SEMIFINALS: South Hills routs Amat in stunning fashion, 16-1; Amat baseball rallies, wins 5-4 with run in the seventh; No. 1 Bonita falls 8-2 to Beckman; Chino Hills, South El Monte, Arroyo lose

South Hills’ Sweet 16: The South Hills High School softball team overwhelmed second-seeded Bishop Amat in stunning fashion with a hitting display that went on and on and finally ended with a 16-1 win in Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 3 semifinal.
Visiting South Hills sent at least seven batters to the plate in six of the seven innings to advance to the championship for the second season in a row. The Huskies will face top-seeded Oaks Christian, a 2-1 winner over Chino Hills, on Friday or Saturday at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine.
Unseeded South Hills (21-7) lost in last year’s Division 5 championship to top-seeded Whittier Christian, 4-0, and Tuesday played like a team that has unfinished business.
“We’ll take on No. 1 until we get it right,” Huskies coach Scott Fisch said.

Amat’s Comeback Kids: There’s nothing quite like sweet revenge, especially when it comes in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs against a team that gave you heartache the season before.
The Bishop Amat High School baseball team knows the feeling.
Andrew Gutierrez’s RBI single scored Rio Ruiz in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Lancers rallied from four runs down to score a 5-4 victory over Torrance in Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 4 semifinal at USC’s Dedeaux Field.
The No. 2-seeded Lancers, who dropped a 7-3 setback to the Tartars last season, improved to 28-4 and will face top-seeded Palm Desert, a 2-1 winner over Oaks Christian, for the division championship at Dodger Stadium on Friday at 4:30 p.m. It’s Bishop Amat’s first trip to a division final since 2008 and first visit to Dodger Stadium since winning the Division IV crown in 2001.

CIF-Southern Section Semifinals
Tuesday’s Results
Baseball
Division 3

Beckman 8, Bonita 2
Woodbridge at Culver City, 3 p.m.
Championship: Thursday, Dodger Stadium, 4:30 p.m.
Division 4
Palm Desert 2, Oaks Christian 1
Bishop Amat, Torrance 4
Championship: Friday, Dodger Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

Softball
Division 3

Oaks Christian 2, Chino Hills 1
South Hills 16, Bishop Amat 1
Division 5
La Canada 6, South El Monte 2
Beaumont 4, Arroyo 0
Championships: Friday and Saturday at Deanna Manning Stadium, Irvine, TBA

No. 1 Bonita falls: Well, whatever Irvine Beckman did to get ready for visiting Bonita and senior Adam McCreery worked as the Patriots battered McCreery en route to an 8-2 victory in Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 3 baseball semifinals.

Beaumont shuts out Arroyo: Neal hit another home run in the sixth inning and the Cougars scored a 4-0 victory in a CIF-Southern Section Division 5 semifinal game Tuesday.

Goodbye South: The Spartans’ bats then snapped everyone back to reality and did the needed damage for a 6-2 victory over the visiting Eagles.

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Scouting Guru delivers Memorial Day thoughts on top football prospects and much, much more

The Scouting Guru has been all over the San Gabriel Valley and beyond, and like always, he’s offered to share his thoughts, free of charge. Don’t hate, enjoy it for what it’s worth, which is one man’s opinion on the talent in the San Gabriel Valley.

The Guru writes: Happy Memorial Day to all. For most of the high schools, spring football is either done or we are in the final week of it. And with the end of May nearing, it also means that the college spring evaluation period has come to a close. So for this column we’ll take a look at our revised Top-10, reveal out diamonds to watch and recommend a new hamburger establishment in West Covina. (To continue, click thread).

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A season for the record books, Bonita’s Justin Garza earns high praise from San Gorgonio coach

Following Bonita’s 7-0 win over San Gorgonio on Friday, San Gorgonio coach Bill Eatinger said of Bearcats pitcher Justin Garza, who is 13-0 with a 0.55 ERA: “(Garza) is the best pitcher in CIF. The kid’s numbers are phenomenal and you saw what he did. We knew we needed to play our best game of the year. We made a couple of mistakes early and that was enough.” After a great regular season, Garza managed to kick it up a notch in the playoffs. He hasn’t been scored on in 13 innings and has allowed just four hits.

He may not look imposing and came out of nowhere, but there is no doubt how talented Garza is, and with his confidence growing, he’s maturing each time out. In terms of best single season ever by a high school pitcher in the San Gabriel Valley, his numbers make an argument against anyone.

Note: I wrote previously if Garza went 14-0, he would match Edgewood’s Mike Pill with the best record for a perfect season in SGV history, which Pill did twice, in 1977 and ’78. Since writing that, some have taken notice and alerted the CIF office of records that were not submitted, like Covina’s Mike O’Hara, who went 15-0 in 1979. That was added just recently, which makes O’Hara the all-time best. For Garza though, if he finishes 14-0 or better, he would be the first to crack the prestigious 14-0 or better season since 1999, or the first since the turn of the century. Not bad, right? And remember in the 70s and prior, pitchers could pitch unlimited innings, there was no 10-inning per week rule. Like I said, what Garza is doing in the modern high school baseball era is extremely impressive.

CIF-SS ALL TIME RECORDS
PERFECT SEASON
Rec. Player/School Year

17-0 Rick Stewart, Fillmore 1977
16-0 Vance Thurston, Long Beach Wilson 1947
16-0 Mike Corkins, Rubidoux 1964
15-0 Mike O’Hara, Covina 1979
15-0 Willie Leighton, Fillmore 1988
15-0 Craig Jones, La Quinta 1995
15-0 Brett Young, Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana 1999
14-0 Mike Pill, Edgewood 1976
14-0 Mike Pill, Edgewood 1977

14-0 Mike Witt, Servite 1982
14-0 Craig VanHulzen, Apple Valley Christian 1990
14-0 Jason Kelly, St. Joesph/Santa Maria 1997
14-0 Tim Thompson, Grace Brethren 1998

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Baseball: Bishop Amat at ‘home,’ Bonita on the road in Tuesday’s semifinals

If Bishop Amat and Bonita are going to play for CIF–Southern Section baseball titles, they must win games away from the San Gabriel Valley in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Bonita, which lost in the finals last season, travels to Beckman for a 3:15 p.m., with the winner advancing to the championship. Bishop Amat has the home game, but because the school’s softball team is also at home, the Lancers have chosen to play their semifinal against Torrance at USC’s Dedeaux Field, which is closer to Torrance than La Puente. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s Semifinals
Division 3

Bonita at Beckman, 3:15 p.m.
Division 4
Torrance vs. Bishop Amat at USC, 6:30 p.m.

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Baseball Quarterfinals: Bishop Amat crushes Kaiser 13-2; Bonita beats San Gorgonio 7-0 behind another big performance from Garza; Damien’s surprise playoff run ends, 12-2

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
For those who believe the Bishop Amat High School baseball team should be competing in a much tougher division, the Lancers’ 13-2 victory over visiting Fontana Kaiser in Friday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinal just fuels the debate. The second-seed Lancers (27-4) are ranked sixth in the state by Maxpreps, and march on to Tuesday’s semifinals against Torrance, which is Amat’s home game, but with Amat’s softball team at home against South Hills the same day, Amat’s baseball game might get moved to an alternate site. (To continue click thread).

Bonita Notes: Bonita’s Justin Garza improved to 13-0, allowing just two hits in six innings in a 7-0 shutout over San Gorgonio. The Cats are a win away from advancing to their second straight title game. Garza is a win away from matching Edgewood great Mike Pill’s undefeated 14-0 mark, which he did twice in 1977 and ’78 in leading Edgewood to back-to-back championships. Pill’s 14-0 campaigns are the SGV record for most wins in a perfect season.

Baseball
Friday’s quarterfinal results
Division 2

Mission Viejo 12, Damien 2
Division 3
Bonita 7, San Gorgonio 0
Division 4
Bishop Amat 13, Kaiser 2

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Covina’s McClain and Bishop Amat’s Price double up at CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet

By Steve Ramirez
NORWALK —
Covina High School’s Remontay McClain and Bishop Amat’s Kyle Price began the season as the area’s top two returning track and field athletes.
They continue to live up to that billing.
Both earned double wins while qualifying for next weekend’s CIF State championships in Clovis after giving stellar efforts Friday night during the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College.

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Track: McClain, Price highlight tonight’s Masters

MASTERS RESULTS: For up to the minute results of tonight’s Masters, click here.

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
he difference in track and field practices around the San Gabriel Valley this week has been a matter of numbers. Two weeks ago, high school facilities were filled with hundreds of athletes training in earnest. That number was down to 20 this week and will dwindle to probably no more than a handful after tonight, when athletes who had top-nine running times or top-12 field-event marks in last weekend’s CIF-SS Finals will compete in the Masters Meet at Cerritos College. Field events are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m., with running events beginning at 5:30. In addition to the top five finishers in each event, those who better a preset standard in their event will also earn a berth in next weekend’s two-day CIF State meet, to be held at Buchanan High in Clovis, just northeast of Fresno. (To continue click thread)

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