Church Hits Lefty for First RBI; Duffy Still in AZ

Church's First RBI Came off LHP Hendrickson

In Monday's National League opener in Miami the New York Mets erupted for six runs in the fourth inning to coast to a 7-2 victory over the Marlins.

RYAN CHURCH, the new Met about whose supposed inability to hit lefthanders was a big deal in the blogosphere after the trade, collected his first RBI off Marlin starter Mark Hendrickson WHO PITCHES WITH HIS LEFT HAND.

Church singled in the fourth to drive in a run, then scored on a double by David Wright. Churchie went 1-for-4.

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Duffy Not on Burlington Roster

The latest on DANNY DUFFY comes not from Surprise, Arizona, where the Kansas City Royals minor leaguers are preparing, but from Burlington, Iowa.

Burlington, Iowa is the home of the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League which opens its season Thursday opposite Peoria.

The Burlington roster was announced Monday however, and Duffy, widely expected to be on that team, is not on the roster.

The other likely option for the young lefthander, entering his first full season of professional baseball, would be extended spring training in Arizona until the Pioneer League and Appalachian League seasons begin in June.

Fenske to 210 Saves; Church Ready

Aztecs Nip Golden Bears

SAN DIEGO - In a defensive battle, the sixth-ranked San Diego State water polo team upended No. 5 California, 7-5, for the second straight year Thursday, extending the SDSU winning streak to nine games. The Aztecs improved to 22-2 overall and 6-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Golden Bears fell to 12-7 overall and 5-4 in league play.

The Aztecs held Cal to a .148 shooting percentage (5-of-36) with senior goalkeeper HEATHER FENSKE (pictured) anchoring the solid defensive effort with 14 stops. The Lompoc native notched her ninth overall and second consecutive double-digit save game.

But on Saturday the Aztecs saw their nine-game winning streak snapped with a 13-8 loss at the hands of No. 3 University of Southern California.

The Aztecs allowed double-digit goals for just the second time this season and fell to 22-3 overall and 6-2 in the MPSF, while USC improves to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in league play. Fenske recorded six saves to ratchet her total to 210 for the season.

The Aztecs next host No. 4 Hawaii on April 8.

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Church Does the Little Things

In the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday night RYAN CHURCH demonstrated how he will impress New York baseball fans this season.

In Memphis for the final spring training game of the spring the Mets were tied with the White Sox 2-2.

First Church rapped his second base hit of the game. Then teammate Angel Pagan, who looks to be filling in for injured Moises Alou in left field, singled.

Church did not advance station-to-station, he used his speed to go first-to-third.

Then backup catcher Raul Casanova struck a simple RBI ground ball to score Churchie for a 3-2 victory.

Little things, that’s what Church will do. And it helps that now he’s surrounded by other players who can do the same. The Mets posted the best spring record in baseball.

Church appears to have found the comfort level with his new Howard Johnson-coached swing. With 2-for-3 Saturday he raised his spring average from .161 to .236 in a week.

The Mets open at the Marlins Monday at 1 p.m. PDT.

Cabrillo, Cabrillo, Cabrillo, Lompoc

Cabrillo senior Daniela Alvarado (above) was one of four Conquistadors named to All-CIF teams for winter sports.
Rachel Nelson, the LPL MVP, was another.

All-CIF

The newly released winter sports All-CIF Teams contain the names of only four local athletes, all from Cabrillo. They are Rachel Nelson (Div IV Girls Water Polo - 1st Team), Daniela Alvarado (Div IV Girls Water Polo - 2nd Team ), Massimo Beeson (Div III Boys Soccer - 1st Team Defender), and Oscar Torres (Div III Boys Soccer - 3rd Team). The sports teams released are for boys & girls basketball, boys & girls soccer, and girls water polo.

Cabrillo Baseball

Varsity [6-8]: Recap of Righetti Tournament
They opened with Dos Pueblos at home on Tuesday, losing a slugfest 16-12 [Story]. Lost to Palm Desert 7-1, in a game moved to the CHS campus, by allowing six runs in the second inning [Story]. And finished 2nd in the ugly contest - besting the Santa Maria Saints 11-5 Thursday at Righetti High School [Story].

Cabrillo finished tournament action at 1 pm Friday against Santa Barbara. The Conquistadors came out on top and evened their tourney record at 2-2. Using 12 hits (including 6 doubles), 6 free passes (5 walks, 1 hit batter), two Dons errors, and a solid 5 inning performance by starter Brian Engler, Cabrillo turned a 4-2 deficit into a 10-6 win. They were down 4-2 after 3 innings but got 1 in the fourth and 2 in the fifth to take a tenuous 5-4 lead. Santa Barbara scored 2 runs in the sixth off Deuce Galvan but the locals put up 5 big ones, and reliever Justin Boggs shut down the Dons in the seventh.

Tony Elliot went 3-3, scored a run, drove one in, and had one of those six doubles. The other doubles belonged to Zach Pecyna (2 RBI's, 2 walks), Kevin Harmon (2 runs), Patrick Somers, David Fraats, and Brian Engler who helped his own cause with an RBI and two runs scored.

Cabrillo jumps back into the LPL playing Morro Bay [5-8] next Tuesday. Morro Bay went 2-2 at the recent Atascadero Tournament.
The JV results from Saturday's action at the Righetti Tourney are not yet availible.

Cabrillo Softball

At the Arroyo Grande Tournament [Recap]

Cabrillo opened play with the regional monster - Simi Valley. The undefeated Pioneers won the tourney- as they did The Best of the West Trny earlier in the week. The result was a 15-0 hammering. But as the man said "there is no shame in being knocked down - only in staying down". So these ladies climbed off the matt and belted Covina's Western Christian 6-1 in the afternoon game. On day two, they suffered a similar fate, losing to El Segundo 10-3. They were reportedly playing Sanger for eleventh place in the second game Saturday.

The Braves Classic

The Classic was by all accounts a great success -- for Lompoc Athletics, with thousands of dollars raised for all LHS Athletics (not so much that your contributions are unneeded). Others perhaps did not fare so well. [Story] Seems our old pal Brad is determined to prove Robin Ventura correct in his assessment of him- "Those who can -- do; Those who can't -- coach; and those who can't do either -- write about it ! I guess those who can't write -- blog. -- el stato

Manager Randolph Likes Church; Joel Wraps It

Church Gets Good Review

New York Mets manager Willie Randolph is not disappointed with RYAN CHURCH's spring batting average hovering around the .200 mark.

Here's what he told Mathew Cerrone's Metsblog:

"He's getting better and better. He's taking some pitches, and he's good that way. I just want to keep seeing him make progress hitting the ball the other way, and getting the ball through the middle, that's where he's gonna make his money. He's a little bit behind, so he needs at-bats."

Church, rememember, missed a week after his collision with Marlon Anderson, then two days when his baby, Mason, was born.

"If he just hits the ball the other way against lefties, he's gonna be fine. We want to see him get his hits to build his confidence, but I'm not looking at him as having to get hits to get on our team, obviously. He's going to be my right fielder."

The rap on Church was that last year he batted only .229 against lefthanders, but in all his previous years he hit lefties and righties equally well. He batted .272 overall last season.

"What I like about him and (catcher Brian) Schneider (who came from the Nationals in the same trade) both is that they don't give against lefties. You see some people, they lean a little bit and give-- I don't even mind that I have them back to back because they have decent at bats against lefties if they stay the other way-- and that's what we've been working on."

The lineup looks to have Church batting sixth or seventh, and Schneider eighth. The Mets close spring training Saturday in the Civil Rights game in Memphis against the White Sox. Then they open the season Monday in Miami opposite the Marlins.

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Joel Scores in CBI

Joel Smith wrapped up the college hoops season nearly in double digits as his University of Washington Huskies were nipped by Valparaiso 72-71 in the first game of the first-ever College Basketball Invitational.

Joel put UW ahead 71-70 with a three-pointer with 3:08 to play to complete a nine-point game. The junior guard also pulled down three rebounds and dished three assists in 20 minutes.

Smith spoke for the team after the game.

General Comments: "It's frustrating. We scrapped and tried get the job done. We just couldn't pull it out in the last couple of minutes."

On playing in front of few fans: "This is our home court. It shouldn't be a weird atmosphere at all no matter how many people are there. We still have to bring it to the floor."

On Valpo's inside play: "Coach stressed that they were a great three-point shooting team. He really didn't stress their inside game, but that still isn't an excuse to go out there and play like we did today."

On what the team needs to get better at: "We just need to go in the gym this offseason and work on the things that messed up our season. We definitely were a horrible free-throw shooting team this year and that's one of the keys that we need to focus on this summer as a whole. We pretty much bring it every other time, we just need to bring it together at once."

On the up-and-down season: "Once we come out and throw the first punch and keep hitting we do awesome. I can't put my finger on what is that when we go out there we just can't bring it every game."

Smith played in all 33 games, starting 11. He averaged 4.1 points per game and 15 minutes. His .424 average from beyond the arc led the team among players with significant minutes.

Tournament Round-up's

Lompoc's Chris Mallory (shown at left from earlier this year) was in the thick of the action for the Braves at the Anaheim Lions Tournament.




The Cabrillo varsity softball team returns to action Friday & Saturday at the Arroyo Grande Tournament, and both schools baseball JV squads will participate in part two of the Righetti tourney on Saturday. But here's what happened to the teams already mixin' it up...

Baseball

Lompoc [4-10]

They beat THEM ?!?! How did that happen ?
The Braves went to the Anaheim Lions Tournament in Orange County, and were served up as the sacrificial lambs - but refused to play along with the schedule makers. This is a huge tourney with 46 teams (including national #1, Calvary Hall of Baltimore MD) playing 115 games at a dozen sites.

The Braves played:
a) @ Valley Christian (Cerritos) 3:30 Monday - Won 9-4
b) Aliso Niguel 7:30 Monday @ Brookhurst Park - Lost 3-2
c) Anaheim 10:00 am Tuesday @ Glover Stadium - Lost 5-4
d) Wilson (Long Beach) 4:30 @ Boysen Park - Won 9-5
e) Chaminade 10:00 am Wednesday @ Brookhurst Park - Lost 3-7
In the latest CIF poll (3/17) LB Wilson, the pre-season national #1, is ranked #2 in Div.I, and Aliso Niguel is 7th in the same division.

Lompoc opened against Valley Christian on their home field. Although struggling somewhat this year, the Crusaders were 20 game winners a year ago and are always considered a "tough out". Tuesday afternoon, however, they were treated to the Dalton Rouleau show. Rouleau went 3-4 with 2 homers, drove in 6 of Lompoc's 8 RBI's, and scored 2 of their 9 runs. But Dalton also brought his friends with him - Daniel Mallory had a solo shot while going 2-4, Brandon Alonzo was 2-4 with a double, Chris Mallory scored 3 runs and hit a triple, Jeremy Friend hit an RBI double in his only plate appearance, Kevin Erickson scored two runs, and Cody Berryman had a double. Meanwhile, Daniel Dunaetz pitched 5 solid innings, scattering 6 hits, striking out 4, walking none, and giving up one earned run. Ritchie Hirzel struggled a bit in relief (two hit batters, 3 hits, and three earned runs) in the last two innings, but was able to close out the Crusaders for the Lompoc win.

[Corrected] Tuesday evening, against Aliso Niguel, they fell just short - losing 3-2. After giving up runs in the 2nd, 3rd, & 6th innings, they rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately, the Wolverines were able to hold on for the win. Lompoc's Cody Berryman posted the complete game, surrendering three runs (two earned) on nine hits. Cody struck out three, walked none, but hit one batter. Unfortunately his counterpart, Brian Carcerano, held the Braves offense in check, allowing two earned runs on 5 hits and two walks, while striking out eleven, before handing the ball to Josh Lee for a scoreless seventh. Lee faced four batters, and walked one. Kevin Ericksen was 2-3 with an RBI - Chris Mallory drove in the other run. Brandon Alonzo & Jamel Whitaker scored.

Game #3 versus Tournament host Anaheim was a contest that the Braves almost walked away with - literally. Lompoc recieved eight free passes (Matt Samaniego-3, C. Mallory - 2) plus one hit batter (also C. Mallory). Unfortunately, they were unable to take advantage of all their opportunities. They had seven hits and scored four runs (Erickson, Alonzo, C. Mallory - 2), but when Alonzo homered - it was a solo shot. Scotty Aguailar went 2-3 with two of the three RBI's the team posted. Kevin Ericksen was 2-4. Ryan Bower started and went five innings, but was not helped by the defense. Despite giving up four hits and two walks, two of the three runs he allowed were unearned, he struck out one. Ritchie Hirzel (2 innings) & Brandon Alonzo each gave up a run in relief. Hirzel's was earned, as he allowed three hits and a walk, but Alonzo took the loss on 1 hit and a hit batter.

The game they were most unlikely to win - they did !! Get this- Wilson is the Pre-season #1 in the country before losing to giant killer Katella (they knocked off the current #1 Calvary Hall in this tourney), 2nd in CIF-SS Div I, the Braves commit five errors, get six hits in 27 at bats, and score nine runs ? How? Well, first get a great performance on the mound. Check. Dalton Rouleau went the full seven, struck out nine, walked none, scattered eight hits in 33 at-bats, and gave up five runs but only two earned. Only five of the 14 players the Bruins sent to the plate got hits, and one (Max McEleney) had three of their four RBI's. Second, have the other team make mistakes too. Check. Wilson only had one error, but they allowed eight walks. Third, get timely hitting. Check again. Kevin Ericksen received three of the walks, and hit a triple in his other trip to the plate. He batted in three runs and scored two. D. Mallory, Berryman, & Rouleau all hit doubles (on 4 hits) and accounted for 3 runs scored and 2 batted in, while Aguailar had 2 RBI and scored a run. The only other blemishes on the Bruins record this year are: the 3-1 loss to Katella in their second game, a 5-4 loss to Millikan last week, and a 7-7 tie with Kennedy earlier in the day.

I guess the fifth game (Chaminade) was a bit of a "hangover" game - it definitely wasn't pretty. The Eagles, from the Mission League (Serra, et al), hit .174 (4-23), had two RBI, committed two errors, walked four, and allowed two earned runs of three scored. The Braves hit .222 (6-27), had two RBI, committed two errors, walked three, hit four batters. Pitchers Rudy Yregas (5 innings/six runs) & Ritchie Hirzel had seven unearned runs scored on them. Berryman hit a triple and Ericksen hit a double.

It would seem that when the Braves play well they can play with the best, but that when they don't play well they can lose to anybody. They take on Santa Barbara next Tuesday, then resume LPL action at Morro Bay on Friday.

Cabrillo [5-8]

The Conquistadors have been at the Righetti Spring Tournament. They opened with Dos Pueblos at home on Tuesday, losing a slugfest 16-12 [Story]. Lost to Palm Desert 7-1, in a game moved to the CHS campus, by allowing six runs in the second inning [Story]. And finished 2nd in the ugly contest - besting the Santa Maria Saints 11-5 Thursday at Righetti High School [Story]. Cabrillo plays Santa Barbara in tournament action Friday at 1 pm, then jumps back into the LPL playing Morro Bay next Tuesday.

Softball

Lompoc

The Braves experiened an all or nothing week at the "Best of the West" tourney. They either shut their opponents out or were shut out themselves. Tuesday they had one of each - losing to Madera 6-0 before beating Righetti 6-0 [Story]. Day 2 results were not happy ones - a 10-0 loss to Buchanan (Clovis) followed by a 5-0 loss to Buena. It was the second Lompoc loss to the Bulldogs this year, they also lost 9-2 on March 1st.

On the third day (Thursday), the Braves did what the coaches have been preaching all season - swing the bat! The staff has been telling the girls to put the ball in play and force the other team to make a play. It certainly worked in this one as they defeated Santa Maria 10-0 after scoring six first inning runs without a hit. The game was shortened by the 10-run rule.[Story - later in article]--- el stato

Gregory, Root Finally Get a Chance at SBCC

Gregory, Root finally get a chance

Pitcher JAMES ROOT, catcher BRIAN GREGORY and outfielder JOHN TERRONES have spent most of the baseball season glued to the bench of the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros.

They have played so little the only photo we have of any of them is this one of Gregory in the bullpen.

Tuesday at Mt. San Jacinto College the Vaqs won in a laugher 17-4 and our guys finally got a chance.

In the ninth inning Root tossed his second complete inning of the season. Gregory caught the eighth and ninth and boomed a triple.

So now Gregory is 2-for-5 on the season and leads the team in batting average at .400.
Not counting Tuesday Terrones was batting .333, the third-best average on the team but with only 15 at-bats.

Hey, give those Lompoc guys a chance!

Spring [Not on] Break

Lompoc

Softball @ Best of the West Tournament
The Braves went 1-1 on day one, losing to powerhouse Madera 6-0 before exacting revenge on host Righetti by the same score. Brianna Vickery started the first game and pitched well according to Head Coach Al DeMaria, but mistakes and break-downs in other areas cost the team. For instance, Lompoc lost a run on a base running mistake when the runner failed to tag up at third base on a sacrifice fly to center. With Jeana Carillo on the mound for the second game, the Braves finally played the way the coaches have been hoping they would. They made the plays on defense, put the ball in play on offense, and in general forced the other team to make plays - which they didn't. [Story]

DeMaria was also pleased to see one of his former shortstops, then known as "Rusty" Osbourne coaching at the tournament. The only problem was that she remembered all his signals.

Lompoc plays two more games on Tuesday and, if they win both, will play for third place on Wednesday. They could face a long wait to find out, however. Their first game is at 9:00 am, and the second is at 7:00 pm if they win, 5:00 pm if they lose.

UPDATE: The Braves did not have a good day a the park, losing both games by a combined score of 15-0. They followed a 10-0 loss to Buchanan and 5-0 to Buena. They next play Santa Maria at 12:30 pm, and hope to exact revenge for the Saints win at Lompoc earlier this season.

Baseball @ The Anahiem Lions Tournament
This is a huge tourney with 46 teams (including national #1, Calvary Hall of Baltimore MD) playing 115 games at a half dozen sites over four days.

The Braves play
a) @ Valley Christian (Cerritos) [4-6] 3:30 Monday,
b) Aliso Niguel [9-3] 7:30 Monday @ Brookhurst Park,
c) Anahiem 10:00 am Tuesday @ Glover Stadium,
d) Wilson (Long Beach) 4:30 @ Boysen Park,
and a team(s) to be determined on Wednesday.

In the latest CIF poll (3/17) LB Wilson, the former national #1, is ranked #2 in Div.I, and Aliso Niguel is 7th in the same division.

Tuesday, against Aliso Niguel, they fell just short - losing 3-2. After giving up runs in both the 2nd & 3rd innings, they rallied to tie the game with two runs in the top of the sixth. Unfortunately, the Wolverines pushed across a run in the bottom half of the inning for the win.


Boys Golf
The Braves hosted the 32 team Lompoc Invitational Tournament at La Purisima Golf Course on Monday, 24 March 2008. The three-man scoring event was won by Royal HS, while Colt Hoffman (Nipomo HS) out-dueled Dustin Tygard of North Torrance over four playoff holes to take medalist honors after they were tied at 73 for the regulation 18 holes.

Team Scores [included]
231 Royal (Simi Valley)
234 Clovis East
237 North Torrance
238 Nipomo / Righetti
239 Santa Barbara #1
253 Santa Barbara #2

Individually Lompoc was led by Alex Stone (88) and Cabrillo by Aaron Hay (89).


Cabrillo

Baseball / Softball
Both units will be in action later in the week, Varsity & JV Baseball at Spring Tournaments hosted by Righetti, the Softball Varsity at the AG Tourney, and the JV at their own Cabrillo Tournament.

Varsity Baseball took on Dos Pueblos @ 1:30 pm on Tuesday. The result was a "can anybody throw strikes contest" eventually won by DP 16-12 [Story].


Boys Golf
The Conquistadores participated in the Lompoc Invitational and were led by Aaron Hays' 89.

Church Makes It Three Straight

Church Chooses Good Time for Warmup

RYAN CHURCH rapped a base hit in his third straight spring training game Monday.

It was one of only three hits the Mets garnered against Baltimore but they won 1-0.

Church’s rap was significant for several reasons.

One was that it was consecutive. He had been batting .161 entering Saturday’s game and now in three games his average has risen to .195. The work on his swing that he’s done with coach Howard Johnson may be already paying off.

Second it came against a lefthander. Remember all those rips that “Church doesn’t hit lefties.” Two of his three in this budding string came off lefthanders.

Third, it led to another stolen base. Just as GM Omar Minaya said when the Mets traded for Church, he is a threat on the base paths. His first two hits in this little string were doubles. This one might as well have been after he swiped second base. Officially the SB was his first but he also had one in the spring training opener against a college team (see the photo).

And No. 4 it comes with just five games remaining in spring training. In other words this little boomlet could not come at a better time. He seems to be hitting his stride at the perfect time.

Solomon Opens On Top; Church Heats Up

Solomon Opens Hot

USC’s DUANE SOLOMON opened his senior season in starring fashion in the 800 at the USC Trojan Invitational Saturday. The onetime Cabrillo standout posted a nation-best 1:47.99. He thus qualifies for regionals already.

Solomon also won the men's 1500m race with a new PR of 3:50.58.

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Church’s Bat Starting to Come Around

RYAN CHURCH went 1-for-3 with a double Saturday against left-hander Aaron Fultz of the Indians and then on Sunday came up for his first at-bat opposite Cardinal right-hander Todd Wellemeyer. Church promptly doubled home Carlos Delgado with two out in the second inning for his first RBI of the spring. Churchie's 1-for-2 lifted his spring training batting average to .184. The Mets have six more spring training games, then open the season at Miami on Monday, March 31.

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DeGeorgia’s Bandits stripped

The Sioux City Bandits of new coach JARROD DeGEORGIA were plundered by the Billings Outlaws Saturday night 72-38.The Bandits are now 1-1.

DeGeorgia will appear on Lompoc Locker Room TV Show on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

Tidbits

Boys Tennis

Lompoc Head Coach Lorreta Jensen was playing her new favorite 'lucky numbers' in the Santa Ynez valley on Friday. The Braves took what she called "a little road trip" to take on the Dunn School Earwigs and won their fifth consecutive 14-4 score match. It was slated to be a varsity only match-up, but due to several players being unavailable on the first day of spring break, she called up a few from the otherwise inactive JV squad. Lompoc was still short a player, however, and forfeited three sets at #3 singles.

The other singles positions were admirably filled by Alex Jensen and Robert Rodriguez, who swept three sets apiece. Anthony Yang & Kyle Thumm at #1 doubles won all three of their sets 6-0. The usual #3 singles, Marco Psallo, teamed with Carlos Diaz (up from from the JV) for two wins. And Wyatt Peterson, also off the JV, joined with Oscar Rodriguez to win three sets (6-2,6-0,6-0). [Story]

Lompoc (6-2) will try to get in some practice sessions against Allan Hancock College and alumni players during the break. They face the 'big guns' of the LPL, St. Joseph & Santa Ynez, in the firsts two matches after their return.

Track & Field

Cabrillo was at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays at SBCC on Saturday. Although their results were not spectacular, the team had a very solid effort at this enormous convocation. Their top results were a 2nd in the 100 by Greg Watson (11.52) and a third place by the Distance Medley Relay unit.

other Boys results include:
4 x 200 - 8th
4 x 400 - 10th
4 x 800 - 4th

Girls results include:
4 x 100 - 6th
4 x 400 - 7th
800 relay - 10th
Triple Jump - Sara Taylor, 10th

More information to follow.

Lompoc: Preliminary investigations indicate that the 41' 2.5" Shot Put throw that Chelsea Cassulo had at the Atascadero Invitational is one of the top 10 marks posted in the state this year.

LHS/CHS Schedule (rest of March)

Varsity Baseball
Lompoc 24-27 @ Anaheim Lions Trny
Cabrillo 25-28 @ Righetti Spring Trny

JV Baseball
Both 22nd & 29th @ Righetti JV Trny

Varsity Softball
Lompoc 24-26 @ Best in the West
Cabrillo 28-29 @ Arroyo Grande Trny

JV Softball
Both 29th @ Cabrillo JV Trny

Boys Golf
Both 24th @ Lompoc Invitational
Lompoc 31st @ Morro Bay [LPL Dual]

No Swimming, Boys Tennis, or Track & Field is planned.

Church's Swing Shifted by HoJo

Church Finally Has a Batting Coach

Marty Noble of MLB.com wrote this superb piece about Lompoc's RYAN CHURCH. Here it is.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Nary a word beyond "good morning," and other similar pleasantries, had been exchanged between Ryan Church and a clubhouse visitor when the Mets right fielder blurted out three words: "I can hit," he said, with emphasis on the middle word.

No one had suggested he couldn't or wouldn't, but the papers and Web sites that present daily updates of players' batting stats, even in Spring Training, said he hadn't.

And Church sensed the .161 average he would carry into the Mets' Friday afternoon exhibition game against the Nationals appeared in flashing neon.

So there he was, first thing in the morning, speaking in defense of his offense.

The Mets expected Church to hit when they acquired him and Brian Schneider, and nothing they have seen since the Nov. 30 trade with the Nationals has suggested otherwise. The .152 average he carried after an 0-for-2 performance is no litmus test. He has had merely 33 at-bats. And the concussion he sustained March 1, and birth of his son two weeks later, certainly qualify as mitigating circumstances in any conversation about his seemingly stunted preparation for the regular season. He had hoped for a smoother spring.

Now, with 10 days remaining in the exhibition season, at least he has a smoother swing.

In the days since the March 14 birth of Mason Church, hitting coach Howard Johnson has made Mason's father his primary project. Johnson studied Church's stance and swing as much as he could, given the interruptions. Johnson believes he has corrected a flaw in Church's stance, and the solution will allow Church to realize his promise.

At Johnson's suggestion, Church has narrowed his stance about five inches. It remains greater than shoulder width, but something considerably narrower than Joe DiMaggio's. And more importantly, it is comfortable and beneficial for Church.

"I waited until after his son was born, so he could have a clear mind," Johnson said. "It's just something I noticed since we got him, and after seeing him every day. I didn't notice too much last year. I think there is a lot more in him. He's untapped. He can be a better hitter."
Church isn't thinking in those longer-term thoughts.

"It's a process," he said after the Mets' 8-2 victory over his former team. "I just have to stick to it and not get frustrated and hope it starts to click when the games count.

"It feels better when I'm loading," Church says. "I feel more balanced. I keep my hands lower, too, so now I don't drop the barrel so much. And I'm using my legs more. ... When I do it right, it works well."

Church also explained that he stands more erect when he uses the modified stance, and that allows him to see pitches earlier, longer and more clearly.

"So with all that, you ought to bat at least .400, right?" is what his clubhouse visitor asked.
"Yeah," Church said. "I guess I better."

Church, 29 and in his fourth season in the big leagues, was a pitcher until his final year at the University of Nevada, so the argument can be made that he still is a relative novice. And he says "I've never really had a hitting coach. I basically have taught myself how to hit."

Former White Sox first baseman and Mets hitting coach Tom McCraw worked with Church with Expos. "But I was there for only 60 at-bats," he said.

Mitchell Page was the Nationals' batting coach going into 2007. Page was reassigned for reasons not made public and replaced by Lenny Harris.

"He was a great pinch-hitter, and I liked Lenny," Church said. "But the advice he gave me was, 'Be ready to hit.'

"HoJo's great. He broke down my stance, piece by piece. It's really helped to have another set of eyes. And he's helped my thinking.

"He said to me, 'You don't know how good you are. There's untapped potential. We're going to find it,' and 'Let it go.'"

Johnson also sees in Church what he has seen in so many other players whose careers have brought them to New York.

"This market, this ballclub, the expectations" is how the former Mets third baseman put it. "I experienced it.

"There are a lot of things going through his mind right now. But he'll figure it out. You can tell that he wants to earn."

It was several hours earlier that Chuch had sought out the batting coach at the batting cages. After two dozen swings, it was time for Angel Pagan to step in. But Church occupied Johnson for five more minutes, chasing him and questioning him. "He wants to get better, that's half the battle."

It can be the less challenging half.

Total Action Thursday (20 March 08)

Oscar Rodriguez and Cooper Barrick of the Braves tennis team used a 3-0 effort against Cabrillo to move up to #2 doubles versus Morro Bay. They won 2 of 3 vs. the Pirates.



Phew !!! Where to begin ? By 6 pm, it seemed like almost everybody had been in action in the past 5 hours - because they had ! Both schools were trying to squeeze games in before the Easter recess.

Baseball ? Yup, both schools -all three levels.
Softball ? Both schools - Varsity & JV.
Boys Tennis? Same as softball.
Boys Golf ? LPL Tourney #2.
Track/Field ? LHS at home & CHS away.
Swimming ? LHS away vs SMHS/PVHS.

Baseball/Softball

Cabrillo 'Batters' the Saints

It was a huge day for the Conquistador offenses - the varsity softball team won 14-3 [Story], the JV won 23-0, the baseball varsity defeated Santa Maria 12-4, but the JV posted the biggest numbers of the day by winning 29-0. The softball varsity, for the second consecutive game, exploded in the late innings. They were clinging to a 2-1 lead after scoring on an unearned in the fifth, then scored 12 runs (7 & 5) in the final two innings. Eleven of the fourteen runs were unearned. The JV, however, used pitching and the long ball. Amanda Leake had 9 strikeouts in the 5 inning complete game, while Taylor Fuller had a triple to go along with home runs by Shy'Ann Morrow, Celena Castillo, & Ashala Martin. Derek Buttler drilled two shots off the wall for the JV baseball squad to help starter Sean Greathead collect the win.

Braves not up (to) all Knight(s)

The baseball varsity lost a longball duel 6-4 at St. Joseph [Story], while the softball squad was stymied 7-2 by Knight pitcher Kelly Snyder who struck out nine and scattered four hits. St. Joseph baseball jumped out to an early lead on a three-run homer by Matt Hartin in the first inning. The Braves were able to whittle down, erase, and even supplant the lead with a score by Chris Mallory and a home run by his brother Daniel in the sixth for a brief 4-3 advantage. That edge was wiped out when Luke Record also took Cody Berryman yard in the bottom half of the period.

Boys Tennis

Lompoc

Varsity
Loretta Jensen's crew cruised to their fourth straight 14-4 win to move to 4-0 in the LPL and 5-2 overall.
In singles, Alex Jensen went 3-0 without losing a game, and Marco Psallo & Robert Rodriguez each won two of their three sets against Morro Bay. The only losses were to Pirate #1 Mike Ion. The doubles combo of Anthony Yang / Kyle Thumm swept (6-1,6-3,6-1), and #3's Jesus Abrego / Joel Martin won 2 of 3 (4-6, 6-4, 6-2), but the real fun was at #2 doubles with Oscar Rodriguez and Cooper Barrick. They lost a tie-break 7-6 (7-5) in round one, and won one 7-6 (7-2) in round two before finishing with an average 6-4 win in the third.
JV
A very happy coach Jim Steffey was able to field most of a team on Thursday. The return of #1 singles player Wyatt Peterson from illness combined with the fact that the Pirates were shorthanded as well gave the Braves a fighting chance. They capitalized on the opportunity despite forfeiting three points in singles. Both Peterson (3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1) and Carlos Diaz (6-3,6-0,4-6) won two sets. Devin Day / Chris Aldama (0-6, 6-3) & Gabriel Hernandez / Edgar Solis (6-4, 6-2) were 3 for 4 in doubles. Neither squad had a #3 doubles unit. Peterson's tie-break win was the final contest of the day, and his win pushed the match into the Lompoc win column 7-6.

Cabrillo

Head coach Dan Troup has been looking for someone on his young squad to step up in singles. Alas! He is still looking. Templeton swept (9-0) the Conq's in singles for a 13-5 win. Cabrillo essentially played the Eagles even in doubles, going 4-5 with a tiebreaker loss. Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson won two sets (6-1,3-6,6-1), Casey Owen / Jose Flores (7-5,1-6,5-7) & Jordan Daniels / Arjun Ayyer (6-7 (5-7),0-6,6-1) each took a set. In round two, the Eagles inserted their top player (Tabre Haas) into the match at #1 doubles and he won two sets with partner Chuck Yates.

Boys Golf

Before the LPL tourney on Thursday, both local teams had dual matches with LPL opponents.
Cabrillo (2-6-1, 0-1-1) began on Tuesday, hosting Santa Ynez (5-6,1-1) for nine holes at the VCC. The Pirates prevailed 216-231. Scoring for the Conq's were Perry Naughton (46), Erin Hague (45), Jeff Martin (48), Drew Langston (46), Joe Pensabene (46). Three SY players tied at 40 for Medalist.
Lompoc hosted Santa Maria at La Purisima on Wednesday, in a match delayed from Monday. The Braves came out on top 250-265, despite the technical disqualification of Abie Luna's round (50) for signing a scorecard with an (inadvertant) error. Lompoc scorers were medalist Brent Van Dyke (43), Brian Magann (46), Alex Stone (47), Tyler Grossi (57), and Tyler Grossini (57). The Saints were unable to field any JV players, so Lompoc JV played as a foursome. Nick Martinez led with a 61, followed by Carter Bovee (62), Zach Sleigh (65), and Nick Foster (65). Matt Zebley was at an important meeting.

LPL Tournament #2 @ St. Joseph [18 holes]
Chris Blystone (75) of St. Joseph was the Medalist, followed by A.J. Woronovich (77, Santa Ynez) and Matt Hansen (78, Morro Bay).

St. Joseph-413
Santa Ynez-422
Morro Bay-433
Templeton-452
Cabrillo -458
[ Naughton 86, Aaron Hay 95, Martin 96, Langston 86, Morgan 95, Pensabene 98]
Lompoc-483
[ Van Dyke 88, Stone 99, Magann 98, Luna 93, Grossi 105, Grossini 117]
Santa Maria-504

Track / Field & Swimming

Lompoc track hosted Santa Maria at Huyck Stadium, while Cabrillo was at Morro Bay.
The Braves won 3 of the 4 matches - boys varsity 79-48, girls varsity 86-35, and girls JV 81-23. Only the boys JV fell (42-61). Detailed info to follow later.
No info was readily available for Cabrillo at Morro Bay or Lompoc Swimming at Paul Nelson Pool in Santa Maria versus the Saints and the Pioneer Valley Panthers. --- el stato

DeGeorgia, LHS Cheerleaders Booked for TV

Sioux City Bandits coach JARROD DeGEORGIA will be interviewed on Lompoc Locker Room, the TV Show airing Monday at 5:30 p.m. on Comcast Channel 25.


DeGeorgia is in his first season as head of the United Indoor Football League Bandits and his first as a head coach anywhere. His team is 1-0. He will be interviewed direct from Billings, Montana where the team will play Saturday night.

DeGeorgia was the quarterback of Lompoc High's first-ever CIF championship football team, the one that emerged victorious in 1990 over Arroyo Grande in that famous struggle in San Luis Obispo. His most famous teammate was, of course, NAPOLEON KAUFMAN.

A former QB of the Bandits, DeGeorgia's return to the team was greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm - by at least one fan. [See Here]

DeGeorgia will be joined on the show by Lompoc High's award-winning cheerleaders.

Black / Blue for the Tennis Crew

Meranda Fernandes had a home run to get things going for CHS against the SY Pirates at home on Tuesday.

Boys Tennis
Varsity:Lompoc @ Cabrillo
JV: Cabrillo @ Lompoc

The Lompoc and Cabrillo boys tennis teams faced off against each other on Tuesday at CHS and the action followed a familiar pattern for Lompoc Head Coach Loretta Jensen - " We have a thing, they [CHS Coaches Dan Troup & Jeff Dacus] beat me with the girls and I beat them with the boys."

The Braves swamped the Conq's in singles going 8-1 in sets and only surrendering 10 games to Cabrillo, and seven of those ten were in Eric Wang's 7-5 victory over #3 singles Marco Psallo. They were the only games Psallo lost all day, winning his other two sets by 6-0 scores. Lompoc's #1 & #2 singles players, Alex Jensen and Robert Rodriguez, both swept three sets with Jensen losing one game and Rodriguez losing two against Ben Brady. Cabrillo's Calvin Hoffeld was, unusually, shut out.

The Conq's were a tad more successful in doubles, winning three of the nine sets. In the clash of #1 doubles teams Cabrillo came out on top, with Jordan Daniels and Ryan Anderson handing Kyle Thumm and Anthony Yang their only game losses on the day and taking the set 7-5. Daniels then teamed with substitute Arjun Ayyar to beat the #2 doubles team of Joel Martin and Jesus Abrego 6-3 in the last round. Cabrillo got their third doubles set win from Casey Owen & Jose Flores who beat Martin & Abrego 6-3. Cabrillo almost picked up a fourth win as Tanner Stark & Peter Rapoza came back from being down 1-5 to push Martin/Abrego to a tie-break before losing 7-6 (7-5). The big boost for the Braves came from the #3 doubles pair, Oscar Rodriguez & Cooper Barrick who swept their three sets - all by 6-4 scores.

In the JV match-up it was all Cabrillo, at least through the first two rounds. Lompoc coach Jim Steffey was only able to put five players, many of whom have only been playing the sport for six weeks, on the court versus the Conquistadors. [He hopes to have a sixth for Thursdays match.] But that meant that the Braves had to forfeit six sets in doubles, since they were able to field only one pair. That pairing of Devin Day & Edgar Solis, however, posted the only Lompoc win in the first two rounds by topping Manny Contreras and Ryan Brady 6-2. They lost in the second round to Ricky Ruiz & Ricky Cummings by that same 6-2 score, but also came close against Matt Sturmreiter & Daniel Garmendia losing a 7-6 (8-6) squeaker.

In singles Carlos Diaz led David Terrones 3-1, before dropping the set 7-5. He then lost to Jeff Rodriguez 3-6, before defeating Frankie Caldera 6-3. Chris Aldama lost (0-6, 2-6,2-6) to Terrones, Caldera. & Rodriguez. While Gabriel Hernadez lost to Rodriguez (6-2), and pushed Caldera to a tie-break, before bowing 7-6 (7-5).He lost to Terrones 6-1 in the 3rd round.

Santa Ynez (2-1, 4-4) defeated Templeton 15-3. On Thursday, Lompoc (3-0 LPL) hosts Morro Bay, and Cabrillo (1-3 LPL) hosts Templeton.

LPL Softball

It was opening day for LPL softball play on Tuesday.

Cabrillo beat Santa Ynez 10-0.
Santa Maria surprised Lompoc 6-5.
Templeton eased past St. Joseph 2-1.
And Morro Bay crushed Coast Union 15-0 (non-league).

Cabrillo vs. Santa Ynez
Abayari laced this one into that gap in left center
Cabrillo had managed to take a lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, and was looking to add on some insurance when Meranda Fernandes came to the plate with two on in the sixth. But no-one really expected the offensive onslaught that her homer would ignite. Her three run home run was quickly followed by one, then two, then three more baserunners - all of whom scored on Alyssa Abayari's line shot double over second base The Pirates changed pitchers , but were unable to stop the bleeding as the Conquistadors added two more runs and the game was called due to the 10-run rule.

Lompoc vs. Santa Maria
The Braves and Saints fought a see-saw battle at LHS with the saints coming out on top. Lompoc jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. And it looked like they had things going their way when they were able to get out of bases loaded, no out situation in the top of the third. Pitcher Courtney Dosa gave up a walk and a single, another single brought in a run and the runners advanced to 2nd & 3rd on the throw to the plate which was not in time. Dosa issued a walk to load the bases and then induced a pop-up to first for the initial out. A hard grounder resulted in a low throw at the plate that catcher Lauren Lopes somehow managed to dig out of the dirt for out number two. The next batter worked the count to full, then struck out looking.
The Lompoc faithful began breathing again, but it was not to be their day. Santa Maria scored three in the fifth, two on singles and a throwing error, and a third on yet another single off of Braves reliever Brianna Vickery.
Lompoc struck back though when Paty Martinez scored on Jeana Carrillo's double, and Carrillo scored on a double by Dosa.
The Braves defense unfortunately did not hold up. A passed ball on a third strike, a throwing error, and a base hit all contributed to two more Saints runs.

The Lompoc JV, on the other hand cruised to a 13-0 win in a five-inning affair at Santa Maria. Megan Maddock pitched four innings before being relieved by "newcomer" Sara Crandall. Crandall was on the team last year, but just rejoined the squad in the last few days. Coach Eva Luna gave "kudos" to Maddock (also batting leadoff), Mariah LaShore, Yvonne Luna, Monica Gaitan, Alyssa Miclat (with a nice assist), and Adrianna Davis for her defense.

Thursday, Lompoc [0-1, 3-3] is at St. Joseph [0-1, 4-4]. Cabrillo [1-0, 7-2] take their five game winning streak to Santa Maria [1-0, 5-4]. Morro Bay [0-0, 7-3] is at Santa Ynez [0-1, 5-6], and Templeton is off.


LPL Baseball

Tuesday was also opening day for LPL baseball, and everone wanted to get off to a good start - here's the results:
Lompoc [1-0, 2-6] 20-3 Santa Maria [0-1, 1-6]
Santa Ynez [1-0, 6-3] 5-3 Cabrillo [0-1, 3-6]
St Joseph [1-0, 1-5] 9-6 Templeton [0-1, 1-4-1]
Morro Bay [0-0, 3-5] 4-9 Paso Robles (non-league)

Lompoc vs. Santa Maria.
The Braves exploded all over the Saints pitching, with plenty of offense to go around. Brandon Alonzo went 4-5, 2 RBI, & 4 runs scored; Daniel Mallory was 3-4, 4 RBI, & 3 runs , and Cody Berryman hit 2-4, 6 RBI, & 2 runs. The Braves bats were unleashed after the Saints took a 2-0 lead in the first. The Lompoc JV reportedly won 15-2.

Cabrillo vs. Santa Ynez.
The Conq's were up 3-1 going into the sixth inning and fans were discussing how good it was to start off league with a win - then the wheels came off. With runners on 1st & 2nd, pitcher Duece Galvan induced a sacrifice fly ball for the second out, but it appeared that he would get out of the inning when the next batter hit a sharp grounder to third base. Unfortunately for Cabrillo, the ball veered towards the line on a hard hop, and handcuffed the third-baseman whose throw was inside of the bag at first and in the dirt. Both runners scored to tie it at three apiece, and the batter was safe at first. A double to center, just past the second-baseman, by the next batter, brought him home to give the Pirates the 4-3 lead. They pushed across another run later, but the game turned on those back-to-back plays within about a two minute span.

On Thursday,
Santa Ynez hosts Morro Bay,
Lompoc Travels to St. Joseph,
Cabrillo heads to Santa Maria,
and Templeton squares off vs. Mission Prep in a non-league encounter.

Boys Golf

Lompoc's match versus Santa Maria was postponed to Wednesday @ 3:30pm.
No information has been released concerning Cabrillo's scheuled match-up with Santa Ynez. --- el stato

Fenske, Ur Pace Aztecs to 21-2 Mark

Aztec Women On Fire

The blazing San Diego State Aztecs went 5-0 over the weekend to ratchet up their season record to a stunning 21-2.

In the thick of the action was goalie HEATHER FENSKE who spearheaded San Diego’s defensive efforts. She registered a career high save total of 16 Sunday afternoon against Cal State Bakersfield and brought down 13 Saturday opposite Long Beach State. She totaled 42 saves for the weekend despite being rested late in three of the contests. Her save total for the season is now 190. She has surpassed the double digit mark in eight contests.

A quick look at Aztec season statistics illustrates just how critical are the roles played by both Fenske and co-captain BECCA UR (pictured).

Ur, the team co-captain, leads the squad in assists with 28, ranks #3 in steals with 29, and #4 in ejections drawn with 22. She has started all 23 matches.

Besides her saves Fenske has 18 steals and eight assists after starting 22 of 23 contests.

On Friday San Diego dumped weak Pacific 14-6 with Fenske playing only the first half after which the score was already 8-2. Fenske made four blocks. After halftime a goal by Ur triggered a tsunami of action during which SDSU netted six unanswered goals to lead 14-2.

On Saturday the Aztecs erupted for four goals in the final quarter to lift themselves to a 9-7 victory over conference rival 14th-ranked Long Beach before downing Colorado State, 13-6 in the afternoon.

Against the 49’ers Fenske recorded her seventh double digit game. Opposite the Rams the Aztecs were up 9-3 by halftime and Fenske was already resting after two saves.

On Sunday SDSU defeated No. 20 Princeton, 10-2, before downing Bakersfield, 13-7. Against Princeton Fenske came out early after registering seven saves while opposite Bakersfield she had a phenomenal game with her career-high 16 saves, her eighth double-digit effort of the season.

The Aztecs' 21 wins mark the third straight season they have surpassed 20wins. Ranked No. 6 in the nation, they now get a week break before hosting No. 4 California on the 27th and No. 3 USC on the 29th.

Quick Notes

Cal Poly - SLO



The Mustang women's golf team took on a squad from CSU Bakersfield last weekend and, once again, were led by LHS grad Julia Heath. She and fellow Mustang Elsie Walker were co-medalists (78) as Cal-Poly won 317-386.



Allan Hancock College

The WSC Scholar-Athlete Award winners for the Fall Sports were finally announced and included several Lompoc Valley residents: Joseph Scott (football), Katelyn Lynch (volleyball), Duania Evans (x-c), Arianna Fabing (x-c), and Amanda Murray (soccer). The womens cross country squad also qualified for state recognition as a team by maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Jeff Monteleone (CHS) has been the lynchpin of the Bulldog men's track team so far this year. They have participated in two meets this season with team scoring and Jeff has accounted for 19 of the 27 points the unit has managed to accumulate.[Stats] This included two 1sts and a 3rd in three races at last weeks meet - a feat which won him the NCART Athlete of the week award. Yup, the same award won recently by LHS grad Corey Dotzler for his play with the Hancock baseball team. Arianna Fabing (LHS)and Terri Ladja (CHS) have also run well for the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, AHC was at the Bakersfield Invitational. The men finished 16th of 17 with 9.5 points - with Monteleone posting a 10th (800M 2:00.90) and a tie for 7th (1500M 4:14.06) for 1.5 of those points. The ladies were 10th of 17 with 15 points. In the 800, Duania Evans (LHS) ran a 2:55.42 good for 29th in her first action of the year. In the 1500, Arianna Fabing was 5th (5:32.35), Evans 19th (6:20.08), Terri Ladja 21st (6:36.58). Fabing was also 10th (21:05.10)in the 5000 .[See Complete Results]

Also this week came news that Amanda Murray, currently of the AHC soccer team, had a very good tryout with the Cal-State Dominguez Hills squad on Friday.

High School

All-Area

Chelsea Casullo (LHS) and Roxanne Rentchsler (CHS) were named to the All-Area Girls Basketball Team by the Santa Maria Times[Story]. The All-Area Boys Basketball Team includes Joe Alerta & Trae Vernon from Lompoc and Kenny Taylor of Cabrillo [Story].

Cabrillo High School

The swim teams had a very sucessful Friday in the pool, with the boys winning 124-45 (JV 92-19) and the girls winning 113-72 (JV 107-62). More Info to come.

On the 14th, the softball team (6-2) won a game by against San Marcos by a 5-0 score [stats]. The win was keyed by Kelcie Jo Pecyna's bases loaded triple in the third inning. They followed it up on the Saturday, the 15th, with two against Nipomo, by impressive 7-1 [Stats] and 16-3 [Stats] scores.

The baseball team played two against San Marcos on Saturday, winning the first 15-5 [Stats], but losing the second 7-2 [Stats].

Meanwhile the Track teams were on the road at the Camarillo Invitational.

Lompoc High School

The baseball team lost Friday 9-5 [stats] to San Marcos - only 5 of the runs they gave up were earned.

Swimming traved to Santa Ynez, but no information has been reported yet.

The Track teams followed their performance versus St. Joseph with a trip to the Atascadero Memorial Invitational. The Braves sent 13 girls and 10 boys to the event and, apart from Masson Blow, the girls had a better day. Masson was 1st in the Triple-jump (43-8), 5th in the Long Jump (20-1.5), and 6th in the 400m sprint (54.06). Along with Jake Morhart's 6th in the 110m hurdles (17.60) those were the only top 10 finishes the Lompoc boys posted. The girls, on the other hand had 12 top 10 finishes, including 2 seconds and 4 thirds. Jozza Ray was 2nd in the Long Jump (17-0.5), a 3rd in the High Jump (5-2), and 3rd in the Triple (34-10). Chelsea Casullo took a second in the Shot Put (41-2), and thirds in the Discus (109-4), and 100m Hurdles (17.54). Other top 10 performances were contributed by Kayla Fajardo (5th Discus, 101-10), Megan Wales (5th 400m, 1:02.41), Courtney Stumpo (5th 300mH, 52.36 & 6th 100mH, 18.05), and Darian Duell-Ray (7th 300mH, 53.35 & 9th 100mH, 18.94). The girls team of Onyemauche Agbodike, Duell-Ray, Ray, and Stumpo also took third in the 4 x 100m Relay [See (in)Complete results-missing some info in the girls field events].

-- el stato

Meeder's Minors Pace HS Diamond Crowd

Cabrillo Softball Leads

A quick look at the stats shows that DOUG MEEDER's Cabrillo softballers are the only one of Lompoc's four stick-and-ball clubs to have won more than they've lost at the 1/3 pole of the spring baseball/softball season.

The Conqs are 4-2, the Lompoc High softballers are 3-3, Cabrillo baseball 2-4, Lompoc baseball 1-6.

The Conquistador girls post a solid lineup with five hitters surpassing the .300 mark. Check this out: ALYSSA ABAYARI .429, KELCIE JO PECYNA .400, ADRIANNA SEGURA .364, and SHELBY KUHLMAN and KRISTINA GOODCHILD both at .333. Abayari has also drawn eight bases on balls and posts an on-base percentage of .600. Wow. Pecyna has driven home eight RBI.

From the circle Abayari boasts a blistering ERA of 0.63. She has allowed only two hits over 11 innings. Segura is almost as hot at 0.78 over 18 innings.

Friday Segura sat down San Marcos on three hits as the Conqs rolled 5-0. Pecyna went 2-4 with three RBI, and Segura went 2-for-3.

The most startling thing you haven't even heard yet.

Of those five hitters we mentioned none are seniors. There isn't even a junior there. Three are freshmen and two (Abayari and Segura) are sophomores!

The Conqs visit Nipomo Saturday for a doubleheader (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) before opening league play Tuesday hosting Santa Ynez.

Action, Action, Everywhere

The Hoop Magic Team was in town at Paisola Pavillion[Here posing for pictures after the game]. Both high school boys tennis squads (and the JV's), both track and field units (boys/girls varsity and JV), and Cabrillo baseball (all three levels) were active on Thursday. In addition, the initial LPL boys golf tournament was held at the Alisal. But perhaps the most important developments occurred away from the field, where a number of players were suspended by the schools for various reasons.

Hoop Magic

Fun and games at Halftime

Chaz WB and the rest of the Hoop Magic crew put on a highly entertaining show Thursday night at LHS. The team from Charlotte, N.C. had the crowd rockin' and laughing the whole night. And who could forget the "contributions" of locals like Claudia 'ankle-length shorts' Terrones, Paul 'the Statue' Boomersbach, and Nic 'superwedgie' Jensen. Then there was the performance of "celebrity" coach Brad Memberto who, it was rumored, actually stood up twice - once at halftime and once to ask where the press buffet was. If you weren't there - you missed out !![Story] [Hoop Magic Site]

This works better if your team has the ball Art

...but the snack bar is that way.








Boys Golf


The day started off with golf and it contained perhaps the greatest surprise. CHS super soph Chaz Whitmore has apparently played his last round for the Conq's this season.
Whitmore


On the Ranch Course at the Alisal Ranch, the events were a little more predictable. Santa Ynez (410) won, and St. Joseph (436) just nipped Morro Bay (438) for second place. Cabrillo (455) was 4th, Lompoc (495) 5th, followed by Templeton (522), and Santa Maria (no score - not enough golfers). St. Joseph's Chris Blystone (75) was the medalist, followed closely by Tyler Shean (76) from Santa Ynez.

Individual scores by Cabrillo for the 18 holes were (in golfing order): Perry Naughton -80, Aaron Hay-97, Drew Langston - 96, Jeffrey Martin - 84, Joe Pensabene - 118, Michael Morgan - 98.
Brian Magann

Playing for Lompoc were Brent van Dyke - 84, Alex Stone - 100, Brian Magann - 100, Tyler Grossi - 107, Abie Luna - 104, and Tyler Grossini - 146.


Track and Field


Part of the Cabrillo Team
At Cabrillo the visiting and under-manned Santa Maria Saints were swarmed under by the Conquistadors who actually held out some of their crew to compete in the Cerritos Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Lompoc meanwhile hosted St. Joseph at Huyck Stadium. The Braves were handed defeats by both the boys (106-30) and girls (97-39). Masson Blow, the ROP co-Brave of the Quarter, posted a triple-jump win at 43' 9", while Jozza Ray was a triple-winner. She won the high jump (4'10"), long jump (18' 1"), and triple-jump (34'2"). The JV teams also fell - the boys 93-26, and the girls 111-17. Detailed track & field, and Fridays swimming, results will be posted on Saturday or Sunday.

Baseball

It was not a stellar day for the LPL against the PAC-7 - SLO (4-0) beat Santa Ynez 26-5, Atascadero (3-1) beat Templeton 15-5, and Nipomo (4-0) beat Cabrillo 8-1.

The Titans Joe Delfin almost did Cabrillo in by himself. [Story] He pitched 6 srong innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, a walk, and 1 hit batsman, while striking out five. He also helped himself at the plate - going 3-3 with a double and scoring a run. Unfortunately for Cabrillo, Delfin brought his buddies with him. They scored an average of two runs an inning through the fourth (2,2,1,3), helped immeasurably by Mason Sperakos who was 3-4 (with a double), scored 2 runs and drove in 2 more. The Conqs managed to post a run in the second, but were out hit 9-2 on the day. Aaron Naputi started on the mound, and scored the Conq's lone run in the 2nd, before being relieved by Deuce Galvan (5th) and Justin Boggs (6th). Brian Engler had a double that set up Naputi's score. Cabrillo (2-4) faces San Marcos on Saturday.
Both the JV and the frosh hosted Nipomo.

Boys Tennis

Lompoc

Varsity won 14-4 @ Santa Maria
The Lompoc Braves varsity traveled to Santa Maria's Minami Center to take on the Saints. Lompoc got its usual sweep from Alex Jensen and picked up two more singles points from Daniel Borcharding. The Braves dominated doubles 8-1, propelled by sweeps from Antony Yang (called up from JV) / Kyle Thumm and Joel Martin / Jesus Abrego.
JV
The varsity left behind very meager defenses to face the Saints JV. Due to varsity call-ups (another one), illness (2), and school discipline (2), only three players remained of Jim Steffey's already depleted corps. Each of the three competed in singles and all went 1-2. Chris Aldama (6-2, 1-6, 1-6), Edgar Solis (6-4, 3-6, 3-6), and Gabriel Hernandez (1-6, 6-3, 2-6) all began playing tennis about five weeks ago. All of the doubles matches were forfeited.

Cabrillo
Cabrillo's varsity ventured to Santa Ynez to tangle with the Pirates, while the JV was home against the junior version of the swashbucklers. The varsity fell 15-3 with the Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson combo picking up two of the three points. --- el stato

Smith Scores Big Photo in Pac-10 Tourney

s
College Hoops

Whoops! A few days ago in wrapping up the University of Washington basketball season we sort of forgot a little item called the Pac-10 Tournament.

Well, maybe it didn’t matter. The Huskies were eliminated by Cal 84-81 in the opener yesterday but JOEL SMITH had his best game in several weeks with eight points in 20 minutes. AND he got a big photo in the Los Angeles Times.

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Duffy Appears Iowa-bound

More evidence that DANNY DUFFY will be moved out of Arizona next month---

A quick read of the Kansas City Star archives shows that the early minor league camp which Duffy attended beginning in late February through March 2 was expressly for players expected to go to out-of-town minor league clubs in April.

According to the Star the early camp included “all pitchers likely to be assigned to full-season minor league clubs.”

Pitchers there included Rowdy Hardy, KC’s 2007 minor league pitcher of the year (15-5, 2.48 at Class A Wilmington), Daniel Cortes, Blake Wood, Danny Duffy and Matt Mitchell. “Cortes, Wood, Duffy and Mitchell are all cited by Baseball America as being among the organization’s top 10 prospects.”

The season begins on April 3 for the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League. They host Peoria.

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Church Becomes Dad Today

RYAN CHURCH will become a father today. Mason Church is expected and Ryan will take Thursday and Friday off to help out. Dad went 0-for-2 Wednesday and the BA slipped to the low .200’s but, hey, it’s spring training.

Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News recently asked Church about his so-called weakness against left-handed pitchers.

"Last year I think it was a fluke because I've always been able to hit them," said Church, who batted .229 against southpaws in '07 with the Nationals, after hitting a combined .304 in 79 at-bats the previous two seasons versus lefties.”

Catch that-- .304 in 2005 and 2006.

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AHC Track

JEFF MONTELEONE won both the 800 and 1500 at the Western State Conference meet at Moorpark. He was named Male Athlete of the Week by the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table as a result.

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AHC Women’s tennis

The winless Bulldogs (0-7, 0-5) fell to Sana Barbara Monday 6-3. They dropped two out of three doubles matches. The number one doubles team of ELYSHA McCLAIN and Maty Martinez took their pro set to the limit before falling 8-6. ASHLEY BRADY and Kacie Guggia won number two in a thriller, 8-6.

In singles, McLain won in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Lompoc and Cabrillo split Surf / Turf Events

Cabrillo's Chaz Whitmore was the medalist at the Lompoc - Cabrillo golf match on Monday, although his team lost by two strokes, 231 to 233.





Lompoc and Cabrillo went head-to-head for valley supremacy on Monday - the Braves took the golf match-up [story] on a day that they honored a fallen teammate [story] [blog][photos], while the Conquistadors took home the victory in the swim meet delayed from Friday by the lock-down at LHS.

Monday, 10 March 2008

Golf: Cabrillo at Lompoc [La Purisima GC]
Varsity: Lompoc won a very competitive match on their own turf against a Cabrillo program that according to some reports had won the last 12 contests versus the Braves. It was made even more special by the pre-match ceremony honoring teammate Brandon Pate who died last summer. Throughout the day, the tension and pressure was palpable, especially for coach Chris Adams and team captain,and the squads only senior, Brent VanDyke.

VanDyke who competed in the same foursome as medalist Chaz Whitmore of Cabrillo was furious with himself after his round, stating "If we lose this thing, it will be my fault". He was upset because of he had to take a lost ball penalty on the next to last hole, when he couldn't find his ball in a bunker. This resulted in his scoring an eight on the hole, and an overall 45. [LPL duals are nine holes - on Monday they played the back nine]. He needn't have worried, on a day dedicated to team, the Braves scorers finished in a tightly clustered group.

That information wasn't known, however, until the third foursome had finished. The first group in, consisted of Whitmore (40), and Perry Naughton (52) of Cabrillo with VanDyke (45), and Alex Stone ( 46) of Lompoc - giving Lompoc a 1 stroke lead. Likewise, in group two, Cabrillo's Aaron Hay (46) & Drew Langston (47) surrendered a one stroke advantage to Lompoc's Brian Magann (45) & Abie Luna (47) - Braves up two. It would all rest on the best 5th place score. [Teams play six, and score five. The six man is used to break ties.]

The third varsity group was Cabrillo's M & M's vs Lompoc's "Tylers" - Jacob Moreno & Michael Morgan against Tyler Grossi & Tyler Grossini. When the scores were tabulated the low scorers from each pair (Martin & Grossi) were tied at 48. So the Braves lead had held up, they won 231 to 233.

Swimming: Lompoc and Cabrillo at COLAC

The Conquistadors easily swam away with the surf half of the Monday equation, but Lompoc did have its moments.

Varsity Boys: Cabrillo 120 Lompoc 57
Varsity Girls: Cabrillo 129 Lompoc 51
JV Boys: Cabrillo 90 Lompoc 42
JV Girls: Cabrillo 133 Lompoc 42
Complete Results will be posted this weekend.

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

On Tuesday baseball and tennis teams from both schools, and LHS softball were in action against opponents from the north.


Softball


Lompoc


Varsity vs Arroyo Grande @ LHS
The Braves scored a run in each of the 2nd and 3rd innings and made it stand up. Great pitching by Brianna Vickery (complete game, 1 hit, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts) and solid defense, like Jeana Carrillo's shoetop grab in rightfield to end the top of the 6th, made the difference. Paty Martinez & Dana Campitelli both had a double and single while Courtney Dosa & Lauren Lopes each had a hit.


JV vs Arroyo Grande @ LHS
The Braves beat the visiting Eagles 3-1. Catrina "Catachill" Chill got the win going 5 innings, before Adrianna Davis came in to mop up the last two.


Baseball


Cabrillo


Varsity (2-3) vs Righetti (1-2) lost 9-0.
Burn the tape. The Warriors walked all over the Conq's. Cabrillo gave up 10 walks, 4 hit batsmen, and 5 errors in the game. They gave up 5 unearned runs in the first two innings, and compounded the pitching & defensive woes by hitting, or not hitting, at a .182 average for the game. They did draw 6 walks to supplement their 4 hits, but were unable to score. Tony Eliot, who took the loss, Justin Boggs, and Tyler Ramsden shared the pitching duties.

JV @ Righetti


Frosh @ Righetti

Lompoc
Varsity (1-5) vs SLO (3-0) lost 11-5.
Watch out Santa Ynez !! The Tigers are coming ! After thrashing St. Joseph 10-4 and Morro Bay 15-2 last week the bash brothers from SLO continued their assault on the LPL with an 11-5 pounding of the Braves. They play the Pirates on Thursday. In the first inning, Lompoc surrendered 4 runs in the top half, before taking the lead with 5 runs in the lower half. That lead soon melted away, however, when they allowed five in the 2nd inning. Darrin Mullen went 3-4 vs Lompoc (single, double, and home run), scored twice, and drove in four runs. Rob Nadalsky added a homer and four other players had doubles. For the Braves, Scotty Aguailar went 3-4 with two doubles, 2 RBI's, and scored a run. Cody Berryman started on the mound, and Ritchie Hirzel came on in relief. Lompoc host St. Joseph on Thursday, 13 March.

JV @ SLO lost 3-2.

The cruelest form of defeat is having victory snatched away at ye last moment. Yup, up 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th, they allow 2 runs and the ballgame is over. Daniel Dunaetz gave up two earned runs while going the distance on the mound. At the plate, they scattered 9 hits.

Frosh @ SLO lost 9-4.
It was worse than it sounds, all four Lompoc runs were scoredin the 7th inning. Pat Hill relieved Adam Card on the hill after three. B. Howard had two hits including a three-run double.

Boys Tennis

In LPL action Templeton beat Santa Maria 14-4 (5-4 sngls, 9-0 dbls) with lots of substitutions.

Cabrillo
Varsity (1-4, 1-1) vs Morro Bay won 11-7.
The Conquistadors finally got to pick on someone their own size. They were undefeated in doubles, as the teams of Casey Owen / Jose Flores, Jordan Daniels / Arjun Ayyar, and Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson all swept three sets. In singles, they were able pick up two points although both Mike Ion and Matt Hansen swept 3 sets each for the Pirates.

JV @ Morro Bay

Lompoc
Varsity @ Arroyo Grande lost 15-3.

A reconfigured Lompoc team got wholloped by the Eagles. Alex Jensen and Marco Pasallo won both singles points, and Joel Martin / Kyle Thumm collected the only doubles point for the Braves.

JV vs Arroyo Grande

Due to illness (ouch!) and grades (OUCH !!), the Braves JV squad is undermanned and unable to field a full unit.

-- el stato