Surprise, Surprise, Private 1, Public 0 in 2nd annual Public vs. Private all-star game

Jenny Belak attends the University of Maryland on a scholarship..shes doing very well there, and I believe she was leading her team with the highest batting average this past season

does anyone know whatever happend to jenny belack. she use to be a pitcher i think for la salle or marantha and she used to be really good but i never heard if she went to college on a scholarship or not.

Fred
I have a Question for you...I have a daughter that played for La Canada,
when she was on JV there was a pitcher on Arcadia that blew us away, in fact I think she had a shut out and then the following week in a tounament we saw her again and she was 4 for 4 and pitched and killed the other team. when we were thinking back and reading all about the rodriguez girl we all couldn't help thinking about that player,my daughter says she didn't play for the high school but only played travel ball.We know her last name is Miller...could someone help our inquiring minds???

The 2 posts Mr. or Miss Happy pointed out happened to be completely TRUE. Both those leagues should be moved down or there will never be another CIF champion from them and I have a daughter in one of the leagues. Take off the rose-colored glasses.

Athletes from the West San Gabriel Valley were recognized for their accomplishments as the CIF-Southern Section announced its All-CIF selections for softball and boys volleyball on Monday.

Arcadia High School pitcher Jenna Rodriguez was named to the Division III softball first team. Rodriguez pitched every inning for Arcadia during her senior season and posted a 21-6 record with a 0.60 ERA and 284 strikeouts as the Apaches finished tied for first in the Pacific League with Crescenta Valley.

Monrovia's senior infield tandem of Katie McWhirter and Krissy Mihm were both named to the Division V first team. Mihm led the Rio Hondo League champion Wildcats with a .500 batting average, two home runs and 20 RBIs. McWhirter batted .443 with one homer and 14 RBIs.

Alverno's Michelle Escamilla and Lauren Sanchez were named to the Division VI first team. Escamilla, a junior, was 21-2 with a 0.82 ERA and 294 strikeouts to lead Alverno to the Division VI semifinals, while Sanchez, a freshman infielder, hit .434 with six homers.

In boys volleyball, Arcadia senior middle blocker Ryan Scott was named to the Division II first team after leading the Apaches to the Pacific League title and the CIF quarterfinals.
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La Salle senior outside hitter Micheal Fey was selected to the Division IV first team, while Flintridge Prep junior outside hitter Dylan Walker was named to the Division V first team.

Softball selections:

Division III: First Team: Jenna Rodriguez, senior pitcher, Arcadia.

Division V: First Team: Katie McWhirter, senior infielder, Monrovia; Krissy Mihm, senior infielder, Monrovia. Second Team: Brittany Bateson, senior pitcher, Monrovia; Cassie Gogreve, senior catcher, South Pasadena; Tiffany Rubin, sophomore infielder, Keppel; Amy Vergel De Dios, junior infielder, Mayfield; Jordan Richard-Cravin, junior infielder, Pasadena Poly; Veronica Grant, soph. infielder, Temple City; Alex Chavez, junior outfielder, Temple City.

Division VI: First Team: Michelle Escamilla, junior pitcher, Alverno; Lauren Sanchez, freshman infielder, Alverno. Second Team: Michelle Baroldi, junior outfielder, Alverno.

Boys volleyball selections:

Division II: First Team: Ryan Scott, senior middle blocker, Arcadia. Second Team: Kyle Matyas, senior opposite, Arcadia.

Division IV: First Team: Michael Fey, senior outside hitter, La Salle. Second Team: Kevin Kuramoto, senior setter, South Pasadena. Third Team: Joey Evanilla, senior outside hitter, La Salle; Mark Stochl, senior middle blocker, La Salle.

Division V: First Team: Dylan Walker, junior outside hitter, Flintridge Prep. Second Team: Reed Bradley, junior setter, Flintridge Prep. Third Team: Daniel Nomura, senior outside hitter, Flintridge Prep.

I'm curious why DIV III Softball only had one all CIF selection and no one on second team.

Well, there is no way around talking about the kids or the schools, after all, this is a high school blog. If you've followed the posts throughout the year, you would see that I do my best to stay neutral.

Like these last two comments, they do nothing but cause discourse. They are completely false statements and their goal is to incite people. It would be ok if it wasn't kids we are talking about. And as much as you want to stay away from the kids it always comes back to them. The majority of the people behind very pointed remarks are people with axes to grind, and without you these people would have a more limited forum. I think promoting fairness and sense of community in the way you present topics would be a good start in avoiding the negativity.

the rhl and prep league should both move down one level - they play about at the same level and don't play at a high enough level for the cif division as evidenced by the poor performance of both leagues in the playoffs.

the public schools are way way over rated

Anonymous, be more specific. We censor much more than you think in regards to what is said about players and coaches.

Fred,

I hope you know that you promote this stuff. It is not good for the sport or the kids. It is pure ugliness. You need to restrict what people write about teams and players.

the public school dominated the private school team on paper, but didnt come through. (kinda like how monrovia dominated on paper but couldn't go farther than the second round of CIF). the private side knows how to win games, 4 of their players were C.I.F. Champions

It was nice to see the kids having fun playing with each other. There were a lot of smiles and laughter between kids who had been fierce competitors all year. The outcome was irrelevant, but the process was important. Congrats to everyone involved.

I was at the game and was rooting for the Private squad... But that Jenna Rodriquez is the best softbal player in the area. That diving catch was AWESOME! Perhaps if she kept pitching it would have been a 0-0 tie?

The next best players would be a tie between K Mihm and Toni Beaston! ( C Mihn isn't bad either!)followed by B Bateson and Alexis Garcia

Thanks for the memories ladies! Have a great rest of your lives.

To anon 1:44. C Buccola reached first on an error by a girl playing first in SP uniform.

FSHA had two girls playing in the infield as well as an outfielder and they did a good job so I'm not sure what anon 1:05 was talking about?

What happened to all that firepower Public schools?

How did the runner that scored get on base? Who was pitching at that time?The paper said she was driven home by Amy Larue but how did she get on?

I thought the article was rather boring and seemed to emphasis why the public schools lost and not why the Private won! I heard the private school team didn't have a catcher till game time? Who caught?

I'm kind of curiuos how many girls on the private team play Travel ball vs the Travel ballers on the public squad? It's funny that the girl that scored the only run and the girl with the only RBI do not play Travel Ball!

Why didn't FSHA pitch the Garcia kid more especially when their other pitcher couldn't get any outs in the second half of the season. It seems rather odd that anon 1:05 doesn't have a kid on the team yet he knows a heck-of-a-lot about their practices as well as game to game play!Come on! admit it your kid goes there!!!! shame on you.

Give Coach Williams a break. He beat the odds and slew Goliath on Friday night!

Anon 12:56,

I never said La Salle was in the Prep League, I was pointing out that they represent the best of the local private teams.

The problem with FSHA wasn't the pitching, it was the defense and the teams preparation. They were a team that got worse as the year went by with Jessica Ferri, truly a great pitcher, and Alexis Garcia obviously a very capable pitcher as well. (Alexis Garcia was also their best catcher.) Getting worse as the year goes by with quality pitching is a tell-tale sign of poor coaching. Dennis Williams was a great assistant coach and an excellent softball volunteer and ambassador for the game but he did not prepare the team properly for tough games against tough teams. From what I understand, and my kid does not go there, they did very little off season preperation and he insisted on playing kids out of position so much that they had a very hard time making routine plays.

You can tell how the team played on their own instincts early in the season and deteriorated as the season went by. Look at their first game against Alverno versus their second game against Alverno. It doesn't matter how good your pitching is, if your team can't make plays.

I am not trying to disrespect him but there is a reason that he is leaving, because they have the talent.

You are correct though, the size of their school is completely incongruent with the teams in their league such as Alemany and Chaminade.

la salle isn't in the prep league

I left the game wondering why FSHA's Alexis Garcia didn't pitch more this season. It also showed that FSHA is a great girls sports school that continues to compete in a difficult league. If FSHA were in the Prep League, they would dominate in volleyball, soccer, swimming, softball, and probably in basketball too. It's too bad they compete in the Mission, a school their size deserves to showcase themeselves against similar-sized schools IN THE AREA..

respond logically to the scores below, you can't.

WOW! I almost bought all the nonsense of the public schools being so much better than the private schools.

The runs scored that are mentioned below are for all of the private schools not Prep League schools.

touche

You are cute, look at the score boards that count.

regular season:
RHL 10
Private 1

regular season:
RHL 3
Prep League 0

runs scored:
RHL 57
Prep League 20

You may have a small point if Prep League players contributed or even showed up at the game , all contributers for the private schools were from FSH, LaSalle, or Maranantha who (La Salle) accounted for the only game won throughout the season for the Private schools along with the majority of the runs they scored throughout the season.

Make up your mind, do you want RHL teams to move up or do you want to pretend that you can compete with them. By the way the RHL had 5 out of 15 players on the public roster and Prep league had 4 on the roster and two that showed up for the game, not quite the barometer that you are suggesting.

Congrats to the girls from the private schools who showed for the game and won, great job, you did it despite having Prep League players on your team!

So much for the RHL is so much better than the Prep League - score board!

It was an All Star game.

still no comments from the public side? why so quiet?

Way to go aimee, you've been a important team member x 4 years. good job finishing strong..

shall i repost some of the comments that people left, such as: the public school should not win, they WILL win...nope, didnt happen!!

Shelby Gibbs had a hit in last nights all-star game!

Fred, didn't Chanel Buccola from La Salle get driven in? I believe she was a pinch runner...

where are all the bloggers??? i thought it was supposed to be 10-0 Public??

All three pitchers threw the ball well not much hitting overall. The girls had a good time.

Aimee Larew of Maranatha got the game winning hit, driving in Alexis Garcia in the fifth inning.

good for them ....who got the hit for private ??? Wow that is a shocker.

Hows this for a shocker, Private 1, Public 0...FSHA's Alexis Garcia throws a complete game shutout...

Fred you of all people should know how scholarships work at the college level. If you haven't been signed by now then most likley we are not talking Scholarship which doesn't matter,as long as these girls play and have fun. With the new rules regarding core classes at college it is alot harder for some girls to get in. With or without softball

There is only one way to get recruited by hi-level schools for softball. Hi Level Travel Ball. Good luck with your email writing campaign.

Walking on can work, but you have to patient and dilligent and willing to pay for school for a couple of years, maybe all four.

When it comes to scholarships it is not all about talent. Grades and SAT scores are very important. Most college coaches look at the whole picture, we on this blog look only at the athletics of each individual. Ther may be things going on that we have no knowledge of. This could be the reason why some girls are passed over.

Just to let you know Toni has met with the Long Beach coach and plans on staying with her softball ..Toni is not only a excellent player but also has a 3.8 grade point out of La Salle not bad, Our hats are off to her. She is also a classy young lady.

Those schools I mentioned that Jenna was interested in have all offered her scholarships. But she still hasn't decided where to attend.

You mean to tell me a competitor like Jenna Rodriguez doesn't have any scholarship offers? Isn't it part of a HS coaches duty to get their kids looked at? I know Jenna plays Travel ball.

Another local girl that would help almost any college program in LaSalle's Toni Beaston. I heard she was heading to Long Beach State but not as a softball player?

How about we put a little bit of this blog energy to use and do a concerted e-mail effort to let some colleges (both 4 year and JC) know about some of these kids! If it's too late for this year how about next season?

Lastly ENOUGH with all the negative shots at this Senior game. Lets finish this season on a high (classy) note!

Samantha Rogers is going to San Francisco State. She does not plan to play any sports. I hope someone there can talk her into playing. Samantha is a good Volleyball and Soccer player also.

And to call coaches washed up? Why would you say that. These coaches, and all high school coaches put in a lot of time for so very little in return. And all the coaches in tonight's game are volunteering for the benefit of these seniors.

Anonymous, that's not fair, tonight is the night to celebrate the players and write about the game. In a preview article, with 31 seniors playing, it's hard to focus on only a couple of players, and not mention the others. Prior to this article, We hadn't mentioned this is also the last games for these coaches, so I thought it was appropriate.

Campa,

I read your article on "A Night of Good-Byes". It is not good, you say that "31 seniors" will be leaving and you procede to mention two Arcadia players that will be coming back and one senior in passing. I thought it might be a heart warming article about the seniors from all over San Gabriel Valley and what they are going through and you instead choose to talk about the washed up coaches instead and focus only on the Arcadia program. Writing should be an art (at least an attempt at it) not a typical page filler like that article. If I put that kind of effort into my job I wouldn't make it through the week.

I talked to Rodriguez and she hasn't decided yet. Seems like she's leaning toward New Mexico, but also mentioned CSDH and South Carolina. Bateson said she's going to Citrus, but is hanging it up, which is too bad really. She was impressive at Wednesday's all-star game, and I'm sure Citrus and several local community colleges would love to have her. Not sure about Rogers. Krissy Mihm is going to Northridge and McWhirter to UCSB. Gibbs is going to Santa Clara and Gogreve is going to South Carolina. That's a lot of talent right there.

FRED
THERE HAS BEEN ALOT OF TALK ABOUT WHERE SOME OF THE GIRLS ARE GOING TO COLLEGE, BUT i HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT GIRLS LIKE BATESON OR ROGERS AND MOST OF ALL RODRIGUEZ. I REALIZE THAT THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN WANT TO GO ON AND PLAY SOFTBALL BUT I KNOW THAT RODRIGUEZ FOR SURE DID BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT ANY D1 SCHOOL OR EVEN A JC . WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT ??? DID SHE DECEIDE NOT TO PLAY .

FRED
THERE HAS BEEN ALOT OF TALK ABOUT WHERE SOME OF THE GIRLS ARE GOING TO COLLEGE, BUT i HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT GIRLS LIKE BATESON OR ROGERS AND MOST OF ALL RODRIGUEZ. I REALIZE THAT THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN WANT TO GO ON AND PLAY SOFTBALL BUT I KNOW THAT RODRIGUEZ FOR SURE DID BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT ANY D1 SCHOOL OR EVEN A JC . WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT ??? DID SHE DECEIDE NOT TO PLAY .

We're already talking about moving this game up earlier in the week next year. Maybe Monday or Tuesday following the CIF championship. It will take better planning, but it will also be easier for the girls to participate. Hope we see a good turnout tomorrow.

As far as I know, both Mihm girls are playing. Krissy said she'll be in town and asked to play.

This idea for the Senior game (or games) is good. Bad planning/timing however as there is a big Tourny in Vegas this weekend! Maybe thats why Monrovia played Wednesday? But why was La Canada included???

Sorry to see McWhirter and Mihm girls (One or both?) will not be playing Friday....You'd think they would have worked it in their schedules as a "Thank You" to the Star News for the years of faithful coverage!

That true, those were mostly Tribune area teams. Surprising to see La Canada kids, it was supposed to be more of an ESGV game.

Looking at the players from last nights game, there were kids from Monrovia Rosemead and La Canada but not Arcadia or TC or SP is that because it was Tribune deal or what?