The host Freeman Park Rays got off to a slow start in trailing 5-0 before letting loose for 10 unanswered runs in a 10-5 victory over the Mas Fukai Park Dodgers in the Gardena Parks and Recreation semifinal last Saturday.
The Rays move on to play in the championship against the Fukai Brewers, who defeated the Mariners 11-4 in their semifinal Saturday at Rowley Park. The game will be today at 6 p.m. at Freeman Park.
Down 5-0, the Rays got things going that was highlighted by a grand slam home run from Shane O’ Brien to give them a 6-5 advantage.
The host Freeman Park Rays got off to a slow start in trailing 5-0 before letting loose for 10 unanswered runs in a 10-5 victory over the Mas Fukai Park Dodgers in the Gardena Parks and Recreation semifinal last Saturday.
The Rays move on to play in the championship against the Fukai Brewers, who defeated the Mariners 11-4 in their semifinal Saturday at Rowley Park. The game will be today at 6 p.m. at Freeman Park.
Down 5-0, the Rays got things going that was highlighted by a grand slam home run from Shane O’ Brien to give them a 6-5 advantage.
Tyler Harvey added a two-run home run and was the winning pitcher, hurling three scoreless innings. Harvey also pitched three scoreless innings and has yet to allow a run in his last three appearances.
“We had excellent hitting,” Rays manager Raul Ornellas, also a Gardena city worker, said. “We also played very good defense.”
Adrian Altamorano, Chrisman Miranda and Josh Juarez also had fine games for the Rays. Ornellas calls Juarez as the team’s most consistent hitter.
______________
Prep Football Schedules
Prep football is weeks away
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Prep football is only a few weeks away and teams are already practicing for the upcoming season.
Serra lost eight players to graduation and Major NCAA Division I colleges but the Cavaliers continue to be loaded with talent that includes some top college prospects. Serra is a definite contender for championships in the Mission League, along with the prestigious CIF-Southern Section PAC Five and California State Open Division.
The Cavaliers begin their season on Aug. 28 at always tough Moore League team Lakewood, beginning at 7 p.m. but probably an even bigger game in the Honor Bowl for a 2014 PAC Five first round playoff rematch against defending PAC Five champion Corona Centennial on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. at Oceanside High. The contest is expected to be televised on the Time Warner Sports Channel.
Last season, Serra was eliminated by Centennial in the first round 68-64.
Then it’s on to CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division I powers Carson (City runner-up at home, Sept. 11, 7 p.m.) and Narbonne (City champion away, Sept. 18, 7 p.m.).
The Cavaliers begin Mission play against Los Angeles Loyola at L.A. Valley College on Sept. 25. Serra, then, visits Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks on Oct. 2.
The Cavaliers’ first league home game is against a Bishop Amat squad from La Puente that handed them their only Mission loss last year on Oct. 9. The final crucial Mission contests are at home against Encino Crespi (Oct. 16) and Mission Hills Alemany (Oct. 30) and at Chaminade in West Hills on Nov. 6. All league games start at 7 p.m.
Over the past several seasons, Gardena’s football team has struggled but the Panthers could get a bit of a break being lowered from L.A. City Section Division I to II, along with Washington.
The Panthers have a scrimmage at home against Bosco Tech from Rosemead next Thursday before officially opening their 2015 season at Santa Clara High in Oxnard on Aug. 28. Gardena, then, plays Southeast L.A. Verbum Dei at L.A. Southwest College on Sept. 4 before its home opener against North Hollywood on Sept. 18. The Panthers will visit Morningside High at Coleman Stadium in Inglewood on Sept. 25 before completing non-league at Warren High in Downey on Oct. 2.
Gardena will continue to play in the brutal Marine League against the league’s top two teams in its first two games. The Panthers visit Carson on Oct. 9 before hosting defending champion and, again, probable City Division I favorite Narbonne on Oct. 16. The Panthers visit another top contender, San Pedro, on Oct. 23 and Washington on Oct. 30. Gardena closes league at home against Wilmington Banning on Nov. 6.
All games are at 7 p.m.
North Torrance, which placed second behind eventual CIF-Southern Section Western Division semifinalist West Torrance in the Pioneer League and was stunned in the first round of the playoffs by Simi Valley, opens its season in what should be an outstanding contest at Redondo on Aug. 28. Both teams return a large majority of starters as the Saxons will be led by premiere University of Southern California commit Mique Juarez, one of Southern California’s most dominating players.
Redondo, which placed second behind eventual Western Division champion Palos Verdes in the Bay League, also has numerous returning standouts including senior quarterback Preston Faecher and junior lineman Dan Zimmerman, who also keyed the Sea Hawks’ baseball team to the CIF-Southern Section Division III championship on June 6. Preston is the younger brother of ex-Redondo quarterback Harrison Faecher (Class of 2014).
The Saxons, then, visit another Bay League team, Peninsula High in Rolling Hills Estates on Sept. 4 at 3 p.m.
North’s home opener will be against Beverly Hills on Sept. 11, then the Saxons host Ojai Nordhoff, a nemesis that defeated the Saxons in the Southern Section Northwest Division final in the 2012 season, on Sept. 18. The Rangers also topped North last season at Nordhoff.
The Saxons visit Inglewood, a team they were involved in a double forfeit against due to a major scuffle late in the third quarter, at Coleman Stadium on Sept. 28.
North begins league at home against Compton Centennial on Oct. 9. The Saxons, then, travel to defending league champion West in a contest many believe will be the top two Pioneer squads, on Oct. 16. North hosts Torrance on Oct. 23; Lawndale Leuzinger on Oct. 30 and South on Nov. 6. All games are at 7 p.m.
________________
Sports Scoop
Dodgers continue to struggle with bull pen
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
After a good showing in most of their recent games, the Los Angeles Dodgers had to travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game series against one of Major League Baseball’s top home teams.
The Pirates showed the Dodgers why they have one of the best home records in the Majors with a three-game sweep that included a pair of one-run victories, then a 13-6 blowout that included a nine-run seventh inning.
For awhile, it appeared that the Dodgers may salvage the series finale, leading 5-1 through five innings and 5-3 after six. Many thought that the Dodgers may have obtained a potentially good reliever in Jim Johnson, who had some very good years in the past with the Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves.
Johnson was tagged for eight earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning and the Pirates finished with nine that also included a three-run home run by Jung-Ho Kang off another reliever, Joel Peralta, to finish off the big inning.
Peralta allowed another run in the bottom of the eighth.
After allowing 12 earned runs in 48 innings with the Braves before being traded to the Dodgers, he allowed that many in four games and seven innings.
After getting trades for starters Alex Wood and Matt Latos, the Dodgers decided to send another starter, Chris Bolsinger, to Oklahoma City, the Dodgers’ current “AAA” Pacific Coast League Minor League team.
It looks like it might be best to bring back Bolsinger as a middle reliever and send Johnson to Oklahoma City. It might be best to see what Bolsinger is like as a reliever.
So far, the Dodgers did not lose any ground to their rival San Francisco Giants, who were swept a four-game series by the host Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field last weekend. They still lead the Giants by three games. We’ll see if it will get any better being back home against the National League Eastern Division leading Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds this week.
Another division leader, the American League Eastern Division leading New York Yankees, were swept at home by the red hot Toronto Bluejays, who ride an eight-game winning streak.
Betiku commits to UCLA—Serra High Oluwole Betiku last Thursday committed to playing football at UCLA beginning the 2016 season.
Betiku, a five-star recruit, is already one of the tops in the United States at his position. As a junior last year, Betiku recorded 11.5 quarterback sacks and 24 tackles for losses in keying the Cavaliers to the Mission League tri-championship with La Puente Bishop Amat and Encino Crespi. He had 59 overall tackles in the 2014 season. Serra lost in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section PAC Five playoffs to eventual champion Corona Centennial 68-64 in 2014. The Cavaliers have a rematch with the Huskies in the Honor Bowl at Oceanside High on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.
Betiku was weighing on both the Bruins and University of Southern California, a popular college for most top players, especially in the South Bay since head coach Steve Sarkesian hails from Torrance where he played football and baseball at West. Sark was also quarterback at El Camino College and Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City.
Betiku is the third defensive lineman to commit to the Bruins. UCLA already received commits from three-star players Marcus Moore and Osa Odighizuwa.
Betiku could start with the Bruins immediately if juniors Kenny Clark and Eddie Vanderdoos opt for the National Football League draft after this coming season ends.
Meanwhile, USC is the favorite to win both the PAC 12 Southern Division and the overall PAC 12 crown over Oregon in a poll. UCLA was picked for third in the Southern Division.
Southern Section could change playoff format: Although the CIF-Southern Section playoff format exists in boys’ and girls’ basketball and has, in the past, been in some other sports, it appears that beginning in the 2016-17 season that the Southern Section playoffs could be based on individual high schools, instead of the leagues.
That even means that some teams in current PAC Five leagues could play in a lower division and some from other divisions may move up, if they prove good enough.
A preliminary voting was expected sometime this week. Another voting is expected to take place, most likely before the end of this year.
It will probably be the same for other sports, such as baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ volleyball, boys’ and girls’ tennis, and boys’ and girls’ soccer.
