Wednesday Baseball: Amat’s Paul Paez strikes out 13 in 7-0 win over St. Paul while Northview smashes San Dimas and Damien gets back in Sierra League race with win at Diamond Bar


Northview 15, San Dimas 5: What looked like a good game on paper between defending CIF-Southern Section Division 4 champion San Dimas and visiting Northview, in a battle for sole possession of first in the Valle Vista League, turned into a tough one for Saints coach Mike Regan to stomach.

Damien 6, Diamond Bar 3: – It’s hard to call the fourth game of league a must-win, but that’s probably what Wednesday’s visit to Diamond Bar was for the Damien High School baseball team. The Spartans couldn’t afford to fall further behind the Sierra League leaders and played like it in a 6-3 win over the Brahmas.

Bishop Amat 7, St. Paul 0: It began with a homer and went from there. That was the start of a near perfect afternoon for the Bishop Amat High School baseball team, which took sole possession of first place in the Del Rey League by defeating host St. Paul, 7-0, on Wednesday.

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Walnut and South Hills pay tribute to Huskies standout Britney Rodriguez in her first game since losing her brother Tony in a car accident

Iris Nieves posted this moving comment on another thread about the passing of 18-year-old Tony, the brother of South Hills standout Britney Rodriguez, who played her first game since last week’s tragedy against Walnut on Tuesday. I thought it was so powerful I wanted to share it …

Iris Nieves: Today, Britney Rodriguez stepped onto the field for the first time since her brothers passing. She went to school in the morning, wearing her softball varsity jersey, as is the tradition for all varsity team players on game days. She told her mother Mary in the morning that she was returning to school, her first day back since the tragedy, “dressed to play” only because it was what Tony would expect from her. (To continue, click thread)


Above: Britney Rodriguez, 16, holds a portrait of her brother Anthony Ha

A more personal story ran earlier this week: When sophomore Britney Rodriguez, a star softball player at South Hills High School, was struggling in the field, her brother would pull her aside and offer some advice. And when Rodriguez did well, 18-year-old Anthony Ha was the first to cheer for his half-sister, who has already verbally committed to play at UCLA. Ha rarely missed her practices or games. “Anthony couldn’t wait to go watch her,” said their mother, Mary Rodriguez. “He was so proud of her.”

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Getting the jump on summer passing leagues

Our 24-7 AT is keeping you up on everything football all year long, today he looks into the football teams taking advantage of early summer league passing contests with the expiration of the CIF rule that limited football teams to 15 days of practice in May.

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Drive by Baldwin Park High School on a Friday night this May and you’re liable to think it’s October. The Braves football program will be one of precious few local teams taking advantage of their right to play passing games long before most teams do it in June or July. Thanks to the expiration of a CIF-Southern Section rule that limited football teams to 15 days of practice in May, the Braves and any other local program are well within their rights to get a big jump on the season by competing in passing games long before most other teams.

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Girls Soccer All-Area: Bishop Amat’s April Juarez player of the year; Sierra Vista’s Steve Jimenez coach of the year after historic title run

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
It wasn’t the ending the Bishop Amat and Los Altos girls soccer teams envisioned, but the Lancers’ and Conquerors’ march to the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 semifinals certainly was memorable, topped only by the dream finish of CIF-SS Division 7 champion Sierra Vista. Not only did the Dons win the school’s first girls soccer title, it was the first CIF team championship in the school’s 49-year history. (To continue, click thread).

Click here to purchase All-Area soccer reprints.

Tribune Girls Soccer All-Area
Player of the year:
April Juarez, Bishop Amat, So8.
Coach of the year: Steve Jimenez, Sierra Vista
First Team
Forward: Khalalah Todd, Northview, Jr.
Forward: Vanessa Carlos, Sierra Vista, Sr.
Forward: Natalie Maxey, South Hills, Sr.
Midfield: McKenna Gooden, Charter Oak, Sr.
Midfield: Lauren Stupin, Los Altos, Jr.
Midfield: Lizbeth Rodriguez, Sierra Vista, Jr.
Midfield: Yazmin Montoya, Bishop Amat, Fr.
Defender: Jasmine Roth, Bishop Amat, Sr.
Defender: Lauren Velasquez, Los Altos, Sr.
Defender: Nicole McKee, Walnut, Jr.
Goalkeeper: Justine Padilla, Los Altos, Sr.

Second Team
Forward: Tara Cofer, Los Altos, Jr.
Forward: Kayla Mills, Walnut, Fr.
Forward: Brooke Lambert, San Dimas, Sr.
Midfielder: Amber Marani, Walnut, So.
Midfielder: Shannon McKee, San Dimas, Jr.
Midfielder: Shannon Kent, St. Lucy’s, So.
Midfielder: Tiffany Dimaculangan, Glendora, Jr.
Defender: Alyssa Cabral, Bishop Amat, So.
Defender: Maddy Ealba, Glendora, Sr.
Defender: Daniela Perez, St. Lucy’s, Sr.
Goalkeeper: Alyssa Lozano, Sierra Vista, Jr.

Continue reading “Girls Soccer All-Area: Bishop Amat’s April Juarez player of the year; Sierra Vista’s Steve Jimenez coach of the year after historic title run” »

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Mid-Valley Football: Should you schedule tough opponents, or play cupcakes?

We’ve talked a lot about what it means for Charter Oak, South Hills, Damien and Glendora going to the powerful Inland Division, but the Mid-Valley Division is controversial because of the way playoff berths are handed out. The Valle Vista and Montview Leagues have seven teams, but only two teams from each league are guaranteed playoff spots, with the rest vying for the precious four at-large berths. The question is, how will CIF choose the at-large berths? Looking at how CIF ranked teams and how they were seeded in previous years, a team like Azusa was rewarded for a great overall record though they didn’t play anyone significant. Meanwhile, teams like Paraclete, San Dimas, Arroyo, Rosemead and others scheduled up in recent years and when they did lose, they paid the price in CIF rankings. You see a team like San Dimas playing Rancho Cucamonga and Monrovia next year, making you wonder if it’s worth it now. What if they have an injury or screw up in league, finish in a tie for second and lose a coin flip. They could be out if they have a not-so-impressive overall record. Diamond Ranch isn’t in the Mid-Valley, but they’re a perfect example of a team that schedules way up and loses in preparation for the playoffs, but if you tried that in the new Valle Vista and finished third, you would never get an at-large with a 4-6 or 3-7 record. If I’m one of the powerful teams in the Mid-Valley, it almost makes no sense anymore to schedule more than one tough team. You’re better off taking a page from Azusa and notching as many wins as you can before you start league. Aram is working on a story involving appeals, with the Valle Vista certain to appeal this new format, but if it remains like this, what would you do, continue to schedule up, or get as many wins as you could?

MID-VALLEY DIVISION
12 ENTRIES + 4 AT-LARGE
ALMONT
MISSION VALLEY
MONTVIEW
OLYMPIC
RIO HONDO
VALLE VISTA

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Baseball Rankings: Bishop Amat, South Hills and Glendora still look like the best

I know it looks like Edgewood, but it’s actually Bishop Amat on St. Patty’s Day …

Tribune Baseball Rankings
1. Bishop Amat (9-1)
2. South Hills (7-1)
3. Glendora (8-1)
4. Diamond Bar (6-3)
5. Walnut (6-1-1)
6. Damien (5-3)
7. Bonita (5-2-1)
8. Los Altos (8-2)
9. Northview (5-2-1)
10. San Dimas (5-3)

CIF-Baseball Rankings
Division 2: 1. Crespi, 2. Glendora, 3. Yucaipa, 4. Bellflower, 5. El Toro, 6. Palos Verdes, 7. Redlands East Valley, 8. Alemany, 9. Canyon Springs, 10. Mayfair.
Division 3: 1. Beckman, 2. South Hills, 3. San Gorgonio, 4. Los Altos, 5. Orange, 6. Alhambra, 7. Montebello, 8. Walnut, 9. La Quinta, 10. Westminster.
Division 4: 1. Bishop Amat, 2. Torrance, 3. Sonora, 4. Palm Desert, 5. Santa Ana Calvary Baptist, 6. Northview, 7. St. Paul, 8. Monrovia, 9. Barstow, 10. Oaks Christian.

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