Author Archives: Michelle Gardner

JC softball playoff pairings unveiled

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Here’s the playoff draw for the CCCAA softball championships. Even throwing in the North for those that REALLY care. All series are best of three, with the first games next Saturday.

SOUTH

No. 16 Ventura (20-17) at No. 1. Riverside (36-3); No. 9 College of the Desert (29-8) at No. 8 Santa Ana (26-14); No. 13 Moorpark (24-12-1) at No. 4 Palomar (25-11); No. 12 Saddleback (22-14) at No. 5 Canyons (20-8-2); No. 14 Citrus (24-12) at No. 3 Cypress (33-7); No. 11 Grossmont (24-13) at No. 6 Santiago Canyon (30-9); No. 10 Cerritos (29-10) at No. 7 San Diego Mesa (30-8); No. 15 Chaffey (25-15) at No. 2 Mt. SAC (35-4)

NORTH

No. 16 Feather River (22-16) at No. 1 College of San Mateo (36-4); No. 9 Fresno (29-9) at No. 8 San Jose (28-12); No. 13 Solano (26-13) at No. 4 West Valley (28-10-1); No. 12 San Joaquin Delta (23-17) at No. 5 Hartnell (31-7); No. 14 De Anza (21-14) at No. 3 Sacramento (31-5); No. 11 Sequoias (28-9) at No. 6 Cabrillo (30-8); No. 10 Monterey Peninsula (27-12) at No. 7 Sierra (27-10-1); No. 15 Napa Valley (29-11) at No. 2 Shasta (34-6).

Redlands, CMS in DIII Top 25

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NFCA Division III Top 25 poll – April 24, 2013

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll is voted on by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. 2013 records are shown. First place votes are in parentheses.

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Montclair State (5) 33-1 195 1
Texas-Tyler (3) 38-2 195 2
3 Salisbury 32-2 183 4
4 Trine 29-3 174 5
5 Emory 39-3 169 3
6 Linfield 36-6 159 7
7 Tufts 28-3 148 6
8 Redlands 32-8 144 8
9 Rowan 32-4 137 11
10 Coe 28-4 128 13
11 St. Thomas (Minnesota) 23-5 111 15
12 East Texas Baptist 30-10 108 14
13 Wisconsin-Whitewater 22-3 94 10
14 Central (Iowa) 26-7 91 19
15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 29-11 79 17
16 Christopher Newport 32-11 76 21
17 Virginia Wesleyan 34-6 71 22
18 Illinois Wesleyan 26-7 70
19 Lynchburg 30-9 56 16
20 Texas Lutheran 32-8 38 24
21 Carthage 21-7 27 25
22 Randolph-Macon 33-7 26
23 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 18-3 24
24 Luther 23-7 22 9
25 North Central (Illinois) 27-3 18 18

Others receiving votes:

Lebanon Valley (16), Simpson (13), Roanoke (10), Capital (6), Wesleyan (4), Eastern Connecticut (3), John Carroll (2), Utica (2) and Penn State Berks (1).

Dropped out:

The team experiencing the largest drop in this week’s poll was Roanoke (29-10) who fell from No. 12 last week to receiving just 10 points this week to land unranked. Previously ranked No. 20 the College of New Jersey and No. 23, Chapman fell in the poll to be unranked this week as well.

U of La Verne runner saluted

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Lenore Moreno

University of La Verne senior Lenore Moreno has once again captured SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Moreno was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the week of April 15-21 after lowering her school and conference record in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.  She posted an all-time conference best of 35:00.43 in her race to shave nearly three seconds off her previous best set a month ago.

Her time of 35:00.43 in the 10,000 set at the Mt. SAC Relays currently stands as the fastest in Division III.

An All-American in cross country this season, Moreno has garnered SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week accolades five times during the 2012-13 academic year.  She earned the honor on three occasions during the cross country season and earlier received the Athlete of the Week award in track & field after running 35:03.39 on March 15.at the Occidental Distance Carnival to set the previous conference record.

Cal Baptist pitcher honored

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For the second time this season, Cal Baptist senior Jon Bengard has been named Pac West Conference Pitcher of the Week. hHe is honored this time for his showing the week of  April 15-21.

In his lone start of the week, Bengard was stellar in a 5-1 win over No. 15 Grand Canyon. He went the distance for the third time this year, striking out a career-high 11 batters and allowing just one run. It was his fourth straight start allowing one run or less.

This season, Bengard, the reigning PacWest Pitcher of the Year, is 9-0 with a 1.76 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 81.2 innings. He leads the PacWest in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

The Lancers (28-14, 21-7) are just one game behind Grand Canyon in the race for the conference title with eight games to play. CBU travels to Dixie State for a four game set this weekend.

SBVC clinches first Foothill baseball title since 2004

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San Bernardino Valley clinched its first Foothill Conference title since 2004 with a 5-4 win over local rival Chaffey on Thursday. Word of Mt. San Jacinto’s loss to College of the Desert trickled over just as the Wolverines were recording the last out. That made it official.

Of course it was just a matter of time. SBVC’s last three-game series is against last place Victor Valley so it’s not like it was going to lose multiple games to the Rams.

It’s one of the better teams coach Bill Mierzwik has had in his more than two decades. The Wolverines (24-8, 16-4) don’t do anything fancy. They had eight hits in their most recent game. That’s OK, but it’s not overwhelming.

They get good pitching, play solid defense and do a good job with situational hitting. That’s what it takes, particularly come playoff time when hits are harder to come by.

It’s also a matter of minimizing the damage. Don’t let an opponent put up a big inning. All four of Chaffey’s runs came in different innings as pitchers Tyler Rich and Kurtis Sargent were able to work out of trouble when Chaffey did threaten.

It is the 13th conference title in he history of the baseball program and the sixth that has come in the Foothill. It’s the best record the Wolverines have had since the 28-9 overall (22-5 in conference) of the 2004 team.

Chaffey has had a stellar program but the Panthers are young this year, with a freshmen-laden roster. So it’s the Wolverines time! Hopefully the squad make a run in the postseason and represent the Foothill Conference.

 

Uphold tops of week in SCIAC

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Kayla Uphold

Senior pitcher Kayla Uphold of the No. 7 University of Redlands softball team garnered Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Uphold, a native of Fontana, stepped up in a big way for the Bulldogs, helping Redlands to a 4-0 week with doubleheader sweeps of Cal Lutheran and No. 21 Chapman to remain in first place.

She threw 23 innings without giving up a run en route to three shut-out victories.  The final game of the week was a 3-0 triumph in 10 innings, during which she went the distance.

Uphold held opponents to a .185 average, struck out nine, and walked only two.  Uphold also helped herself from the plate, ranking second on the team for the pair of twin bills with a .417 average on a 5-for-12 effort.

She leads the SCIAC with an ERA of 1.08 while tying for the most number of wins at 20.

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Samantha Swanson

Junior Samantha Swanson of Cal Poly Pomona is this week’s CCAA Women’s Track Athlete of the Week for April 8-14.

Swanson put together a strong showing in the hammer throw Saturday at the Pomona Pitzer Invitational in Claremont.

She recorded a second-place distance of 164-0 to match the “B” provisional qualifying standard while improving on the program’s all-time second-best mark she set earlier this season. Swanson also took fourth in the discus Saturday, posting a 139-6 mark.

Among CCAA athletes, she ranks within the top 10 for three different events this season. Swanson owns the top hammer throw mark at 164-0, the second-best discus distance at 144-7 and the eighth-best shot mark of 36-9.5.

Swanson and the Broncos will return to action later this week with six student-athletes competing at the Mt. SAC Relays and the rest of the team heading to the Bryan Clay Invitational Friday at Azusa Pacific.

CCAA Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week
Feb. 18 – 24: Jessica Miklaski (UC San Diego); Feb. 25 – Mar. 3: Robin Hannah (Chico State); Mar. 4 – 10: Aimee Rodgers (Chico State); Mar. 11 – 17: Tiana Wills (San Francisco State); Mar. 18 – 24: Kasey Barnett (Chico State); Mar. 25 – 31: Angela Garcia (Cal Poly Pomona)’ Apr. 1 – 7: Samantha Gutierrez (Cal State L.A.); Apr. 8 – 14: Samantha Swanson (Cal Poly Pomona)

CCAA Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week
Feb. 18 – 24: Zach Nagengast (UC San Diego); Feb. 25 – Mar. 3: J P Smith (Chico State); Mar. 4 – 10: Nash Howe (UC San Diego); Mar. 11 – 17: Connor Birtwhistle (Cal Poly Pomona); Mar. 18 – 24: Dawson Vorderbruegge (Cal State Stanislaus); Mar. 25 – 31: Isaac Chavez (Chico State); Apr. 1 –7: Dameion Berry-Smith (Cal State L.A.); Apr. 8 – 14: Daniel Parker (Chico State)

Cal Poly Pomona pitcher honored

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Ryan Dunn

Cal Poly Pomona senior left-hander Ryan Dunn has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Pitcher of the Week for the week for April 8-14.

The Chino Hills High School product tossed seven scoreless innings Saturday, leading the Broncos to a 1-0 win over first-place Chico State to snap the Wildcats’ 15-game win streak. The Wildcats are ranked third nationally at the Division II level.

After allowing four runs in the first week of the season, Dunn (4-1) has given up just four scores since then. His earned run average has dipped to 1.50, ranking fifth among CCAA pitchers. Dunn finished with six strikeouts Saturday, the second-highest total for him in 2013.

Rawlings/CCAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 1 – 3: Ryan Goodbrand (UC San Diego); Feb. 4 – 10: Troy Neiman (Chico State); Feb. 11 – 17: Ryan Goodbrand (UC San Diego); Feb. 18 – 24: Sean Becker (Cal State East Bay); Feb. 25 – Mar. 3: Jordan Sechler (Cal State L.A.); Mar. 4 – 10: Sean Becker (Cal State East Bay); Mar. 11 – 17: Andrew Graham (Cal State Stanislaus); Mar. 18 – 24: Harmen Sidhu (Sonoma State); Mar. 25 – 31: David Armas (Cal State L.A.); Apr. 1 – 7: Ruben Rios (Cal State San Bernardino); Apr. 8 – 14: Ryan Dunn (Cal Poly Pomona).

 

Local picked in WNBA draft

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Cajon High school graduate Layshia Clarendon, who led the Cal Golden Bears to the Final Four, was chosen in the first round of the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.

Indiana had the No. 9 selection, picking one spot ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Clarendon, a 5-foot-9 wing, was projected to go in the middle to late first round. Her stock rose considerably with Cal’s postseason run. She averaged 16.4 points in the season, but 21.2 points in Cal’s five NCAA Tournament games.

Clarendon propelled Cal to a 32-4 mark which included its first ever Pac 12 regular season title as well as the first Final Four appearance.

She is only the second player from the county to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA and the first since Diana Taurasi was picked first overall by Phoenix in 2004.

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Kaiser graduate earns college sports honor

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Alyssa Flores

Cal State San Bernardino’s Alyssa Flores has been named the Worth/California Collegiate Athletic Association Softball Player of the Week for Apr. 8-14. The Fontana native helped the Coyotes in earning a four-game series sweep over Chico State.

Flores led her team with a .636 average and a .909 slugging percentage, after hitting 7-for-11 with three doubles.  She also added a run, five RBI, and three walks to her overall offensive performance.

She connected for two hits and a double in three-of-four games played.

Defensively, the senior infielder was perfect through four starts with 13 putouts and 9 assists.

Worth/CCAA Softball Player of the Week
Feb. 1 – 3: Nicole Spangler (UC San Diego);
Feb. 4 – 10: Adriana Sanchez (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Feb. 11 – 17: Ali Palermo (Sonoma State)
Feb. 18 – 24: Jamie Leffingwell (Cal State San Bernardino)
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3: Ancia Purdy (Sonoma State)
Mar. 4 – 10: Holli Brown (Sonoma State)
Mar. 11 – 17: Chrissy Stalf (Humboldt State)
Mar. 18 – 24: Chrissy Stalf (Humboldt State)
Mar. 25 – 31: Megan Konieczka (Sonoma State)
Apr. 1 – 7: Ali Palermo (Sonoma State)
Apr. 8 – 14: Alyssa Flores (Cal State San Bernardino)