Diamond, Pools

Erica Elenes starts her anchor leg for the Lompoc varsity in the 200 relay.

On Friday, the diamond squads from both local high schools all had the varsity on the road and the JV at home. They both also were scheduled to host swim meets, but the meet at Cabrillo was reportedly postponed due to the failure of the heater at their pool (anyone up for swimming in an unheated pool in the Lompoc valley on a windy April afternoon ? - guess not). Saturday saw the completion of the Cabrillo JV Softball Tournament, with an outstanding Championship game, and a scheduled double-header for the Lompoc and Cabrillo freshmen baseball teams. Next week the diamond squads play LPL foes Templeton (Lompoc) and St. Joseph (Cabrillo) before facing each other on Friday.

Baseball

Lompoc
Varsity [6-10, 2-1]: At Morro Bay (5-10, 0-3), Cody Berryman went the distance for the Braves, striking out six and allowing one run on two hits and two walks. Lompoc bats were not idle as the team scored two runs each in the first, third, and sixth innings. They also tacked on a run in the fifth, and won going away 7-1. Kevin Ericksen hit two doubles (2-4, walk, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI), Brandon Alonzo had a triple (1-3, run scored), Scott Aguailar went 2-3 with a walk,an RBI, and an incredible FIVE stolen bases, Dalton Rouleau (1-3, walk, RBI) scored two runs, and Daniel Mallory drove in two runs. Lompoc outhit Morro Bay 7-2 , but was helped by the Pirate pitchers who issued 7 free passes (6 walks, 1 hit batter) while striking out seven in the error plagued (Lompoc 5, MB 3) game.

Cabrillo
Varsity [8-8, 3-1]: On the road at Templeton (5-8, 1-2), the Conquistadors jumped on the Eagles early with four runs in the first inning, and cruised to a 7-3 victory. Templeton scored solo runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings (including a Casey Bogart homer), but Cabrillo added a run in the fourth and two in the seventh to preserve the margin.
Brian Engler allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in his seven innings of work, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, and hitting two batters. Offensively Cabrillo had four doubles among their ten hits, plus a walk and a hit batter.

Swimming
Cabrillo: As noted above the Santa Maria - Cabrillo meet has been postponed. No reschedule date information is availible yet.

Lompoc
There have been some disrepancies in the scores received from various sources, but the upshot of all of them is that the Lompoc boys won at both levels, while the girls both lost by fairly narrow margins.
Boys Varsity 101-56
Lompoc won all three relays:
Lompoc #1 - 200M Medley Relay (2:07.10)
{Alex Uribe,Kyle Pickles,Robert Macias,Carl Thacker}
Lompoc #1 - 200M Freestyle Relay (1:53.69)
{Alex Uribe, Ryan Lynch, Jack Setti, Mike Ostrander}
Lompoc #1 - 400M Freestyle Relay (4:09.19)
{Carl Thacker,Robert Macias,Kyle Pickles,Ryan Lynch}

Individual Lompoc winners:
Mike Ostrander - 200M Indiv. Medley (2:37.56), & 500M Freestyle (6:02.80)
Robert Macias - 100M Butterfly (1:10.56)
Kyle Pickles - 100M Freestyle (56.99), & 100M Breaststroke (1:14.58)
Alex Uribe - 100M Backstroke (1:11.36)

For Morro Bay, Sam Melloni won the 50M Freestyle (26.71), and Trent won the 200M Freestyle (1:53.38).

Boys JV Forfeit win
Morro Bay did not field a boys JV Team. Only two boys JV events were held, although a JV team also did participate in one of the relays. This may account for some of the scoring differences in the reports, as some may have included points for the JV team in the Varsity totals and others did not.

The Two races were the 100M Freestyle won by Josh Rondash in 1:13.04, and the 200M Freestyle also won by Josh Rondash (2:39.53).

Girls Varsity 67-91
The girls suffered several bad breaks on the day. Some of them became ill, and there were several notable technical disqualifications, particularly the DQ of the winning #1 unit in the initial race of the day - the 200M Medley Relay.

Lompoc winners were:
Kimly Hoang - 200IM (2:53.98)
Andrea Caballero - 50M Free (28.83), & 100M Free (1:03.74)
and the 200M Relay (2:01.34) team of Kimly Hoang, Suzanne Silva, Shelby Carpenter, and Andrea Caballero.

Special mention should be made of Morro Bay's Laura Clark - who swam on winning relay teams (200M Medley, 400M Free), but also posted CIF Qualification times in the 200M Freestyle (2:01.80) and the 500M Freestyle (5:30.43). If you want to know how good those times are - compare with the boys winning times above.

Girls JV 56-92
Lompoc winners were Stepanie Cardoza - 50M Free (38.57), and Crystal Hutchins - 100M Free (1:25.50)

NOTE: One of these days I'll get complete swimming (& track) results up.

Softball

Cabrillo
Varsity At Templeton the Conquistadores were able to jump out to an early lead by manufacturing two runs in the top of the first, but Eagle star Kat Hicks quickly settled in and shut out Cabrillo for the rest of the game. Hicks, the 2006 SLO County Player of the Year, 2007 All-CIF First Team, and Dartmouth signee, went the distance, giving up 5 hits, walking two, and striking out five. The senior laden Eagles, used help from the local youngsters (4 walks, 2 errors) to go along with 11 hits in erasing the Cabrillo advantage and take the game 7-2. The Eagles scored 1-2 runs in every inning they batted in - except the fourth.
JV The Cabrillo JV pounded the Eagles 11-1.

Lompoc
Varsity Against Morro Bay, the Braves wasted a fine pitching performance by Jeana Carrillo (3 hits, 2 walks, and seven strike-outs). They gave up an unearned run in the fourth inning and had offensive inconsistancy. Lompoc had problems solving Pirate starter Kim Dauer, who walked none and struck-out five, but they did get five hits and left five runners on base.

JV The Braves were clinging to a 1-0 margin over the visitors in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Pirate ship suddenly sank. Lompoc loaded the bases with 1 out, and then got a double and two thowing errors at the plate - 4-0, runner on third. Sacrifice grounder - 5-0, 2 out. Single, single, throwing error - 6-0, two out, runner on third. A strike-out ended the inning, but the damage was done.
Catrina "CataChill" Chill quickly stopped the Pirates in the top of the fifth, and the Braves onslaught continued. Marissa Brady started things off with a single. She went to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base, as Breanna "the Bruise" Liss battled at the plate before striking out. Monica Gaitan sacrificed Brady home - 7-0. Chantel Frelot walked, and a Megan Maddock single with a throwing error put runners on second & third. Mariah Lashore [picture] came to the plate, batting in her less-than-preferred "lefty" mode, and promptly laced a liner down the line and just over the glove of the leftfielder for an apparent double. The ball and the speedy Lashore both kept going, however. The ball almost to the fence and Mariah all the way to home plate, where she beat the relay throw for an inside the park homer. A strike-out ended the inning and the game as Lompoc's 10 run lead after the fifth inning activated the "mercy rule".

Cabrillo JV Tournament
Both local squads participated in this tourney the last two weekends. Both units went 3-1 losing only to the powerhouse lineup from Paso Robles. Lompoc, unfortunately, did it in their initial game by a 6-0 score. They bounced back by beating Carpenteria (5 ? -0), Santa Maria (18-0), and Templeton (8 ? -5) for the Consolation Championship.



Cabrillo (15-2) pounded Santa Maria 30-4,and beat Righetti 4-1 & Atascadero 6-1 to set up a showdown with the 15-0 Bearcats for the Championship. The 'Cats brought a in 15-0 record, and tournament wins over Lompoc (6-0), 4th place Atascadero (14-1), and third place Righetti (14-0).


Jessica " Big Red" Rucinski pitched two strong games Saturday for the Conquistadors. Why "Big Red" for the diminutive Jess - because she is slightly larger than fellow freshman and shopvac-like shortstop "Lil' Red" Colby Edman, who is almost an optical illusion, and because she has truly played big for the Conq's this season. She proved it again on Saturday when she allowed 2 runs in 14 innings of work.


The Championship Final was one of those tense, 'anything- can- happen -at anytime' affairs. They almost needed oxygen and defribulators in the stands for the parents, and some other fans, in attendance. Seriously, it was one of the best games I've seen this year - any sport, any level ! Cabrillo lost the coin toss before the game - so they were the visiting team. They were, it is true, a hundred yards or so from their normal digs and were playing on the varsity field.
The fireworks actually began before the game, however, when the umpire informed Paso Robles Head Coach Tina Kratz that they were in violation of certain somewhat obscure rules concerning the coaching staff which though very correctable, were irritating. The two women had a bit of a verbal exchange and Kratz was not a happy camper.
Cabrillo, then, led off the top of the first with emotions and expectations high. They quickly established a pattern they would repeat throughout the day. Leadoff hitter Ashala Marin bunted and reached safely on a throwing error. After a strike-out, one of eight recorded by Paso pitcher Amanda Searcy, Marin stole second, and moved to third on a groundout sacrifice. Unfortunately, she was stranded there as the next batter ground out to 2nd base. Cabrillo would put runners on base in 6 of the 7 innings, including getting runners to third base four times - but could not push one in.

In the bottom of the first, following a groundout, Rucinski would surrender a walk after working to a full count. Katie Hartman then stole second base, but was cut down at third on a fielder's choice comebacker to the pitcher. The runner left on first also attempted to steal second, and according to the umpire was sucessfull in beating a great throw by Shyann Morrow. The next batter, Alexa Munoz, drilled a laser beam through the wind into right field for a single, and Kratz, coaching at third, sent the runner home. Morrow completely cut off the plate, the throw was right on the mark, and the runner was called out - ending the inning.
Coach Kratz was incensensed and let her feelings on the matter be known in no uncertain terms. This resulted in her being restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game. Over the next four innings, Cabrillo allowed only two baserunners. One got on and reached second base on an error at first in the 2nd, the other singled over second, stole second, and was cut down trying to steal third. The next baserunner for Paso was in the sixth inning, on the seventh comebacker to the pitcher, she knocked it down but was unable to control it and the second baseman's throw to first was not in time. Rucinski ended the threat with a strikeout on one of the prettiest change-ups you'll ever see.
And so to the seventh. Shyann Morrow nailed a shot to right field, which was different because she had been drilling them, mostly fowl, down the third base line all day. This one was the same in one regard - in was right at someone for an out. A strikeout, a hit batter, and a grounder to short ended the Cabrillo half of inning with people wondering about the tie-breaker rules.
But it was not to be. Munoz slammed a ball into the wind and the small gap between short and third - it got maybe five feet onto the grass. A walk put runners on first & second, and a perfect bunt to the right side loaded them up. There followed a quick strikeout and the Conquistador faithful thought about breathing again. But Cassie Ortega came off the bench and dropped a really nice bunt down on the right side, but it looked like it might just have enough speed to go foul. With the runner racing home from third, the firstbaseman had to decide - wait and see if it goes out or try and get the runner. She tried to get the runner. The throw was just..a.. tad ..... late.
It was a great afternoon at the ballpark, the snackbar was open, the sun was shining, some people were mad at the ump, the game was a classic between two good and evenly matched teams, there were plenty of things to discus (argue ?) about, and .....there were three more games at the Little League fields across the parking lot. -- el Stato

Clutch Pitching Down the Stretch

Adrianna Segura handcuffs another Pirate.



The Lompoc baseball & Cabrillo softball teams both needed and received clutch pitching performances to win, while Cabrillo baseball just needed someone to finally shut the door.

Softball

Cabrillo Varsity [10-6, 3-0]
"This was one of the sweeter ones" Head Coach Doug Meeder remarked after the Conquistadors 5-4 victory over the Morro Bay Pirates, "We've won ten games, and some of those were good teams - but this was a real quality win". It was particularly nice because, as Coach Meeder put it, "We lost to them twice last year. We went up there and embarrassed ourselves, and then they beat us here with a come from behind win".
Cabrillo faced a similar possibility on Tuesday, and errors were the problem. They had staked the visitors to a three run lead (2 unearned), got one run back in the third, and roared to a 5-3 advantage with four runs in the fourth. But in the top of the 5th inning they gave Morro Bay an opportunity by loading the bases with Pirates that shouldn't have been there.
At that point, stalwart sophomore starter Adrianna Segura (now 7-1) took over. She did what she usually does and rose to the occasion, getting out of the inning with only one run scoring, and shutting Morro Bay down in the next two innings. Meeder especially liked her performance in the top of the seventh - " I've seen a lot of situations like that where you get a walk or a blooper and that starts something, but Adrianna went out there and it was grounder, grounder, pop-up, and lets go home." [Story]

Four Cabrillo players went 2-3 at the plate: Alyssa Abayari (run scored), Kelly Brown (double, single, and run scored), Shelby Kuhlman ( a 3-run homer, 2 runs scored), and Levena Linderholm (1 RBI). Alex Pino walked and scored a run. The game represented the first action behind the plate for Linderholm. One of last year's stars, the senior catcher had missed most of the season to date due to injury, with only limited action in the recently completed Arroyo Grande Tournament - including some time at second base!
Cabrillo travels to Templeton on Friday (4:00 pm).

JV The first day of the Cabrillo JV Tournament was held on Saturday. Each of the eight teams involved played two games. Cabrillo defeated Santa Maria & Righetti (who beat Templeton) and Lompoc lost to Paso Robles before beating Carpenteria (who lost to Atascadero). On Saturday, 5 April, Cabrillo will play Atascadero @ 3 pm; Lompoc will play either Santa Maria or Templeton at 11:00 am.

Baseball
[Story - scroll down after jump]

Lompoc Varsity {5-10, 1-1}
The Braves struck early versus the Santa Barbara Dons and held on with some more of that clutch pitching late. They put up a quick three runs in the first inning on doubles by Chris Mallory (1 RBI) and Scott Aguailar (2 RBI), and were up 3-1 in the top of the fifth when the Dons cut the lead to one when a sacrifice fly to left brought home a runner from third. It would be the first of three consecutive innings in which Santa Barbara would get a runner to third base with just one out. Starter Ryan Bower (6 innings, 2 earned runs, 8 hits, no walks, 2 strike-outs) managed to stop the bleeding , and get out of the inning. However, he was called upon to do it again in the top of the sixth. A hit, a steal, and a sacrifice put the runner on third - one out. Bower got out of the inning with a fielder's choice (on a dropped pop-up) and a groundout. Dalton Rouleau, who relieved in the seventh, also faced life with a runner on third base. With one down, he surrendered a walk and a double to short center. An intentional walk loaded the bases, but a strike-out, and a pop-up ended the game. Rouleau went one inning gave up one hit, 2 walks, and struck out two.
Besides the two doubles, Lompoc only had one other hit, a single by Brandon Alonzo, and three walks, two tallied by Kevin Ericksen. Alonzo, C. Mallory, & Ericksen all scored.

[NOTE: Through 100 innings this year Lompoc pitchers have given up 91 runs (59 earned), 120 hits, only 30 walks (but 18 hit batsmen), and struck out 61.]
On Friday, Lompoc heads to Morro Bay, at 3:30 they play.

JV The Junior Varsity went 2-1 in the recent Righetti JV Tournament. They were thumped 10-0 by Righetti, beat Paso Robles 9-7 by holding off a Bearcat surge at the end (5 runs in the 7th), and reportedly defeated Cabrillo by a score of 10-6.


Cabrillo Varsity {7-8, 2-1}
The Conquistadors were cruising, up 13-0 on Morro Bay with Aaron Naputi looking for the complete game shutout. When errors on back-to-back plays (the second easily a double play ball if properly handled), followed by a double over second base, allowed the Pirates to score a run. They put five on the board before the Conq's were able to get off the field at the end of the game. Cabrillo had scored early (7 runs in the 1st), combining some timely hitting with numerous errors, walks, and hit batsmen provided by the Pirates. But a win is a win and the hosts took this one 13-5.

Naputi gave up four hits in his six innings work and was also a force at the plate. He had 3 RBI's while going 3-4 with a walk, single, double, and triple. The homer that would have completed the cycle went instead to Brian Engler (his first) in the 2nd inning, he scored two runs to go with his two RBI's.

Boys Tennis

Cabrillo

Varsity The strenth of the Conquistadors this year has been doubles - a fact never more in evidence than on Tuesday when they used a 9-0 sweep in doubles to offset a 3-6 deficit in singles and defeat Santa Maria 12-6 at thwe CHS courts.
The Andrew Shewell / Ryan Anderson duo lost only 3 games (6-2,6-0,6-1) in sweeping three sets. Jordan Daniels / Arjun Ayyer (6-4,6-3,6-2) and Casey Owens / Jose Flores (6-1,6-3,6-0) also swept.
In singles,the Saints German exchange student Daniel Borcharding dominated, sweeping all three of his sets 6-0. Eric Wang (2) and Ben Brady won sets for Cabrillo.
JV At Santa Maria, the formula was different but the result was similar - Cabrillo won 10-8. Alex Hibbs, Ray Moreno, and Franky Calderia each won two singles sets. The doubles struggled a bit. Ricky Cummings / Ryan Brady won a set. Matt Stumreitter / Dan Garmendia won one set and lost another in a tiebreaker. The big news, however, was that the David Terrones / Jeff Rodriguez pairing lost their first set in league play (6-4). The loss improved their focus apparently - they won the next two 6-0, 6-0 .

Lompoc

Varsity The St. Joseph Knights rode roughshod over the Braves at the Dave Bickmore Courts on the LHS campus. In the midst of the 16-2 shellacking, the lone bright spot for the Braves was Alex Jensen - and even he faltered. Jensen dropped a set he had led to Jake Ezez 5-7 , before scoring Lompoc's only two points with 6-1 and 6-0 wins over Joseph Fisher Ortiz & Rafa Ferriera respectively. The doubles teams of Anthony Yang / Kyle Thumm [6-7 (8-10)] and Joel Martin / Jesus Abrego [6-7 (2-7)] each lost tiebreakers to the combo of James King / Broderick Cooper.

JV From Coach Jim Steffey:

"St. Joe's clearly had more match experience and it showed in the final results. Out of the 12 matches contested, we won three. Both of my singles players, beat a very good number three singles player from St. Joe's. The good news is my JV players are winning the matches that they should win (if that makes any sense). They continue to show improvement, and are starting to hit 'winning shots,' vs waiting for the opponent to make mistakes.

My number one doubles team of Gabriel Hernandez and Edgar Solis won vs. the number three team from St. Joe's, and were competitive against the number two team (unfortunately, Gabriel suffered a knee injury early in the set, and St. Joe's exploited that weakness for the remainder of the match. . . I'll have to wait for later today to see the extent of Gabriel's injury, after he visit's the trainer, Coach Blanco).

It looks like we will be finishing the season with only 6 (out of 9) players. Winning matches will be difficult because of the points that we have to forfeit. I told my players, however, that I am going to be looking at the matches that we actually compete in to determine our success. I will keep you posted. I am looking forward to a much more competitive second round."

Wyatt Peterson 4-6,0-6,6-2
Carlos Diaz 2-6,3-6,6-3
Hernandez/Solis 1-6,3-6,6-2
Chris Aldama/Devin Day 2-6,2-6,2-6

Golf

Lompoc The Braves boys golf squad had contests on successive days to start the week. They traveled to the Morro Bay Golf Club on Monday for an LPL dual match which they lost 212-247, and then defeated the Coast Union Broncos 243-272 on the front nine at home (La Purisima Golf Course) on Tuesday.

The lone senior on the unit, Brent Van Dyke, led Lompoc on both occasions firing a 45 on Monday, and a 43 on Tuesday. The Medalist on Monday was Eric Olsen of Morro Bay with a 39, while on Tuesday Van Dyke tied with Coast Union's Chris More for the Honors. Abie Luna was just off the pace with a 45.

Individual scores at Morro Bay were:
Lompoc-
Brent Van Dyke (45), Alex Stone (54), Brian Magann (49), Abie Luna (47), Tyler Grossi (58), & Tyler Grossini (52).
Morro Bay-
Eric Olsen (39), Casey Weiss (41), Jeff Dzaughber (40), Lucas Meisinger (49), Tony Breska (47), Austin Peters (45).

Julia Heath
Things did not quite go as expected (or hoped) for LHS alumnus Julia Heath and her Cal-Poly (SLO) compatriots at the NCAA Western Regional Preview hosted by Sacramento St. University at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Lincoln, CA .
Heath the mainstay of the squad the last two years, finally suffered her 'sophomore slump'. She posted two of her worst rounds (84, 80) of the season before recovering her form with a two over par 74 on Tuesday.

In competition last year Julia shot in the 80's in 8 of the 22 rounds in which she played, including rounds of 84, 85, and her worst - 87. This season she only had one round of her 12 in the 80's - an 80 posted last fall. Her third round 74 was the 6th time she carded a 75 or lower as a sophomore.
The adventure began on Monday when, after consecutive pars, her shotgun start position dumped her on the back nine of the Orchard Course. She ran off a string of three bogeys in a row and then celebrated with a triple bogey on the 13th hole. She never could get untracked and later added double bogey on the fifth hole.
The young Mustangs finished tied for 14th out of 19 schools. They had been in 11th place after two rounds (305, 308), but fell because just when Heath recovered her stroke - the others on the team posted rounds of 80, 84, 80, and 83 for a third round team score of 317.
They will next compete at the Wolfpack Invitational in Reno on the 14 & 15 of April. --- el stato

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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