Monthly Archives: March 2014
Baseball: Alex Gonzalez, Joe Willard lead Bonita over Diamond Bar, 3-2
By Stephen Ramirez
steve.ramirez@langnews.com
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
LA VERNE — Bonita High School has won five consecutive league crowns, and although some view this as a rebuilding season, the Bearcats showed Tuesday they are not quite ready to relinquish their championship form.
Alex Gonzalez’s RBI grounder gave Bonita the lead and pitcher Joe Willard turned away two scoring chances in the six and seventh innings as the Bearcats rallied for 3-2 victory over visiting Diamond Bar in the teams’ Hacienda League opener.
Justin Gomez and Ethan Muro also had RBIs for Bonita, which improved to 5-3. Diamond Bar, getting three hits and a RBI from Alek Jimenez and a solid effort on the mound from Chris Sanchez, slipped to 7-4.
Bonita, after tying it at 2 in the fourth on a RBI double by Ethan Muro and a sacrifice fly by Cory Kurkierewicz, took a 3-2 lead in the sixth following singles by Montgomery Montenegro and Chris Lopez and Gonzalez’ RBI grounder.
Willard, who gave up eight hits and struck out two, thwarted Diamond Bar rallies in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Brahmas put the tying and go-ahead runs on with no outs in the sixth following a lead-off single by Jimenez and a double by Brett Tweedie. But Willard ended the threat by inducing two flyballs and a groundout to keep the one-run lead.
The senior, after Diamond Bar loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, then secured the victory by getting Tweedie to fly out to center field.
Bonita coach John Knott: “Our guys did a good job of staying in the game. We didn’t put our heads down. Joe did a good job of keeping us in the game. We took advantage of an error, we had a hit, got a big double. It was great to (tie the score), then go ahead, and eventually get the win.”
Diamond Bar coach Eric Shibley: “I think we had our chances in five or six of the seven innings and not coming up with the timely hit. “We didn’t take advantage of the situation. You have to give credit to Bonita. We didn’t take advantage of their one mistake, and they took advantage of our mistake, and that was the difference.”
Bonita’s Joe Willard: “I was just trying to get ahead, throw strikes. I was really just trying to force (it on them), pitch to contact. We were fortunate that we got some good plays, and we did it.”
San Dimas, Glendora, Bishop Amat and Chino Hills in this week’s prestigious Boras Baseball Classic
Hilarious High School Sports pranks
The job former South Hills coach Steve Bogan almost took is open again, Maranatha football coach Jude Oliva resigns
Baseball Rankings: South Hills edges San Dimas and Damien for top spot
Tribune Baseball Rankings
1. South Hills (5-1-1) — Acts and looks like the best team so far.
2. San Dimas (5-2) — Big win over rival Bonita, now faces Northview in Valle Vista opener.
3. Damien (5-2) — Trying to end final year in Sierra with a title.
4. Glendora (6-2) — Going to give them a pass for back-to-back losses to Walnut after starting 6-0.
5. Bishop Amat (3-4) — Three one-run losses and a two-run loss. Has played toughest schedule of all with solid pitching.
6. Diamond Bar (7-2) — Nothing strange about hot start, but how will it start league Tuesday against Bonita?
7. Bonita (4-3) — Get use to the fact this is probably a rebuild for Bearcats. Then again, a Bonita rebuild is probably a good year for anyone else.
8. Northview (4-2) — New Vikings coach Dan Roddy gets first big test vs. San Dimas
9. Sierra Vista (8-1) — Good coach with a solid record year in and year out. This year is no different. They host undefeated Gladstone (5-0) Tuesday.
10. Nogales (4-0-1) — Could be the final year of coaching legend John Romano.
Hitting leaders (based on Maxpreps)
1. Ryan Viramontes, West Covina, .600 (12-for-24)
2. Jason Zeigler, Chino Hills, .571 (4-for-7)
3. Eric Hernandez, Sierra Vista, .526 (10-for-22)
4. David Banuelos, West Covina, .500 (8-for-16)
5. Race Gardner, Glendora, .500 (6-for-12)
6. Daniel Roman, West Covina, .500 (4-for-8)
7. Mark Vega, Bassett, .500, (5-for-10)
8. Montenegro Montgomery, Bonita, .500 (2-for-4)
9. Israel Funtes, Chino Hills, .483 (14-for-30)
10. Brandon Buna, Rowland, 478 (11-for-23)
Softball Rankings: Glendora non-league resume lifts Tartans to No. 1 over South Hills and Bishop Amat
Above: Sierra Vista is areas only undefeated team, but Glendora is No. 1
Tribune Softball Rankings
1. Glendora (10-4) — Won San Dimas tournament and advanced furthest of all locals in Charter Oak tourney, reaching semifinals.
2. South Hills (8-3) — Solid wins over Bishop Amat, St. Lucy’s and Monrovia
3. Bishop Amat (8-4) — Scoring plenty of runs, now pitching needs to catch up.
4. Charter Oak (7-4) — Good wins mixed with surprising losses. But roster is legit.
5. Bonita (5-3) — Big non-league game at South Hills on Tuesday.
6. West Covina (6-4) — Should be co-favorite to win Hacienda along with Bonita.
7. Diamond Bar (4-3) — Beat Wilson 12-4 which is Brahmas’ only game against an area team
8. Los Altos (4-4) — Will have difficult time making the playoffs in Hacienda.
9. Sierra Vista (3-0-1) — So good so far, but need more games to really evaluate.
10. Arroyo (4-1) — Like Sierra Vista, record on paper nice, but who has it played?
Hitting Leaders (Based on Maxpreps)
1. Idalis Jimenez, Edgewood, .667 (18-for-27)
2. Alyssa Yaynes, Edgewood, .630 (17-for-27)
3. Alex Rodriguez, West Covina, .630 (17-for-27)
4. Jade Nua, West Covina, .600 (12-for-20)
5. Tannon Snow, Chino Hills, .577 (15-for-26)
6. Raquel Ramirez, Workman, .562 (9-for-16)
7. Jenna Rodelo, Rowland, .560 (14-for-25)
8. Ciara Granado, Edgewood, 548 (17-for-31)
9. Jocelyn Marquez, Northview, .538 (14-for-26)
10. Ariela Burns, Northview, 533 (8-for-15)