April 2009 Archives

Peninsula's baseball team stayed in the middle of the playoff race in the Bay League with a triumphant 5-4 win at West Torrance on Friday. Tyron Hicks' two-run double and Hunter Nakano's RBI single keyed a four-run sixth inning to spark Peninsula, which has now opened the league season with splits against both West and Palos Verdes.
"This was a huge win for us, it puts us back in the race for the Bay League and for a playoff berth," Peninsula coach Dennis Gonsalves said.
Peninsula did it the hard way, losing the first game in both two-game series' before coming back to win the second game in each.
"The kids played great and showed a lot of resiliency," Gonsalves said.

 

USC soccer player Amy Massey, a former Mira Costa High standout, won one of the NCAA's two Walter Byers postgraduate scholarships.

The NCAA announced Thursday that Massey and Arizona diver Craig Sheedy, will receive $24,000 to pursue graduate degrees.

Massey will attend the University of Oxford in hopes of earning a master's degree in forced migration. She has applied to law school, where she plans to study international human rights law.

After transferring from St. Mary's to USC, Massey helped the Trojans win the 2007 national championship. She has a 3.97 GPA and was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist last year.

Sheedy, from Tempe, Ariz., will attend Vanderbilt in hopes of becoming a pediatrician. He has a 4.0 GPA, was a member of the Wildcats' 2008 national championship swimming and diving team and has been a contributor in biomedical research at Arizona.

Torrance's boys swim team downed powerhouse Palos Verdes for the first time ever on Tuesday, 90-80, up at Palos Verdes High. The feat was not a huge surprise because Torrance (8-0) has been taking down all opponents all season and appears primed to make a run at its first CIF Southern Section Division III championship.
Two of the big reasons for Torrance's dominance are two-time Daily Breeze Swimmer of the Year See Han Lee, along with phenom Vladimir Morozov, who transferred from West Torrance to Torrance after last school year.
Both Lee and Morozov certainly were huge against Palos Verdes. Lee won the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:58.51, the 100 breaststroke at 59.18 and was apart of two winning relay teams. Morozov won the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.80, the 100 backstroke at 51.13 and was apart of two winning relay teams as well.

The dynamic duo is boosted by a deep team that includes Dennis Kalthoff, who won the 200 freestyle against Palos Verdes, Jordan Than, who won the 50 freestyle, and water polo standout Ryan McDonald, who won the 100 freestyle against the solid Palos Verdes squad.
Multiple Torrance swimmers record CIF Qualifying marks at every meet. It looks like Torrance will go into CIF undefeated in dual meets and perhaps as the team to beat in Division III.
"We had seven kids make CIF cuts today," Torrance coach Scott Peppard said. "I've never had a team like this before. And it'll probably never happen again."

Be sure to tune in or set your DVR recorders Friday night at 7 p.m. for LA 36's broadcast of Tuesday's softball game between Banning and Carson being broadcast for the first time Friday night at 7 p.m.

Banning pitcher Jessica Lozano threw a gem in this rivalry game.

Yours truly provided the color commentary with veteran announcer Randy Rosenbloom serving as the play-by-play announcer. Granted, I may not have any broadcast experience, but I couldn't have done any worse than Rick Monday or Rex Hudler, right?

North Torrance boys soccer coach Matt Chavez, the 2009 Daily Breeze Coach of the Year, has been fired, a source said Thursday.

Chavez was let go on Wednesday, the same day an article in the Daily Breeze honored him.

Chavez, who just finished his third season with the Saxons, guided his team to consecutive Pioneer League titles.

North had concluded its best season under Chavez, making the CIF Southern Section Division IV semifinals for the first time.

Neither Chavez nor North Torrance athletic director Brian Ormsby could be reached for comment. The Breeze will try to follow up soon.

All proceeds from the snack bar at the Palos Verdes-Peninsula baseball game at Palos Verdes High on Wednesday went toward a benefit fund for Jon Wilhite, the former Mira Costa High baseball star and lone survivor of the April 10 car crash that took the lives of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, Mira Costa High graduate Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart of Diamond Bar.
Wilhite, 24, underwent successful surgery on Wednesday at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange. A trust fund was established at Wells Fargo Bank to aid the Wilhite family. Donations can be made to the Benefit Fund for Jon Wilhite, account # 3980643658. Proceeds from the snack bar at Peninsula High during Friday's Palos Verdes vs. Peninsula baseball game also will go toward the fund.
"It really hit home," Palos Verdes coach Evan Fujinaga said. "A lot of guys from the Hill played travel ball with him and our hearts go out to him and his family."

Torrance softball coach Don Glavich, pictured, warned before the season not to sleep on South Torrance.

Well, in his Pioneer League opener, Glavich watched South give Torrance fits until the final at-bat.

Lauren deCastro hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh that just caught the chalk on the left-field foul-line as Torrance opened Pioneer League play Wednesday with a dramatic 2-1 victory over South Torrance at Wilson Park.

Karina Scott started the rally with a sharp one-out single to center. One out later, deCastro delivered with her double down the line.

"When it came off the bat, it looked like it would clear the fence, but I didn't know if it was going to stay fair," Torrance coach Don Glavich said. "The wind definitely helped it stay fair. I'll take a little help like that when I can get it."

DeCastro, who has been relegated to designated hitter after sustaining a strained ligament in her right elbow over two weeks, had been hit by a pitch in the first inning and almost had to leave the game.

"She toughed it out," Glavich said. "She said she could handle it. Around the fifth inning, it loosened up for her."

Torrance took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning as Camille Redman singled home Mel Vazquez. But South tied it in the seventh as Leanna Flores doubled down the third-base line to score Shannon Hokama with one out.

Torrance pitcher Mea Flores struck out eight of her first nine batters and finished with 15 strikeouts and no walks in a four-hitter.

South pitcher Jessica Cherness also threw a four-hitter with six strikeouts and four walks.

"I think Chreness is a pitcher who can keep them in games," Glavich said. "Really that's all you need. She kept us off-balance. We've been on a bit of a tear since Las Vegas, but she had us guessing the whole game."

The Redondo softball team picked a great time to turn things around.

Redondo stopped a 10-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory over West Torrance in the Bay League opener for both teams on Wednesday.

"It was a great way to get started in league," Redondo coach Jennifer Dessert said.

Sonia Colavita hit a three-run triple in the first inning and went 2-for-4 with four RBIs for Redondo.

Left-hander Brett Aspel allowed three runs, seven hits, seven strikeouts and two walks for Redondo. Alex O'Hagan went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs for Redondo.

Rachel Gulbrandsen led West (4-8, 0-1) by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run, and Leilani Norton added a two-run single. Krista Ross went 2-for-3 with a double for West, which stranded 12 runners.

Hi all, it looks like I'm throwing my hat into the blogging ring so we can provide you with more content on the local sporting scene. It comes at a good time, too, because intriguing league races begin this week in prep baseball and it's getting down to crunch time for the El Camino and Harbor community college baseball teams.

Among the more interesting baseball matchups today include Peninsula playing at Palos Verdes in the first of two Battle of the Hill showdowns. Both teams are playing well, with Peninsula (9-5) having won six of its last seven and Palos Verdes (12-3) having won five of its last six.

Down the Hill, a young West Torrance team tries to prove it's still among the elite when it takes on a Mira Costa squad full of pitching and power in a two-game series today and Friday.

And El Camino plays Cerritos today before a two-game showdown against Long Beach on Thursday and Saturday with first place in the South Coast Conference on the line. It should be a great week of baseball in the South Bay. Hope to see you at the ballpark.

Mike Murphy, a longtime Bishop Montgomery boys basketball coach, died last Friday from a heart attack.

Murphy, 59, served as a junior varsity boys basketball coach at Bishop Montgomery and was the school's plant manager for the past 12 years.

Steve Miller, Bishop Montgomery's assistant principal in charge of athletics, said Murphy will be missed.

"He was fantastic," Miller said. "Probably the best thing was his loyalty. He was loyal to the school and to the kids, to his family and to his friends. He just had a giant heart.

"If everyone could have a friend like him, life would be good."

Before joining Bishop Montgomery, Murphy and Principal Rosemary Libbon worked together at Cantwell Sacred Heart and at Daniel Muphy before that. Murphy and Libbon had a 30-year friendship.

Miller said Murphy was key in helping build Bishop Montgomery's new Student Athletic Facility.

Murphy was also instrumental in helping maintain Bishop Montgomery's high standards in basketball.

"He was a little old-school, but that was his charm," Miller said.  "He did all the advance scouting for (Coach) Doug (Mitchell), especially in the playoffs. He was very good with that and went all over the place for the team."

Murphy leaves behind two sons and two brothers.

Murphy's viewing will be at Rice Mortuary in Torrance on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Funeral services will be held for Murphy at the Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Paramount near where he lived on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 10 a.m.

A reception will be held at Bishop Montgomery on Friday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the new Student Activities Center.

The Banning softball team posed for photos after winning the Clark Charger Invitational in Las Vegas for the second time, beating Carson, El Camino Real and Granada Hills to cap an unbeaten 6-0 performance in Las Vegas.

Now Banning is preparing to take on Carson in a rematch that has a lot more at stake when the teams meet Tuesday at Carson at 3 p.m. in a key Marine League showdown.

The Arcadia Invitational generally marks the beginning of the major Southern California high school track and field meets.

The Serra girls look poised for another breakout performance.

Serra will face off against Long Beach Poly and Eleanor Roosevelt of Maryland in what promises to be an exciting kickoff to the prestigious two-day event at Arcadia High.

The girls 300 hurdles race might be one of the more intriguing with Serra's Turquoise Thompson (the national leader in the 400 hurdles), defending state champion Kori Carter of Claremont and Long Beach Wilson senior Nyjah Cousar, the state leader at 43.25.

The UCLA-bound Thompson, pictured, missed last season in accordance with CIF transfer rules. She also will run in the 400, 4x200 and 1,600 relays. In the 4x200 relay, Serra ran 1:37.30 in the Texas Relays for the state's top mark. The field for tonight's 4x200 at Arcadia will include Wilson and Roosevelt.

"Turquoise is good. She's running well," said Serra coach Lori Smith-Thompson, who is also her mother. "She's adjusted very well and is running comfortable (after missing last season). Right now, it's all about getting her ready for the big meets."

Serra likes the idea of going up against powers like Roosevelt and Long Beach Poly.
Roosevelt is the national leader in the 400 and 1,600 relays. Long Beach Poly, always a powerhouse, had three national leading relay efforts at the Texas Relays in the distance medley, the 4x800-meter relay and the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay.

Roosevelt and Poly finished as the top two teams in the nation in the <WC>1,6<WC1>00 relay last season at 3:37.02 and 3:39.72.

Roosevelt defeated Poly in last year's Arcadia Invitational and in the Penn Relays. Roosevelt's mark of 3:37.02 moved the Raiders into seventh on the all-time list to become the only non-Long Beach school among the all-time top 10.

Last weekend, Roosevelt ran 3:41.40 for the nation's best mark in the Florida Relay while Poly clocked a season-best 3:43.85 in the Texas Relays for the No. 2 U.S. time paced by sophomore Akawkaw Ndiapgbor and senior Jasmine Joseph.

The Serra boys, the St. Mary's Academy girls, El Segundo hurdler and jumper Allison Reaser and Redondo distance phenoms Cody Schmidt, Simon Schmidt and Chloe Curtis are also expected to make appearances at Arcadia.

Today's competition begins at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the meet starts at 9:30 a.m. with invitational events at 4 p.m.

Banning reestablished itself as an L.A. City Section power by winning the Clark Charger Invitational in Las Vegas on Wednesday with a pair of wins over two City titans.

Banning beat El Camino Real, 5-1, in the semifinals, then posted a 2-1 eight-inning win over Granada Hills in the final, showing it is overcoming its adversity and pre-tournament lackluster play .

"It means a lot," said Banning co-coach Rudy Aguirre, who took over when Jesse Espinoza was fired four games into the season. "Coming into this tournament, in my opinion, we weren't doing too well, but we made a statement that we're still contenders."

Pitcher Jessica Lozano (13-5) had 50 strikeouts in six games and put together two gems. Lozano threw a four-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks against El Camino Real.

Then Lozano outdueled Granada Hills ace Rebecca Patton to hand Patton her first loss of the season. Both had 10 strikeouts.

"The tournament didn't have an official MVP, but Jessica Lozano was definitely our MVP of this tournament," Aguirre said. "She was the heart of this team. No one hit her hard in this tournament."

Banning (13-6) finally broke through against the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-bound Patton thanks to the international tiebreaker that puts a runner at second base at the start of each extra inning.

Yesenia Alcala started the inning on second base and was sacrificed by Cassie Garcia. Marlene Tafoya walked, putting runners at first and third for Stephanie Aguirre, who hit a single to left field to score Alcala. When the ball was muffed by the outfielder, Tafoya scored as well.

"I believe we're on track now," Rudy Aguirre said. "They are starting to have confidence in themselves and the coaching staff. We're developing more chemistry and trust."

Tafoya hit a two-run triple and Stephanie Aguirre had two hits and an RBI against El Camino Real.

"We're a good team, but our heart is what won this tournament," Rudy Aguirre said. "We're not as strong as some of these other teams, and of course we don't hit the ball as well, but our team has a lot of heart.

"I'm really proud of the girls. We even got a text (message) from (Jesse) Espinoza. I thought that was nice for our team."

Westchester capped off a tremendous season in boys basketball by finishing as the No. 3-ranked team nationally in the final Maxpreps.com Xcellent Top 25 poll.

Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev., won the overall top spot after beating No. 2 Oak Hill Academy during a tournament. Other California teams in the final 25 included No. 8 Mater Dei and No. 20 Fairfax.

Westchester posted a 35-2 record and won its fifth state title, though no one saw this one coming because of such a young team. The young Comets rose up to win a share of the Western League, then continue to win the L.A. City Section title and then the Division I state title.

"They weren't a team that anyone was talking about in the preseason, Most thought they were a year away," said Dave Krider, Maxprep's senior writer. "But Ed Azzam is one of the best coaches in the country, and he proved it to win the best state title in the country."

Westchester also has three juniors who figure to put the Comets in position to make a run at City, state and national titles next season - Jordin Mayes, Dwayne Polee and Kareem Jamar.