By Joe Snyder
After a pair of earlier losses to St. Paul in the Del Rey League, Serra High’s baseball team came through with a 9-4 win over the host Swordsmen on April 29 in Santa Fe Springs.
Trailing 3-1 after the first inning, the Cavaliers, who are 4-7 in league and 17-7 overall, let loose for seven runs in the top of the second inning and never looked back. From there, each team added just one more run.
Senior C.J. Hughes had a big day, going 2-for-3 with five runs batted in and one run scored. Hughes had a triple and a three-run home run.
Amari Hackett was 2-for-3 with two runs. Trevor Anderson went 1-for-4 with two RBI’s and one run.
Serra closed out Del Rey action at home against Pasadena La Salle in a make-up game from one that was postponed from April 4 due to a medical emergency on one of the Lancer players when the team was on its way to Serra. On Wednesday, the Cavaliers closed their regular season with a non-league game against Bay League team Palos Verdes.
Despite the losing league record, Serra has a shot at making the CIF-Southern Section playoffs with an unbeaten 13-0 non-league mark.
North had its playoff hopes end with a pair of Pioneer League losses to South Torrance last week. At South on April 30, the Spartans shut out the Saxons 6-0. At North last Friday, South routed the Saxons 13-3.
In the shutout loss, North mustered just one hit off Spartan starter Peter Broughton, who pitched a complete-game shutout. South, which finished second behind El Segundo in Pioneer play at 9-3 (all three losses to the Eagles), had balanced offense. Issac Orozcan went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs, including a double. Tyler Dow was 2-for-2 with a double and home run for two RBI’s. Jonathan Talavera was 2-for-2 with two RBI’s and one run.
Last Friday, the Spartans started with six runs in the top of the first inning and five more in the second in their blowout win.
Alex Cannon hit a three-run homer for the only three runs for the Saxons.
Dow and Dane Rhodes each had two hits. Dow drove in two runs and scored twice. Rhodes had a solo homer.
North ended up tied for last (with El Segundo Wiseburn-Da Vinci) in league at 3-9. The Saxons were 10-16 overall.
Gardena is 0-8 in the Marine League after a pair of lopsided losses to previous winless (in league) Rancho Dominguez Prep last week. At Rancho Dominguez in Long Beach on April 30, the Panthers lost 13-1. Things were not any better against the Lobos at Gardena last Friday in a 14-2 loss.
Jordy Hernandez returned to the lineup from his injury and hit a two-run home run in Friday’s loss. Francisco Pavon was 2-for-3 with one run on April 30.
Last Saturday, Gardena won its last San Fernando Tournament game over Triumph Charter from Sylmar 11-1.
Anthony Garcia, who also made his return from an injury in the series against Rancho Dominguez, had a big day going 4-for-5 with seven RBI’s. He hit two doubles. Adrian Herrera went 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs. Jesse Aguano was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run, and he pitched four innings, allowing just one hit. Brian Esquival pitched two hitless innings in the six-inning mercy rule contest.
Gardena visits San Pedro in league Friday at 3 p.m.
Saxon boys’ volleyball squad advances to D-III quarterfinals
Chifor leads North with 15 kills, six blocks
North Torrance High’s boys’ volleyball team is enjoying its best season in recent years after advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division III quarterfinals by rallying for a 17-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 16-14 win over Samueli Academy from Santa Ana last Saturday at North.
The Saxons, who increased their overall record to 26-9 after winning the Pioneer League at 8-0, had a balanced attack behind Patrick Chifor with 15 kills and six blocks. Chris Ferrera added 16 kills; and Matthew Gallagos chipped in three blocks. Cole Anatani contributed nine digs.
“We started out slow,” North head coach Chris Kwon said. “Samueli Academy played hard. At the start, they took it to us. We didn’t know we would win. The kids were able to compete more.”
In the first round on April 29, the Saxons swept Upland 25-17, 25-20, 25-19.
North had fine play from senior opposite hitter Ferrera, senior outside hitter Charles Nakamura and Anatani.
“When we play as a team, we have good balance,” Kwon said. “We have pride in doing little things. We had good blocking and hitting.”
Next for North was San Marino Wednesday at North. San Marino is coming off a five-set win over Moore League champion Long Beach Poly.
If the Saxons win, they will face either top-seed Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro or Los Alamitos on the road in the semifinals Saturday at 6 p.m. The championship is on May 16 at Cerritos College.
Despite losing all 10 Marine League matches and going 4-14 overall, Gardena made the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division III playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The Panthers, who did play competitively despite their record, begin today at 4 p.m. at home against either Animo Bunche or Schmidt Tech.
________________________
North softball team falls to South; then bounce back to rout Mira Costa
After several successful seasons, North Torrance High’s softball team is faced with a rebuilding year at 7-20 and is winless in the Bay League at 0-7.
In a league game at North on April 29, the Lady Saxons fell to cross town rival South Torrance 14-5. The bright spots for North were Isis Jones who was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, and Jaelyn Tout with a run-scoring double.
Last Friday, the host Saxons won a non-league game over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 11-1 in a five-inning mercy rule game.
Melinda Lopez and Gloria Gamboa each had two hits and drove in one run.
North closed league at West Torrance last Monday.
Gardena’s softball team is 0-8 in the Marine League after losing 18-0 at Banning High in Wilmington on April 28 and 8-4 against Long Beach Rancho Dominguez Prep last Thursday at Gardena.
The Lady Panthers hosted Carson last Monday and will visit San Pedro today at 3:15 p.m. Gardena closes league at home against Narbonne from Harbor City next Monday at the same time.
Serra’s softball team is also struggling at 0-8 in the Camino Real League. The Lady Cavaliers lost at home to Alhambra Ramona Convent 26-3 on April 15 and 15-1 to host Mary Star of the Sea on April 29 in San Pedro.
Serra completed its season at home against Cantwell-Sacred Heart from Montebello in a CRL game last Tuesday.
