The Marijon Ancich Youth Football Camp will be held June 21-22 at Whittier High.
The camp is for players ages 6-14 and the cost is $50. A T-shirt and camp photo are included and lunch will be provided both days. Cleats are recommended but not required.
For more information, call (562) 698-8121, ext. 2122.
The softball coaches from St. Paul and La Serna will face off for the fifth time since March when the Red and Blue teams meet Wednesday at York Field for the Rotary Club of Whittier’s All-Star Softball Classic.
St. Paul’s Jim Maier and his staff will coach the Red all-stars while Mike Reed and Mike Orona of La Serna will lead the Blue team in the 11th installment of the postseason, senior-only contest. The Swordsmen and Lancers met four times during the just-completed season, and split those meetings, although St. Paul scored the biggest victory by defeating La Serna 2-1 in the CIF-SS Division 3 final.
The Red all-stars will feature Del Rey League MVP Lovie Lopez and Pitcher of the Year Koreen Orozco from St. Paul, Del Rio League MVP Trisha Trujillo of Cal and Montebello’s Evelyn Hernandez, the Almont League Pitcher of the Year. The Blue side will have Almont League MVP Byanka Diosdado of Schurr and Del Rio League first teamers Molly Bourne, Dana De La Torre and Dani Garcielita from La Serna.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The 18th edition of the baseball all-star game will follow at 6 p.m. La Serna’s Tony Gonzales will coach the Red all-stars, with Suburban League MVP Jeff Murray from La Mirada leading the way. Del Rio League Defensive Player of the Year Tony Ceron of La Serna is also part of the Red lineup.
The Blue all-stars will be coached by Pioneer’s Bobby Ramirez. Del Rio League Player of the Year Ruben Pinedo and DRL Offensive POY Fermin Beza, both from Cal, will play as well as Del Rio League first teamers Jerald Johnston (Cal), Jesse Perdomo (Cal), Robert Barraza (Cal), Esteban Solis (El Rancho), Justin Gonzalez (El Rancho), Ryan Palomar (El Rancho) and Josh Prickett (Pioneer).
Here’s the complete lineup for each team:
Baseball
Red All-Stars
La Mirada
Jeff Murray
Eric Tapper
Blake Wilson
La Serna
Mark Abbate
Paul Barraza
Gavin Callender
Tony Ceron
D’Andre Sanchez
Santa Fe
Victor Arreola
Harley Messenger
Tony Olivarez
Martin Serna
St. Paul
Nicholas Delgado
Jon Hernandez
Kevin Lugo
Aaron Pinto
Brian Stark
Whittier Christian
Mike Rafter
Jake Rivera
Whittier
Johnny Salgado
Moe Vasquez
Coach: Tony Gonzales, La Serna
Blue All-Stars
Cal
Robert Barraza
Fermin Beza
Robby Blount
Jerald Johnston
Jesse Perdomo
Ruben Pinedo
El Rancho
Justin Gonzalez
Ryan Palomar
Esteban Solis
La Habra
Andrew Gallegos
Robert Lefler
Chris Nuanes
Austin Saad
Montebello
Ryan Orozco
Pioneer
Carlos Hernandez
Josh Prickett
Adrian Ramos
Nathan Yorba
Sonora
Gavin Blodgett
Henry Bustamante
Jose Gomez
Maricio Guadarrama
Andrew Piraino
Coach: Bobby Ramirez, Pioneer
Softball
Red All-Stars
Cal
Carley Espinoza
Joslyn Macias
Miranda Perez
Brigid Ruiz
Rachel Shumaker
Trisha Trujillo
Montebello
Evelyn Hernandez
Alyssa Soneff
St. Paul
Taylor Ancona
Bryanna Campos
Krystal Gutierrez
Lovie Lopez
Koreen Orozco
Santa Fe
Amanda Flores
Sonora
Katie Amaral
Leandra Jew
Brandi Landino
Coach: Jim Maier, St. Paul
Blue All-Stars
El Rancho
Miranda Armas
Aiyana Leal-Robles
Anissa Sanchez
La Habra
Camille Manzo
Hope Moreno
Taylor Pierce
La Serna
Molly Bourne
Dana De La Torre
Dani Garcielita
Schurr
Byanka Diosdado
Stephanie Guido
Melissa Lopez
Whittier Christian
Celeste Adriano
Melissa Martene
Katelyn Wagner
Whittier
Vanessa Perez
Co-coaches: Mike Reed, Mike Orona, La Serna
St. Paul senior Koreen Orozco
Boy, did I get THAT wrong!
My prediction of a 6-4 La Serna victory over St. Paul in the CIF-SS Division 3 softball final wasn’t even remotely close. I went 3 for 3, missing the score, the run total and the winning team.
I gave the Lancers the edge when it came to pitching, but St. Paul’s Koreen Orozco was clearly the best player on the field Friday. She held La Serna to two hits – one in the first inning, one in the seventh – and induced 17 ground ball outs, which was supposed to be the strength of La Serna’s Jamie Wren.
The advantage clearly went to the Swordsmen.
On defense, only one error was committed in the game – by St. Paul – and it led to La Serna’s only run of the game. But a pair of La Serna miscues that weren’t officially errors led to both St. Paul runs as well. An outfield misread led to Krystal Gutierrez’s RBI double in the first inning, and Myranda Bueno singled off Wren’s glove in the fourth when the pitcher dove for a pop fly that would have spun into foul ground had she left it alone. That let Bryanna Campos get to third base with no outs, and she scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly by Niko Walker.
Again, advantage to St. Paul.
The Swordsmen also did a better job running the bases Friday, but only because La Serna had so few chances. The Lancers had just six runners reach base, and only two got past second base.
Offensively, the edge clearly went to St. Paul. The Swordsmen totaled nine hits – at least one each time they came to the plate – and pounded three doubles off Wren.
As far as intangibles go, St. Paul played with more passion, perhaps because it hadn’t claimed a CIF softball title since 1988, about 10 years before most of its players were even born. They were determined to even the season series with La Serna at two victories apiece, including the most important one.
Today’s CIF-SS Division 3 softball final pits a pair of Whittier-area teams – La Serna and St. Paul – against one another at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine. It will be the fourth meeting of the season between them, with La Serna holding a slight 2-1 advantage before the 4:45 p.m. contest. La Serna left-hander Jamie Wren has allowed just one run during the playoffs while St. Paul’s Krystal Gutierrez blasted a pair of home runs in the Swordsmen’s semifinal victory over Palos Verdes. Like two of the first three meetings, it should be a terrific game.
Here’s a look at my Tale of the Tape and my prediction:
Pitching: La Serna’s Wren is 24-2 this season with a 0.47 ERA, and hadn’t allowed a run in the playoffs until the seventh inning of Tuesday’s semifinal against Righetti. Like St. Paul senior Koreen Orozco, Wren relies on location and movement instead of pure velocity, and she’s a master at inducing ground balls.
Advantage: La Serna
Offense: St. Paul has scored 41 runs in the playoffs, including 10 or more three times, and it closed the regular season with 10 or more runs in its last four games. The Swordsmen averaged 8.33 runs during Del Rey League play. La Serna was no slouch in the Del Rio League, averaging 7.2 runs per game, but 10 of its games were decided by three runs or less.
Advantage: St. Paul
Defense: The left side of La Serna’s infield is as strong as any in the Southern Section, with junior Taylor Becerra at shortstop and senior Molly Bourne at third, and they combined for two errors in 33 chances in the playoffs. In the outfield, senior Dani Garcielita positions herself and her teammates in left and right correctly with a coach’s precision. St. Paul’s best defender is senior center fielder Lovie Lopez, whose speed and reaction off the bat is remarkable.
Advantage: La Serna
Base running: Both teams are aggressive on the bases without taking unnecessary chances, and both have terrific leadoff hitters – Becerra and Lopez. St. Paul’s superior power means it can play more of a station-to-station game, while La Serna plays a little more small ball.
Advantage: Draw
Intangibles: La Serna holds the advantage in the season series, and has made deeper playoff runs in recent years. The teams have only one common opponent this season – Bishop Amat – and both went unbeaten against the Lancers (La Serna 2-0, St. Paul 3-0). La Serna is on a seven-game winning streak, but the Swordsmen’s streak is at 14. La Serna is in its first CIF final since 2008; St. Paul hasn’t played in a CIF final since 1997.
Advantage: Draw
Final score: La Serna 6, St. Paul 4
With its victory Wednesday over visiting Lompoc Cabrillo, Whittier Christian’s baseball team joined La Mirada, Cal and Cantwell-Sacred Heart in the quarterfinal round of the CIF-SS playoffs.
The Heralds scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and held on for a 4-3 victory, improving their record to 17-12. They’ll host Big Bear (23-2) in the Division 5 quarterfinals Friday.
Here’s a look at Friday’s softball and baseball schedule:
Softball
Finals
At Deanna Manning Stadium, Irvine
Division 6
Cantwell-Sacred Heart (21-7) vs. St. Bonaventure (23-4), 2 p.m.
Division 3
La Serna (28-3) vs. St. Paul (27-4-1), 4:45 p.m.
Baseball
Quarterfinals
Division 2
Chino Hills (23-5) at La Mirada (22-10), 3:15 p.m.
Division 4
Cal (22-5) at Northview (18-11), 3:15 p.m.
Division 5
Cantwell-Sacred Heart (20-11) at Oak Hills (25-3), 11 a.m.
Big Bear (23-2) at Whittier Christian (17-12), 3:15 p.m.