Isaac Galon’s walk-off homer propels Bandits to Magee title
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
Last Saturday at Jim Thorpe Park in Hawthorne, the Tri Park Bandits and the Lennox Dodgers had a grueling double championship final.
After the Dodgers overcame an early 6-2 deficit to defeat the Bandits, 13-9, to send the Carl Magee, Jr. Memorial District 37 Tournament of Champions final into the second game, Tri Park was finally able to pull off its third consecutive crown with an eight-inning 9-8 victory.
Isaac Galon’s walk-off homer propels Bandits to Magee title
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
Last Saturday at Jim Thorpe Park in Hawthorne, the Tri Park Bandits and the Lennox Dodgers had a grueling double championship final.
After the Dodgers overcame an early 6-2 deficit to defeat the Bandits, 13-9, to send the Carl Magee, Jr. Memorial District 37 Tournament of Champions final into the second game, Tri Park was finally able to pull off its third consecutive crown with an eight-inning 9-8 victory.
Lennox even led through much of the nightcap before the Bandits grabbed an 8-7 lead when Marqueez George blasted a grand slam home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Dodgers came back to tie the game at eight with a run in the top of the seventh.
Lennox relief pitcher Eddie Romero, in relief of starter Donovan Garza, held Tri Park scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.
Bandit reliever Miguel Osorio, who relieved starter Demitre McField, did the same to the Dodgers in the top of the eighth, setting the tone for leadoff batter Issac Galon. Galon hit the first pitch over the left field fence ending the nearly three-hour long second game. That previous contest took about the same amount of time.
“Lennox was the best team we’ve played,” Tri Park manager Alex Campos said. “It was 21 innings of hell. (The Bandits won a time limit six inning game over the Dodgers in an earlier tournament contest.) Win or lose, I was satisfied. The boys had a lot of heart.”
The two games were a slugfest that included a total of 10 home runs, five in each contest, and 39 total runs scored.
Earlier in the nightcap, Osorio hit a solo shot that tied the game at four.
The Dodgers had two homers from shortstop Carlos Jacobo, who had five runs batted in.
Lennox had four homers, including a grand slam that gave the Dodgers their first lead that lasted the rest of the game by Garza in the top of the fifth inning.
Lennox took an 8-6 lead with six runs in that inning.
Romero, Jacobo and Angel De La Torre also homered for the Dodgers.
Galan had a home run for Tri Park.
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Sports Scoop
It’s Celebration time as Kings capture another Stanley Cup
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
The miracle Los Angeles Kings had to keep working overtime but they pulled off their second Stanley Cup championship in three seasons with a double overtime 3-2 victory over their cross country rival New York Rangers last Friday at the Staples Center.
It was defenseman Alec Martinez who went to the offense as, with a little over five minutes left in the second overtime period, he hit the puck to the back of the net and it was all jubilation.
The Kings, like in most games, came from behind. They were down 2-1 until Marian Gaborik tied the game at two with his goal with 7:56 remaining in regulation.
It was certainly another miracle year for L.A. Three of the five games went into overtime and two of those in double OT.
After being seeded sixth in the Western Conference at the start of the playoffs and down three games to none to the No. 3 San Jose Sharks, they ripped off four in a row to win.
They had two thrilling seven-game wins over their cross L.A. area rivals, the conference’s top seed Anaheim Ducks, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Kings, in fact, won both seventh games on the road.
One would, no doubt, give a lot of credit to goalkeeper Jonathan Quick who made numerous awesome saves but a few others, as well.
Justin Williams scored early in the first period and the Kings’ 1-0 lead would stay until Chris Cooper and Brian Boyle each scored in the second period to give New York a 2-1 advantage.
Congratulations to the Kings and let’s do it, again, next year.
Good start, USA: The United States national men’s soccer team got off to a good start as it defeated Ghana, 2-1, in a hard fought battle last Monday in the first round of World Cup Soccer play in Natal, Brazil.
It was a rematch as Ghana eliminated the U.S. with an overtime win from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Yankees will play their second match against Portugal next Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Major League Baseball greats die: The Major League Baseball had a somber week with two premiere former players who passed away last week.
Former Los Angeles Dodger and Oakland Athletics pitching standout Bob Welch died of a heart attack in Arizona on June 9 at 57 years old.
Last Monday, it was Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, Sr. who died from throat cancer. He was 54 and head baseball coach at San Diego State University.
Welch will be remembered by Dodger fans back as a rookie in the 1978 World Series. In the second game, Welch struck out the mighty Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees as the Dodgers held on for a 2-1 win. Jackson was known as Mr. October for playing his best games and slugging numerous home runs in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the Yankees went on to win the next four games to take the Dodgers in six games that year. L.A. would avenge that three years later when the Dodgers overcame a 2-0 deficit to take the Yankees, 4-2.
Welch was traded to the A’s after the 1987 season. He won 27 games for the American League champions in 1990. Oakland was swept by Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
Prior to his death, Welch was a hitting instructor in the Arizona Instructional League. He was also a coach for the Diamondbacks, including in the 2001 season when they stunned the heavily favored New York Yankees to win the World Series.
Six days later was the stunning death of Gwynn, who most feel was the best player ever for the Padres, who had mostly losing seasons but made it to the World Series in 1984 (lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers) and 1998 (swept by the Yankees).
Gwynn had one of the highest lifetime batting averages at a sizzling .338 in 20 years.
“Gwynn was one of the best hitters ever to play the game,” Serra High head coach and former Minor League Baseball player Wilmer Aaron, a second cousin of ex-Major League Baseball slugging Hall of Famer Henry Aaron, said. “He had that 5.5 hole where he knew he could hit.”
Gwynn had to take a leave as head mentor at San Diego State, due to his condition worsening in March.
Cavalier standout Denz’l Chapman was to play for Gwynn at San Diego State starting next season after already signing there in February.
Nothing has been heard of from Chapman whether he will stay or opt for another college, or, even sign late with the Oakland A’s, who drafted Chapman in the 32nd round on June 7.
“Things can change when you have a different coach,” Aaron said.
It appears that Chapman will go ahead and play with the Aztecs, since he already signed there and it might just be the best thing. If things don’t work out, he could transfer to another college or even bounce back to a community college to work to improve on his skills that will be required if he wants to play professional ball.
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2 Cavaliers baseball players make all-South Bay team
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
Serra High’s baseball team, which tied with eventual CIF-Southern Section Division III champion La Puente Bishop Amat for the Del Rey League championship, landed two players on the Daily Breeze all-South Bay squad, announced last week.
One of those three, junior Morgan Lomax, landed on first team. Senior Marcus Wilson, who was drafted in the second round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, was second team.
Lomax, an infielder, sparked the Cavaliers with a .426 batting average. He scored 28 runs and was a perfect 30-for-30 in stolen bases. Lomax, in fact, led the team in stolen bases as Denz’l Chapman, who had 60 stolen bases as a sophomore two years ago and 30 last season, finished with just 23 this year.
Due to the stiffer competition of players sparked by CIF-Southern Section Division IV champion Torrance, Division IV runner-up South Torrance, semifinalists Redondo (Southern Section Division III) and Narbonne (Los Angeles City Section Division I), Wilson settled for second team. He batted .361 with five home runs. Wilson was taken 69th overall in the pro baseball draft.
Surprisingly, Chapman, a returning all-American who sparked Serra to the Southern Section Division III crown last year and was drafted in the 32nd round by the Oakland Athletics, did not make the all-South Bay squad.
Chapman batted about .350 with four home runs. He signed to play baseball with San Diego State University but that could change due to last Monday’s death of head Aztec coach and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Gwynn spent all 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres and had more than 3,100 hits. He keyed the Padres to National League championships in 1984 and 1998.
Lomax, Wilson, Chapman and freshman pitcher Cardinal Fernandezees were all first-team all-Del Rey League.
Torrance pitcher Kyle Smith was named South Bay Player of the Year. He had an outstanding earned run average of 0.46. The Tartars also had Kansas City Royals draftee and signee, third baseman Manny Olloque make first team. He batted .424 with three home runs and 37runs batted in. Olloque was taken in the 16th round by the Royals and was the Pioneer League’s Most Valuable Player.
Also with the Tartars, senior Tyler Martizia was second team all-area. Martizia hit .380 with 24 RBIs.
Pitchers Matt Mogollon (senior) and Drake Pingel (junior) made first team and senior second baseman Kawika Hubbell landed on second team for South.
Narbonne, the Marine League champion, had junior pitcher Daniel Rocha make first team. Senior utility Javier Garcia, junior utility Adrian Padilla and senior catcher Scott Savage made second team.
Savage, in fact, started the Red team’s scoring with a solo home run off Redondo pitcher Cassius Hamm, also a first team all-South Bay player, as his squad went on to rout the Blue stars, 12-3, in last Friday’s South Bay All-Star Baseball Classic at El Segundo Recreation Park’s Stevenson Field.
El Segundo standouts Connor Underwood and Tannar Stevens sparked the Reds. Underwood had a two-run home run to break the game open in the top of the third inning. Stevens had fine pitching to hold down the Blue stars.
Smith started for the Reds, although he allowed two first inning runs.
Hamm sparked the Blues by going 2-for-2 that included a run scoring double.
