North Torrance standout pitcher Alex Sandoval struck out 14 batters but Eastview of San Pedro had the clutch hits for a 4-2 win in the District 27 Major Little League All-Star Baseball loser’s bracket game on June 30 at Entradero Park in West Torrance.
Sandoval gave up just four hits and struck out the side in three of the innings but those hits were key ones for Eastview. North had seven hits but was not able to get the clutch ones to score the runs. The only hit with runners in scoring position for North was a two-run single by A.J. Hermosillo.
North Torrance standout pitcher Alex Sandoval struck out 14 batters but Eastview of San Pedro had the clutch hits for a 4-2 win in the District 27 Major Little League All-Star Baseball loser’s bracket game on June 30 at Entradero Park in West Torrance.
Sandoval gave up just four hits and struck out the side in three of the innings but those hits were key ones for Eastview. North had seven hits but was not able to get the clutch ones to score the runs. The only hit with runners in scoring position for North was a two-run single by A.J. Hermosillo.
The difference in the game for Eastview was a two-run home run by Zachary Tyszkieniez in the bottom of the fourth inning. That gave Eastview a 4-1 lead.
“We could get runs when we had a chance,” North Torrance manager Frank Groe said.
“They got the key hits and we didn’t.”
Hermosillo went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in for North.
Eastview lost to South Torrance Riviera 2-1 in the loser’s bracket final last Thursday. Riviera took on unbeaten Torrance in the first game of the championship series last Tuesday. A decisive second game could have been played Wednesday if Riviera defeated Torrance on Tuesday.
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Fourth of July 5K
Vientos, Zeferjaha capture Redondo July 4 5K
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Ex-El Camino College and West Torrance High distance runner Brandon Vientos won the Redondo Beach Village Runners Fourth of July 5-Kilometer Run with a time of 15 minutes and 22.1 seconds last Saturday.
Vientos, a 21-year-old Loyola-Marymount University student, was able to defeat Teddy Kassa, who is with the ECC cross country and track and field teams, who was clocked at 15:24.1.
Both of the top two runners were 2012 graduates of West High.
Vientos won this race on his first try. “This was my first race here,” Vientos said of running the Village Runners Fourth of July Run.
A few weeks earlier, Vientos won the 5,000-meter track race at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. His personal best track 5K time is 14:36.
Finishing third was Francisco Garcia from Rancho Palos Verdes clocking 15:33. Placing fourth through 10th in order, included Lance Capel (age 20, 15:49), Brett Lechtenberg (25, 15:54), Jose Lezama (25, 15:54), Brian Livingston (37, 15:58), Luke Letwen (18, 16:06), Jonathan Pinor (17, 16:07) and Ethan Liang (19, 16:08).
The top female finisher was Thousand Oaks’ Tanja Zeherjaha in a very good time of 16:43.3. Taking second was 21-year-old Kallli Sugimoto from Hermosa Beach timing 17:35.5 and Abby Hong from Manhattan Beach was third in 18:05.41. Forty-five-year-old Redondo Beach resident and French immigrant Nathalie Higley, who won numerous female division road races throughout the South Bay and the rest of Southern California, took fourth clocking 18:05.44. Placing fifth through 10th, respectively, were Damonjot Kaur (26, 18:12), Cassidy Webber (17, 18:49), Cara Talty (23, 18:52), Melia Chittenden (15, 19:50), Katherine McKellar (27, 19:50) and Mary Armenta (49, 20:10).
There were a reported 2,510 finishers in the race that included runners, walkers, along with baby buggies and even one (Redondo Beach resident and Bishop Montgomery volleyball coach Tyler Lucas) who pushed his younger handicapped brother Tyson the whole course in his wheelchair.
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District 37 Little League
Holly Park falls to Westchester in sixth
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
The Holly Park Major Little League All-Star baseball team did everything it could to topple a premiere Westchester team in Sunday’s District 37 Tournament showdown at Carl Nielsen Youth Sports Park in Westchester.
However, it was a couple of critical plays including a dropped fly ball at center field and a three-run home run by Myles Smith in the bottom of the sixth inning that enabled Westchester to pull off a 5-2 victory.
Holly Park scored first in the top of the first on a run-scoring base hit by Paco Orozc that brought home Martin Palazo. Some key defensive plays and Orozc’s strong pitching kept Holly Park its lead and it looked like it would remain with the lead when it appeared that a catch in center field was made, then dropped. That enabled Westchester, which came into the game outscoring its first three opponents by a combined total score of 70-6 in all mercy rule games, to score two runs. That ball was hit by Amari Barksdale that gave Westchester a 2-1 lead.
Holly Park bounced back to tie the game at two when Palayo scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Julian Francious.
Orozc held Westchester scoreless in the fifth but he gave up a pair of singles before Smith’s walk off homer.
“They haven’t seen good pitching in the first three games,” Holly Park manager Kail Rouston said. “Our defense was solid but that dropped ball was the game. We hope to have another shot at them.”
Holly Park played Del Rey in the loser’s bracket final Tuesday. If it wins, it took on Westchester, again, on Wednesday. The two could play, again, tonight at 7 p.m. if Holly Park wins both games.
