Prep talk: Venice baseball is 21-1 and rising in City Section
With a 12-2 win over Loyola on Saturday, Venice's baseball team improved to 21-1 and is positioning itself for a high seeding in the City Section Open Division playoffs.
While the winner of the West Valley League, either Birmingham or El Camino Real, is the likely No. 1 seed, Venice has a good argument to be right behind. The Gondoliers are 14-0 in the Western League and own wins over Valley Mission League leader Sun Valley Poly and have a win over El Segundo, which is 17-6-1.
Coach Kevin Brockway has a senior-dominated team that includes Noel Moreno, who is 8-1 with an 0.58 ERA. Sophomore Jace Lindblom is 5-0 and senior Canon King is 6-0. Having three quality pitchers is a must to win a City Open Division title.
King leads the team in hitting with 30 hits. Venice has six games left on its regular-season schedule, with matchups against San Fernando and San Pedro set to be the toughest.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arsenal: Morgan Rogers, Rodrygo and Gunners' latest plan for overhaul of attack this summer
Arsenal are admirers of Morgan Rogers - but they would face a fight to land the Aston Villa star this summer. The Gunners are in the market for attacking reinforcements during the upcoming transfer window and they want to sign a wide forward, as well as a striker. Advertisement Arsenal are tracking a number of targets and Rogers is believed to be a player that the recruitment team at the club like. A deal for the 22-year-old, however, will be tough to complete as Villa view him as a key part of their plans. Rogers was a top performer for the club last season and finished the campaign with 10 goals and eight assists in 37 Premier League games. The attacking midfielder has shone under Unai Emery and, in December of last year, spoke glowingly about working under him. 'Him (Emery) and Pep [Guardiola] are kind of similar in a way,' Rogers told TNT Sports. 'In terms of the way they structure their teams, in terms of the way that they're so demanding of you, structurally and tactically. Advertisement 'But obviously working closer with Unai Emery than I did obviously with Pep, we've got that relationship where it's like a love-hate kind of thing. Morgan Rogers was a standout performer for Aston Villa last season (REUTERS) 'He wants the best of me. He's going to be demanding. He's going to be on top of me non-stop throughout the week, because he knows my capabilities. 'He knows what I can do. He wants to push me, wants to improve me and that's the best way for me. With me and him, it's perfect.' Arsenal have looked at several attacking targets and they are long-term admirers of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. Leroy Sane could be available on a free transfer if he refuses to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich, but his wage demands may prove problematic. Advertisement Rodrygo has also been linked with Arsenal over the past week, however whether he is available this summer will only become clearer once he has held talks with new Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso. If Rodrygo does come on the market, he would likely attract interest from a host of clubs from all over Europe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Mimi Xu reflects on strong week at Lexus Birmingham Open
By James Reid British teenager Mimi Xu reflected on a strong week of work despite defeat to Jessika Ponchet in the LTA's Lexus Birmingham Open quarter-finals. The 17-year-old beat top seed Alycia Parks and Pole Katarzyna Kawa to set up a last eight tie with world No.140 Ponchet but it proved a match too far at Edgbaston Priory. Advertisement Xu tried to battle back from a fast start from Ponchet but was unable to prevent the Frenchwoman from taking the first set and control of the contest despite a strong service game from the Swansea-born teenager. Ponchet rounded off victory in an hour and 25 minutes, but Xu was still pleased with her run to kick off the grass-court swing and took the positives from the defeat. She said: 'In all honesty I feel like I did all the right things, I had all the right intentions, it was just maybe on the execution. 'Overall, that is the best I have served this tournament, maybe this whole year, so I think I have got a lot to be proud of. Advertisement 'I have been giving it my all every single match, she was just too good today.' Ponchet set up a semi-final contest with Linda Fruhvirtova, who got past Lucreazia Stefanini 6-4 6-3. The men's singles will see Brandon Holt face Otto Virtanen for a place in the final. Holt beat veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3, while Virtanen got past qualifier Coleman Wong 6-2 7-5. Xu's loss ended British interest in both of the singles draws, with compatriots Heather Watson and Amarni Banks both exiting in the first round while Jodie Burrage was beaten 6-0 6-4 by Fruhvirtova in the second. The men's draw saw early exits from Billy Harris, Johannus Monday, Jay Clarke and former world No.21 Dan Evans and home hopefuls in the men's doubles also tasted defeat on a busy Friday in Birmingham following a rain-impacted day of play on Thursday. Advertisement Monday and partner David Stevenson's run ended at the semi-final stage after straight sets defeat to Diego Hidalgo and Patrik Trhac, going down 6-4 6-4. The British pair enjoyed a strong week on the grass as the wildcards beat second seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Rafael Matos 5-7 6-3 10-5 in the second round. They then followed that up with a 6-4 6-4 win over Nicolas Barrientos and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli in the quarter-finals to leave them one match away from the showpiece. But it proved a bridge too far as they were beaten on Friday evening by doubles specialists Hidalgo and Trhac. Alicia Barnett also tasted defeat in the women's doubles final alongside France's Elixane Lechemia. Advertisement The pair beat Ponchet and Magali Kempen 6-7(2) 6-4 10-7 to set up a final with Cristina Bucsa and Destanee Aiava, after they beat Australian second seeds Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez 2-6 6-4 12-10. But Bucsa and Aiava won 6-4 6-2 in just over an hour to take the title.
Chicago Tribune
13 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Defense delivers as Makayla Van Dinther pitches St. Charles East to shutout of South Elgin. ‘Stressful situations.'
Catch her if you can, but it isn't easy. Makayla Van Dinther may not be an intimidating physical presence in the circle for St. Charles East, but the junior right-hander has been pure magic during an impressive postseason run. it has the surprising Saints one win away from the state finals and a trip to Peoria. 'I knew we were going to be a tough out,' St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha said. 'With 15 losses, everybody is ranked above us, but I knew our lineup was going to be tough. 'With our schedule, we've experienced disappointment with a stretch of one and two-run losses, but you learn from those disappointments.' Van Dinther proved that point again Friday in the Class 4A Palatine Fremd Sectional championship game, completing a six-hit shutout for the Saints in a 5-0 victory over South Elgin. The fifth-seeded Storm (29-5) appeared to have her on the ropes multiple times, but she escaped trouble that included back-to-back bases-loaded jams in the third and fourth innings. Van Dinther (13-9) struck out five and walked just one in winning for the third time in four playoff games to go with a save for the sixth-seeded Saints (23-15), who will play at 6 p.m. Monday in the Barrington Supersectional against the host Fillies (33-3-1), a 2-0 winner over Huntley. Afterward, Van Dinther passed some of that credit to junior catcher Hayden Sujack. 'Those jams were stressful situations,' Van Dinther said. 'But my catcher and I talked, and we located some counts because it was a tight strike zone. I just trusted my defense.' Senior third baseman Holly Smith provided some stellar defense in the third inning, charging a grounder on the line, scooping the ball up and flipping it to Sujack out of her glove all in one motion for the third out on a force play at the plate. And second baseman Alyse Price almost saw it coming. 'Makayla threw a great pitch,' Smith said. 'It was a weak contact. It might have rolled foul, but I was ahead of the runner so I tried the glove flip and Hayden made a nice stretch. 'It's funny. Alyse Price and I were just talking about glove flipping before the game and it comes up. First time I've ever used it at third base.' Van Dinther, who bailed herself out the next inning by retiring a batter on a comeback grounder with the bases loaded and two out, appreciated the Smith-Sujack connection. 'Amazing play,' said Van Dinther, who also praised a catch by senior left fielder Eden Corcoran. 'That kind of saved my butt there. We played good all-around. Our outfield did a great job. 'Eden made an amazing catch to save another run that was great to see.' Van Dinther ended up stranding nine runners. South Elgin's defensive struggles made it tough on Loyola-bound senior left-hander Anna Kiel, who started in the circle for a second straight day but was lifted after three innings trailing 2-0. Sparked by Sujack's double, St. Charles East took advantage of three errors to score twice in the first inning. The Storm made seven errors, allowing the Saints to add a run in the sixth and two in the seventh. Junior right fielder Lexi Majkszak added two hits and two RBIs for St. Charles East, while sophomore center fielder Morgan Beers went 4-for-4. 'Definitely my first four-hit game,' Beers said. 'We had to get the job done, and as long as I had good energy, I was really confident at the plate.' At the same time, Gutesha has faith in Beers. 'She puts the bat on the ball consistently and she's got wheels,' he said. 'Speed don't slump.' Beers drove in the fourth run and also scored the fifth to support Van Dinther. 'Even when she was in those jams, she was still throwing well,' Gutesha said of Van Dinther. 'She was still hitting her spots, and it wasn't like they were barreling it up and hitting gaps, gaps, gaps. 'She was doing her thing.'
