Year 3 in charge of St. John Bosco High’s offense is about to begin for quarterback Koa Malau’ulu, who will be a junior this fall.
St. John Bosco is hosting an eight-team seven-on-seven passing tournament on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. It’s one of three big passing tournaments this weekend, with Dana Hills and Long Beach Millikan also hosting tournaments.
Malau’ulu won’t have All-American receiver Madden Williams (now at Texas A&M), but class of 2028 receiver DJ Tubbs showed last year he’s ready to take on a leading role. Corona Centennial is also competing, which will mark the debut of Cathedral transfer Jaden Jefferson at quarterback.
Dana Hills has a 16-team tournament that includes Oxnard Pacifica, Laguna Beach and Crean Lutheran. Each of those schools returns big-time quarterbacks. Pool-play games begin at 8 a.m.
Games at Long Beach Millikan begin at 9 a.m.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
There are lots of coaches in the Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs glad to see that Villa Park is in the Division 2 playoffs because of the Spartans’ strong pitching.
Villa Park, the No. 1 seed in Division 2, has a terrific one-two starting duo in junior Logan Hoppie (10-1, 1.28 ERA) and senior Jack McGuire (6-2, 1.62 ERA).
McGuire is 6 feet 5 and has 82 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings. He had a 16-strikeout performance this season. Hoppie has a two-hit shutout of Crestview League champion Cypress on his resume.
Villa Park finished the regular season at 19-8-1 under veteran coach Burt Call and in second place in league. If the Spartans can get some hitting help, the pitchers will handle the rest. Villa Park opens the playoffs on Thursday at home against Elsinore.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
On Mother’s Day, let’s salute two single mothers who became the No. 1 fans for their sports-playing sons and stayed by their side through good and bad times.
Sylmar pitcher Matthew Torres has tried to make it through life without a father after his parents’ separation when he was 12.
“He’s not been to any high school games,” Torres said.
Enter his mother, Roxanne, who has raised four boys and one girl by multitasking and embracing sports activities. She intervened to help Matthew make it through tough times.
“Her bringing me to church and getting to know God has made me the man I am today,” the 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior said.
Torres became the No. 1 pitcher in the Valley Mission League this season with an 8-0 record while also hitting .488. He helped Sylmar win the league title and become the No. 1 seed for the City Section Division I playoffs.
He has a secret plan scheduled for Sunday to salute his mother. Who doesn’t like surprises?
At Carson High, All-City quarterback Chris Fields has a mother, Shere Fletcher, who could play or coach football the way she has dived headfirst into learning the sport to be at the side of her son.
There were once tough times as a family. Fields said the family was “impoverished.” Mom worked multiple jobs while also studying but sacrificed everything to make sure her son and daughter could have a bright future. She became a paralegal and never misses a practice or game. She should be called “Coach Fletcher” but prefers mom.
“I’ve been through everything with my mom,” Fields said.
Her Mother’s Day gift since the 49ers are her favorite team is a vintage Jerry Rice jersey and a trip to Santa Anita.
There are plenty of moms who’ve spent countless hours driving, feeding and motivating their sports-playing sons and daughters through highs and lows.
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Get ready for the best high school boys’ volleyball action in the nation on Saturday when four powers face off in the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals.
First up is Huntington Beach hosting No. 1-seeded Mira Costa at 1 p.m. Then it’s Loyola hosting Redondo Union at 5 p.m.
All are capable of beating each other.
Teams are finally healthy, so there could be two five-game matches.
St. John Bosco has lost 6-foot-8 McDonald’s All-American Christian Collins to graduation, but the Braves are getting another promising 6-8 player to replace him, incoming freshman Bryce Bible, who announced on Thursday he will enroll at the Bellflower campus.
Bible is the son of Bruce Bible, who works for Sierra Canyon’s football program. He also considered the Trailblazers and Long Beach Millikan.
Bryce is tall and lanky with the ability to score in many different ways.
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. One week to go in the high school baseball regular season. Birmingham made a big move in the City Section.
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Birmingham rises
Sophomore catcher Jordan Lindsay is all smiles for Birmingham after RBI double in the fourth inning.
(Craig Weston)
Two sophomores, pitcher Carlos Acuna and catcher Jordan Lindsay, rose up last week to push Birmingham to within one win of clinching the West Valley League baseball championship and earning a rare No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs.
Acuna is set to start on the mound Monday against Cleveland, and that would wrap up the first league title for coach Matt Mowry since he took over the program in 2007. He’s won five City titles.
The big series this week in the City Section involves South Gate and Garfield. They are tied for first place in the Eastern League. Along with Bell, the league could have a record three teams chosen for the Open Division playoffs if South Gate comes through.
In the Southern Section, the final week is all about trying to lock up an automatic playoff berth so as not to have to rely on computer rankings for an at-large berth when playoff pairings are announced on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Norco (Big VIII), St. John Bosco (Trinity), Ayala (Palomares), Huntington Beach (Sunset), Cypress (Crestview) have clinched high seeds in the Division 1 playoffs. Harvard-Westlake (Mission) is closing in on the Mission League title. Orange Lutheran is No. 2 in the Trinity, but who gets No. 3? Mater Dei needs a win over Orange Lutheran in a three-game series this week to help its chances.
According to last week’s Southern Section power rankings, these are the 16 teams that would make up the Division 1 playoffs with one week to go: 1. Norco, 2. Harvard-Westlake, 3. Orange Lutheran, 4. Corona, 5. Ayala, 6. Sierra Canyon, 7. St. John Bosco, 8. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 9. Temecula Valley, 10. Cypress, 11. Huntington Beach, 12. Oaks Christian, 13. Etiwanda, 14. La Mirada, 15. Corona Santaigo, 16. Maranatha.
Norco won two of three games from Corona in a terrific three-game series to win the Big VIII League title. Both teams should be in the 16-team Division 1 field.
Servite pulled off a 1-0 win over Orange Lutheran even though the Lancers’ Gary Morse threw a no-hitter.
Brentwood 6-foot-5 junior pitcher Jack Kaplan has been having a terrific season, including a perfect game. He has 77 strikeouts in 44 innings. His pitching coach is former UCLA and MLB pitcher Tim Leary.
Blake Bowen of JSerra ended his high school career this week with nine home runs this season, including one in each victory of a three-game series with Santa Margarita. Here’s the report.
Castaic shared the title with West Ranch in the final season for coach Darrell Davis. Sophomore Orion Gonzalez is hitting .390 with 30 hits.
Mattias DiMaggio of Dos Puebos is a freshman baseball player hitting above .500.
(Dos Pueblos)
Few are having a better season than Dos Pueblos freshman Mattias Di Maggio. And yes, he’s a distant relative to Joe DiMaggio. Here’s the report.
Softball
The Trinity League softball race has gotten tight, with Orange Lutheran and JSerra both entering this week tied for first place at 5-3. Pitcher Liliana Escobar of JSerra has been leading the Lions’ surge. Orange Lutheran closes league play with a game at Santa Margarita on Tuesday. JSerra is at Mater Dei, with Escobar ready to deliver.
Granada Hills and Carson are looking like the top two teams in City Section softball. Granada Hills has a two-game lead in the West Valley League with three games to play. Carson has clinched at least a share of the Marine League title.
Norco (24-2) and Murrieta Mesa (23-1) continue on a collision course for the Southern Section playoffs. Pairings will be announced next Monday.
Loyola’s Ejam Johannes offers the “shoosh” sign after anchoring the winning 4×100 relay team. He also won the Mission League 400 and 200 titles.
(Craig Weston)
The Southern Section track and field prelims are set for Saturday. It’s all about qualifying and advancing and making sure batons are not dropped and violations don’t occur during relays.
The sites: Trabuco Hills (Division 1), Ontario (Division 2), Yorba Linda (Division 3) and Carpinteria (Division 4).
The Mission League finals last week featured two top Loyola athletes, Ejam Johannes and Zion Phelps. Here’s the report.
There’s lots of speed in the 100 meters. The Southern Section championships will take place in two weeks at Moorpark High.
The City Section will hold league finals this week.
Volleyball
Mira Costa’s Ruby Cochrane (facing) tries to block a tip attempt by JSerra’s Emma Champagne in the Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball final. Cochrane and partner Olga Nikolaeva won, 21-19, 17-21, 15-13.
Mira Costa swept JSerra to win the Southern Section girls beach volleyball championship. Here’s the report.
Venice won the City Section team title.
Granada Hills is seeded No. 1 in the City Section boys volleyball playoffs. Here’s the pairings.
Grant Chang of Chatsworth delivers a kill against Granada Hills. He learned he was accepted to MIT.
Birmingham ended Palisades’ reign as City Section boys lacrosse champions. Here’s the report.
NFL star offers lessons
Indianapolis Colts safety Camryn Bynum (0) gestures toward the stands. He played at Corona Centennial.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
There are so many lessons to be learned from former Corona Centennial defensive back Camryn Bynum, who is returning this month to hold a camp at his alma mater.
He was once fifth string on Centennial’s JV team as a sophomore. He decided to work harder and look where his path has taken him.
David Schuster is moving from Mission College Prep to head football coach at Ontario Christian….
JV coach Miguel Mayorga has been promoted to varsity basketball coach at Golden Valley….
Former Chatsworth star Alijah Arenas announced he is returning to USC next season….
Caleb Martin, a former assistant basketball coach at Oaks Christian, Harvard-Westlake and Vanguard, is the new head coach at St. Margaret’s….
Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball player Tyran Stokes has committed to Kansas….
Muir has received a $2-million donation from Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation to build a synthetic softball diamond. The field will be named, “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Field.” …
Matt LemMon has resigned as football coach at Garden Grove….
Former St. John Bosco and Notre Dame linebacker DJ Morgan is the new football coach at Leuzinger. He was the defensive coordinator….
Anaheim Canyon and Fullerton are changing their mascots next season because of a new state law requiring public schools to remove Native American team names that could be considered derogatory. Canyon will go from being the Comanches to the Cobras this fall. Fullerton will change from Indians to RedHawks….
Senior pitcher Alex Martinez of Sylmar has committed to the University of Redlands. His uncle was the late Glenn Martinez, a former assistant commissioner with the Southern Section and longtime baseball coach….
Alex Koers is the new girls basketball coach at Brea Olinda….
Harvard-Westlake has announced the appointment of Asha Prithviraj as its inaugural girls’ football coach. She previously worked at Mater Dei. 2026 will be the first season for flag football at Harvard-Westlake….
Pasadena Marshall Fundamental has dropped 11-man football for the 2026 season….
CJ Cooper is the new boys basketball coach at Capistrano Valley Christian….
Receiver Braylen Ross of Crean Lutheran has committed to Arizona…
Defensive back JuJu Johnson from Long Beach Poly has committed to UCLA….
Defensive lineman Alifeleti “Tolo” Tuihalamaka of Oaks Christian has committed to USC….
Uriel Villa is the new boys water polo coach at Orange Lutheran….
Palisades won its 17th consecutive City boys tennis title. Here’s the report.
From the archives: Isaiah Magdaleno
Isaiah Magdaleno from Crespi High has become one of the top pitchers for Hawaii and a pro prospect.
(Crespi)
Former Crespi pitcher Isaiah Magdaleno thrilled Hawaii baseball fans Friday night by striking out 16 and throwing a one-hitter in a win over UC Riverside.
He was primarily a relief pitcher starting out at Hawaii but has now become a pro prospect with his starting pitching. He’s 5-4 this season with a 2.75 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 72 innings.
He was the pitcher of the year in the Mission League in 2022.
In his first pitching start of the season, the Mission League pitcher of the year, Isaiah Magdaleno, takes down the No. 1 team in California. Crespi 3, Notre Dame 1. pic.twitter.com/nWEEhB25LP
From West Virginia, a story on adding flexibility to transfer rule.
From The562.org, a story on a $100,000 donation for Long Beach sports teams.
From The Athletic, a story on former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball player Tyran Stokes.
Tweets you might have missed
With Japanese players so good and so fundamentally sound in baseball, someone needs to organize a trip to Japan for high school baseball coaches to see if there’s something to be learned.
The best freshman baseball player in Southern California lives in Santa Barbara. Mattias Di Maggio of Dos Pueblos has 34 hits, a .515 batting average, 9 home runs and four saves as a left-handed pitcher. He’s struck out once in 66 at-bats.
Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Famers at ECR no longer coaching softball. Now coaching at Northridge LL and West Valley softball. pic.twitter.com/g7kzM0UK2H
Congrats to Loyola Swim, winners of the Mission League title for the 20th consecutive season and owners of another undefeated league record — their 22nd perfect season in the last 23 years! #LoyolaSwimming | #GoCubspic.twitter.com/3a3FPelh4D
— Loyola High School Athletics (@LoyolaAthletics) May 1, 2026
Parents crying about an entire team being punished because of an ineligible player, please stop. Those who kept quiet and didn’t say anything, it’s on you. The administrators who didn’t look hard enough, it’s on you, too. Cheaters need to be caught early not late.
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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For Blake Bowen and his JSerra High baseball teammates, their final week of the high school baseball season could not have gone any better.
The 6-foot-4 senior hit three home runs during a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita. But the Lions finished their season on Friday with an 11-17 record, which means there will be no postseason.
“Too little, too late,” coach Brett Kay said.
Bowen came on strong, finishing with nine home runs and a .360 batting average. His ability to hit the ball hard and far should make him a high draft pick this summer.
“It’s the best power I’ve ever seen for a high school player,” Kay said.
Bowen is a former football player who began focusing only on baseball after transferring to JSerra from Riverside King. He plays baseball like he did in football — with an aggressiveness.
“Once he comes into his own, he’s going to be special,” Kay said.
The Lions had a young team that was hurt by injuries. One of the impressive young players was freshman Joey Koenig, who showed he can hit and will get a chance to pitch in the future.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
Birmingham coach Matt Mowry works with his players on going with pitches to right field. The Patriots came through with perfection on Wednesday.
Four times in the decisive fourth inning, Birmingham hitters hit outside pitches to right field for base hits, igniting a four-run inning and leading to a 10-2 victory, pulling the Patriots into a first-place tie with El Camino Real in the West Valley League going a Friday game at Birmingham.
Sophomore Carlos Acuna threw a complete game for Birmingham in 10-2 win over El Camino Real.
(Craig Weston)
Sophomore catcher Jordan Lindsay had the biggest hitting of the fourth, an RBI double down the right-field line to tie the score, 1-1. Ethan Dalumpines followed with RBI single to right field. JuJu Monroe-Truitt and Larkin Fleming also contribued RBI singles to right off Jackson Sellz.
“He’s on us at practice to go to the right side,” Lindsay said of Mowry.
The Patriots blew the game open with a six-run fifth, including an RBI single from Lindsay and one walk and one hit batter with the bases loaded to push across runs. Carlos Acuna threw a complete game. Both teams are seeking a win Friday because the league champion figures to be the No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs.
RJ De La Rosa had an RBI single and double for ECR.
Harvard-Westlake 8, Chaminade 0: James Tronstein continued his impressive power display by hitting two home runs, a double and driving in three runs. He has eight home runs on the season. Evan Alexander struck out 10 in five innings.
Norco 1, Corona 0: It took nine innings to settle this Big VIII League showdown with Jayden Serna delivering the walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jordan Ayala threw seven scoreless innings for Norco. Mason Sims gave up one hit in eight innings for Corona.
Sierra Canyon 3, Loyola 2: The Trailblazers won despite home runs from Loyola’s Bobby Rapp and Jack Murray.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Bishop Alemany 3: Benett Pace went four for four and Jacob Madrid homered for the Knights.
Carson 6, Narbonne 5: Nate Ruan and Fernando Barajas each had two hits for Carson.
Edison 4, Corona del Mar 0: Noah Hunter struck out 10 and gave up two hits in six innings for Edison.
Ayala 8, Claremont 0: Easton Sarmiento struck out eight in four innings. Caleb Trugman had three hits.
Huntington Beach 2, Newport Harbor 1: Jared Grindlinger thew his first complete game of the season, striking out seven and walking none. Ely Mason had a home run.
JSerra 13, Santa Margarita 3: The Lions hit four home runs, including another from Blake Bowen, in the Trinity League win. Aidan Rae had three RBIs.
Garfield 10, South East 3: Michael Santillan had four hits for Garfield.
Bell 6, Legacy 1: Jayden Rojas had two hits and four RBIs.
Chatsworth 16, Cleveland 1: Nihaan Kothari had three hits and Damian Ayala had three RBIs for Chatsworth.
Granada Hills 12, Taft 0: Landon Tuch had four hits and Luke Chau struck out nine with no walks in five innings for Granada Hills.
West Ranch 6, Hart 5: Josh Price went three for three with three RBIs.
Etiwanda 14, Rancho Cucamonga 2: The Eagles celebrated a Baseline League championship. Adam Ornelas had four hits.
Corona Santiago 13, Corona Centennial 4: Jonathan Thornton had four hits and six RBIs, including a grand slam, for Santiago.
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.
