Church on All-Star Ballot; Boo; Bandits

Church on All-Star Ballot

For the first time the words "RYAN CHURCH" and "All-Star Game" are being uttered in the same sentence by somebody not affiliated with Lompoc Locker Room.

Churchie, who would be the first Lompocan in the game since Roy Howell 20 years ago, was the subject of this story on MLB.com.

NEW YORK -- For those still uneasy about the trade that sent Lastings Milledge to the Nationals in exchange for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church, consider this: Church not only made it onto this year's All-Star ballot, but he might even make it onto the team.

He has performed -- or so the statistics say -- as well as any right fielder in baseball.
He'll have stiff competition on the ballot, of course, as will the rest of his Mets teammates. Every last one of them.

Indeed, all eight Mets regulars -- including Moises Alou, who missed the first three weeks of this season recovering from hernia surgery, but excluding Angel Pagan, who had the greatest number of starts in his place -- earned spots on this year's All-Star ballot, which Major League Baseball released on Tuesday.

The 79th Midsummer Classic on July 15 will be the fourth held at Yankee Stadium and the eighth in New York City. The Yankees previously hosted the All-Star Game in 1939, 1960 and 1977; the Polo Grounds held the game in 1934 and 1942; Ebbets Field was the site in 1949; and Shea Stadium hosted the 1964 Midsummer Classic.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the Monster 2008 All-Star Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until Wednesday, July 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Balloting at Shea Stadium will begin Wednesday and continue through June 25.

Starting rosters will be announced during the 2008 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on Sunday, July 6. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote at MLB.com.
And the voting doesn't end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the All-Star Game via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP vote at MLB.com.

The All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio play-by-play, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage.

Considering Church's struggles in his early days as a Met -- he hit .236 in Spring Training, and fared even worse against left-handers -- a place on the All-Star ballot might have been one of the last things on his mind. Yet Church had legitimate excuses, missing time in Spring Training first due to a mild concussion, then due to the birth of his first child.

"It's a process," he said at the time, defending his hitting all spring long. "I just have to stick to it and not get frustrated and hope it starts to click when the games count."

He did, and perhaps better than the Mets could have imagined. Now four weeks into the season, Church has nudged his team-leading average up to .322, with 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored. Only Chris Young of the Diamondbacks has scored more runs among National League outfielders, and until Church's 0-for-4 performance on Sunday, only Pat Burrell of the Phillies and Xavier Nady of the Pirates had compiled higher averages.

Batting against left-handers -- his greatest reported weakness coming into the season -- Church has produced at a .364 clip. Both of his home runs have come against lefties.

By Wednesday night Church was at .316 as the Mets boarded a plane for Phoenix and Los Angeles. It's Mets at Dodger Stadium Monday and Tuesday night, and Wednesday afternoon.

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BOO

Scott Kennedy had this to say on BOO JACKSON and his competition with Theo Scott for the quarterback job at University of Ohio--

“Boo is looking good. I have refereed Theo Scott when he played at LA Southwest but I don’t recall him making much of a impact like Boo did at that level. Boo will be there come August.”

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BANDITS

The defending Santa Barbara Baseball League champion Lompoc Bandits started their season Sunday with a win. It was apparently not difficult, a 23-3 over the Lompoc Titans.

Five and counting ...

Elicity Fabing hit a two-run double to help propel the Braves to their sixth consecutive victory.

Softball
The Braves Jeana Carrillo had her streak of consecutive scoreless innings broken at 39, but the Lompoc girls preserved a more important streak - they have now won six in a row. By defeating the Morro Bay Pirates 3-2 Tuesday afternoon, they maintained pace with St Joe's for second place in the league and preserved their slim hopes for an LPL title.
Meanwhile the Conqs made the Eagles look good. Numerous errors and other mistakes not only cost them the ballgame but also put their postseason hopes on life support. [Story] Now 5-5 in league they are battling with Morro Bay for the fourth LPL slot in CIF. A win would have put them up half a game on the Pirates but they are now a half game back with two to play .
The remaining LPL games:
(Santa Maria & Santa Ynez are both 1-8 in the LPL)
5/2/08
Lompoc [12-9, 6-3] @Templeton [15-3, 8-1]
Cabrillo [12-10, 5-5] @St. Joseph [13-10, 6-3]
Morro Bay [14-9, 5-4 ] @Santa Maria
5/6/08
Templeton @Santa Ynez
Lompoc @Cabrillo
St. Joseph @Morro Bay
5/9/08
Morro Bay @Templeton
Santa Maria @St. Joseph
Santa Ynez @Lompoc

Lompoc
Morro Bay pushed across solo unearned runs in two of the early innings, but Lompoc tied it up when junior Elicity Fabing belted a two-run double in the third. The score stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Shandee Berryman hit a double over the head of the charging left fielder and Jeana Carrillo, helping her own cause, slapped a single right over the 2nd base bag to score Berryman. Carrillo took 2nd on the throw to the plate, but the Braves could advance her no further than 3rd. Not to worry though, she mowed down the Pirates in the top of the seventh for the victory.
Lompoc, who began this streak with a win over league leading Templeton, faces those same Eagles on the road Friday.

JV The Braves JV played at Morro Bay on Monday due to transportation conflicts. Lompoc won 7-0 with freshman Brianna Vickery, temporarily on loan from the varsity, on pitching duty. She posted 6 strikeouts in 7 innings, and received solid defensive help from her teammates. The Pirates best scoring opportunity came in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with no one out. A ground out, an infield pop-up, and an easy dribbler back to the circle erased the rally attempt. The Braves, meanwhile, were consistently scoring 1-2 runs every few innings.

On Saturday, at the Santa Maria Tournament, they lost 5-4 to a very good SLO team that will face Morro Bay in the final, before beating Pioneer Valley 6-0 to earn a berth in the Consolation Final [Sat, 1 pm].

Cabrillo
The LLR Report from Dan Aldridge:
Cabrillo – 1 vs. Templeton – 10
This game certainly didn’t turn out the way Cabrillo hoped it would. Templeton jumped out with 2 runs in the first inning and followed with 5 runs in the second. Cabrillo’s defense settled down a little holding the visiting Eagles scoreless the next two innings. Templeton then added 1 run in the fifth and 2 more in the seventh to cushion their lead.

Kiley Shae Aldridge pitched the complete game giving up 4 hits, collecting 3 strikeouts, and walking 8 batters.

On offense Cabrillo scored in the fourth inning with a lead off hit by Adrianna Segura. She moved to 3rd base after a shortstop throwing error from a grounder hit by Lindsie Holloway deep in the 5-6 hole. Shelby Kuhlman then knocked Segura in with a single up the middle. Cabrillo had only one more hit, that came in the bottom of the seventh when Bethany Radabaugh led off the inning with a double to right field, but the Conq’s couldn’t knock her in.

Baseball
The Braves [11-12, 7-2] closed within range of the elusive .500 mark again on Tuesday with a 9-3 win over Morro Bay [8-15, 2-7]. More importantly, they maintained a one game lead over St. Joseph [11-9, 6-3] and Santa Ynez [13-8, 6-3] in the LPL title race. Cabrillo [11-12, 6-4] drops to fourth with their loss to Templeton [9-10, 5-4], and Santa Maria [2-19, 0-9] rounds out the league.

The remaining LPL games:

5/2/08
Cabrillo @St. Joseph
Morro Bay @Santa Maria
Lompoc @Templeton
5/6/08
Lompoc @Cabrillo
Templeton @Santa Ynez
St. Joseph @Morro Bay
5/9/08
Morro Bay @Templeton
Santa Maria @St. Joseph
Santa Ynez @Lompoc

Cabrillo

The Conqs lost 7-5 to Templeton. They allowed the Eagles 'the big inning' with five runs in 3rd. Offensively, Ryan McGinty doubled and Zach Pecyna went 3-4.

Lompoc

The Braves received a complete game from Cody Berryman. The 5-10 175 lb junior won his second game in a row after a 1-5 start with one no decision in nine starts despite a respectable 3.46 ERA. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, 1 hit batter, and a wild pitch but did not give up a walk. Berryman also helped himself at the plate with a 2-4, double, 2 runs scored, RBI performance. It was a good day offensively for Lompoc as they scored nine runs on 9 hits (3 doubles), five walks, 7 stolen bases, with 8 RBI. Six Braves hit .500 or better on the day.
Lompoc trailed 2-0 after one inning, but got 2 runs in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd to take the lead. They were up 7-3 in the top of the sixth when the Pirates threatened after a double to the fence, but they couldn't get a run in.
The Braves decided that they needed extra insurance, so they pushed across two runs in the lower half of the inning. Morro Bay threatened again in the top of the seventh, when two runners reached base - the first on an apparent catcher interference call and the second hit by a pitch, but Berryman had two of his five strikouts and retired the side by inducing a infield grounder.

Boys Tennis

Lompoc
The Braves affirmed their third place position in the LPL by losing 5-13 to Santa Ynez for the second time this season. The Pirates were never seriously chalenged in this one, taking an early 8-1 lead. Santa Ynez's veteran coaching staff of Larry Popkin (since 1961), and Walter Seemann (21 years with the program-19 years as the JV coach, & 28 years as the tennis pro at the Alisal Ranch) stressed to their kids the importance of coming out of the gate strong. They not only did that, but they were particularly tough at the top of the order, going 11-1 in the number 1 & 2 spots.
In singles for the Braves Alex Jensen won two sets (4-6, 6-2, 6-1), Robert Rodriguez (0-6, 1-6, 6-1) & Anthony Yang (0-6, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5)) each won one. Jensen's lone loss came against Juan Ferrer who concludes his LPL regular season at 36-0. Jensen is 32-4. The lone point in doubles came from the #2 unit, Cooper Barrick / Joel Martin (4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)), also in a tiebreaker.

Lompoc finishes at 8-4 in LPL play (now 10-6 overall), placing them behind the tied Pirates (13-5, 11-1 LPL) and St. Joseph Knights (17-1, 11-1). Santa Ynez gets the number 1 seed, however based on the total sets won in the two tussles between them. The league individual / doubles finals are Friday and CIF play starts next Tuesday (6 May).

More on Boo; Tristan Kennedy MVP

Boo Jackson: Another View

BOO JACKSON's sensational spring football performance last Saturday at Ohio University got a dramatic twist from writer Matt O'Donnell of the university staff.

When quarterback Boo Jackson awoke on Saturday, he saw the sun shining and smiled. But it wouldn’t be the last time he had a reason to smile on that day.
Jackson had another impressive outing in Ohio’s Green and White game Saturday. He completed 16-of-20 passes for 190 yards as the White defeated the Green, 20-14. The junior consistently hit his receivers in stride for large gains, while showing off his arm strength and avoiding turnovers during the first half for the White and the second half for the Green.


“Leaps and bounds,” Jackson said when asked how much he had improved since the beginning of spring. “The first week I was here, I was bobbling snaps, looking like a freshman coming out of high school, but then as the weeks progressed I caught on real quick.”
“I just felt good and I ended good, so today was a good day.”


After stalling on White’s first drive of the day, the junior-college transfer from Gardena, Calif., settled down and made some big plays. He had nine plays of more than 10 yards, including a string of three straight plays for 20, 29 and 13 early in the second half. His biggest play of the day was a 29-yard pass to wide receiver Riley Dunlop, a Liberty Township native.


“Boo had a big game,” coach Frank Solich said. “He’s done an excellent job of picking up the system, and the system is not an easy system especially from a quarterbacks standpoint. There’s a lot to learn.”


While Jackson had one of his best performances of the spring, quarterback Theo Scott had one of his worst. The Long Beach, Calif., native struggled early as Donovan Fletcher, of Youngstown, Ohio, intercepted him on the Green’s first two drives of the game. The two interceptions were Scott’s first of the spring in live scrimmages.

After those drives, Scott settled down to finish the day with 7-of-12 passing for 102 yards and the two interceptions.


“I think Theo was probably pressing a little bit,” Solich said. “He’s had a very, very good spring and I think he wanted to show that today. I think he was pressing early and then came around and played well.”

Could Scott feel Boo's breath over his shoulder??

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Tris Kennedy Stars in JC Swim

In San Diego County TRISTAN KENNEDY had a great week. She led Palomar's women's swim team to a second-place finish in the Pacific Coast Conference Championships that concluded Saturday.

The Palomar women won eight events, led by Kennedy who placed first in the 100 IM (1:06.01), the 200 IM (2:24.46) and the 100 backstroke (1:05.64) and also swam on four victorious relay teams.

For her efforts she was named co-MVP of the conference.

Boo Stars in Athens; Ur, Fenske Lead Aztecs

Boo Jackson Sharp in Spring Game

by JASON ARKLEY

Athens Messenger

For a second, Boo Jackson thought he was back in southern California.The good news for the Bobcats was the junior quarterback was playing like it as well.

Jackson, a junior who arrived in Athens just a month ago out of junior college, tried to steal the show during Ohio's annual Green & White Game Saturday afternoon inside Peden Stadium. The White squad won 20-14, but Jackson won as well by completing a sharp 16-of-20 passes for 190 yards and no interceptions.

During a warm afternoon in front of 1,589 spectators, Jackson displayed the kind of passing acumen Ohio was hoping for when it signed him out of El Camino CC. He hit receivers in rhythm, on the move and from the pocket, and avoided any costly turnovers.

"A little bit," Jackson said when asked if he felt like he was back on the West Coast. "I woke up, saw the sun and just starting smiling."It was a great day," he added. "When we started, I just felt good and it ended good. It was a good day. I'm getting down the offense, that's what it is."

Junior Theo Scott, the No. 1 QB entering the spring and now heading to the offseason, hit 7-of-12 passes for 102 yards. Scott was picked off twice, both times by junior safety Donovan Fletcher, in his first three pass attempts however.

Head coach Frank Solich said Scott tried to force some early throws. Scott agreed."I'm going to take this as a learning experience. I'll bounce back," Scott said. "That's what makes the difference between normal guys and great guys - can you handle the pressure and compose yourself?"I should have played my game," he added. "I was trying something different and different didn't work. You all saw it."

Junior Brandon Jones, a solid No. 3 at QB, went 7-of-11 for 82 yards. Jones was intercepted on the two-yard line when his throw on a deep go rout was swiped by junior safety Patrick Tafua. Jones also hooked up with tight end Adam Olsheski for a seven-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Solich said Scott would have the edge going into fall camp with his previous playing experience, but added the situation was far from decided."I think Theo was pressing a little bit. He had a very, very good spring and I think he wanted to show that today," he said. "But he came around and played well."Boo had a good game, threw for a lot of yards," Solich added. "Brandon completed some good passes. When you look at the quarterback play, the talent is there. We have to get consistent and getting consistent I think we can put on the field a pretty good offensive football team."

Ohio opens the 2008 season on Aug. 30 at Wyoming.

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Duane Meets Up with Ryan Brown Again

At the Mt. SAC Relays last weekend DUANE SOLOMON met up with the man who dogged him much of last season. Solomon placed second in the men's Invitational 800m race with a time of 1:47.33, .15 seconds behind former Washington Husky Ryan Brown. Despite finishing second Solomon’s time was the second best by a collegiate runner this season.

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Aztecs Fifth in MPSF Women's Polo
Nip Cal for Fifth after upset loss to Hawaii

SAN DIEGO - Sophomore Ronni Gautschi scored one of her game-high four goals in the first overtime period to lift fourth-seeded San Diego State to a 12-11 victory over No. 7 seed California at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Scarlet and Black captured fifth place at the conference tournament for the second consecutive year.

In addition to Gautschi's top performance, Anna Gonzales notched a hat trick, while Danielle Pelke added a pair of goals. Tiphanie Elliott, Jenna Schuster and BECCA UR rounded out the Aztec scorers. Senior goalkeeper HEATHER FENSKE had a phenomenal game in the cage, turning away 13 shots.

On Friday the Aztecs tripped against Hawaii 10-9.

Sophomore Danielle Pelke led the Scarlet and Black with her fourth hat trick of the season and junior Anna Gonzales chipped in a pair of goals. Jenna Schuster, Ronni Gautschi, Erinn Greenwood and Becca Ur rounded out the Aztec scorers, while senior Heather Fenske notched 10 saves in the loss.

SDSU Rebounded Saturday as Ur led the team to a 9-7 victory over San Jose State.

Jenna Schuster recorded a hat trick to pace the Aztecs and Becca Ur chipped in a pair of goals while Heather Fenske notched seven saves.

Ur sparked the Aztec offense in the second quarter, drilling a shot past Spartan goalkeeper Kendra Adama to give SDSU its first lead of the day with 7:27 remaining in the half. SJSU was able to knot the score at 2-2, before Ur set up Schuster with a cross-court pass. Ur then closed out the half with her second tally of the period, putting the Scarlet and Black up 4-2 at the break.
SDSU holds a 29-6 record on the year, tying a program-best for wins in a season. The Aztecs now prepare for the NCAA national championships at Stanford on May 9.

A few quick notes

Swimming

LPL League Preliminaries

The top 8 swimmers in each event move on to the LPL Finals on Tuesday. These qualifiers are listed below, click on pages to enlarge.

[Note: A .CIF notation = a CIF automatic qualification time, a CON = a CIF consideration time]

Thanks for the info Caren.

Baseball
The Braves pulled off are rare accomplishment on Friday. They lost a 1-run back-and-forth game at Dos Pueblos and then became the sole occupants of first place in the LPL. Lompoc, playing during their league bye, benefited from Santa Ynez's 13-0 win over St. Joseph. Sean Rowan's complete game no-hitter dropped the Knights into a three-way tie for second place with Cabrillo & Santa Ynez at 6-3, a half game back of the technically "idle" Lompoc Braves who are now 6-2.

Lompoc The see-saw match at Scott O'Leary Field in Goleta wasn't decided until two out in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Chargers (13-7) scored on an errant throw during a double-play attempt that would have sent the game into extra innings. DP took a two run lead in the first off of freshman starter Ryan Bower, and each squad scored one run in the third, Lompoc's run on Chris Mallory's RBI double. Bower, who in five innings work, gave up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, and 3 walks, took matters into his own hands in the top of the sixth. He drove an offering from reliever Stephan McFarland over the fence for a three run homer and a 4-3 lead. The Chargers came back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning off LHS reliever Dalton Rouleau. In the top of the seventh, Chris Mallory tripled and scored on a groundout to knot the game up at five all.
The Chargers James McCann led off the bottom of the inning by working an 0-2 count into a walk. Chris Joyce was up next and he hit a high chopper into the hole created when the shortstop covered second on the hit-and-run. With runners on first & third and one out, the Braves gave up the intentional pass to load the bases and set up the force play at home. That strategy worked, as Chito Elias grounded back to Rouleau who threw home for the force out. But the resulting throw from the catcher to first, attempting to double off the runner sailed into the outfield, and Joyce was able to score.

Cabrillo The Conquistadors blew the game open late. They took a 1-run lead in the sixth, and then scored five in the seventh to win going away 6-0. Brian Engler went the distance, surrendering only one hit (a double) and two walks on the day. The seven Cabrillo hits (Aaron Naputi had two), six RBI, and six runs (Thomas Lee two) were scattered throughout the nine man lineup. They also drew four walks, and stole two bases.

Softball

Cabrillo's Varsity squad dropped a crucial game at Morro Bay 1-0. The Conq's final three regular season contests are against LPL leaders Templeton, St. Joseph, and Lompoc, and they are now a half game back of Morro Bay for the fourth spot in the league.

Here's the recap from LLR correspondent Dan Aldridge:
The Cabrillo vs. Morro Bay game was definitely a little more exciting than the score shows:

The top of the first inning Kelly Brown reached on a lead off walk, Kelcie Jo Pecyna bunted her to second with what was to be Cabrillo's only base hit of the game. With two runners on base and no outs, Cabrillo couldn't get that all important run across the plate. Cabrillo was kept off balance and guessing the rest of the game at the plate.

On the defensive side, Cabrillo returned the favor. Kiley Shae Aldridge held Morro Bay to one hit as well for the game and middle infielders Alyssa Abayari and Shelby Kuhlman made play after play to keep the Pirates in check. The difference in the game happened in the bottom of the sixth inning when a batter reached on an infield error. The runner then advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, but didn't stop there. She rounded 2nd and sprinted to third when Bethany Radabaugh threw to Christina Goodchild who was hustling back to cover the bag. Goodchild made the tag in time and the runner was called out. After a deflated Morro Bay crowd came back to their seats, the umpires conferenced and pronounced the runner safe due to obstruction when rounding 2nd base on the play. Two batters later, a line drive to centerfielder Meranda Fernandes was deep enough for the sacrifice fly to score the only run of the game.

Boys Tennis

Lompoc JV The usually depleted Braves were short even one more player on Thursday. Number 1 singles Wyatt Peterson was called up to the Varsity due to an illness,leaving Coach Jim Steffey with five players instead of the usual nine. Fortunately, St. Joseph only had eight players and agreed to "match-up" with the Braves. Each team fielded three singles and one doubles, with the Knights furnishing a second doubles unit. This meant that Lompoc only forfeited two matches. Unfortunately, it also meant that Lompoc was puting inexperienced reserves against the St Joe juggernaut, and dropped the match 2-11. Carlos Diaz at #1 singles (2-6,2-6,7-5) & the solo doubles unit of Devin Day / Chris Aldama (2-6, 7-5) each won set in tiebreakers.

Alumni
Ryan Church, after a rare 0-3 outing yesterday, rebounded today with a 1-3 effort. The lone hit however was a triple that put the Mets up 3-2, he then scored on a ground-out to first base. That score proved to be the winning run as New York held on to defeat division foe Atlanta 4-3. Ryan later walked, but was stranded.

Jerrod DeGeorgia's young Souix City Bandits are struggling a bit this year (3-4). But with rival Souix Falls coming up the Coach sez "this isn't Pop Warner" the "young kids need to grow up".

Sat., Mar. 08 Wichita W (31 - 23)
Sat., Mar. 15 BYE
Sat., Mar. 22 Billings L (38 - 72)
Fri., Mar. 28 Billings W (31 - 30)
Sat., Apr. 05 Colorado W (52 - 29)
Sat., Apr. 12 Sioux Falls L (34 - 45)
Fri., Apr. 18 Colorado L (32 - 55)
Sat., Apr. 26 Bloomington L (49 - 53)
-- el stato

Golf, Golf, Tennis

Golf Coaches Craig Knowles (Cabrillo) and John Nielson (St. Joseph) tally up the numbers , but the clear winner on Wednesday was the golf course at VCC.


With spring sports rapidly winding down, the scramble for possible CIF berths is rising to a fever pitch. Swimming & Track hold LPL Prelim meets on Saturday, Lompoc tennis faces the only two teams above them in the standings, Cabrillo tennis plays its last match of the season, and the LPL golfers meet in Lompoc to see if anyone can dethrone St Joe.

Softball Note: The Lompoc - Coast Union game has been cancelled at the request of host Coast. The game, which was initially scheduled to be played at LHS, was postponed to Friday at CU due to the LHS bomb scare earlier this year. That was, of course, before Jeana Carrillo went on a tear - pitching 39 consecutive scoreless innings.

Boys Golf

Cabrillo
With the cold, gusting, and swirling winds on Wednesday, Cabrillo's home course at the Village Country Club was almost unplayable. Anything in the air would be blown toward the trees, and players were racing to mark their balls on the extremely fast greens before the wind blew them back into the first cut. The visiting St. Joseph Knights were horrified by their "high" scores from the front nine, until they realized that the Conqs had similar numbers. Furthering the St. Joe woes one of their players was disqualified due to a scorecard error, but they still prevailed over Cabrillo 231-243. Colin Crist (SJ) edged out Perry Naughton for Medalist honors.
Individual scores (including the few JV players):
Cabrillo: Perry Naughton 44, Aaron Hay 52, Drew Langston 49, Jeff Martin 47, Mike Morgan 53, Joe Pensabene 51, Ethan Pike 58, Garrison Haskins 59, Jake Moreno 58, Clarke Reiner 60.
St. Joseph: Chris Blystone 49, Colin Crist 41, Matt Dominguez 43, Travis Lynn 50, James Fosdick 48, James Weinstock 50, Conner Shanahan 57, Hunter Vail 57, Bryce Cooper 56.

LPL Tournament #6 [Story]
Tyler Grossi puts out on the ninth green at La purisima.



Morro Bay entered the fray in a big way today (Thursday). So did Templeton. Players in the later groups jumped the Pirates and Eagles ahead of what had looked like a tight two team race between Santa Ynez and St. Joseph. The win also tied Morro Bay with Santa Ynez in the season standing - giving both teams long shot possibilities to supplant the Knights as LPL Champs. Grayson Morain (Tmpltn) took Medalist Honors. Conditions at the La Purisima Golf Course were almost ideal, as the wind took the day off.
Morro Bay [421]: Hansen 74, Olson 82, Traughber 95, Weiss 89, Chesbro 81, Peters 107.
Templeton [433]: Morain 73, D. McCormack 83, Eliot 89, Pilg 92, R. McCormack 96, Birk 106.
St Joseph [442]: Blystone 78, Crist 80, Dominguez 93, Fosdick 94, Malin 109, Bachman 97.
Santa Ynez [443]: Shean 83, Woranovich 84, Colvin 84, Magallenes 104, Gray 118.
Cabrillo [470]: Perry Naughton 84, Jeff Martin 86, Drew Langston 94, Aaron Hay 96, Mike Morgan 114, Joe Pensabene 110.
Lompoc [488]: Brent Van Dyke 84, Alex Stone 110, Brian Magann 93, Abie Luna 103, Tyler Grossi 98, Tyler Grossini 127.
Santa Maria [555]: Castillo 93, Thompson 120, French 94, Nacar 127, Gomez 121.
Current Los Padres League Standings: St Joseph [46], Santa Ynez [40.5], Morro Bay [40.5], Cabrillo [25], Lompoc [21], Santa Maria [8].

Boys Tennis

Cabrillo
The Conquistadors finished their season on an up note - defeating the Santa Maria Saints 11-7 on the road. They struggled against the Saints singles, especially german exchange student Daniel Borcherding, but still managed to get three points in the category. Eric Wang won two sets (6-0, 6-1), and Ben Brady took one (6-4). Ricky Ruiz in his first singles action had a near miss dropping a set 4-6.
The strength of the team, as it has been all year, was the doubles. Casey Owen / David Terrones swept (6-0, 6-0, 6-2) for the second time this week, while Arjun Ayyar / Jordan Daniel also swept (6-1, 7-5, 6-4). The other two points were collected by Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson (6-1,6-0).
Although the squad doubled its win total from last year, it came up just short of the playoffs - concluding the season with a 4-8 LPL 5th place record (4-11 overall).
JV The JV also won 11-7 at the Cabrillo courts. They picked up six points in singles, with Franky Calderia winning one, dropping a tiebreaker and losing another (7-5, 6-7, 0-6). Ray Marino won 2 of 3 (6-4, 6-4, 3-6), and Jeff Rodriguez swept (6-1, 6-3, 6-2). In doubles Alex Hurd / Calvin Hoffeld took two sets (6-1, 4-6, 6-3), Ryan Brady / Ricky Cummings swept - including a tiebreaker (6-1, 7-6, 6-3), but Conner Galvan / Manny Contreras were shut out (4-6, 1-6, 0-6). Both tiebreakers went past the seven point mark.

Lompoc
The St. Joseph Knights (16-1, 10-1 LPL) steam-rolled the Braves 15- 3 in Santa Maria.
Alex Jensen won twice, but the Knights got three sweeps
(Jake Eszes,singles: Eric Okerblom / Brian Turton & Kji Hamill / Sam Orozco, doubles) and cruised to victory.

Third place Lompoc (11-5, 8-3 LPL) takes on LPL co-leader Santa Ynez on Tuesday.

JV No information yet, but with the forfeits caused by a a very short-handed Lompoc unit the Braves would have to win 10 of 12 to take the match.

Alumni

Hancock Tennis
Cabrillo HS grads Ashley Brady, Elysha McLain, and the AHC Tennis team traveled at their own expense to the prestigious Ojai tournament on Thursday. It was a rough trip. McLain (a sophomore) fell in the first round to Janette Molina (Southwestern) 7-5, 6-2. While Brady, and doubles partner Francesca Sanchez were some of the few Bulldogs to win in the first round, defeating Ani Fouse-Cabrera / Leticia Garcia-Rojas of Aptos-based and aptly named Cabrillo College (6-4, 6-3). Unfortunately,in the second round they were swept (6-1, 6-0 ) by Brena Bower / Shelly Slick of Antelope Valley.

Cal-Poly Golf
Julia Heath, a sophomore & Lompoc HS graduate, and her compatriots on the golf team competed in the Big West Conference Meet this last weekend. The Mustang women tied the school's best ever finishes (2002,2006) by placing fourth, while the defending Champion mens team dropped to seventh. The Mustang women have been plagued by inconsistancy this year. They have five golfers capable of scoring in the low-to-mid seventies but have not been able to get them all to do it at the same time, or to do it repeatedly in consecutively in tournament rounds. In the first round they posted a team score of 306 - one stroke back of the leaders (UC Davis). But in the second round they fell 10 strokes off that pace, carding a 316, while UC Irvine blasted a tourney best 295 which dropped the ladies from Poly into third. The slide continued in the third and final round. UC Davis posted a 298 & CSU-Northridge, after an abysmal 327 first round, had their second straight round of topping the CP-SLO score by at least ten to ease past the Mustangs into 3rd. Julia was in sync with that pattern putting up individual round scores of 74, 81, and 82 [237] - tieing for 15th place. The other Poly reps were Elsie Walker [77, 78, 79- 234, tied 11th], Maddy Fletcher [76, 77, 81-234, t11th], Hannah Brabb [79, 80, 80 - 239, tied 20th], and Stephanie Yokum [84, 85, 79 - 248, tied 26th].

MLB- NY Mets
Ryan Church continues to impress - going 2-4, double, walk, RBI, run scored, and a stolen base against his old club. He is now hitting .350 (.463 slg), with 28 hits, 14 RBI, and 19 runs scored in 20 games. And those lefties he supposedly couldn't hit? He is now hitting .375 vs left-handers. -- el stato

Church Goes from Hot to Blazing

The RYAN CHURCH story just keeps getting better.

Wednesday he was moved up from sixth slot hitter to fifth spot behind Carlos Beltran in the New York Mets lineup. He was batting .338 at the time.

Wednesday night after a 2-for-5 evening against his old team in Washington he was at .342.

What does .342 mean?

First of all he is the leading Met hitter. His 26 hits lead the team.

His .447 slugging percentage is second only to all-star David Wright. So are his .398 on-base percentage, his 13 RBI, and his two home runs.

And once he gets on base he scores runs. His total of 18 leads the Mets and ranks in the Top Ten in the National League at No. 9.

The Mets face the Nats again Thursday, then return home to host the Braves and Pirates. Then they hit the road to Arizona and Los Angeles. They’ll be at Dodger Stadium May 5, 6 and 7.

This Post is Late

Thirty-nine innings and counting. Jeana Carrillo pitched another shutout (her 5th in a row). This one was an 11 inning gem in which she overcame 7 errors !!!!

Look out LPL Here comes the valley !!

Lompoc The baseball team moved into a tie for 1st with the St Joe Knights by beating those very same Knights 10-2 on their home field. The softball team, after losing their first three LPL contests, have now moved into a three-way tie for second with Cabrillo & St. Joseph - all half a game ahead of Morro Bay & two back of Templeton. And the boys tennis squad topped Morro Bay to advance to a 8-2 league record, solidifying third place & positioning themselves to go after the league leaders.

Cabrillo The Conquistadors were not idle either. As mentioned, the softball squad, has pulled out of a mid season slump, baseball won to move into a third place tie with Santa Ynez - a game back of both Lompoc & St. Joseph. Track & Field won a huge victory over Lompoc, and a tennis unit that had been being pounded, got up off the mat, and just missed pulling off a major victory on the road.

Softball

Lompoc

March 25. Yup, the last time Jeana Carrillo gave up an earned run was March the 25. She has not allowed runs of any type since an un-earned run in the fourth inning in a 1-0 loss to Morro Bay on April 4th. The game on the 25th was a 5-0 loss to the powerhouse Buena Bulldogs - and three of those runs were also unearned. She has issued a grand total of three walks in her last seven games and NONE in the last three.

On Tuesday, it was a severe test. St. Joseph wasn't scoring, but neither were the Braves. Carrillo allowed five hits while facing 47 batters, and her teammates committed 7 errors, but they were able get outs when they needed them. Inning after inning, St Joe's Kalley Snyder continued to mow down batters - she only faced 33 and struck out 19 of them. Shandee Berryman gave the Braves hope when she doubled - but Lompoc couldn't get the run across the plate. Finally, Courtney Dosa decided that that 11 innings was enough and blasted a solo home run to end the game. It was only the third Braves hit of the game.

JV

On the other hand, this group didn't even use up their allotment of innings. They blugeoned St. Joseph off the field 13-1 in five. They had 1 strikeout on the day, while both Alyssa Miclat and Chante Frelot both had home runs. Frelot also made a great play in the field that saved three runs. Megan Maddock pitched a complete game, allowing about half a dozen hits but only the one run.

Cabrillo
From LLR Correspondent Dan Aldridge :
Cabrillo-2 vs. Santa Maria-0
Cabrillo varsity softball took advantage of their scoring opportunities to claim their second Los Padres league win. [Ed Note: 2nd consecutive, Cabrillo is 5-3 in the LPL]
Santa Mariaʼs Defense held strong until the fourth inning when Meranda Fernandes hit a one out double to right centerfield. Two batters later, Adrianna Segura poked a single to score Fernandes. The following inning, Kristina Goodchild hit her second single of the game, advanced to 3rd on the third basemanʼs throwing error off a Kelly Brown slap and dash to first base. Kelcie Jo Pecyna then hit a hard chopper to short that scored Goodchild on the throw to first.
On defense, Kiley Shae Aldridge pitched the complete game for Cabrillo, logging 10 strikeouts and allowing 2 hits. The highlight came in the seventh inning, and a runner on first base, a sharp grounder was hit to Alyssa Abayari at 2nd base who tossed it to Shelby Kuhlman (shortstop) to Alex Pino (1st) for a double play.
Cabrillo now stands side by side with Lompoc and St. Joseph in 2nd place in the Los Padres League.

Cabrillo JV won handily 11-1.

Track & Field
The Cabrillo boys handed Lompoc Head Coach Robin Luken his first ever dual meet loss to the Conquistadors as Cabrillo swept all four contests at CHS on Tuesday. The victory, the first in at least 17 years, was decisive as the Braves were swamped by Cabrillo's superior numbers. The Varsity won 87-49, the JV 81-37. The girls side was no better - the Varsity on top 90-35, the JV 78-57.
Individual race results to follow soon.

Baseball

Cabrillo
Aaron Naputi has come up big for Cabrillo often this year and the show was in full operation on Tuesday. The 5-8, 165 lb junior pitched a complete game (1 earned run, 5 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts),and was 3-4 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Cabrillo errors (3) made the game more interesting than it needed to be, but were matched by miscues by the Saints (5), as the Conq's prevailed 7-4. Duece Galvan walked thrice and scored twice. Cabrillo was 4-4 in stolen base attempts.

Lompoc
Cody Berryman excelled on the mound for the Braves as they trounced the St. Joe Knights 10-2 [Story]. Chris Mallory provided much of the offensive punch - going 2-2 with a home run, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored , and two stolen bases. Kevin Ericksen went 1-3, walk, RBI, and 2 runs scored. Brandon Alonzo tripled, Daniel Mallory doubled.

Boys Tennis

Lompoc
The Braves (11-4, 8-2 LPL) did not play well according to Head Coach Loretta Jensen, but they found a way to win. The first time around they defeated Morro Bay 14-4 - this one went down to the wire. Both coaches were tallying total games (the 1st match tiebreaker) as Lompoc clung to a 9-8 lead with only the Braves #3 doubles team still in action. The combo of Oscar Rodriguez and Cooper Barrick won in the first round, lost a tiebreaker in the second round, and pulled out a win in the last set to take the match. Alex Jensen won two sets and Robert Rodrigues & Anthony Yang each won a set in singles. The number 1 Doubles duo of Kyle Thumm and Marco Psallo swept all three of their sets.
JV Jim Steffey's undermanned Braves finally got to pick on someone their own size. Since Morro Bay's JV only had six players, the same number Lompoc has been fielding for most of the month, there were only eight sets played. Wyatt Peterson continued his excellent work at #1 singles winning twice (6-2, 6-4), and Carlos Diaz split his two sets (6-1, 4-6). Doubles units Gabriel Hernadez / Edgar Solis (3-6, 6-0) and Devin Day / Chris Aldama (6-4, 6-4) also went 3-1 giving the Braves a 6-2 victory.

Cabrillo
The Conq's (3-8, 3-11) lost a heart breaker to the Templeton Eagles on Tuesday afternoon. The score ? A 9-9 tie in sets and an Eagle advantage of one game (73-72) for the win. Once again doubles was the teams strength as they accounted for eight of Cabrillo's points. The duos of Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson and Casey Owen / David Terrones both swept and Jordan Daniels / Arjun Ayyar won two sets.
JV Both JV squads were operating without #3 singles players, and once again the Conq's suffered a close heart-rending loss (6-7) in which the doubles did the bulk of the scoring. Or in this case , all of it.Partners Alex Hurd / Calvin Hoffield and Ricky Cummings / Ricky Ruiz each swept all three of their sets for all six of Cabrillo's points. --- el stato

Schmidt Torches Record Book; Church to Pitch?

SCHMIDT ROCKS THE RECORD BOOKS

As Lompoc sports fans knew he would, JURGEN SCHMIDT has begun to plaster his name all over the swimming record books in the two months since he turned 85.

Schmidt set no less than four new U.S. national records the weekend before last at the Southern Pacific Regional Masters meet in Mission Viejo.

“I did super,” admitted the modest onetime accountant before insisting, “You don’t have to publish all this stuff.”

Oh yes, we do. This is history being made.

Schmidt, a freestyle long distance specialist, set new records in three freestyle races, the 500, 1000 and 1650, and surprised even himself with a new mark in the 400 Individual Medley.

“That was the real corker. I haven’t swam the 400 IM in five years!” he laughed.

Ironically, it was in the 400 IM that he most dramatically eclipsed the former record. In that event he smashed a mark set in 1999 by almost 10 seconds. His time was 8:36.18 and the old record was 8:45.11.

“I did OK,” he admitted. “I think that 400 IM record is going to stand, and the 1650 too.”

In two races, the 1650 and 500 freestyle, Schmidt broke his own records that he set just last month. He bettered his 1650 time by 36 seconds (28:36.66 to 29:12.63) and his 500 time by about four seconds (8:24.66 to 8:28.81).

His other record, in the 1000 free, came in a split of the 1650 and happened without Schmidt being aware of it. “The judge said, ‘By the way you just set a new record.’ I did?” Schmidt gasped as he continued swimming. The old record was 17:22.73 while Schmidt swam 17:16.01, a six-second improvement.

Schmidt now holds five U.S. national records including the 100 IM set last month. He is aiming for more as he will swim next weekend in Texas at the U.S. Nationals.

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Church Still Thinks of Pitching

Last Thursday night the New York Mets needed 14 innings to nip the Washington Nationals. They were almost out of pitchers but one was available in right field: RYAN CHURCH. Here is Marty Noble’s story from MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- The Mets' offense hardly was distinguishing itself as the extra innings mounted on Thursday night. Ten base runners and, to that point -- two out in the 14th inning -- no runs.

There was no reason to expect a tangible indication of offense -- a run -- the way the Mets were swinging. And when Brian Schneider stepped into the batter's box as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher, Scott Schoeneweis was the last man standing ... er, sitting in the Mets' bullpen.

How much longer could it go? How many innings could Schoeneweis' left arm provide?
The questions ran through the manager's mind. And the 22-inning affair between the Rockies and Padres later that night brought back questions well after a wild pitch pre-empted Schneider and allowed the Mets to beat the Nationals. Who would Willie Randolph have used if another pitcher had been needed?

Which position player might pitch in the middle of some baseball overnight hardly was an issue Randolph and general manager Omar Minaya considered when they created the roster in Spring Training, though every manager is likely to face a situation the way bullpens are used these days.

Specialists and left-handed relievers who rarely see a right-handed hitter have their places in nine-inning games. But the same bullpen usage that works for nine innings can strap a bullpen when the number of outs needed eventually exceeds 40.

Randolph addressed the situation Saturday. "We didn't get to that point, so I didn't have to think about it," Randolph said.

At least one person was, well, preparing to think about it. If Schoeneweis had pitched and Randolph needed another arm and a volunteer, a left hand would have been raised in right field.

"If [Schoeneweis] had been used, I would have started thinking about it," Ryan Church said.
Church hasn't pitched in eight years, not since he was a freshman at the University of Nevada. A slow-healing labrum injury and the team's need for an outfielder changed his position, but the recessive gene is there. Let's just say he wouldn't be opposed to spending time on the mound.

"As long as I come out of it as he winning pitcher," Church said. Spoken like a hurler.
Church denies spending more than a moment considering the possibility Thursday night.
"I just wanted us to get a run and get out of there," Church said on Saturday.

But the suspicion was that he was warming up in his mind. "Absolutely, he was," said Schneider, Church's teammate with the Nationals and Mets. "He misses it a lot."

Getting Church to talk pitching is not a problem. Schneider suggested his teammate had "good sink on his fastball" and "has a good curve," but that "his cutter is his favorite pitch."

"No, my changeup," Church said. "And I've got a knuckleball." But the changeup is what he'd throw if he needed a swing and miss. "Back in the day, I would," Church said.

Randolph was somewhat aware of Church's pitching past. "[Church has] a good arm," Randolph said. But Randolph mentioned David Wright first as the possible position player to pitch. Wright immediately withdrew from consideration. He would neither seek nor accept his manager's nomination. Memories of Jose Canseco's pitching-injured elbow?

The Mets never used a position player to pitch until Sept. 26, 1992, when Jeff Torborg tapped third baseman Bill Pecota. They were the only franchise who had used pitchers exclusively. Indeed, Davey Johnson railed against the practice, saying it demeaned the game. It should be noted that Johnson had starter Ron Darling pitch in relief in the 19-inning game the Mets played in Atlanta in July of 1985.

Since Pecota, the Mets have had five other instances of non-pitchers pitching: Matt Franco pitched twice for Bobby Valentine in 1999, Derek Bell, Desi Relaford and Todd Zeile once each in 2000, 2001 and 2004 respectively. None was urged to quit his day job.

Church is playfully confident he would be effective, though he anticipates some nervousness. "But," he said. "I think I'm better off with a bat now."

The Massive Track & Field Post-Parts 1&2

They have been holding the Santa Barbara County Track & Field Championships (usually at Carpenteria HS) for well over eighty years. Only once in that entire span had any of the female competitors thrown a shot put 42'-6" - until Lompoc's Chelsea Cassulo [above] did it again on Saturday. She tied Jenna Johnson's (St. Joseph, 2000) Meet & Stadium records as part of a series that featured numerous throws over 40 feet. She also won the Discus (119-08) and finished 8th in the 100. But, her stellar performance was not the only highlight of the meet for Lompoc valley athletes.

Part 1:Santa Barbara Co. Championships
Athletes from fourteen county teams competed in this years meet. Participants were selected based on qualifying marks from previous meets this season.

Lompoc: 9th overall (92 pts) [Boys 10th (15); Girls 5th (77)]
Top 4 placers:
Courtney Stumpo (4th 300H)
Lompoc girls #1 (2nd 4x100)
Jozza Ray (2nd LgJp, 3rd TrpJp, 4th HgJp)
Chelsea Cassulo (1st Shot Put, 1st Discus)

Cabrillo: 5th overall (157.5) [Boys 6th (91.5); Girls 6th (66)]
Top 4 placers:
Greg Watson (1st 100, 1st 200)
Miguel Ortiz (1st 1600)
Ben Li (1st 3200, 3rd 1600)
Eddie Tovar (3rd 3200, 4th 1600)
Oscar Torres (4th 3200)
Cabrillo boys #1 (4th 4x400)
Genae Harrington(1st 200, 2nd 100)
Rebekah Rogers (3rd 100, 4th 200)
Diamonne Mitchell (1st LgJp, 3rd 200)
Cabrillo girls#1 (1st 4x100)
Ashley Brost (T4th PVlt)

All Cabrillo & Lompoc Results - click on thumbnails.
Boys: Varsity
Frosh/Soph
Girls: Varsity
Frosh/Soph
Team
Complete Results

Part 2: Key Units to watch

Each track and field team is made up of several units - sprinters, distance, hurdlers, throwers, and jumpers. Every squad has strenths and weaknesses, but I thought it would be interesting to compare how a unit from each local school has done so far this year. [Click on thumbs to expand.]

Lompoc: The throwers are led by Chelsea Cassulo, who while competing for 3 of the 5 units, has excelled in the shot put & discus.

Girls - Shot & Discus

Boys - Shot & Discus

Cabrillo: Although the Conquistadores have a very strong overall team, the engine of the squad is the boys distance runners - many of whom also compete on the cross-country team. Among them are: Miguel Ortiz, Levi Block, Eddie Tovar, Ben Li, Oscar Torres, and Massimo Beeson.

Here are the distance split results from various meets:

Bearcat Relays [PRHS] 3-1-08

Morro Bay dual 3-7-08

Santa Maria dual 3-13-08

Camarillo Distance Classic 3-14-08

Santa Ynez dual 3-19-08

SB Easter Relays [SBCC] 3-22-08

St. Joseph dual 4-10-08

Parts 3 & 4 coming soon !! -- el stato

Friday, on the road

It seemed like everybody left town on Friday, with CHS & LHS baseball & softball varsities all on the road.
But the Santa Maria Saints were in town to take on the Braves @ the COLAC.

Softball


Lompoc
The Carrillo express kept rolling through the LPL as the Braves defeated Santa Maria 2-0. Jeana Carrillo pushed her scoreless inning streak to 28, allowed 3 hits, struck out 4 and walked none. The defense behind her was solid - only 1 error, and Dana Campitelli had 13 assists. Offensively, the Braves had just 3 hits, but two of them were doubles by Shandee Berryman & Carrillo. Lompoc also drew 4 walks. The Braves are now a game over .500 for the season (9-8) and in the LPL (4-3) with 5 league games remaining, and are currently tied with Cabrillo for third place. They host 2nd place St. Joseph (11-8, 5-2) on Tuesday. [Story]
JV After a very dissapointing 5-1 loss to Cabrillo, the Braves took out their frustrations on Santa Maria - blasting them 16-0 in a five inning affair at LHS. Against Cabrillo, Lompoc committed three crucial errors which led to four of the Conquistador runs, and only collected three hits. That was not the case versus the Saints. As Coach Eva Luna put it - "everybody did something positive today". She did, however, mention the fine pitching performance of Megan Maddock who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up a bloop single.

Cabrillo {Report from new LLR Correspondent Dan Aldridge}
Cabrillo Varsity softball got back on track Friday afternoon, defeating Santa Ynez 6-3.

The Conqs struck for 3 runs in the top of the first inning, another in the second inning. They were then kept in check and didnʼt score in the next four innings. When things looked to get a little close, Cabrilloʼs bats came back to life to score 2 more runs in the top of the seventh. Five conqs had two hits a piece: Shelby Kuhlman (2 RBIʼs), Kristina Goodchild (RBI), Alyssa Abayari (RBI), Bethany Radabaugh, Kelly Brown.

On defense, Kiley Shae Aldridge made her LPL debut after several weeks of shoulder rehab. The southpaw had 4 strikeouts in the first three innings and faced only 9 batters with the help of a double play of a line drive to shortstop Kuhlman who caught the runner off first base who reached earlier on an error.

In the fourth inning the Pirates struck for a run. After a ground out, 2 walks, and another groundout, the pirates had runners on 2nd & 3rd. Santa Ynez put in a pinch hitter, #2, who lined a shot up the middle. The first run scored and the second rounded third and charged home. Miranda Fernandez charged the ball hard in centerfield and came up throwing. Fernandezʼs throw was a strike to Radabaugh at the plate to place the tag for the 3rd out of the inning.

Adrianna Segura came on in relief in the fifth inning. Segura kept the Pirates down, allowing one run in the sixth and one in the seventh before completing the save.

Cabrillo (11-8, 4-3) hosts the Santa Maria Saints (6-17, 1-6) on Tuesday, and travel to 'Rock City' to take on the Morro Bay Pirates (12-8, 3-3) on Friday.

Baseball
In other LPL action Templeton (3-4) handed St. Joseph (6-1) its first LPL loss 3-2.
Cabrillo
Cabrillo (4-3, 9-11) 11, Santa Ynez (4-3, 11-8) 9
In the eighth inning at Santa Ynez, Kevin Harman's single drove in Ryan McGinty to take the lead against the Pirates. Thomas Lee's single scored Deuce Galvan for the capper. Galvan had hit a solo home run in the fifth.
Zach Pecyna (2 RBI, 4 assists), and Kevin Harmon (3-5, dbl, run, RBI) also played well.

Although the Conquistadores out-hit Santa Ynez 14-7, the Pirates won the long ball competition with home runs by Evan Soliman (2nd inning, 3 runs) & Tyler Lowry (4th inning, 3 runs).


Lompoc
At Elks Field, the Braves survived a late rally from the Santa Maria Saints and held on to win 13-12. The final out was recorded as Rodrigo Jimenez tried to extend his bases-clearing double into a triple and was thrown out at third base. Lompoc had big days offensively from Scotty Aguailar [3-3, 2 walks, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 3 stolen bases] and Dalton Rouleau [4-4, triple, walk, 4 runs, 3 stolen bases]. Chris Mallory (2-2) has an amazing four stolen bases. The Braves, now 9-11 (5-2 LPL) host St. Joseph on Tuesday before traveling to Dos Pueblos on Friday for a non-league match-up.
[Story]

Swimming

Cabrillovs St. Joseph @ CHS

Girls won 113-53
Boys won 120-43

Both Conquistadores' squads dominated for easy victories, but several St Joe athletes had high quality performances. For Cabrillo, Rachel Nelson took the 200 Free (2:15.50) and 100 Back (1:12.94), while Casey Ogan took the 200 Free (2:06.57) and the 50 Free (24:27).
Swimming CIF qualification times for the Knights were sophomore Erica Brannon in winning the 200 IM (2:21.16) & 50 Free (26.30), Maddie Mastrup in the 500 Free (5:29.0). Senior Jeremiah Palmerston won the 100 Fly (1:00.09), and set the school record in the 100 Breast(1:12.42). All Distances in yards.

Lompoc

Boys: Varsity lost 61-95, JV lost 43-82
Girls: Varsity lost 57-109, JV won 94-65
Complete meet results to be posted.



Alumni
[From the AP]
VENTURA - Hancock College singles players Kacie Guggia and Elysha McLain (CHS) advanced to the second round before losing in the Western State Conference Women's Tennis Tournament at Ventura College Friday.Guggia blanked Glendale's Kenya Aguilar 6-0, 6-0 in the first round, then lost 6-3, 6-0 to Bakersfield's Katie O'Leary in the second. McLain had a first-round bye, then lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Megan Raphael of Bakersfield. Hancock's Isabel Ugeux, Ashley Brady (also CHS), Francesca Sanchez and Maty Martinez all lost in the first round.Ugeux and Sanchez, and Guggia and Brady lost in straight sets in the doubles tournament. McLain and Martinez had a first-round bye today. They will play at 11 a.m. today at Ventura. -- el stato

Church Leads NL in Scoring; Boo Sharp

RYAN SCORES, AGAIN

RYAN CHURCH scored three times Friday night as the Mets beat their National League East rivals the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4.

Church went 2-for-4 with a base on balls. He is now batting .333 after 15 games.

He also leads the major leagues (OK, tied with two others) in runs scored with 16. In that #2 batting slot he is getting on base and David Wright among others is driving him in. This blazing start has to be attracting attention. Could this be an All-Star year?

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Boo Drawing Attention

BOO JACKSON connected on four of five passes in the University of Ohio Bobcats' first spring scrimmage. He is locked in a battle with Theo Scott for the quarterback job in the fall. Here is the latest from OU writer Matt O'Donnell.

Published: Friday, April 18, 2008
The Battle for Quarterback: Boo Jackson
Matt O'Donnell / Staff Writer / mo134405@ohiou.edu

Boo Jackson traveled a long way to get to Athens, but he still has much further to go before his real talent shows.

The junior-college transfer traveled more than 2,300 miles from El Camino junior college in Torrance, Calif., to compete with Theo Scott for the starting quarterback job. Not only does he have to digest a new playbook and a new part of the country, but he also must adjust to a new school.

“I’m getting pretty used to it,” Jackson said. “These first couple of weeks I had to find everything, all my classes, Chubb Hall and all these places, so it’s definitely a slow process right now. But after everything cools down, I’ll be all right.”

Making the transition a little easier is the fact that former teammate, safety Hilton Dawson, III, came to Ohio with him.

While Dawson and Jackson were at El Camino, Dawson said that the two hit it off right away. They are now roommates and helping each other get acclimated.

“We kind of got out on our own and did a little traveling around Athens,” Dawson said. “I pick his brain and he picks mine, and it’s helping.”

Jackson came into spring practice as a highly touted, four-star quarterback. Last season he was 134-of-223 for 2,235 yards with 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions, leading his team to a conference championship. The year before that, he led his team to a state title.
But there are some differences between the junior college level and Division I-A.

“Definitely the tempo,” Jackson said. “Out here it’s more physical, (there’s) more conditioning and more everything.”

Much like Scott did last season, Boo has taken his lumps this spring.

Jackson is a more pocket-oriented quarterback than Scott and the option that coach Frank Solich likes to run has taken some getting used to. He is also working on getting the timing right between himself and his receivers.

“He is what we thought we were getting,” quarterbacks coach Gerry Gdowski said. “He has a really strong arm. I think he can do some athletic things, and for a guy that has been on campus and has never thrown a ball with any of our guys until a little over a week ago, he’s done very well.

“For him to really understand the offense, you can’t really expect that at this point.”

At times, Jackson has shown flashes of why Ohio’s coaches recruited him. In the first scrimmage of the spring, Jackson was 4-of-5 passing for 38 yards, which included a nice touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Petersen in the corner of the end zone.

But as Boo will tell you, he isn’t anywhere close to where he wants to be. “I’m still learning the offense,” Jackson said. “I’m looking like a little rookie right now, but once I get that offense down, it’s a new person.”

Track and Tennis (& Golf) Thursday

Alex Jensen



The Lompoc Braves hosted the Cabrillo Conquistadors boys tennis team at Dave Bickmore Courts, the Santa Ynez Pirate boys & girls track teams at Huyck Stadium on Thursday with significantly different results. Meanwhile both schools golf teams were at the LPL tournament in Santa Maria.

Tennis

Lompoc / Cabrillo

"It looks like a whole lot of Lompoc, and a little bit of Cabrillo" said Cabrillo Head Coach Dan Troup. His charges have run into some real buzzsaws recently as they faced the top teams in the LPL. They fell by wide margins to St. Joseph, and Santa Ynez then dropped a 16-2 match to the Braves on Thursday.
The Braves were totally dominant in singles, as Alex Jensen (all 6-0), Robert Rodriguez (6-0,6-1,6-1), and Anthony Yang (6-4,6-1,6-3) all swept Cabrillo singles players Casey Owen, Ben Brady, and Eric Wang. Yang was competing in singles for the first time since 2005.
The Cabrillo points were scored by the doubles unit of Andrew Shewell & Ryan Anderson who topped Lompoc's #1 Kyle Thumm /Marco Psallo 6-4 and #3 Cooper Barrick / Oscar Rodriguez in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-1). Thumm/ Psallo had two wins- 6-4 over Jose Flores/ Tanner Stark & 6-3 over Arjun Ayyar/ Jordan Daniels, while the #3's defeated the same two units 6-3 & 6-2. Lompoc's #2 doubles, Joel Martin and Jesus Abrego, swept all three sets 6-0, 6-4, 6-0.
Jensen is now 26-2 this season, and Lompoc moved to 9-4 (7-2 LPL). Cabrillo is now 3-7 in the LPL. [Story]
JV Cabrillo won 15-3 as the Braves forfeited six sets due to lack of players.

Track and Field

Both local high schools will send squads to the SB County Meet at Carpenteria on Saturday [See entries Here], before taking on each other at Cabrillo on Tuesday. The LPL prelims are a week from Saturday, with the finals a week from Tuesday.

Lompoc
The Braves faced a tough opponent in the Santa Ynez Pirates and dropped 3 of the 4 contests. Only the varsity girls pulled out a squeaker.
Varsity: Boys lost 39-97 ; Girls won 70-66.
JV: Boys lost 30-78 ; Girls lost 38-80.

Lompoc Winners
Boys Varsity
Jake Morehart - 110 H (17.49) & 330 (46.42)
Milton Royster- 100 (10.68)
Masson Blow - 200 (24.27), Lg Jp (20-10), & Tpl Jp (45-4.5)

Girls Varsity
Lompoc #1 - 4x100 (53.20)
Courtney Stumpo - 100 H (17.08) & 300 H (49.90)
Megan Wales - 440 (1:03.86)
Chelsea Cassulo - 100 (12.46) & Shot Put (38-0.5)
Cameron Lizzaraga - Hgh Jp (4-2)
Jozza Ray - Lg Jp (16-9.5)

Boys JV
Lompoc #1 - 4x100 (48.58)
D'shawn Taylor - 100 (11.46)
Lavon Haynes - Lg Jp (17-6.25)

Girls JV
Lompoc #1 - 4x100 (56.99)
Sameeha Husayn - 100 H (21.11) & 300 H (58.19)

Complete Results In a Massive T & F Post on Saturday / Sunday.

Cabrillo
Finally - the results from last weeks St. Joseph meet are availible.
Complete Results In a Massive T & F Post on Saturday.

Golf

Cabrillo
The Conquistadors defeated the visiting Morro Bay Pirates 229- 235 on Wednesday [Story]. The teams played nine holes at the Village Country Club. Jeff Martin (CHS) and Matt Hanson (MBHS) tied for medalist honors at 40.
The Cabrillo scores : #1 Perry Naughton -44, #2 Aaron Hay -52, #3 Jeff Martin -40, #4 Drew Langston -45, #5 Mike Morgan -48.
Morro Bay scores : #1 Matt Hanson -40, #2 Eric Olsen -41, #3 Austin Peters -53, #4 Carl Green -56

LPL Tourney #5 was contested at Santa Maria's Rancho Maria Golf Course on Thursday. Led by Medalist Tyler Shean's 72, Santa Ynez won the team title. Local leaders were Perry Naughton (84)for Cabrillo and Brent Van Dyke (76) for Lompoc.
Team Results:
Santa Ynez -395
Morro Bay -405
St. Joseph -413
Cabrillo -442
Lompoc -455
Santa Maria -517
Templeton had no score


Individual Scores


Lompoc
Brent Van Dyke 76, Brian Magann 88, Tyler Grossi 94, Alex Stone 92, Abie Luna 105.

Cabrillo
Perry Naughton 84, Jeff Martin 85, Aaron Hay 87, Drew Langston 91, Joe Pensabene 95.