Here is the Whittier-area prep baseball schedule for Friday, April 19:
ALMONT LEAGUE
Alhambra at Montebello, 3:15 p.m.
Schurr at Bell Gardens, 5:45 p.m.
DEL REY LEAGUE
St. Paul at Bishop Amat, 3:15 p.m.
DEL RIO LEAGUE
El Rancho vs. Whittier at York Field, 3:15 p.m.
La Serna at Santa Fe, 3:15 p.m.
Pioneer at California, 3:15 p.m.
FREEWAY LEAGUE
Sunny Hills at La Habra, 3:15 p.m.
OLYMPIC LEAGUE
Heritage Christian at Whittier Christian, 3:30 p.m.
SUBURBAN LEAGUE
Glenn at La Mirada, 3 p.m.
Moriah Earley from La Serna High School was selected as the Whittier Daily News All-Area Girls Soccer Player of the Year. (Keith Durflinger / Staff photographer)
Photo gallery: 2013 Whittier Daily News All-Area Girls Soccer Team
By Eric Terrazas, Staff Writer
La Serna’s Moriah Earley took her game to another level as she emerged as the top player for a talented Lancer team.
Earley scored a team-high 21 goals in helping to lead the Lancers to a Del Rio League title and the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 championship. One of Earley’s biggest moments came in La Serna’s 3-2 win over La Quinta in the Division 5 semifinals. She scored two goals with the latter being the game-winner.
For her outstanding season, Earley was named the Daily News Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
It was certainly a season of accomplishments for Earley, who was also named the most valuable player for both CIF-SS Division 5 and the Del Rio League.
“It was a great feeling,” Earley said on the Lancers’ successful season. “We worked for a long time for this and for it to finally happen was a good feeling. We just worked hard and we trusted each other to get it done.”
Earley followed up her heroics against La Quinta by scoring a goal in La Serna’s 3-0 triumph over Cabrillo of Lompoc in the CIF-SS Division 5 title game. As a result of the Lancers capturing the divisional crown, they earned their first berth to the CIF-Southern California Regional Soccer Championships.
La Serna coach Tessa Troglia said of Earley, “She came a long way from the beginning of the season. She was a good leader for us and she got the other girls to buy into our vision. She did everything we asked her to do. She is a good student of the game.”
Earley, a four-year varsity player, recently committed to USC.
“I like the program and the school,” Earley said of the Trojans. “It was just a good fit.”
When she prepares for a match, Earley said, “I pray, read my Bible, listen to my music and just try to get into the zone.”
Earley put together an impressive postseason for the Lancers, scoring six goals in as many games.
Troglia guided a Lancers team that made its share of history this season. After capturing the Del Rio League title, La Serna went on to capture the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 championship by defeating Cabrillo of Lompoc 3-0. It marked the second time La Serna won a CIF-SS divisional crown with the first coming in 2008.
As a result of their CIF-SS divisional triumph, the Lancers also qualified for the CIF-Southern California Regional Soccer Championships for the first time in school history.
For her efforts, Troglia was named the Daily News Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
“I feel very blessed just to have an opportunity to coach a diverse group of girls,” Troglia said. “It’s a good feeling. They became everything that we hoped for. They ended up being a dynamic team that could attack through several outlets. They put La Serna in the limelight a little more.”
Troglia was also named the All-CIF coach of the year for Division 5.
Read more: 2013 All-Area Girls Soccer Team: La Serna’s Moriah Earley leads Whittier Daily News picks
Christian Roldan from El Rancho High School was selected as the Whittier Daily News All-Area Boys Soccer Player of the Year. (Keith Durflinger / Staff photographer)
Photo gallery: 2013 Whittier Daily News All-Area Boys Soccer Team
By Eric Terrazas, Staff Writer
Cristian Roldan saved the best for last as he finished his El Rancho soccer career on quite the high note.
The Dons’ top player scored 54 goals and delivered 30 assists as he helped lead El Rancho to both the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 and CIF-State Division I Southern California Regional championships.
Roldan, a senior forward, collected his share of awards, which included All-CIF Division 3 most valuable player honors and the Del Rio League’s MVP.
For playing a central role in El Rancho’s historic season, Roldan was named the Daily News Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“It’s just a great feeling,” Roldan said as he looked back on the 2012-13 season. “We pulled it together in the end and we came out on top. Overall, it was a long season full of ups and downs. But like I said, the last games count the most and we were undefeated come playoff time.”
Roldan, who also won last year’s Daily News Player of the Year award, will soon take his game to the Pacific Northwest as he recently signed with the University of Washington.
“Once I got there, the vibe was nothing like I never felt before,” Roldan said of his decision to choose Washington. “I just felt at home once I visited the campus and played with the guys. The offer was great. The coaching staff is the best out there. The city of Seattle is a soccer city.”
Perhaps Roldan’s greatest highlight of the season came in El Rancho’s 3-2 overtime triumph over Century in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs. Roldan scored all three goals with his third coming in sudden-death overtime.
Roldan also scored a goal in the Dons’ 7-0 victory over Ontario in the semifinals of the CIF-State Division I Southern California Regionals.
“Overall, it was a successful season,” said Roldan, a four-year varsity player. “We made history at our school. It’s just remarkable and I will never forget that.”
Picon guided the Dons to a history-making season as they captured their first CIF-State Division I Southern California Regional championship, which came after they earned the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 title.
El Rancho, which finished the season with a 29-2-1 overall record and the Del Rio League championship, took home the regional crown by defeating top-seeded San Clemente 3-0. The victory also marked sweet payback for the Dons, who fell to San Clemente 2-0 in the first round of the 2011 regional tournament.
For his efforts, Picon was named the Daily News Boys Soccer Coach of the Year. He also won the award last year.
Picon, who also was named the All-CIF Division 3 coach of the year, also coached the Dons to their second CIF-SS divisional title in three years. El Rancho won the Division 3 crown by defeating Channel Islands 3-2.
Montebello’s Evelyn Hernandez, right, tags out Schurr’s Breanna Bolanos at third base in Thursday’s Almont League game. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)
Photo gallery: Montebello-Schurr softball
By Eric Terrazas, Staff Writer
MONTEBELLO – After sharing the Almont League softball crown last year, both Montebello and Schurr are seeking to reach the top once again this season.
And with both teams entering Thursday’s game with 3-0 league records, the season’s first meeting between the crosstown rivals could go a long way in determining the Almont race.
The host Oilers, led by a balanced 13-hit attack, took the upper hand by defeating Schurr 10-8 in a game that featured four lead changes.
Senior first baseman-outfielder Stephanie Quintero helped Montebello’s attack with three hits, including a triple, and three RBIs. Quintero was one of five Oilers who had a multi-hit effort.
Montebello (9-10 overall, 4-0 in league) grabbed sole possession of first place in league.
“It’s always intense,” Oilers coach Laurie Capps said of her team’s meetings against the Spartans. “It’s kind of like USC and UCLA – it doesn’t matter who is having a good year or a bad year. It’s always intense. And since we both came in with equal records, it made it even more fun and intense.
“Everybody contributed. It was a total team effort and it’s a good win.”
Senior shortstop Emily Sanchez was the offensive leader for the Spartans (6-12, 3-1), who had 15 hits. Sanchez had four hits and drove in four runs.
“We’re not finished with the first round of league play,” Schurr coach Jackie Montanez said. “It’s just another game in our league season. Both teams came ready to hit. The girls put up a fight and came out in the losing end – that’s just the nature of the game. There are things we need to work on. We’re going to take one game at a time to get better in league.”
Montebello scored the decisive runs in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back base hits by junior first baseman Alyssa Soneff and junior shortstop Andrea Rocha set things up for Quintero, who gave the Oilers the lead for good when she delivered a run-scoring single to center.
Rocha came home and closed the game’s scoring when senior outfielder Andrea Pena reached on a fielder’s choice.
Schurr tied it at 8-8 in the top of the sixth, which featured Sanchez’s two-run single to right that scored Karen Roman and Alexis Lazaro.
After the Oilers took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Spartans responded by scoring three runs in the second. The Spartans produced five consecutive base hits, which included run-scoring singles by Stephanie Guido, Lazaro and Sanchez.
Montebello quickly regained the lead, 5-3, after three innings. The Oilers scored twice in both the second and third. Brianna Alvarez’s run-scoring single and Evelyn Hernandez’s RBI groundout tied the score 3-3.
Quintero then gave the Oilers the lead when she blasted a two-run triple during the third.
eric.terrazas@sgvn.com
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By John Sherrard, Correspondent
PICO RIVERA – Runs were at a premium in Thursday’s Del Rio League softball game between El Rancho and Santa Fe high schools.
Only one run was scored as both pitchers took different paths for the final result.
Santa Fe senior right-hander Brittany Gonzalez allowed one hit in a 1-0 loss at El Rancho while sophomore Jackie De Loza (six strikeouts) allowed base runners in every inning but the seventh for the victory.
El Rancho, the Daily News fifth-ranked team, improved to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in league. Santa Fe fell to 5-6 and 1-3.
“It was an amazing game with my pitcher Jackie,” El Rancho coach A.J. Reyes said. “She worked, hit her spots, she was unbelievable (Thursday).
“Their pitcher (Gonzalez) did a great job keeping us off-balance.”
The Dons, who remained a game behind league-leading La Serna, won it in the bottom of the seventh when pinch-runner Jazmine Sanchez scored after a grounder to short by freshman Janessa Lozano, who had the Dons’ only hit.
Sanchez, who was injured on the play when she slid under the tag by the Santa Fe catcher, was carried off the field by Reyes.
Dons junior catcher Aiyana Leal-Robles opened the inning with a grounder to Santa Fe third baseman Alexxis Ponce, who bobbled the ball and threw wide to first to allow the runner to advance to second.
Ponce then just missed a short pop-up by shortstop Destiny Cervantes in foul territory. Cervantes then sacrificed Sanchez to third to set up the winning run.
“Like my coach said, `Who is going to jump on that grenade?’ And I felt I should jump on it and help my team out for that winning run,” Sanchez said.
The Chiefs loaded the bases in the sixth inning with one out.
Junior right fielder Jillian Saiza (1 for 2) opened the inning with a walk, followed by a throwing error that allowed both runners to advance to second and third.
After an intentional walk to sophomore centerfielder Myranda Bueno (1 for 1, two stolen bases), De Loza struck out pinch hitter Carly Gutierrez and Ponce flied out.
“My main goal was just to hit my spots as much as I could and execute in the situation that I was in,” said De Loza, who improved to 4-3.
“She pitched a great game (Thursday),” Santa Fe coach Randi Berg said. “It’s just a tough loss and hard to explain. We just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities with runners in scoring position.”
Since we’re in the middle of the prep baseball season, it’s time to start thinking about which Whittier-area players are the best candidates for player-of-the-year honors. So who do you think are the best baseball players in the area? I would like to hear from you.
Here is the area softball schedule for Thursday, April 18:
Schurr at Montebello, 3:30 p.m.
St. Monica vs. Cantwell Sacred Heart, 3:15 p.m.
St. Paul at Bishop Montgomery, 3:15 p.m.
Santa Fe at El Rancho, 3:15 p.m.
La Serna vs. Whittier at York Field, 3:15 p.m.
California at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.
Sonora at La Habra, 3:15 p.m.
El Rancho High School baseball player Dylan Guzman and La Serna High softball pitcher Nikki Oviedo were named the Whittier Daily News athletes of the week.
Guzman, a senior third baseman, hit a grand-slam home run and drove in a team-high five runs to lead El Rancho to a 9-1 Del Rio League victory Friday over Santa Fe.
Oviedo, a senior, pitched a complete-game shutout in the Lancers’ 2-0 Del Rio League win against California. She allowed eight hits, all singles, and no walks in snapping the Condors’ 12-game winning streak.
La Habra’s Anthony Acosta delivers a pitch during Wednesday’s Freeway League game at Sunny Hills. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)
Photo gallery: La Habra-Sunny Hills baseball
By Eric Terrazas, Staff Writer
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FULLERTON – Wednesday’s Freeway League baseball game between La Habra and Sunny Hills started out as an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel.
That all changed, however, when Sunny Hills’ offense came to life during the game’s latter stages. The host Lancers scored multiple runs in both the fifth and sixth innings and went on to a 5-1 victory over La Habra.
Sunny Hills starter Reese Kimball pitched a complete-game three-hitter to earn the win. He struck out 11 La Habra batters.
Eric Evans, who collected three hits, and Ryan James, who drove in three runs, paced the offense for the Lancers, who improved to 8-9 overall and 4-4 in league. Kimball also helped his own cause by recording two RBIs.
Austin Saad drove in the lone run for the Highlanders (9-11, 4-4).
“We started off slow and weren’t making adjustments,” Sunny Hills coach Raymond Rios said. “We finally made adjustments and made good things happen. Our pitcher had a good game.”
The Lancers, trailing 1-0, woke up offensively in the bottom of the fifth. Evans, who led off the frame with a single to center, scored the Lancers’ first run when he came home on James’ triple to right.
This set the stage for Kimball, who put Sunny Hills ahead to stay when he laid down a successful squeeze bunt that scored James.
“That squeeze gave us a lot of momentum and we built off of that momentum,” Rios said.
Sunny Hills seized control by adding three more runs in the sixth. After Highlanders starting pitcher Anthony Acosta retired the first two batters, Evans extended the inning by producing a groundball single to left. Carlos Kimball followed Evans by delivering his own base hit.
James, the next Lancers batter, made La Habra pay by blasting a two-run double to center. Reese Kimball then closed the game’s scoring with an RBI single.
Sunny Hills secured the victory when Reese Kimball pitched a scoreless seventh.
Things started off promising for La Habra, which scored during its first at-bat. That’s when Saad delivered a two-out RBI single that scored Andrew Gallegos, who reached base on a fielder’s choice.
The Highlanders had an opportunity to extend their lead in the top of the fifth. Senior second baseman Marcus Lopez started the threat when he reached on a two-out double to right.
After an intentional walk to senior shortstop Zack Ferreira, Kimball escaped the jam when he struck out Gallegos.
The two teams meet again Friday at La Habra. With both the Highlanders and Lancers holding 4-4 league marks and trailing first-place Sonora (7-0 entering Wednesday’s league play), Friday’s game could go a long way in determining the postseason picture.”It’s a must-win situation for us,” La Habra coach John Sothern said. “We can’t afford to drop anymore games.”Said Rios, “All these games from now on are huge.”
Friday’s game is scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m.
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562-567-7534
El Rancho High’s Khadidja Diakite has been selected as the Whittier Daily News’ Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. (Leo Jarzomb / Staff photographer)
Photo gallery: 2013 Whittier Daily News All-Area Girls Basketball Team
El Rancho High School’s girls basketball team managed to make some history this season with senior forward Khadidja Diakite leading the way.
Diakite averaged team-highs in 20.3 points and 12 rebounds per game to lead the Dons to a 22-6 overall record and a co-Del Rio League championship. It marked the first league crown in 21 years for El Rancho, whose 22 wins were a school record.
Diakite, the only area player to post double-digit averages in both points and rebounds, went on to capture the Del Rio’s most valuable player award and first-team All-CIF honors.
For putting together an impressive season, Diakite was named the Daily News girls basketball player of the year.
“We achieved a lot of our goals this season,” Diakite said. “We made history here at El Rancho. We haven’t done that in a long time. I’m proud of my teammates because we achieved a lot of goals and things worked out the way we wanted them to.
“We had a lot of ups and downs but in the end, we all worked together as a family and we won the league title.”
The 2012-13 season also showed how long Diakite has come in a short time. Diakite, a three-year varsity player, has been playing basketball for just four years.
“My sister (Aisha) played and I thought that I might as well try it out,” Diakite said. “I decided to do it to lose weight. It ended up being something I loved and something I was very good at. At first, I didn’t think I was going to like it but once I got into it, I loved it. It’s something that’s a part of me now.”
Diakite, who averaged 2.5 steals, 2.2 blocks and two assists per contest, also contributed from outside as she delivered 31 three-pointers. She also led the Dons to their first tournament win as a program, which came at the Las Vegas Tournament. Diakite won the tournament’s MVP award.
“She pretty much was our do-it-all player,” El Rancho coach Randy Shigezane said of Diakite. “She pretty much played all positions for us. She has been a special kid to work with on the varsity team for three years. She’s a great leader and captain – she took on that role wholeheartedly. She had a fantastic season.”
Diakite said she is planning to play basketball in college. Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Dominguez Hills are two of the schools she is considering.
“I like to stay close to home,” Diakite said. “One of my coaches played (at CS Stanislaus) and she said she had a good experience there and I’m hoping for the same.”
Diakite said she would like to work in the medical field.
“My main interest is psychology, nursing or anything in the medical field,” she said. “My dad (Yaya) works in the medical field. The medical field will always have jobs and I’m hoping to make a good income.”
When she gets ready for a game, Diakite concentrates on the important business at hand.
“I just keep my positive thoughts,” said Diakite, who scored a season-high 30 points in a 39-36 win over Whittier. “I focus on the game and what I have to do to score and what I have to do to help my teammates score. I envision ourselves winning and don’t think about losing.”