By Joe Snyder
Gardena High’s baseball team ended its season at 5-22 overall after getting shut out at home by University High from West Los Angeles 3-0 on May 8.
The Panthers, who lost all 10 Marine League games, mustered just one hit; a single by Anthony Garcia in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Despite the loss, Nathan Garcia threw a complete game, giving up one earned run on five hits.
The Warriors scored one run in the second and two in the fourth.
Gardena has a very young team with just four seniors on its varsity roster. “We came into this season with just two varsity returners,” Gardena head coach Tom Anderson said. “We had five freshmen and sophomores start on defense. It’s still a learning game for these kids.”
For the past several seasons, the Panthers struggled in the brutal Marine League, whicht includes champion Carson (No. 3 seed in the CIF-Los Angeles Open Division playoffs), San Pedro, Narbonne and Wilmington Banning. The Gauchos and Pirates are seeded eighth and 10th, in order in the Open Division and the Pilots are seeded seventh in Division I.
The Colts host 14th-ranked Legacy High from South Gate in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m., while Narbonne is at home against No. 9 Woodland Hills El Camino Real.
Anderson plans to get the players in the Revival of Baseball in the Inner Cities League and even in some junior amateur games over the summer in efforts to improve the team and program. Gardena’s program received a blow over the past several years with the folding of two of its prime feeder Little Leagues, Fre Way and Tri Park. A few players have been with its only other Little League program in Holly Park, located in northeast Hawthorne, sharing with the L.A. Athens and Westmont Districts, northeast Hawthorne and southeast Inglewood.
Meanwhile, senior Daniel Serna and junior Anthony Garcia were named to second-team all-Marine League.
Despite finishing its regular season at 1-11 overall, including 1-9 in the Marine League, Gardena High’s softball team advanced to the CIF-L.A. City Section Division I playoffs opening at top-seed Garfield High in East L.A. The Bulldogs showed the young Lady Panthers why they are No. 1 in the division with a 23-1 rout last Thursday. Gardena ended its rebuilding season at 1-12 hoping to get back on track on where it was over the previous few seasons, starting next year. Gardena’s only win was at 10-0 over Long Beach Rancho Dominguez Prep a few weeks ago at Gardena.
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Cavalier boys and girls tracksters finish third in Division IV
Serra High’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams had strong showings from its sprinters as each finished in third place in last Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Division IV Championships at Moorpark High.
The Cavalier boys finished behind champion Calabasas Viewpoint (57.5 points) and Ventura Foothill Tech (33) with 31 points. The Lady Cavaliers took third behind champion Inglewood St. Mary’s Academy, which ran away with the meet with 75 points to 48 for runner-up Fullerton Rosary. Serra had 46 points.
Serra’s girls were led by senior sprinter Mia Flowers who swept the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 11.67 and 23.73 seconds, respectively.
Flowers, along with Jaiya Fletcher, Saielle Howard and Isabella Samuels, helped the Cavaliers’ 4×100 relay team to a second-place finish, behind winner St. Mary’s (Serra’s prime Del Rey League rival), at 47.21. The Belles won the race nosing out the Cavaliers clocking 47.11.
Fletcher finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.73. Also placing fourth was sophomore shot putter Lo’ani Atofao with a toss of 33 feet, seven inches.
Also exceling was Raelyn Pleasant who placed second in the triple jump at 37-2.
In the girls’ 3,200-meter run, West Torrance’s Alexis Wolfinger took third in Division II timing 10:47.74.
For Serra’s boys, their 400-relay squad of Camron Harrison-Wilcot, freshman sensation Wesley Ace, Duvay Williams and Otis “Tre” Harrison won the title in 42.01 to 42.23 for second place Chatsworth Sierra Canyon. Ace took third in the 100 with his personal best time of 10.78 and teammate Williams, also a freshman, was sixth clocking 11.04. Harrison won the 300 intermediate hurdles at 38.82 and was seventh in the 110 highs clocking 15.79. He advanced to Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Masters Championships in the 300 intermediates.
The Cavalier boys and girls will have a good display of athletes advancing to the Masters Championships, which begins at noon on Saturday at Moorpark High.
In last Thursday’s CIF-Los Angeles City Section Prelims at El Camino College, Gardena managed to get one athlete to today’s championship in junior Jae’len Sparks who recorded the meet’s top time in the boys’ 110 high hurdles clocking 14.75, nosing out Carson’s premiere sophomore hurdler Jayden Renden (second best, 14.78). Renden had the meet’s top time in the 300 intermediates in 38.73.
The finals start at 3 p.m. today at El Camino College.
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North, Serra fall in So. Section playoff action
North Torrance High’s boys’ volleyball team enjoyed one of its best seasons in decades by finishing a strong fourth place in the Pioneer League and advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division IV second-round before falling to eventual champion West Ranch High on April 27 in Valencia.
After playoff wins over Pasadena Maranatha and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian, the Saxons were swept by West Ranch 25-23, 25-15, 25-20. Due to the fourth-place finish behind champion South Torrance, second place El Segundo Wiseburn-Da Vinci and third place El Segundo, North entered the Division IV playoffs as the No. 3 seed but due to the fourth-place finish, it had to play a wildcard game at home against Maranatha on April 23. The Saxons moved into their first-round match against Pacifica Christian with a 25-16, 25-20, 25-17 sweep. Two days earlier, North won in four sets at Pacifica Christian, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 25-18.
The Saxons had a 26-9 overall record, their best since the 1990’s. Among North’s wins was in three sets over last year’s Southern Section Division III and Southern California Regional Division II champion El Segundo, 25-16, 25-22, 25-17, on Feb. 28 at North. The Saxons lost in five sets at El Segundo on March 22.
West Ranch, meanwhile, went on to capture the Southern Section Division IV crown over cross town and Foothill League rival Valencia 25-23, 30-28, 26-24, last Saturday at College of the Canyons.
Serra boys made the CIF-Southern Section Division VII playoffs for the first time in several years after finishing third in the Santa Fe League. The Cavaliers, though, took a quick exit after getting swept by host Workman, 25-18, 25-13, 25-15, in the first round a few weeks ago in La Puente. Serra went 7-7 overall and 6-5 in league.
Gardena continued to struggle going 2-12 overall and 0-10 in the Marine League. The Panthers’ only wins were in non-league against Hawkins and Santee. Gardena managed to take Serra into five sets before losing 20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 25-16, 16-14, on Feb. 28 at Serra.
