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

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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.

MVP: 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
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As expected, Eisenhower football coach accepts position at Murrieta Valley

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Vinny Fazio was hired as the new football coach at Murrieta Valley, multiple outlets are reporting, after revealing Thursday that he resigned following one spectacular season at Eisenhower.

Fazio began searching for other opportunities after he received a pink slip from Eisenhower in March. Vinny Fazio MugThough plenty who are pink-slipped end up with a job the following year, it was Fazio’s first such experience with one. A player at Fontana and first-year coach for a the 7-3 co-Citrus Belt League champion Eisenhower team last season, the last thing Fazio wanted to do was leave.

“That was never my plan. I was going to be there 10 to 15 years,” Fazio said. “I had people telling me at the district level and the school-site level ‘You probably need to look for other jobs.’ I love the kids. I feel really bad. On my end, I didn’t have a choice.”

Vinny Fazio is leaving Eisenhower; is Murrieta Valley the next stop?

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After just one impressive season when he led Eisenhower to a share of the Citrus Belt League title and a 7-3 record, Vinny Fazio has resigned as head football coach. His resignation came as a result of a termination letter he received in March and he had not yet been brought back.

Fazio, was The Sun’s Newcomer of the year in 2012 in leading the Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in eight years and to a winning record and a league title for the first time in 10 years.

Fazio, the Fontana High alumnus, will not be out of work long. He said he will have more to say about his future on Friday. However, it has been reported that Murrieta Valley will announce a new head football coach on Friday.

Fazio had a program a program back to where it was a perennial CIF title contender under former coach Tom Hoak.Now, that program is under a great deal of uncertainty with only one of Fazio’s assistants, Mike Clark, being a teacher on campus.

More later in Friday’s editions of The Sun and Daily Bulletin or on sbsun.com or dailybulletin.com.

All-Sierra League baseball team: MVP only easy decision in this league

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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
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Jerry Tivey resigns from Cajon softball after 23 years as the head coach

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Jerry Tivey has announced his decision to step down as Cajon High School softball coach after 23 years.

There are many impressive achievements during Tivey’s coaching career, which included 447 wins, 5 CIF-SS semifinal appearances, 2 finals appearances, and one CIF title, in 2006.

But some people don’t realize that Tivey was also a very accomplished boys basketball coach. While he was simultaneously coaching softball, he was also coaching basketball for the first 12 years.

During those 12 years, he assistant Mark Lehman (yes, the current Cajon girls coach then coached boys) for the first seven then was the head boys coach for the next five, going 101-40 and winning three league titles.

He said he hasn’t closed the door on coaching again, even saying, “I would consider getting back into basketball.”

But that doesn’t sound like any time soon. For now, he’s going to spend more time with his sons who are entering sixth and eighth grade, working on a book about creative writing in classrooms and adding another class of the International Baccalaureate he teaches at Cajon.

CIF-SS championship moments: Mesa Grande Academy and Aquinas softball; Citrus Valley and Oak Hills baseball

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Here are videos from the last 2 days of 3 CIF championship games.

The below video shows the final out for Mesa Grande in a 16-7 victory over Southlands Christian in a CIF-SS Division 7 championship softball game.

Video No. 2 shows the final out for Aquinas in an 8-1 victory over Montebello in a CIF-SS Division 5 championship softball game.

Video No. 3 shows Citrus Valley scoring the tying run with two outs in the top of the seventh.

Video No. 4 shows Oak Hills scoring the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Moments later, they would score the winning run in a 5-4, eight-inning victory over Citrus Valley in the CIF-SS Division 5 baseball final

 

Aquinas set to take on Montebello in CIF-SS Division 5 final

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IMG_1408Photo is of Aquinas High School seniors Jessica Valenzuela (left) and Heaven Murguia, showing the initials on their sleeves every one of the players was wearing this year. Why are they wearing them? Check out my story in Friday’s edition of The Sun, or on sbsun.com.

It should be an intriguing game when Aquinas plays Montebello on Friday at 5:15 p.m. at Manning Stadium in Irvine. I will be tweeting via @PeteMarshallLaw updates on the game. Aquinas has had some very talented players in recent years, but getting to the finals for the first time is a huge step for this program in getting some recognition.

How does this game shape up? It will likely be much closer than the records would indicate. Aquinas is unseeded, but 25-2 this season. Montebello is also unseeded, but has just an 18-11 record. Montebello had a bit of a tougher schedule, losing to Division 2 playoff teams such as West Covina South Hills and Chino Hills.

Since losing to Almont League co-champion Montebello Schurr on May 8, Montebello has scored at least 10 runs in every game since then. Aquinas has not scored as many as 10 runs in any playoff game, but its pitching, that of sophomore Allie Hotetz appears to have been better. But also don’t overlook fellow sophomore CF Zoe Casas, who was batting .698 with 2 home runs, 28 RBIs and 48 runs scored through the quarterfinals. She had one stretch earlier this season in which she had at least three hits eight times in a nine-game span and 29 hits overall in that span.

My prediction is an Aquinas victory by a 5-4 score.

Oak Hills holds on to beat Ontario Christian 5-4 in CIF-SS Division 5 semifinals

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That’s the final out of Oak Hills’ CIF-SS Division 5 semifinal win over Ontario Christian, 5-4.

Although it was a tight game, there was not nearly as much drama as Ontario Christian’s quarterfinal win over Templeton when the Knights recorded a triple play and got the benefit of a call when a Templeton runner failed to touch home plate.

This time, the big difference was extra-base hits. Oak Hills had nine hits, including four doubles and a home run. Ontario Christian had seven hits, all singles.

Here is how things shape up for Sun baseball and softball teams in the CIF-SS Finals.

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Mesa Grande Academy downs Academy for Academic Excellence, 8-3 in CIF-SS Division 7 softball

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0529_SPT_SBS_L-SOFTBALL-02-RLOur photographer, Rachel Luna, captured this great shot of Mesa Grande Academy’s Jen Deiner hitting the ball during Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 7 semifinal win, 8-3 over Academy for Academic Excellence.

First, here are Tuesday’s Sun/Bulletin baseball/softball scores:

BASEBALL
DIVISION 2
Temecula Valley 3, Los Osos 2
DIVISION 3
Gardena Serra 9, Diamond Bar 2
DIVISION 4
Oaks Christian 3, San Dimas 0
DIVISION 5
Citrus Valley 1, Sun Valley Village Christian 0
SOFTBALL
DIVISION 2
Chino 2, Oaks Christian 1 (9 inn.)
DIVISION 5
Montebello 12, Silverado 11 (9 inn)
Aquinas 9, Covina Northview 1
DIVISION 7
Mesa Grande Academy 8, Academy for Academic Excellence 3

Here is some stuff from the Mesa Grande game, some of which didn’t make it into my game story on sbsun.com.

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2013 All Mountain Valley League softball

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2013 ALL-MOUNTAIN VALLEY LEAGUE SOFTBALL
Coaches of the Year: Scott Cartzdafner (Jurupa Hills), April Finazzo (Citrus Valley), Maso Lara (Banning)

Offensive MVP: Natalie Calderas, Jurupa Hills 11 P
Defensive MVP: Chandler Geary, Citrus Valley 12 C

FIRST TEAM
Kailey Richard-Citrus Valley 11 INF
Brianna Chairez-Citrus Valley 12 INF
Taylor Troost-Citrus Valley 10 P
Ilene Villanueva-Jurupa Hills 9 INF
Isabel Villanueva-Jurupa Hills 10 INF
Felicity McCafferty-Banning 12 OF
Andrea Villegas-Banning 12 INF
Stephanie Sandoval-Rubidoux 11 INF
Brenna Drake-Rubidoux 12 INF
Amy Ayotte-Rim of the World 11 INF/P
Jamie Garner-Rim of the World 12 C
Haley Young-Notre Dame 11 INF 3

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