The week ahead ...

Great game La Serna girl's.... good luck in the championship game.

Baseball is here - yea! - the La Serna guys are excited and having a great time playing ball and look forward to the coming season.
They did a great job against 2 D-1 teams, just need to hit the ball more.

Good luck to all the Del Rio teams

Play Hard
Have Fun
Stay Safe

I'd agree that - overall- delrio is correct that the DRL has not been the strongest D3 league. But its top teams the past decade- LS, Cal, El Rancho and Santa Fe (Whittier did have some good teams a few back as well)- currently are as competitive as any D3 league's top 3-4. But seriously, you have no clue if you think these teams are rec league type guys.

In recent years, Pioneer's enrollment has declined, and their baseball program has declined with it. Whittier has not had lots of kids coming out each year from what I understand, so it has declined. I've seen many of the supposed D1-D4 powers play in recent years and the top DRL teams are just as good. Some years certain schools might be fortunate to have two horses on the hill, or a bunch of .400+ hitters; over time programs and leagues are a bit up or down. Cal did a great job last year in CIF, showing that a well prepared team- coming out of the supposedly "weak" DRL- was capable of beating #1 teams from supposedly stronger leagues. Baseball is baseball- I am over hype.

Last year, LS played in a very tough fall league- they played El Modena, Servite, El Dorado, Bishop Amat, Cypress, Sonora, Kennedy, Katella and several other good teams. Very good baseball. When they started playing in DRL, I'd thought that the competition would be weak by comparison- but no. Cal was solid. Santa Fe had tons of pitching, a good defense and clutch senior hitters. El Rancho had a great pitcher, some good sticks and a capable bunch of guys on defense. Whittier had guys who could beat a good team on a given day. Pioneer had a few guys that'd play for any D3 program. I was surprised.

Is DRL a weak league? Maybe top to bottom right now, but the best teams are equal to or better than other good teams around.

Hate to say it, but the time might be for CIF to move the Titans-who couldn't even field a freshman team last year- to another league more suited to its enrollment and competitiveness in recent years. Sad to see what's happened to the once-proud PiHI baseball program.

This is the year for a Del Rio team to take it all. It is a league on the rise in many ways. Why not this year?

Im pretty sure Cal got to the semi finals last year? Baseball will be competitive for sure, but La Serna is looking good is their scrimmages so far.

As for Girls soccer, La Serna wins 1-0 and advances to the finals. They are this saturday at 4pm at downey high school. If you wanna see good soccer being played then check out the game.

La Serna vs Granite Hills.

Weakest league around, its little league all over again. When was the last time del rio league team won a playoff game. Has any team gone past the second round in less than a decade.

Viva La Rouge!

La Serna girls win 1-0 over Bishop Montgomery. Great, exciting game. They are going to the CIF championship game, does anyone know when and where the game is??

In Del Rio baseball, expect a battle between La Serna, Cal and El Ranch. Whittier will surprise. Santa Fe loses most of their pitchers, but their JV was pretty good last year, so they should be competitive. Pioneer has a couple of college-ability guys, but they will never crack the top 3- they didn't even field a Freashman team last year!

A lot depends on injuries, but I see it this way:

1. La Serna. Favored last year, then lost 6 games by one run. Beat Cal 2 of 3, but lost 2 of 3 to Whittier. A dynamic new coaching staff will have these kids ready. The classes of 08 and 09 were 40-1 as freshman, so they should be strong. Good pitching with Burke, Soto, Serna, Langstaff and others, and a solid core of hitters with Burke, Langstaff, Soto, Morrill and Oertel. Best catcher in league in Montoya (and he's a hitter, too).

2. Cal hi. Always well prepared with a good coach in Nieto. Liebert and Garcia are solid starters on the hill. They return the Murillo brothers and Gallardo, so with Garcia and them they should put some runs on the board. Should be a good team.

3. El Rancho. Best pitcher Villalobos and their best hitter from last year, Flores, are back. They always seem to play a good basic game. Nothing fancy. Pitching and defense and the timely hit. Mellow coach who just lets them play. A solid team this year most likely.

4. Whittier. They have had freshman and sophomores playing the past couple of years, so now these guys are pretty experienced. Rubalcava is one of the best all around players in the league, and their "intense" coach will probably have them ready to play.

5. Santa Fe. Losing all of their pitching except Fuentes. Encinas would have made a difference. Veteran coach will have them ready, but other teams have more horses this year.

6. Pioneer. Palacios and Aguirre are good players, and Hernandez does a decent job on the mound, but they will be out-matched by the top DRL teams.

Anything can happen in a baseball season. Pretty good level of play in DRL this year, with several guys who could possibly play D1 or D2/NAIA next year or in 2010.

Daily News: please cover baseball with more stories this year!