first-place tie with Chatsworth in the West Valley League after losing to the Chancellors earlier this season.
Baseball
Sylmar 7, Sun Valley Poly 0: The Spartans moved two games ahead of the Parrots in the Valley Mission League race. Matthew Torres threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Rickee Luevano had two hits and three RBIs. Tim Sepulveda added two hits.
El Camino Real 6, Chatsworth 2: It was a big day for JJ Saffie, who had a home run, double and two singles for the Royals. RJ De La Rosa had a triple.
Cleveland 2, Taft 0: Joshua Pearlstein threw 6⅓ scoreless innings, with Elliot Schoenwald getting the save. Sebastian Castaneda had two hits.
Banning 5, Narbonne 3: Oscar Chavez (4-1) threw a complete game and AJ Herrera went three for three to lead Banning.
Carson 2, San Pedro 1: Noah Sandoval threw a complete game for Carson.
San Fernando 1, Verdugo Hills 0: Alex Torres threw the shutout with seven strikeouts and no walks.
South Hills 4, Alta Loma 3: Gabriel Guerrero threw 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief to get the save for South Hills.
Long Beach Millikan 6, North Torrance 3: Austin Brett struck out seven in five innings.
Corona Centennial 15, King 8: Sophomore Ethan Miller hit two home runs and finished with five RBIs. The Huskies hit four home runs and rallied from a 5-3 deficit.
Corona 16, Eastvale Roosevelt 6: Sophomore Logan Pascarella had two hits and five RBIs and Trey Ebel added two hits and three RBIs to lead Corona.
Etiwanda 12, Chino Hills 11: Derick Kim hit a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning for Etiwanda. Jacob Jimenez hit a grand slam for Chino Hills. LJ Roellig had four hits, including three doubles, for Etiwanda. Jaxson Milius had three hits and three RBIs.
Softball
El Camino Real 3, Birmingham 1: Audrina Gonzalez struck out eight in seven innings. Gonzalez had an RBI double and Madison Franklin added an RBI triple.
San Pedro 13, Narbonne 0: Jenna Ortega had three hits, including two doubles.
Imagine getting a scholarship to attend college by learning how to caddy?
It’s happened to five Los Angeles-area high school students awarded the Evans Scholarship, a full housing and tuition grant offered to golf caddies.
This year’s recipients include Amaia Diaz and Marley Gomez from St. Mary’s Academy, Joel Arriaga Lopez and Sara Mejia from Compton Early College High and Cesar Sierra from Salesian.
The Western Golf Assn. Caddie Academy trains the students and supports the scholarship program.
A record 1,260 caddies in the program are enrolled at 27 universities. More than 12,000 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program began in 1930.
To qualify for the Evans Scholarship, students must meet the program’s four selection criteria demonstrating a strong caddie record, outstanding academics, financial need and exceptional character.
“Caddying taught me discipline, patience and responsibility,” Sierra said.
All five students caddied in Illinois during summer training. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Moorpark athletic director Rob Dearborn officially has a new title: president elect of the Southern Section.
The Southern Section Council elected him on Thursday. He will serve as president elect under the new president, Alexis Barile, the former principal at Corona Centennial, for 2026-27 and 2027-28 before taking over a two-year term.
Dearborn, 62, a former track and football coach, is in his 40th year participating in high school sports. He started out at Newbury Park before moving to Moorpark. He directs the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark. His wife, Denise, ran track at UCLA.
Asked if his wife will now salute him, Dearborn said, “No, I still salute her.”
It’s a two-year term to preside over Southern Section Council meetings.
“I grew up with Southern Section sports that have been a big part of my life,” he said. “It’s exciting.”
His son is football coach at Moorpark.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
After record-setting performances in the 4×100 relays last weekend at the Arcadia Invitational, the Servite and Rosary relay teams will try to do it again on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays at Mt. San Antonio College.
The Servite relay team of sophomores Jace Wells, Jorden Wells and Kamil Pelovello and junior Benjamin Harris ran it in 39.70 seconds at Arcadia, the fastest in state history.
Rosary, which is the sister school for Servite, featured sophomore Tra’via Flournoy, senior Justine Wilson, junior Pfeiffer Lee and sophomore Maliyah Collins running 44.23, breaking Long Beach Poly’s 22-year-old state record of 44.50.
Coach Brandon Thomas works with both teams and said he wanted to support the track community by having both participate.
Defending state high jump champion JJ Harel will compete in his specialty after winning at Arcadia with a mark of 6 feet, 9 inches. He’s still only a few weeks into training because of a previous injury.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Senior Jayden Rojas of Bell unleashed his best pitching performance of the season on Friday, giving up one hit and no walks while striking out 14 in a 1-0 win over Roosevelt. He also drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Rojas retired the first 18 Roosevelt batters until giving up a leadoff single in the seventh to break up his perfect game.
“I wanted to attack,” Rojas said. “I felt more confident throwing fastballs.”
Bell improved to 19-3 and 5-1 in the Eastern League.
“He was dialed in on the mound,” coach Frank Medina said. “Extremely efficient. He is usually plagued by 3-and-2 counts and walks, but today he had no walks and most of his 14 strikeouts came on four or less pitches. He was nasty.”
Granada Hills 5, Cleveland 2: The Highlanders are surging in the West Valley League after completing a two-game sweep of the Cavaliers this week to move into third place. Nicholas Penaranda had three RBIs and Foss Bohlen threw 5 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
Birmingham 2, Chatsworth 0: Nathan Soto threw six shutout innings and closer Aidan Martinez got three strikeouts in the seventh. Martinez also had three hits.
El Camino Real 5, Taft 3: The Royals broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth to stay one game ahead in the West Valley League. RJ De La Rosa had two hits and two RBIs.
Carson 6, Banning 2: The Colts won the Marine League game. Nate Ruan, Noah Sandoval and Xavier Alllen each had two hits.
St. John Bosco 6, Santa Margarita 1: Noah Everly hit two home runs to help the Braves complete a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita.
Sierra Canyon 9, St. Francis 2: Brayden Goldstein homered, Cody Gallegos had three hits and Charlie Cummings had a two-run single.
Bishop Alemany 14, Chaminade 13: A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh ended a wild game. Chaminade scored five runs in the top of the seventh for a 13-7 lead. Alemany scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Eli Stephens hit two home runs and had six RBIs for Chaminade. Chase Stevenson had a two-run double for Alemany in the seventh.
Harvard-Westlake 10, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4: The Wolverines took over first place in the Mission League with a three-game sweep. Freshman Nathan Englander hit a two-run home run and Ethan Price had a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Louis Lappe had two RBIs.
Loyola 12, Crespi 2: Matt Favela finished with two hits and three RBIs.
Cypress 2, El Dorado 0: Tate Belfanti struck out eight and gave up two hits for Cypress.
Los Alamitos 4, Corona del Mar 1: Logan Anderson threw a complete game and Parker Sanchez contributed two doubles.
Huntington Beach 11, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger, Owen Bone, Ely Mason and Brayden Wood each had two RBIs.
Arlington 8, Paloma Valley 1: Carter Johnson had a three-run home run for Arlington.
Palos Verdes 3, Mira Costa 2: Kai Van Scoyoc had two hits and two RBIs and also threw five innings in Palos Verdes’ win.
Oaks Christian 7, Thousand Oaks 6: Jack Brinkman threw a scoreless seventh to pick up the save and Carson Sheffer homered for the Lions.
Newbury Park 8, Agoura 2: Carson Richter had a three-run home run and Jack Laubacher added a solo home run to power the Panthers.
Westlake 9, Calabasas 6: Leadoff hitter Blake Miller had three hits and three RBIs. Evan Barak hit a two-run home run for Calabasas.
Saugus 8, Hart 6: Joey Nuttall had three hits and four RBIs for Saugus, including a home run. Hayden Rhodes hit a home run and double for Hart.
Valencia 6, West Ranch 0: Steve Genovese threw a three-hit shutout.
Corona 9, Corona Centennial 3: Anthony Murphy hit two home runs and Tyler Ebel added another home run for Corona.
Corona Santiago 3, King 0: Troy Randall had two hits and picked up a two-inning save.
Norco 18, Eastvale Roosevelt 0: Jacob Melendez had four RBIs and Dylan Seward and Zion Martinez each had three hits for Norco.
Softball
El Camino Real 14, Taft 2: Madison Franklin had a home run, a double and four RBIs.
Orange Lutheran 7, Mater Dei 1: Sierra Nichols finished with four hits in the leadoff role and Carlie Snyder homered.
Wednesday was a day for big-time performances in the Big VIII League from Norco, Corona and Corona Santiago.
Jordan Ayala of Norco struck out 10 in five innings and finished with two hits and three RBIs in an 8-0 win over Eastvale Roosevelt.
Danny De La Rose went five for five with five RBIs in Corona’s 16-2 win over Corona Centennial. Logan Pascarella, Trey Ebel and Jesiah Andrade hit home runs.
Striker Pence hit a grand slam and finished with six RBIs in Corona Santiago’s 17-1 win over King. Troy Randall also homered and had two hits.
St. John Bosco 8, Santa Margarita 1: The Braves’ first four batters combined for nine hits. James Clark had three hits. Jaden Jackson homered.
Servite 9, Mater Dei 6: Eli Rubel contributed two hits and two RBIs for the Friars.
Orange Lutheran 3, JSerra 2: The No. 1 Lancers overcame a 2-0 deficit and won it on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the seventh.
St. Francis 3, Sierra Canyon 2: Jack Smith threw two innings of shutout relief to get the save for St. Francis. Cody Gallegos had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon.
Loyola 13, Crespi 4: Matthew Favela had two hits and three RBIs and Jack Murray drove in three runs for the Cubs.
Harvard-Westlake 1, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: Evan Alexander struck out 11 and gave up one hit to help the Wolverines pull into a first-place tie with the Knights.
Chaminade 7, Bishop Alemany 0: Jackson Schroeder struck out eight with no walks in six innings and Isaac Hearn had a double and triple for the Eagles.
Ganesha 15, Bassett 0: Logan Schmidt struck out 14 of the 15 batters and hit two home runs in front of scouts ready to make him a first-round draft pick this summer.
La Mirada 1, Warren 0: Kaden Corns threw five scoreless innings for La Mirada.
West Ranch 4, Valencia 2: A three-run rally in the seventh included a home run from Connor Clayton.
Banning 4, Carson 2: Jacob Fernandez hit a two-run single in the seventh to hand Carson its first Marine League defeat.
Palos Verdes 1, Mira Costa 0: Jonah Cohen threw the shutout striking out six with no walks.
Huntington Beach 3, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger gave up two hits in five innings to keep the Oilers unbeaten in the Sunset League.
Birmingham 8, Chatsworth 3: Carlos Acuna threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Adian Martinez had two hits and three RBIs.
El Camino Real 7, Taft 3: RJ De La Rosa went three for three with two RBIs and Ryan Glassman had three hits and two RBIs to lead El Camino Real. Jackson Sellz threw a complete game, striking out six with no walks.
Cypress 4, El Dorado 1: Landon Smith threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for Cypress.
Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Anaheim Canyon 2: Jack Waeger had two hits and two RBIs.
Royal 7, Camarillo 6: Tristen Hogan broke a 6-6 tie with an RBI single in the seventh. Matthew Stout homered.
When you think of Oakwood School in sports, Mitchell Butler comes to mind. He put the basketball team on the map when getting a scholarship to UCLA and playing in the NBA.
Steve Smith, who coached basketball at Windward and in the WNBA, came on as athletic director and has been trying to raise the level of sports commitment at a school known for its academics and having parents in the entertainment business.
The baseball team is certainly showing passion and commitment this season with a 14-0 record, including wins over North Hollywood and Culver City.
Avery Ware, in his seventh season as coach, said, “It’s a lot of being selfless and versatile.”
Shortstop Jake Waco, who transferred from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame last season, has been effective as a fielder and hitter. He’s the son of David Waco, who was an All-City infielder for Chatsworth during the 1980s. He’s committed to Emory. The top pitcher is Trevor Jones, committed to Washington University.
If you believe Ware, the bus rides home have plenty of players singing, so someone might be capable of singing the national anthem before a game.
“We have a few kids with Hollywood ties,” Ware said.
Jones is a math whiz, also participating in competition with the STEM team. Other players are headed to Duke and Brown for academics.
“We’re making progress as a program,” Ware said. “For a lot of years, you could say baseball was a side note.”
Ware has his own celebrity ties. He and his brother, Anthony, were standouts at Hamilton. His cousins, Matt and Aaron Ware, were football stars at Loyola and Oaks Christian, respectively.
The team made an agreement to create a baseball field at North Hollywood Recreation Center next to the school.
And Ware appreciates Smith’s support.
“He’s able to create an environment of trust.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s midseason in high school baseball, so let’s take a look at players producing results.
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The producers
Sophomore Tyler George of Santa Margarita is 7-0 with an 0.85 ERA.
(Greg Townsend)
The mad rush to earn an automatic playoff berth in the Southern Section and earn the No. 1 seed in the City Section has begun in high school baseball. At midseason, Orange Lutheran is No. 1 in the Southern Section. El Camino Real or Bell are trending toward No. 1 in the City Section.
As far as players, sophomore Tyler George of Santa Margarita has had a dream season pitching. He’s 7-0 with an 0.85 ERA and just two walks in 41 1/3 innings.
Catcher Brady Murrietta has been like a superhero for Orange Lutheran behind the plate, leading, grinding and delivering.
Orange Lutheran’s Ricardo Hurtado (left) and Blake Killinger were the offensive and defensive MVP of the Boras Classic.
(Nick Koza)
Orange Lutheran, which won the National High School Invitational in North Carolina, added the Boras Classic South to its resume, beating Norco 4-1 in the championship game. Here’s the report.
Agoura freshman pitcher Zach Partee threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Calabasas, which came back to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Chargers 10-9 on Friday.
Harvard-Westlake and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame play a three-game series this week that could decide the Mission League title.
Orange Lutheran will play St. Mary’s on Saturday at Santa Clara University for the Boras Classic title.
South Gate had the biggest upset of the week, handing Bell a rare defeat in the Eastern League 7-3.
El Camino Real has a one-game lead over Birmingham in the West Valley League. The Valley Mission League has Poly and Sylmar tied with 6-1 records and North Hollywood at 5-2. Poly and North Hollywood have a two-game series this week.
Carson is atop the Marine League at 5-0.
Softball
Norco’s Leighton Gray (left), Peyton May and Saddie Burroughs.
(Nick Koza)
Norco (17-2) got its revenge, beating Fullerton and JSerra, the two teams that have wins over the Cougars. Peyton May and Coral Williams continue to be solid pitchers for Norco.
Murrieta Mesa is rolling along with an 18-0 record. Sophomore Tatum Wolff leads the team with a .552 batting average, including 32 hits, 20 RBIs and five home runs.
Orange Lutheran won a tournament championship over Thousand Oaks 6-1. It was quite a week pitching and hitting for Rylee Silva. The Lancers resume Trinity League with a challenging two-game week facing Santa Margarita and Mater Dei. Coach Steve Miklos earned victory No. 600.
Granada Hills opened West Valley League play with an important 7-3 win over El Camino Real. The Highlanders are 7-8 overall after facing Southern Section teams.
Carson is 2-0 in the Marine League and has games against Narbonne, Banning and Long Beach Poly this week.
Olympian Quincy Wilson (center) cruises to victory in the 400-meter dash in a meet record 45.48 seconds.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
The chance to see Olympian Quincy Wilson run in the 400 on Saturday night helped draw a record crowd of more than 14,000 for two days of the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High.
Wilson broke Michael Norman’s meet record, running 45.48 seconds.
Servite’s 4×100 relay team put on quite a show, breaking its own state record with a time of 39.70.
It’s pretty amazing because the relay team is made up of three sophomores and a junior. Kudos goes to coach Brandon Thomas. Benjamin Harris won the 100 meters in 10.32 seconds.
Thomas also helps coach the sister school, Rosary, whose girls’ 4×100 relay team also went beyond fast.
Santa Margarita is looking strong in the Southern Section after winning a tournament in Palm Springs. Brayden Jones of Mater Dei was the individual champion.
St. Francis sophomore golfer Jaden Soong is taking this week off from playing with his high school team to travel to Dallas to play in the U.S. vs. Sweden junior golf competition. Soong won the CIF state title as a freshman.
Lacrosse
🎥 𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃: 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟐 ☘️
First game, first W at Arlotta Stadium followed by a tour of Notre Dame’s campus hosted by @NDLacrosse HC Kevin Corrigan and our former Loyola All-American/current ND Lax player, Luke Stickler ’24! #LoyolaLax | #GoCubspic.twitter.com/eHaaDIxETL
Loyola’s lacrosse team took a trip to the University of Notre Dame to play several matches. The Cubs lost to Salesianum from Delaware 14-6. They defeated Seton Hall Prep 15-10. They return home to face Foothill on Wednesday.
Mira Costa (28-2) traveled to Hawaii and won the Clash of the Titans tournament at Punahou, including a win over Southern California rival Huntington Beach.
Notes . . .
Former Pasadena High and Laker Michael Cooper is the new basketball coach at Cal State Los Angeles….
Bonita softball standout Koa Puppe has committed to Cal State Fullerton…
It looks like a strike threat in the Los Angeles Unified School District starting Tuesday will be resolved. UTLA reached a tentative agreement Sunday, one of the three unions seeking new contracts. A strike would have halted LAUSD sporting events. Some have been moved to Monday in case the strike begins….
Los Alamitos is scheduled to announce its new football coach this week….
Zafar Sarajzada is the new basketball coach at St. Genevieve. He’s been an assistant at Sierra Canyon….
Redondo Union guard Devin Wright has committed to Fairleigh Dickinson….
Redondo Union guard Chace Holley has committed to San Diego….
Defensive lineman Montana Toilolo of Mater Dei has committed to UCLA….
Receiver Charles Davis of Westlake has committed to Cal….
Former Narbonne basketball star Marcus Adams has committed to Hawaii. He’s played at CSUN and Arizona State….
Pole Moala, who was a standout defensive back at Leuzinger this past season, has committed to UCLA. He has since transferred to Santa Margarita….
Chris Paul will become an assistant coach at Campbell Hall, where his son plays.
From the archives: Gabriela Jaquez
Gabriela Jaquez in 2021.
(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
Former Camarillo standout Gabriela Jaquez celebrated a dream come true winning an NCAA women’s basketball championship for UCLA and starring in the championship game against South Carolina with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Jaquez was a two-sport standout at Camarillo, also playing softball. She became a McDonald’s All-American and always wanted to follow brother Jaime to UCLA.
From Operations Sports, a look at the boycott by public schools in Nevada about playing Bishop Gorman’s football team.
From the Seattle Times, a story on Minnesota being sued for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.
Tweets you might have missed
This is the first ever 100 meters for seventh grader Layla Riley, who’s also a soccer and tennis player at Harvard-Westlake. 13.05. Sherri Howard, one of the Howard sisters, has trained her for years. The future is bright. pic.twitter.com/LxI5mrGadN
Former Crenshaw star John Williams receiving Jim Harrick Lifetime Achievement award at Collision all-star game. One of the greatest in City Section basketball history. pic.twitter.com/23IHnpEWtj
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It was a moment playing golf that anyone and everyone looks forward to celebrating.
Jake Norr, a junior at Palisades High, made a hole in one earlier this week at Woodley Lakes Golf Course. It was part of a nine-hole round that left him six-under-par and stamped himself as the favorite to win the City Section individual title later this spring.
He then aced the fifth hole at Harding Golf Course on Thursday.
“I think he has a good chance,” Palisades coach Dave Suarez said of Norr winning the individual City title.
Norr used a 9-iron for his hole in one on the 159-yard hole at Woodley Lakes.
“It was the first of many to come,” Suarez said on Wednesday.
Then came Norr’s second hole in one on Thursday, making Suarez’s prediction pretty impressive.
“I knew he had it in him,” Suarez said.
Norr has been part of Palisades’ last two teams to win City titles.
“He’s a really hard worker,’ Suarez said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Olympian Quincy Wilson from Bullis High in Maryland is ready to unleash his speed in two relay races and the 400 at Saturday’s Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High. The night portion begins at 5 p.m.
Servite’s 4×100-meter relay team set a state record last week, becoming the first to break 40 seconds in the event. The Friars will be strong contenders in both events.
Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel is among the best all time to compete in the girls’ shot put and discus, and she always likes to perform well at Arcadia.
Defending state champion high jumper JJ Harel from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will compete even though he only recently returned to full-time practice.
There should be lots of outstanding performances in the boys’ and girls’ 100 meters.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
New rules have come into force for Brits this week across a number of European holiday hotspots, but there’s an app that could help you swerve potentially long queues
The app could make the EES process simpler – but it’s only available in certain locations(Image: Getty Images)
Brits heading to the likes of France, Spain, Portugal and Greece will face new entry requirements as Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) has come into force. Airports across the EU are braced for potential travel chaos as non-EU visitors, including Brits, will need to have biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints taken when they enter the EU.
Personal data from your passport will also be collected when you enter an EU border, and the system will record entry and exit dates to allow overstays to be easily flagged. EES is set to replace passport stamps in the long run.
However, getting to grips with the new technology has proven tricky at some airports, with many Brits reporting longer queues on arrival and when departing the EU. While EU passport holders have their own lanes, Brits must queue with other non-EU nationalities and go through the new system.
An official app could potentially speed up the process for Brits and other non-EU citizens, although many travellers are unaware of its existence.
The Travel to Europe app is available on Apple’s App Store or Google Play and claims it can “speed up your border check”. Holidaymakers heading to the EU first need to download the app and register. At the moment, the app is only available at selected border crossing points, including Sweden and Portugal, although the developers claim more will be added soon.
Families flying together can add co-travellers to the app so their details are in one place. You simply need to add details of your journey such as the date and time you’ll arrive and depart, and can scan your passport using your phone. You then take a selfie and answer some questions. This can be done up to 72-hours before your flight.
The app then generates a QR code for each passenger which can be scanned at a self-service kiosk or by passport control staff. Simply follow the signs or directions from airport staff to the pre-registration queue. Of course, there’s no guarantee of entry and staff may still carry out additional checks, but for many passengers this could speed up the process for them.
Travellers have been warned to “expect chaos” in the coming months in popular holiday hotspots such as Tenerife. Reports of hours long queues and confusion caused by the new system have surfaced. And while the EES implementation date has avoided the busy Easter weekend, May half-term is just a few weeks away, which could potentially put more strain on the system.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
If you’re able to get junior pitcher Tanner Brown of Huntington Beach High to crack a smile, you have to be the greatest comedian in the world
“He plays angry,” coach Benji Medure said.
He’s the “other” left-hander on the team. While Jared Grindlinger, a likely first-round draft pick, gets most of the attention, don’t forget about Brown, who had the save in a win over St. John Bosco at the Boras Classic on Wednesday.
He’s 2-0 with a 1.94 ERA.
“I like to play with fire,” he said.
Left-hander Tanner Brown of Huntington Beach.
(Nick Koza)
He wears his emotions on his sleeve. So if something bad happens, watch out. If something good happens, you can exhale.
Asked when he smiles, Brown said, “When the job is done.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Jordan Ayala, a standout sophomore pitcher and hitter at Norco High, is the latest baseball player to reclassify and become a member of the class of 2027 next season, he confirmed on Tuesday during the first round of the Boras Classic.
Another player who has reclassified from the same tournament is Huntington Beach pitcher Jared Grindlinger, who will join the class of 2026, making himself available for this summer’s MLB amateur draft.
All this is happening with uncertainty about a possible MLB lockout when the current collective bargaining agreement runs out and not knowing what changes might happen to the draft.
Ayala, 16, said he’s moving his graduation date up to preserve his arm and take a look at becoming a professional after high school.
Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure said reclassifying is not for everyone.
“It takes a special person,” he said. “You’re putting yourself out there.”
Don’t be surprised to see more top players joining the reclassification movement next year.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The annual national finals for the Drive, Chip and Putt championships will be held Sunday at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club, home of the Masters tournament.
Four players from Southern California qualified: Amber Lee (girls 14-15, San Diego), Audrey Zhang (girls 7-9, Diamond Ranch), Queenie Gao (girls 7-9, Lake Forest) and Vincent Cuevas (boys 10-11, Chino Hills).
More than 22,000 kids are Youth on Course members with access to 134 golf courses in Southern California.
Regional competitions led to Sunday’s championships.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
