It’s now official. You can call Chatsworth a 12-time City Section volleyball champion after the Chancellors won the Open Division championship on Saturday night, knocking off West Valley League rival Granada Hills 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18.
Noa Beauregard led Chatsworth with 14 kills and Grant Chang had 13.
Coach Sina Aghassy got his team to settle down and dominate the Highlanders after their first-set defeat. The two teams had split their league matches.
Both schools will move on to the state tournament next week, with pairings announced on Sunday.
Baseball
Sylmar 4, Chatsworth 3: The No. 1-seeded Spartans survived a three-run seventh inning by Chatsworth to advance to the City Section Division I semifinals against Verdugo Hills on Wednesday at Stengel Field. Tim Sepulveda had two hits.
Verdugo Hills 8, Sun Valley Poly 2: Jered Smith hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to help the Dons reach the City Division I semifinals.
Taft 11, Cleveland 0: The Toreadors advanced to the Division I semifinal behind Sebastian Gamez, who threw the shutout. Nate Swinson had two hits and two RBIs.
Venice 7, Palisades 6: The Gondoliers earned a match against Taft in the Division I semifinals. Darius Basco’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh won it. Miguel Medina threw three scoreless innings of relief.
Softball
La Habra 6, Murrieta Mesa 4: Rylee Gruener hit a grand slam during a five-run inning to enable La Habra to eliminate top-seeded Murrieta Mesa in the Division I playoffs. Alyssa Hernandez added three hits.
Orange Lutheran 17, Chino Hills 14: In a wild Division 1 playoff game, Sierra Nichols and Madelyn Armendariz each had four hits for Orange Lutheran, with Armendariz getting three doubles. Nichols, Rylee Silva and Eliza Johnson hit home runs. Brett Lambrecht had five RBIs for Chino Hills.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Oaks Christian 5: The Mission League champions advanced behind freshman pitcher Ainsley Jenkins, who came in and provided three innings of three-hit relief pitching. Nadia Ledon, Keira Luderer and Ellayne Tellez-Perez hit home runs.
Norco 8, Riverside Poly 2: The No. 2-seeded Cougars were led by Savannah Gonzalez, who had three hits, including a home run. Coral Williams struck out 13. Camryn May and Sadie Burroughs also had three hits.
The Dodgers entered Sunday on a four-game losing streak, with a lack of offense undermining solid performances from the pitching staff. They were on the verge of being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, after losing a series to the Miami Marlins in Los Angeles.
“When it gets to a certain point, we do a good job of kind of nipping it,” manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. “And today is one of those days that … we’ve got to find a way to win a game. And whatever it takes, we’re all prepared to do that. And if you look at the track record, we’ve done well in moments like this.”
It took a second straight start of six scoreless innings from Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski, along with the bullpen holding St. Louis to one run.
That was enough to make the Dodgers’ offensive contributions count. Though it was far from an onslaught, the four runs were the most they scored in a game since Monday.
“Offensively we just haven’t been very good the last week,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after the game. “Just call a spade a spade sometimes. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. We just haven’t been very good, and we’ve got to be better.
“Luckily, Wrobo, our starting pitching has been amazing. They deserve a lot more than they’ve gotten over the last two weeks. So it’s on us to start scoring some more runs. We know we’ll be fine. I understand you guys gotta ask these questions, but no one’s worried in here. And good to get a win on a day game, salvage a series, and hopefully start a better streak [Monday] in Houston.”
The Dodgers (21-13) still dropped the series to the Cardinals (20-14) and are 7-9 over the last 2½ weeks. They’ve won only one of their last five series.
Offense lacking power
Hyeseong Kim follows through for an RBI single in the second inning for the Dodgers against the Cardinals on Sunday.
(Scott Kane / Associated Press)
The Dodgers extended their homerless streak to six games. Since April 21, they’ve hit only three home runs.
“Very surprised,” Roberts said. “And honestly, we haven’t really come close, either. So yeah, I’m surprised. It’s a team that, we can slug. I think a little bit is some of the passivity, the carefulness. And there’s going to be some swing-and-miss there, that’s just in a lot of our hitters, anyway. But what you don’t want is guys to be careful and cautious.”
The Dodgers on Sunday got an RBI double from Andy Pages and RBI singles from Freeman, Hyeseong Kim and Alex Call.
An illness swept through the clubhouse during the slump. But one of the hitters who was hit the hardest, third baseman Max Muncy, has continued to produce.
He went 10 for 17 with four home runs in Colorado. And even after cooling slightly, he entered Sunday with a team-best .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the last 11 games, then had a hit and a walk and scored.
“There are times where he probably could have and should have had some days off in the middle of this,” Roberts said. “But he hasn’t. He’s had the one day off and then a half-game. But I’m really impressed with the way he’s persevered and got to the other side of it.”
Rotation battle heating up
Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning Sunday.
(Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
After Emmet Sheehan battled mechanical problems and gave up four runs in 4⅔ innings Friday, and Roki Sasaki authored his first quality start of the season Saturday, Wrobleski upped the ante. On Sunday, he improved his earned-run average to 1.25 over six games.
Wrobleski’s first outing of the season was in long relief, when the Dodgers needed only five starters because of days off early in the schedule. He hasn’t give up more than one run in any of his five starts since and is 5-0. And after throwing five innings in his first start, he’s pitched through at least the sixth in every game.
“He’s got a good pace to him, puts the ball in play,” Roberts said. “And obviously he’d like to get some more swing-and-miss, but those guys are swinging the bats and hitting at guys, and a lot of soft contact. I just like the way the guys stay involved behind him. And every single time he takes the baseball, we have an opportunity to win a game, most importantly.”
Efficiency and pitching to contact are Wrobleski’s calling cards, and he took that to the extreme Sunday when he navigated six innings without a strikeout.
“I had a lot of two-strike counts and they kept putting it in play,” he said with a smile. “I was, ‘All right, I’ll take the out.’”
When the time comes to clear a spot in the rotation for rehabbing left-hander Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ decision won’t be based solely on results. But Wrobleski’s strong showing to begin the season, and versatility in multiple roles, has all but guaranteed him at least a spot on the roster for the foreseeable future.
Injury updates
Dodgers minor-league affiliates have hosted a rush of rehab outings recently.
On Saturday, reliever Brusdar Graterol (shoulder surgery) played his first game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. Throwing an inning for triple-A Oklahoma City, he retired the side in just eight pitches, recording one strikeout.
“He hasn’t pitched a whole lot in the last two, three years, so his buildup needs to be methodical,” Roberts said. “I’m looking forward to him getting going.”
Snell (shoulder fatigue) threw four innings for Oklahoma City in his third rehab start Sunday, and Brock Stewart (shoulder surgery) faced three batters after pitching on back-to-back days last week.
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.
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.
Xander Bogaerts and Bryce Johnson delivered two-out RBIs as the San Diego Padres defeated the Angels 2-1 on Sunday.
Bogaerts broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth inning, and Johnson added a two-out RBI single in the seventh as San Diego took two of three games in the series. Johnson finished with two of San Diego’s five hits for his multihit game of the season.
Michael King (3-1) gave up one hit over five scoreless innings, striking out six and walking four while working through traffic. He combined with Ron Marinaccio, Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez and Mason Miller to hold Los Angeles to two hits.
Miller struck out two in a perfect ninth for his eighth save. He is one inning shy of the longest scoreless streak in Padres history, set by Cla Meredith with 33 2/3 innings in 2006.
The Angels mounted a late threat but couldn’t tie it. Oswald Peraza doubled in the seventh and scored on a sacrifice fly by Zach Neto. But the Angels went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times.
Walbert Ureña (0-2) made his first career start for the Angels, striking out eight and giving up two runs over six-plus innings. He became the fourth pitcher in franchise history to record at least eight strikeouts in his debut.
