Author Archives: Clay Fowler

About Clay Fowler

Clay Fowler is a Dallas native, graduated from the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas for two years before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.

Kaiser pitcher chooses San Diego State over Washington, Hawaii, Long Island

Posted on by
Reply

Ryan Mota Kaiser MugKaiser’s Ryan Mota verbally committed to San Diego State on Tuesday, according to Kaiser baseball coach Mike Spinuzzi. The 6-foot-3 pitcher, who will be a senior next season, chose the Aztecs over offers from Washington, Hawaii and Long Island University.

As a junior Mota went 9-2 with a 2.05 earned-run average for the Sunkist League champions. He pitched three complete games, had 56 strikeouts and 16 walks in 58 innings. Mota, who also played first base, hit .354 with 28 RBIs and 23 runs scored in 28 games in helping Kaiser to a 25-5 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the Division 4 playoffs last season.

Free agent Collison looking for NBA team where he can put down roots

Posted on by
Reply

For the first time in his NBA career, Darren Collison returned home to Southern California this summer in complete control of his own destiny.

Traded twice during his four seasons in the league, the Etiwanda High School graduate is a free agent following his lone season with the Dallas Mavericks.

The color of his uniform next season isn’t the only uncertainty for Collison, who is hosting his third annual summer camp Monday through Friday at Etiwanda. After stepping in for an injured Chris Paul his rookie season in New Orleans, Collison was a starting point guard until a late-season injury in Indiana last year. He came off the bench for the Pacers in last season’s playoffs and started 47 of 81 games this year after he was traded to the Mavericks in the offseason.

“There’s a lot of possibilities out there,” Collison said. “I think some teams see me as a starter and some see me as a bench player. I don’t really care. I just want to win an NBA championship.”

Continue reading →

2013 All-Valley softball team: Chino’s Viramontes can add POY to resume

Posted on by
Reply

Miranda Viramontes POY
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Miranda Viramontes, Chino, Jr., Pitcher
Miranda Viramontes may have produced the same end result as last season, but rest assured, the path was entirely different.

It is a testament to the pitcher’s talent that she led her team through a playoff gauntlet to a CIF championship as an inexperienced sophomore in 2012. It was practically unfair for opponents this season.

Having not just a year under her belt, but a run through the playoffs chock-full of tense one-run games, Viramontes’ postseason performance in 2013 was off the charts. In the playoffs alone, the junior pitched a no-hitter and three one-hitters, one of which netted a 4-0 win over Lakewood in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship game on June 1.

The lone playoff game Viramontes allowed more than one hit was a nine-inning 2-1 victory.

“I don’t think this season could have ended up any better,” Viramontes said. “With my record and my numbers and where we ended up as a team, it was just unbelievable.”

Continue reading →

2013 All-Valley baseball team: Kaiser’s Mathewson named Player of the Year

Posted on by
Reply

Chris Mathewson Kaiser POY

Do these look like the offensive numbers of a player who projects as a pitcher when he graduates high school? A .455 batting average, 41 RBIs, three home runs and 28 runs scored in 28 games.

Only when they’re sitting next to these: 9-0 record, 0.95 ERA, six complete games, 114 strikeouts and 12 walks in 73 2/3 innings.

All of Kaiser junior Chris Mathewson’s talents were on display while leading the Cats to a Sunkist League championship and the No. 2 seed in the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs. The Long Beach State-committed pitcher will only spoil the Inland Valley for one more year before becoming a full-time pitcher.

“His future is as a pitcher because he’s that good as a pitcher,” Kaiser coach Mike Spinuzzi said. “He throws 91, 92 (mph) consistently. When he’s playing outfield, he’ll eftortlessly throw the ball to home on the fly all the way from the fence. Even though I tell him not to.”

Continue reading →

Video violates rule, disqualifies Los Osos long jumper at national meet

Posted on by
Reply

Kira Moreland Los OsosKira Moreland’s track season came to an unceremonious end on Saturday. Coming off a runner-up finish at the state track meet, the Los Osos senior posted the best mark at Saturday’s Great Southwest Classic in New Mexico on her first jump. Unfortunately, it was her last.

The Arizona State-bound Moreland (pictured above) was disqualified following her initial leap of 20 feet, 1/4 inch because her coach was taking video of Moreland, which is allowed in California but not in New Mexico. Without warning, a disqualification was issued to the senior whose season-best jump of 20 feet, 7 inches ranks her third in the country. A jump of 19 feet, 9 3/4 inches won Saturday’s meet, but it wasn’t first place that interested Moreland as much as her intentions to set a personal best of 21 feet.

“It was pretty devastating,” Moreland said. “It wasn’t about the (first-place) medal, it was more about not having the opportunity to keep jumping. He was pretty rude about it. He just came up to me and told me I was disqualified. It wasn’t like I did anything that disrupted or distracted any of the other jumpers. He could have just asked my coach to stop and let me continue, but I don’t think he wanted me to win.”

Continue reading →

All-CIF baseball, softball teams: Chino softball adds to CIF title plaque

Posted on by
Reply

Miranda Viramontes was destined for awards beyond the CIF-SS championship plaque she hoisted on June 1. The only playoff game that wasn’t a no-hitter or a one-hitter for the Chino pitcher was a 2-1 semifinal win. The junior’s shutout in the title game awarded Chino its second consecutive CIF championship to which Viramontes added a CIF-SS Division 2 Player of the Year award today. Chino coach Mike Smith was awarded Coach of the year in Division 2 after a 29-2 season that was unquestionably the best in school history.

To view all-CIF teams for baseball and softball, click the link below.

Continue reading →

All-Sunkist League baseball team: Two sides to this MVP discussion

Posted on by
Reply

There were two distinct sides to be taken in the debate over the Sunkist League baseball MVP. The pitching side: a 9-0 record, 0.95 ERA, six complete games, 114 strikeouts and just 12 walks in just 74 innings. And the offensive side: .455 batting average, three home runs, 41 RBIs and 29 runs scored in 28 games with a .518 on-base percentage.

Of course, both sides belonged to junior Chris Mathewson of league champion Kaiser. Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a debate.

Chris Mathewson Kaiser POY 1MVP: Chris Mathewson JR Kaiser

First Team
Toby Rainwater JR Kaiser
Ryan Mota JR Kaiser
Jacob Sanchez JR Kaiser
Alex Valdivia JR Kaiser
David Osuna SR Kaiser
Jacob Barajas SR Kaiser
Anthony Ayala SR Fontana
Andres Solis SR Fontana
Armondo Zapata JR Fontana
Continue reading →

As expected, Eisenhower football coach accepts position at Murrieta Valley

Posted on by
Reply

A day after publicly announcing his resignation as football coach at Eisenhower, Vinny Fazio accepted the head coaching position at Murrieta Valley on Friday.Vinny Fazio Mug

In his second season as a head coach, Fazio won’t be called to engineer a turnaround the likes of which he achieved his lone season at Eisenhower. Murrieta Valley finished second in the powerful Southwestern League and lost in the quarterfinals of the playoffs to eventual CIF champion Corona Centennial.

“Professionally, this is the best day of my life,” Fazio said. “I’ve found the place where I want to be for the rest of my career.”

If Fazio had it his way, he would have never left Eisenhower. But The school whose football program hadn’t had a winning season since 2002, issued Fazio a pink slip in March.

Continue reading →

2013 All-Sierra League baseball team: MVP was the only easy decision

Posted on by
Reply

The jumble of teams behind Sierra League champion West Covina South Hills during the regular season didn’t make for any easy decisions after the year ended. The all-league team had an obvious MVP, but there were plenty of arguments to be made beyond that. As it turned out, second-place Damien, and third-place Claremont (which tied in the standings) received three first team all-league selections as did third-place Chino Hills.

MVP: Adrian Dehorta, Sr., South Hills

First Team
Anthony Seminaris, Sr., Ayala
Robert Longtree, Sr., Ayala
Dylan Lowenstein, Sr., Chino Hills
Jeremy Steggell, Sr., Chino Hills
Austin Harvey, Sr., Chino Hills
Nick Costello, Sr., Claremont
Jeremy Giles, Sr., Claremont
Alex Galuchie, Jr., Claremont
Jordan Abernathy, Jr., Damien
David Banuelos, Jr., Damien
Grant Hockin, Jr., Damien
Continue reading →

CIF champion Chino named state’s softball team of the year in Division 2

Posted on by
Reply

Chino softball wins CIFChino’s dominance can’t be confined to Southern California. The juggernaut softball team that claimed its second consecutive CIF-SS Division 2 championship on Saturday, was named the Division 2 state softball team of the year by Cal-Hi Sports. Here is the photo gallery from the historic 4-0 win over Lakewood.

Chino finished fourth in the state rankings last season, but a season that included just two one-run losses vaulted the Cowgirls to the top. And they’re not done yet. Utah-bound pitcher Miranda Viramontes will return for her senior season along with four freshman who played prominent roles this season.

Mission Viejo, one of the two teams to which Chino lost during the regular season – Viramontes, however, didn’t pitch in the Cowgirls’ 7-6 loss March 9 – was the overall state No. 1 entering the playoffs. The No. 1 seed in Division 2 fell to Ayala. Coincidentally, Ayala was the last local team to end the season as Cal-Hi Sports’ overall No. 1 team in the state when a Jessica Hall-led squad won a CIF title.

Continue reading →