All-Stars & Nationals

The Lompoc Smashers - the LGSA 12 & Under All-Stars




BASEBALL
CCL All-Star Game

The California Collegiate League All-Star Game at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton had a rather dis-proportionate percentage of Lompocans involved. Two of the Santa Maria Valley Packers selected for the 'National All-Stars' were recent LHS grads - Corey Dotzler and Ben Ornelas. In addition, the squad was managed by not-quite-so-recent LHS alum Roy Howell.

For those of you unfamiliar with the CCL, it is a 'summer-ball' league. Approximately 5000 players, mostly college and recent HS graduate athletes, compete each summer. This year there are 27 leagues fielding c. 150 teams nationwide. The most famous of these leagues is the Cape Cod League in the northeast, but the central coast's own 15 year-old CCL is rapidly gaining a fair amount of attention.

Two Championships in three years at the annual National Baseball Congress tournament in Wichita, KS by the perennial CCL powerhouse Santa Barbara Foresters, players from elite programs (ASU, Texas, etc) across the country, and an abundance of area talent, put some 30 MLB scouts (25 MLB teams) in the stands.

The CCL [ calsummerball.com ] split in two for the game with the Packers, MLB Academy, SoCal Blacksox, & SLO Rattlers under SLO boss Howell forming the 'Nationals', and Forresters chief Bill Pintard heading up the 'Americans' with players from the SLO Blues, Conejo Oaks, and his own squad.

Ornelas, fresh off of leading Lewis & Clark St. to the playoffs, was one of the bright spots for the Nationals going 2-3 and being hit by a pitch to help stake the team to a lead. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold it.

The game is in the regular rotation on Fox's PrimeTicket cable network [Comcast channel 33], and includes an interview with Howell.

Wrestling

Marcell Blow

Marcell, an underclassman at LHS last winter, has stepped up this summer -- both in weight class and in performance level. During the HS season he showed flashes of brilliance mostly wrestling at 125 to 135 pounds, but had problems with consistency. Representing the Lompoc Academy of Wrestling while grappling this summer in the Cadet division at 145 pounds, he has significantly raised expectations.

Dave Schultz State Freestyle Championships
At the state contest, he went 3-1 in qualifiers, losing only an 8-6 Technical Fall to West Coast Crew powerhouse Victor Pereira. He then lost his first two in the medal rounds, including another 8-6 TF to Pereira, but recovered to take 5th place in the tournament and qualify for the ....

USA Wrestling National Tournament
At Fargo, ND, Marcell wrestled for 'Team California' in the 145 pound Cadet Freestyle brackets. There were 58 competitors from across the country. 18 of them lost their first two matches and were eliminated. Marcell did better than that, he was one of 13 wrestlers who lost 2 of their first 3 (1 received a 1st round Bye). He dropped round 1, a narrow 3-2 dec., to Wyoming's Cormick Eaton. He decisioned Lee Davis (Georgia) in round 2, but was outpointed 5-1 in round 3 by Chris Castillo of Washington. Castillo finished 3rd at Nationals, and Pereira was 6th, Eaton went 3-2.

Not bad for a kid who has only been wrestling at 145 for a few months - among the 40 best in the country with most of his loses in tight matches against the Top 10 opponents.


Softball
Play begins with mostly 4-team pools, with each squad playing two seeding games. Pool play started on Monday (18U)/Tuesday and the championship bracket will be determined after the four-team pools are completed.

ASA Class B Fast Pitch Western Nationals

Don't forget that THREE LGSA All-star teams are starting Tournaments this week (July 27-August 2).

The Bombers, the age 10 & under team, go to the in Salem, Oregon. The Smashers (12 & under) are in Milwaukie, Oregon, and the Strikerz (14 & under) travel to Utah. Each team plays several pool-play games for seeding in the main double-elimination brackets.

The Smashers won the Tuesday 2:30 Pool D game 4-2 over the Oregon Fever, with an 8am contest with the Elk Grove All-Stars on Wednesday. The Strikerz are slated to play their Pool H opener Wednesday versus the West Grove Nitro at noon.

Unfortunately, at 10am on Tuesday, the Bombers dropped their Pool D opener 15-2 to La Mirada. On Wednesday, (3 pm) they face the Clackamas Cavs - 4-0 losers to the Half Moon Bay Waves.

USA/ASA Class A 18U National Tournament [Las Vegas, NV]

Kiley Shae Aldridge

The Cabrillo High School varsity softball player, playing for the Fresno Force, is currently in a very hot Las Vegas, Nevada competing with in some 140 teams from all over the country for a national softball tournament title.

Game 1:
With temperatures reaching a brutal 116 degrees during their first game on Monday at noon, the Force fell to the Illinois Thunder 10-3. The Thunder were leading 5-0 in the fourth, when the game was delayed for a half-hour while a replacement was located for an umpire who suffered heat exhaustion.

The Force did score three runs in the sixth inning, but the game was called at the end of the inning due to the time limit.

Tuesday, again at noon, the team rebounded, topping the Jersey Intensity Black 11-5 to finish third in pool 'N'.

They begin championship bracket play today - taking on the Pool 'F' champion Bayside Blues (MD.) at 10 am.

Swimming

2009 Long Course Central California Swimming Junior Olympics

A large contingent of swimmers from the Lompoc Tsunami Aquatics team will be competing in the event which will take place in Fresno at the Central Unified School District Aquatics Complex.

Team head coach Jeff Storie believes this will be the most swimmers in the club’s history ever to represent Lompoc at the JO's.

Running from Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug 2, each day begins with prelims from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The top 16 swimmers in each event will then swim in the finals each evening from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Six Tsunami swimmers are returning to the JO’s, while seven additional swimmers making their Junior Olympic debuts.

The returning competitors are as follows, with their age in parenthesis and events:

Paola Hernandez (14), 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 100, 200 backstroke, 100, 200 butterfly, 200, 400 Individual Medley

Samantha Carroll (12), 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 50, 100 backstroke, 50, 100 butterfly, 200 Individual Medley

Eduardo Carenas (12) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 50, 100 breaststroke, 50, 100 butterfly, 200 Individual Medley

Jake Robinson (10) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 50, 100 breaststroke, 200 Individual Medley

Ryan Dang (9) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 50, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 50, 100 butterfly, 200 Individual Medley

Nicole Zarine (9) 100, 200 freestyle, 50, 100 backstroke.

Competing at the Junior Olympics for the first time are:

Alfrado Navarro (14) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, Jamison Diep (12) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, Blake Espinoza (12) 50, 100 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, Abi Stangle (12) 100 breaststroke, Ciara Cardenas (9) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, Riqui Cardenas (10) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, Lia Zarinan (10) 50, 100, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 50, 100 backstroke, 200 Individual Medley.