By Joe Snyder
Serra High’s baseball team is red hot in non-league play but remains cold in the rigorous Del Rey League after getting shut out by St. Paul 4-0 last Thursday at Serra.
The loss saw the Cavaliers drop to 3-7 in league but are 15-7 overall after rolling over Van Nuys High 13-2 in a San Fernando Tournament game last Saturday at home. Serra is 12-0 in non-league and tournaments.
Against the Swordsmen, Serra was held to just four hits but had a big opportunity in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Cavaliers loaded the bases with no outs, behind a double by Amari Hackett and a pair of walks but failed to get a run in.
“We didn’t do enough to win,” Serra head coach A.J. Perry said. “We had no timely hitting. Our defense and pitching were O.K.”
On the other side, the Cavaliers, who are in fourth place in league only ahead of Lancaster Paraclete, had little trouble with Van Nuys, scoring in all five innings of their offense. The game was stopped after six innings due to the mercy rule.
Serra visited St. Paul in Santa Fe Springs last Tuesday. The Cavaliers visit Chavez in East Los Angeles Saturday at 10 a.m. and close Del Rey action at home against Pasadena La Salle next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in a make-up game from one that was postponed due to a player incident when the Lancers were headed to Serra on April 4. Serra split two earlier contests against La Salle.
North Torrance High’s baseball team split its two Pioneer League games against Peninsula last week. On April 23 at North, the Saxons blanked the Panthers 1-0. Last Friday at Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates, the Panthers avenged that loss with a 5-1 victory. In a non-league game last Thursday at North, the Saxons downed Mary Star of the Sea High from San Pedro 5-1.
In the first game against Peninsula, North won the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nicky Gonzalez hit a solo home run.
Winning pitcher Justin Olivar went the distance with a five-hitter. He struck out nine batters and walked two.
Daniel Park hit a solo homer in the top of the seventh in North’s loss to the Panthers last Friday. The Saxons are 3-7 in league and 10-14 overall, virtually out of the race for a CIF-Southern Section playoff spot.
North had balanced offense in its win over Mary Star with Kai Nagashima, Eric Mirabal, and Ryan Sandoval each collecting two hits. Nagashima and Mirabal each drove in one run. Lucas Blackwood had a two-run double.
The Saxons close league against cross town rival South Torrance this week. After visiting the Spartans on Wednesday, North hosts South in the Pioneer finale Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Struggling Gardena had a rest week last week hoping that key senior players Anthony Garcia and Jordy Hernandez, suffering injuries, return to action. Returning all-Marine League player Garcia has suffered soreness in his right arm but head coach Tom Anderson was hoping he was able to get in as a designated hitter in this week’s two-game Marine League series against Rancho Dominguez Prep. The Panthers visited the Lobos in Long Beach on Wednesday and host Rancho Dominguez Friday at 3 p.m.
“This is for the Marine League Division II championship,” Anderson said. “We’re hoping we can win these two games.”
Both are tied for last place at 0-6. Gardena is 6-15 overall but has a nine-game losing streak. The Lobos are 7-7 overall.
The Panthers host Triumph Charter in a San Fernando Tournament game Saturday at 10 a.m. before returning to league at home against San Pedro next Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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North boys’ volleyball team finishes Pioneer League unbeaten
North Torrance High’s boys’ volleyball team captured the Pioneer League with an unbeaten 8-0 record after sweeping cross town rival Torrance 25-13, 25-14, 25-15 on April 21 at North.
Under head coach Chris Kwan, North, which is 24-9 overall, has steadily progressed. It is already enjoying its best season since its last league title in 2010. In that season, the Saxons advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division IV semifinals that included a four-set quarterfinal win over Kwan’s San Gabriel High squad.
This season, the Saxons are playing in the Southern Section Division III playoffs where they began at home against Upland, the Baseline League co-champion, last Tuesday. Upland is usually one of the top programs in the Inland Empire that included a Division III championship in 2022 and Division II in 2023. Two years ago, Upland defeated premiere Bay League team Redondo in four sets in the semifinals and in the same in the championship against Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills.
Last year, North placed only fourth in the Pioneer despite a 26-9 record. South Torrance, now in the Bay League, went on to win the title over second-place El Segundo, another current Bay squad. The Saxons made the second round of the Division IV playoffs losing to eventual champion Valencia West Ranch, which made the Southern California Regional Division III finals falling to Carlsbad La Costa Canyon.
The Saxons have some good quality wins including in non-league and tournaments against Los Alamitos, Torrance Bishop Montgomery, Palos Verdes (in league) and Thousand Oaks.
North (24-9 overall) has good depth behind seniors, Evan Stewart, Treydan Tanaka, Kaimana Honda, and 6-foot-4 middle blocker Octavious Corona, along with junior Chris Nguyen.
If the Saxons win, they will face either Samisli Academy or Temple City at a site to be determined in the second round on Friday at 6 p.m. The quarterfinals are next Wednesday.
Gardena is struggling in the Marine League at 0-10 but head coach Louis Driver feels that the Panthers, who are 4-14 overall, have a shot at making the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division III playoffs, which begin next week.
The host Panthers outlasted Larchmont Charter from West Hollywood in five sets, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 21-19 on April 22. In Marine League action last Friday, Gardena lost in four sets to host Long Beach Rancho Dominguez Prep, 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21. Last Monday at Gardena, the Panthers fell in four sets to a usually strong Carson team, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20. That was the final league match for Gardena, as it awaits its fate for a playoff berth.
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Ex-Serra standout Pleasant transfers from Ore. To UCLA
Former Serra High football and track and field standout Roderick Pleasant, who is now at University of Oregon, opted to transfer to UCLA after his school year ends in late May.
Pleasant, who entered the transfer portal after playing in just four games with the University of Oregon football team last fall, is still finishing up his sophomore year at Oregon and still competing with the Ducks’ track and field team as a sprinter.
During last fall, Pleasant, who is a cornerback, played in just 23 defensive snaps and seven snaps on special teams.
As a freshman in the 2023 season, Pleasant played in seven games. He had four tackles, one pass deflection and one forced fumble.
With cornerback coach Demitris Martin leaving Oregon for UCLA, it spurred Pleasant to determine his future was with the Bruins, who could already have good depth on their defensive backs. It should also help their speed. Martin will be working under head mentor DeShaun Foster, in his second season that saw him finish 5-7 with the Bruins last season. The Bruins, in fact, were originally one of his three finalists, that included Oregon and University of Southern California.
Pleasant was a four-star cornerback-wide receiver recruit at Serra, where he graduated in 2023. He was a two-time all-CIF Southern Section player and ranked seventh overall in California as well as being the No. 9-ranked cornerback in the United States. He was rated 90th in the nation overall. He led the Cavaliers to the Southern Section Division II semifinals where they lost to Anaheim Servite during his senior season.
Pleasant, however, could be one of the top two-sport athletes in the NCAA. He is the only ex-Serra High sprinter to win the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the CIF-State Meets in both his junior (2022) and senior (2023) seasons. He also won the United States Nike 100-meter dash at 10.21 seconds in 2023 at Oregon. His official personal best 100 time at Serra was 10.14 he did in the CIF-Southern Section Masters in 2022 and Division IV in 2023, but he ran a wind-aided time of 10.09 at the 2023 Masters. It was still the top ever time in the state wind-aided or non-wind-aided. His personal best at the 200 was 20.4 he did as a junior three years ago.
“I was talking to him (Pleasant) for the last month,” Serra head football coach Scott Altenberg, a UCLA Alumn, said. “He’s excited to come back home. He’s still finishing track at Oregon and he won’t transfer until this quarter is over (at Oregon).”
According to Altenberg, it is uncertain whether Pleasant competes with the Bruins’ track and field team or not.
After losing more than 20 players to the transfer portal, the Bruins received numerous other transfers including the brother quarterback combo of Niko and Madden Iamaleava. Niko, a five-star recruit in high school, is a transfer from University of Tennessee. Both played their high school football at Long Beach Poly and Warren High in Downey. Also at UCLA is standout University of California running back Jawian Thomas.
UCLA begins its 2025 season at the Rose Bowl against former PAC 12 foe University of Utah, now with the Big 12, on Aug. 30.
