Church Returns; Aztecs Stay Hot; Dotzler on TV

mlb spring training

He's Baaaaaack

RYAN CHURCH returned to the New York Mets from his week of concussion recovery on Saturday. The concussion resulted from the play shown in the photo here when he collided with first baseman Marlon Anderson.

Church made his comeback one to remember with a ringing 2-for-2 day. He is now batting .308, the highest spring training average of any of the Mets’ expected regular season starters.

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College Women's Water Polo

Aztecs Keep on Blazing

In Irvine Friday the No. 6-ranked San Diego State women’s water polo team edged UC Irvine 6-5. Senior goalkeeper HEATHER FENSKE anchored a stellar defensive effort with 12 saves in front of the cage. It was her sixth game with double digit saves.

Then Sunday in San Diego the Aztecs downed UCSB 10-8 as San Diego took an early 5-0 lead. Junior Anna Gonzales notched her team-leading 40th goal on the Aztecs' opening possession then SDSU struck again on its next trip down the pool. Jenna Schuster got elevation on a pass from senior co-captain BECCA UR and tipped the ball into the net during a 6-5 opportunity. Fenske notched four saves. Her total is now 147, her average 8.2 per game. The Aztecs are now 16-2 on the season and 3-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

UCSB had lost on Saturday as well, this by 6-5 to San Jose State, but freshman KATHRYN NELSON netted her third college goal. Her score came in the fourth quarter and chopped the Spartan lead to a single goal. The Gauchos are now 4-12 overall and 0-6 in conference.

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College basketball

Huskies Slip in 2OT

Washington State nipped Washington in double overtime Saturday 76-73. Barring an unlikely invitation to postseason play the defeat ends the Huskies’ season at 16-15 and 7-11 in the PAC-10. Junior JOEL SMITH saw only three minutes of action. Of 31 games Joel played in all of them and started 11. Most of his starts came early in the season. He averaged 14.8 minutes overall. He averaged 3.8 ppg and racked up 42.9% from beyond the arc.

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Sports TV

Dotzler to Appear on Lompoc Locker Room

Allan Hancock College's hard-hitting third-baseman COREY DOTZLER will appear on Lompoc Locker Room, the TV Show Monday at 5:30 p.m. on Comcast Channel 25.

Weekender--Fenske Stars in SD's Roaring Start

Heather Fenske, Lompoc's "Rudy"

In the feel-good story of the winter San Diego State is 5-0 and won the weekend UC San Diego women’s water polo tournament. Better yet, a Lompocan was the star of the event…a most unexpected Lompocan at that

Senior goalie HEATHER FENSKE was a dominant force as she recorded a career-high 14 saves in the San Diego State Aztecs' season-opening 11-8 victory against Hartwick last week.

Then, just to show that performance was no fluke, Fenske turned in nine more in a 13-6 whipping of Maryland and eight later in the day in an 11-6 triumph over Cal State Northridge in the first two games of the UCSD Triton Invitational.

In the semifinal Sunday the Aztecs won 8-6 over UCSB, Fenske registering 10 saves, and in the title game the ‘Tecs won yet again, 10-9 over Loyola-Marymount. Fenske totaled five blocks. In 13 seasons SD State had never before won the UC San Diego early season tournament.

Fenske had scarcely played in it before. She played in just nine matches out of 30 each of the last two years and has won just one letter over three seasons, but she is a six-time scholar athlete at SDSU.

Aztec co-captain BECCA UR netted three goals in the five contests and against UCSB led the defense with four steals.

Earlier in the tournament KATHRYN NELSON of UCSB scored her first collegiate goal in a 16-15 victory over Hartwick.

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College Hoops

Joel
Thursday JOEL SMITH got 17 minutes and scored two points as the Washington Huskies lost their fourth straight Pac-10 basketball game, this to USC. On Saturday when the Huskies snapped the loss skein upsetting #5-ranked UCLA Joel got only four minutes.

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Geoff
Friday in St. Paul, Minnesota GEOFF WEST scored six but the University of Mary fell to the outside shooting of Concordia 86-59. On Saturday West scored eight but the Marauders lost 58-56 to Minnesota-Moorhead in the final three seconds. The Marauders slip to 6-18 with the loss and 3-12 in the Northern Sun.

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College baseball

JAKE KOUGL
JAKE KOUGL is on the South Dakota State baseball roster for his senior year after serving as the Jackrabbits’ closer in 2007. Kougs totaled nine saves to lead the team. He posted an ERA of 3.38

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JC baseball

Hancock
At Hancock COREY DOTZLER must like openers. He rapped two hits for two RBIs in a 6-4 victory over Taft in the Bulldogs’ season opener. Then in the home opener on February 5 he did the exact same thing—two rips, two RBIs. But he wasn’t done. On February 8 against West Hills he rapped two more, including a three-run homer. On Saturday against Rio Hondo he was good for two more including a double. En Fuego!

On February first at Reedley KIRK FRIDRICH notched his first win of the season in a 2 1/3 –inning outing against College of the Sequoias.

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SB City College
At SBCC JOHNATHON TERRONES is batting .222 after 2-for-9 in six of the Vaqueros’ first seven games. One of those raps was a triple. Catcher BRIAN GREGORY has gotten into two games and in one at-bat has an on-base percentage of 1.000. He drew a walk. Pitcher JAMES ROOT has taken the mound for one inning. He struck out one, walked one, and gave up one earned run.

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Boxing
ROY'S BOXING GYM MOVING AGAIN

Effectively immediately, Roy's Boxing Gym will be moving to 960 East Chestnut or next door to the Lompoc Food Pantry. Contact Coach Baca at 588-2901 for more information.

Kellie Rules; Solomon, Geoff & Jason on TV

KELLIE GEORGE, more KELLIE GEORGE, and still more KELLIE GEORGE.

KELLIE GEORGE, the founder, organizer and all-league star of the Cabrillo girls golf team, expanded her already startling lead today in Lompoc Locker Room’s “Peoples Choice Award” balloting.

From a seven-vote lead yesterday Ms. George’s admirers pushed her margin to nine over water polo’s KATHRYN NELSON. SARAH UR trails one vote behind Nelson (11-2-1). No other female athlete has even been mentioned in two days of voting.

The femme side of the gender gap has drawn the majority of interest thanks to the George avalanche.

Even DANNY DUFFY, the Cabrillo-turned-pro-hot prospect who blitzed the Select Panel’s voting, can only boast about half of what George has generated (six to Ms. George’s eleven).

Still, he leads his Male Athlete category by three votes over water polo scorer WES HAIN and by five over MLB’s RYAN CHURCH and CHS cross-country leader MIGUEL ORTIZ (6-3-1-1).

In the Team of the Year category the Cabrillo girls water polo team continues one vote ahead of Lompoc High girls soccer and the Babe Ruth League Elks.

In very slow voting for Coach of the Year, boxing trainer ROY BACA has pulled into a tie with water polo mentor COREY McINTYRE. Is this an upset brewing? Baseball’s JIM ALLEN is one vote back.

But all indications so far are that K-E-L-L-I-E G-E-O-R-G-E will be the People’s Choice star of the year--which means……….. Lompoc Locker Room needs MORE PICTURES OF KELLIE GEORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Send votes, and photos of Kellie George, by e-mailing pressboxprod@verizon.net

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Solomon, and Geoff & Jason, on TV

DUANE SOLOMON, U.S. National track team 800 runner, and GEOFF & JASON WEST of the University of Mary basketball Marauders, will appear on a special Christmas edition of "Lompoc Locker Room, the TV Show" airing Christmas Eve at 5:30.