After starting the South Coast Conference 0-6, El Camino College’s baseball team knows it has to win almost all of the rest of its games for any hope to get to the California State playoffs.
Last week, the Warriors played three games against South Bay rival Los Angeles Harbor College and made a big step toward pulling off a playoff spot with a sweep.
After starting the South Coast Conference 0-6, El Camino College’s baseball team knows it has to win almost all of the rest of its games for any hope to get to the California State playoffs.
Last week, the Warriors played three games against South Bay rival Los Angeles Harbor College and made a big step toward pulling off a playoff spot with a sweep.
At ECC on April 7, El Camino had a stellar performance by sophomore pitcher Dalton Erb and shut out the Seahawks 2-0. At Harbor last Thursday, the Warriors outlasted the Seahawks 10-9. Returning to El Camino Saturday, the Warriors held on to complete the sweep with a 6-4 victory.
ECC got off to a good start in taking a 5-1 lead through three innings, behind sophomore catcher Joey Notch (West Torrance) and third baseman Ricardo Serrano on Saturday.
Notch went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and one run batted in, while Serrano was 3-for-4, drove in one run and scored once.
After the three innings, the Warriors, who are 8-7 in conference and 19-10 overall, El Camino went quiet behind Seahawk relief pitcher Richard Winfield.
Harbor was able to cut ECC’s lead to 5-4 in the top of the seventh behind a run-scoring sacrifice bunt by David Aros and an RBI single from Nico Padovan.
In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors got some insurance when Notch drove in Darian Sylvester with a single.
“We’re looking to get two sweeps and we’re in good position,” Notch said. “We’re starting to play better. It’s our’s to win if we play well.”
El Camino has three-game series against Cerritos this week and East L.A. next week.
Ulices Moreno was the starting pitcher for the Warriors but was relieved by Nick Buska in the seventh. Buska got off to a slow start hitting two batters but was able to finish off by shutting down Harbor the rest of the way.
“I was kind of babying my curveball,” Buska said. “I turned to my fastball.”
At Harbor Thursday, ECC rallied from an 8-4 deficit to top the Seahawks.
Freshman Zach DeCiutis hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth to break an 8-8 tie.
The Warriors scored four times in the top of the eighth to overcome a four-run deficit.
Harbor added a run in the bottom of the ninth but El Camino held on.
Fred Smith and Alex Turner each had two hits for the Warriors.
ECC started out with a 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the fifth before the Seahawks scored three runs in the fifth and five in the seventh.
Miguel Castaneda drove in three runs including a two-run single for Harbor.
In an outstanding pitching duo between former North Torrance High standout Erb and Harbor’s Biago Schutt, Erb hurled eight shutout innings, allowing no runs on seven hits and one walk. He struck out nine batters.
Schutt allowed two unearned runs on three hits in seven-plus innings for the Seahawks. He struck out 11 batters.
El Camino’s two runs were in the bottom of the eighth, set up by Colin Dvorak’s error. After a one-out single by Smith, he went to third on the miscue and scored on a base hit by Serrano. Serrano scored on Turner’s base hit.
This week, the Warriors have an important three-game series with Cerritos, which is in third behind first place Long Beach City College and second place Compton in the SCC. El Camino is fourth.
After visiting the Falcons on Tuesday, ECC hosts Cerritos today at 2:30 p.m. before going there for a noon game on Saturday.
El Camino hosts East L.A. next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
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Serra enjoys a 4-0 week; resume league play next week
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
After opening the St. Paul Tournament with a loss to host La Mirada, Serra High’s baseball team rolled to five consecutive wins including four last week.
In two St. Paul Tournament games last week, the Cavaliers topped CIF-Los Angeles City Section Marine League teams Wilmington Banning 6-4 on April 7 and Carson 3-0 a day later to go 3-1 in the classic.
Last Saturday, Serra swept a doubleheader from last year’s CIF-L.A. City Section Division II champion Dorsey by 13-1 and 8-3 scores.
Enjoying a very good week was junior Tom Bothwell who won two games; his first being a three-hit shutout against Carson. Against the Colts, Bothwell walked none while striking out five batters.
Bothwell also had a fine game in the Cavaliers’ first game victory over the Dons on Saturday.
In the nightcap against Dorsey, winning pitcher David Laurenti was the winning pitcher, going four innings allowing one run on four hits. He walked only one batter.
Daniel Wheeler drove in a run with a base hit and freshman Brian Sanders had a hit, run and stole three bases.
Serra head coach Wilmer Aaron also welcomed two transfers in juniors Gary McCoy (L.A. Cathedral) and Tyler Morrison (San Diego) who had fine games. McCoy went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored in the second game against the Dons.
He also had two key hits in the Cavaliers’ win over Banning.
“Gary’s been real solid,” Aaron said of McCoy, who he is nicknaming as the “Real McCoy.” “He’s been hitting the ball before he became eligible. He worked out a lot before he was able to play.”
Morrison had a two-run double against Carson.
Mateo Brambila had two hits and drove in three runs in Serra’s first game against Dorsey.
Senior standout Morgan Lomax also returned in the doubleheader against the Dons.
On Wednesday, the Cavaliers faced a stiff test at Moore League power Long Beach Wilson and will travel to Alemany in Mission Hills for a Harvard-Westlake Tournament game Saturday at 11 a.m.
Serra will resume the Del Rey League at home against St. Paul from Santa Fe Springs next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. With their full team, the Cavaliers will seek to avenge their 7-3 loss at St. Paul on March 24.
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Sports Scoop
Knights’ Thompson lands on All-American list
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Bishop Montgomery senior guard Stephen Thompson, Jr. made the fifth team Maxpreps all-American boys’ basketball team named recently.
Thompson sparked the Knights to the CIF-Southern Section Open Division championship and a 31-2 overall record by averaging 24.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
Thompson also was the CIF-Southern Section Open Division Player of the Year, along with being the Del Rey League Most Valuable Player.
Bishop Montgomery won the Southern Section Open Division crown by topping Etiwanda 56-50 on March 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim but lost in the Southern California Regional Open Division semifinals to Santa Ana Mater Dei 65-59 on March 18 at Redondo High. The powerhouse Monarchs were Southern Section Open Division semifinalists, losing to Etiwanda, but went on to capture their fifth consecutive Southern California Regional Open Division title by defeating CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division champion Fairfax 51-40 on March 21 at the Walter Pyramid on the Long Beach State University campus. Mater Dei went on to lose a 65-64 overtime game to Oakland Bishop O’ Dowd on March 28 at the UC Berkeley Haas Pavilion.
Also, Bishop Montgomery head coach Doug Mitchell was the CIF-SS Open Division Coach of the Year.
Knight sophomore Jordan Schaekel also made the all-Southern Section Open Division team.
Prep March Madness: With a longer CIF sectional and California State basketball playoffs, it has created the state high school version of March Madness.
The state boys’ and girls’ basketball championships at UC Berkeley was a wild one that included four overtime games, three of those being double overtime. The big time consuming scene began with Serra playing in double overtime against McClatchy from Sacramento on March 27.
The Cavaliers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 58 seconds of regulation to tie the game at 49. After both teams exchanged leads in the first overtime that ended in a 55-55 tie, McClatchy eventually came out on top 65-61 in two overtimes for the state Division I championship.
On March 21 at the Long Beach State Pyramid, Serra won by 16 points (61-45) in overtime over Ventura for the Southern California Regional Division I title.
Boys from Chino Hills and Ramon Valley waited awhile as their Division I state championship game started late. They got their dose of playing equivalent to five quarters (two four-minute overtime periods) as Ramon Valley prevailed 79-71.
Early in the afternoon on March 28, it was the Division II boys’ turn to take eight extra minutes to decide their game. It was La Mirada that nosed out San Jose Archbishop Mitty 71-70.
In the championship finale, the Open Division championship, Oakland Bishop O’ Dowd trailed almost the entire regulation against Mater Dei, seeking its fifth consecutive state crown. Bishop O’ Dowd ended up catching the Monarchs with a 57-57 tie after regulation, then pulled off the 65-64 in only one OT.
The March Madness, though, began with the Southern and L.A. City finals and the South Bay certainly played a big role. It included six girls titles, five of those in the Southern Section that included West Torrance (IA), Redondo (IIAA) with a win over rival Mira Costa, South Torrance (IIA), North Torrance (IIIAA) and Bishop Montgomery (IVAA). Westchester won the L.A. City Division I championship over Bell and Narbonne fell to Palisades in the Open Division final. That came after the Gauchos originally had to forfeit their quarterfinal, but won the appeal but their head coach, Vicky Sanders, had to sit out the final.
For the boys, Bishop Montgomery defeated Etiwanda for the prestigious Open Division crown but saw its run, that included a 23-game winning streak, come to a halt with a Southern California Regional Open Division semifinal lost to Mater Dei, that lost to Etiwanda in the Southern California Open Division semifinals.
In the Southern Section Division IIAA Division final on March 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Lawndale appeared to be on a roll leading by as many as 28 points late in the third quarter before a dramatic rally by Anaheim Canyon led the Comanches to pull off a double overtime 103-98 victory. The Cardinals managed to advance to the Southern California Regional Division II championship game where they fell to La Mirada 49-40, due to a very cold shooting second half that saw them score only 11 points.
\Redondo’s girls advanced to the regional Division II final with three wins over South Bay teams San Pedro (L.A. City Division II semifinalist), South Torrance and Mira Costa, before bowing out to Alhambra Mark Keppel 48-44 on March 21 at the Pyramid. Keppel lost its state Division II championship to Archbishop Mitty 53-31.
In all, it’s been a wild and long four-month basketball season.
Now, it’s on to the final high school sports season, the spring sports that include baseball, softball, track and field, boys’ volleyball, boys’ tennis, boys’ golf, lacrosse and swimming.
