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Los Angeles Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Laguna Beach baseball sees remarkable season draw to a close against Norco
The Laguna Beach High baseball team had, by all accounts, one of the best seasons in the 88-year history of the program. One swing certainly does not change that. That one swing, a fifth-inning grand slam by Norco sophomore Dylan Seward, was still enough to lift the visiting Cougars to a 4-2 win over the host Breakers on Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Norco moved on to host its Big VIII League rival, top-seeded defending Division 1 champion Corona, in the quarterfinals on Friday. Laguna Beach, competing in the top postseason division for the first time, finished its season 25-4 after falling to the No. 7-ranked team in the state of California by The Breakers, who earned an impressive win at Summit in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs, certainly proved that they belonged there. 'We had a team that could compete with anybody,' first-year Laguna Beach head coach Ryan Belanto said. 'I thought we had four or five arms that I trusted every single time out … We were where we were supposed to be, in Division 1. We were able to beat another top 10 team in CIF in the first round, and there's no easy draws. You've got to be perfect for five straight games to win this thing.' Breakers senior right-handed pitcher Thomas Gonzales, a transfer from JSerra, drew the start on the bump Tuesday. He struck out seven Norco batters in 4 ⅔ innings, running into adversity in the fifth inning of what was a tie game. With one out, Norco's Wyatt Fiedler and Elijah Alvarez were both hit by pitches. Gonzales recovered to strikeout leadoff hitter Marcus Blanton, but Zion Martinez drew a full-count walk to load the bases. Seward then unloaded them, launching a 2-and-0 changeup over the fence in right-center field, just to the right of the scoreboard at Skipper Carrillo Field. It was his fifth home run of the year for the Cougars (22-8). 'We started off a little bit slow swinging the bat this year, and we've just been getting better and better,' Norco coach Gary Parcell said. 'Dylan is going to be a big-time player, no doubt about it.' Laguna Beach tried to rally against Norco junior left-handed pitcher Landon Hovermale, who went the whole way. Otis Boultinghouse roped a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth, and a single by Becker Sybirski put runners at the corners. Lincoln Adams grounded into a fielder's choice to the pitcher, with Sybirski out at second, but a double to center by cleanup hitter Lucien Reed scored two and halved the hosts' deficit. 'We came out and we proved that we should be in the Division 1 playoffs,' Sybirski said. 'Against Summit, against this team, we proved that we could beat any team. I'm just super glad that I got to come out here and spend my time with my brothers … Laguna's not known for their hitting, but I think this year, we proved [we could hit]. Especially this playoffs, we faced four D1 arms and we've hit good against all of them.' Dane Jenal drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, but Hovermale got Jackson Arrasin to fly out to deep center before striking out Gonzales to end the game. It was just the fourth loss of the season for the Pacific Coast League champion Breakers, who started the year by rattling off 12 straight wins. On the mound, junior Branson Wade was 10-1 and Sybirski was 7-1, both with microscopic earned-run averages under one. 'I think people doubt us,' said Sybirski, bound for the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who also led the team by hitting .424. 'They have all year because of our size, but we went out and were dogs on the mound and hitting-wise. We proved that we should be a D1 team. 'It's not the nine guys on the field. The entire year, our dugout, everyone was in 100%. I think that was one of the biggest reasons [we won]. We had guys who really wanted to come out here, practice, work their [behind] off. Then they wouldn't play in a game, but they didn't care. They were true teammates. That was a big thing for me.'
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Santa Margarita baseball shocks Huntington Beach in second round of CIF playoffs
This was to be the year for Huntington Beach's powerhouse baseball program, its deep, veteran group — the 'most talented' it has fielded, in head coach Benji Medure's estimation — blistering toward a desired (and not-unanticipated) CIF Southern Section Division 1 title-game showdown with mighty Corona. It all went wrong on Tuesday. The third-seeded Oilers, behind sophomore left-hander Jared Grindlinger's gorgeous slider, were cruising through five innings toward an impressive second-round victory over Santa Margarita. Then the landscape shifted, and the dream was over. The visiting Eagles (18-12) tore into Huntington Beach's bullpen in the sixth inning, rode four innings of ace Brennan Bauer's savvy relief work, then pushed home the winning run in the seventh to reach the quarterfinals for the third successive year with a 6-5 upset. Santa Margarita, which will be home Friday against Los Alamitos (18-9-2), parlayed two hits, three walks, an error on the front end of a would-be inning-ending double play, and two devastating wild pitches to score four runs in the sixth to make it 5-5. The Eagles won on Chase Marlow's two-out single to bring home No. 9 hitter Lucas Owens, who walked and stole second base. 'That hurts,' Medure said. 'You just feel kind of like a train going downhill. You just couldn't stop it, you know? They battled back. Obviously, we issued some free passes, but then they took advantage of them, you know. ... Just couldn't stop the bleeding.' The Oilers (24-5) outhit Santa Margarita, 10-4, Trevor Goldenetz and Jayton Greer with two apiece, and scored in each of the first four innings, twice in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Three of the runs were unearned, three came on sacrifice flies — from Ryan Porter in the first, Cole Clark in the third and Grindlinger in the fourth — but seven runners were stranded on base in that span, four of them in scoring position. 'We had an opportunity to bust it wide open,' Medure said. '...You have to put good things away.' Grindlinger was masterful, aside from a second-inning Carter Enoch homer to left field that answered Huntington Beach's first run. He struck out six, walked one and another Eagle reached on an error, but that was it. 'You might watch that kid on TV one day,' Santa Margarita head coach Chris Malec said. Things fell apart in the sixth, once Grindlinger left the mound. Neither Tyler Bellerose nor Otto Espinoza, who brought a combined 10-2 record and 1.78 ERA, were sharp, but the Oilers would have exited surrendering a lone run if they turned a routine double-play ball. Then Espinoza came on, walked the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch (with Marlow out on an appeal at the plate, a call bitterly argued by Malec and galvanizing for his team). Another walk, another passed ball — Gavin Spiridonoff emphatically stomping on the plate — and it was 5-3. Warren Gravely's two-run double left tied it up. 'I told them, like, 'All right, we're going to throw our four best guys, and they're going to beat us?'' Medure said. 'Then tip the cap to them. When you don't have a great day, that's how it's going to be.' Bauer, a senior right-hander with 21 career victories for Santa Margarita, gave up four hits and two unearned runs in 4⅓ innings, shut down the Oilers in the fifth and sixth, then closed the seventh after surrendering one-out singles to Grindlinger and C.J. Weinstein. Senior catcher Trent Grindlinger, Jared's brother, thought the Oilers became 'complacent.' 'We didn't have our foot on the gas the whole time, and that's what happens,' he said. 'We were always trying to take it one game at a time, but definitely in the back of our minds, we were expecting to make it all the way. Every good thing comes to an end, but I love these boys.' In other second-round games Tuesday, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Estancia and Pacifica Christian Orange County all advanced to the CIF quarterfinals. Fountain Valley 7, Trabuco Hills 0: Josh Grack threw a two-hit complete game shutout to lead the Barons in the second round of the Division 2 playoffs at Fountain Valley High. Grack walked two and struck out five for the Barons (17-13). Mikey Patterson and Anthony Zamora were each two for four with a pair of runs scored and an RBI for Fountain Valley, while Miles Hiskey was two for three with a pair of runs batted in. Fountain Valley plays at Torrance on Friday in a Division 2 quarterfinal game. Costa Mesa 5, San Juan Hills 4: Wylan Rottschafer was three for three with a double and run scored for the Mustangs, also earning the win in relief Tuesday in the second-round Division 3 game on the road. Aiden Comte was two for four with an RBI, and Mateo Navarro was two for two with a triple and three RBIs. Costa Mesa (24-6) will host Glendora in a Division 3 quarterfinal game on Friday. Estancia 11, Foothill Tech 1: Nico Viramontes pitched the complete game for the Eagles, improving to 8-0 as Estancia won the Division 6 second-round game on Tuesday at Estancia High. Sawyer Atkinson and Athan Perez each had a pair of hits for Estancia (17-13), which will remain at home when it hosts Pacifica Christian Orange County in an all-local Divison 6 quarterfinal game on Friday. Pacifica Christian Orange County 5, Muir 0: Johnny Coopman and Jon Stone combined for the shutout for the Tritons in the Division 6 second-round game on Tuesday. John Peterson scored a pair of runs while Scout Escobedo, Taisen Morishita and Stone all had RBIs for Pacifica Christian (14-11). — Staff writer Matt Szabo contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Huntington Beach fights, falls in five sets to Mira Costa in CIF Division 1 final
Each passing point generated gasps from the stands, those on court digging just a little deeper as the fourth set offered one climatic moment after another. In its desperation to stay in a match with the nation's best boys' volleyball team in Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Huntington Beach staved off four championship points in an extended set. When Colin Choi polished off the second of back-to-back kills to claim the marathon game, the Oilers poured onto the court. It hadn't decided the match, and yet it had been met with the sort of reaction as though it had. Huntington Beach had waited since the first week of the season to get another look at Mira Costa, and in the rematch the Oilers delivered a heart-and-soul effort to send Friday's final to a fifth set. Mira Costa pulled out the decisive set, a late run taking much of the drama out of the conclusion of what had been a riveting back-and-forth affair in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match at Cerritos College. Grayson Bradford's match-best 25th kill ended it, as Mira Costa beat Huntington Beach 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11 to give the Mustangs a ninth section title in program history. Mira Costa won a championship a year after appearing in the final and losing to Los Angeles Loyola. 'It's not a good feeling to come so close to your goals and not make it,' Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said. 'I think that motivated us, for sure, especially the boys that were on this court last year and didn't quite get the job done. … They took those lessons, and I think they applied them this year, and it showed, I think, in their maturity on the court, that they were never really rattled.' Snyder said that he felt 'a lot of weight off my back' in winning the CIF title, adding that 'a lot of people were expecting' the Mustangs to win as the top seed. Huntington Beach (34-4), the second seed, was after its sixth CIF title and first since a run of three consecutive championships from 2013 to 2015. The Oilers won a CIF State Southern California Division II regional championship in 2021. They will now take aim at the inaugural boys' volleyball state championship, the brackets for which were released on Sunday. State playoff openers were scheduled for Tuesday, with Huntington Beach's path beginning with a home match against Redondo Union (27-10). 'We're going to come back to work and see if we can get another chance at these guys,' said Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti, quickly turning the page to the state playoffs. Mira Costa (32-2) jumped in front by winning the first and third sets. Huntington Beach had impressive answers to each deficit. Kai Gan stepped up to the service line in a rotation that saw the Oilers rattle off seven straight points to open the second set. In the fourth set, Huntington Beach received match-extending kills from Ben Arguello, Nick Ganier Jr. and Choi on championship points for the Mustangs. 'The character that this team showed in set four was unbelievable,' Pazanti said. 'You know, could have given up several times in that match, and just kept battling, kept battling, kept battling. It was just a great effort, and I just think we ran out of gas.' During the crucial stretch, Choi was blocked on an initial hitting effort, fell to the floor and then got up in time to rise for a bump set from a teammate and win a point. 'He's probably our most tenacious player,' Logan Hutnick said of Choi. 'He really just sticks through anything, and he never gives up on any point.' Aiden Atencio, Choi and Hutnick came up big in back-row defensive efforts against a Mira Costa team that had a considerable height advantage. Justin Bulsombut was also credited with contributing to six points on blocks. 'We didn't want to play Mira Costa's game,' Pazanti said. 'We wanted to play our game. Our game is different than those guys. They can afford to chuck it to the ceiling and go hit it over the block. We got to rely on playing great defense. We got to rely on passing the ball. We got to rely on putting service pressure on people from the service line.' Hutnick had an up-and-down evening as a hitter — 22 kills and 11 errors — but he handled the lion's share of opportunities in serve receive, committing just two miscues in 55 chances. The sophomore outside hitter also had a team-best 13 digs to go with 2½ blocks. Harvard-bound setter Kai Gan had 53 assists. Arguello accumulated 13 kills, Ganier Jr. had a dozen kills, Choi contributed nine kills and 10 digs, and Atencio produced 11 digs. 'We wanted to really have that mindset that 'we're the underdogs, and we have nothing to lose,'' Gan said of facing the finalists from a year ago. 'Real standpoint, though, obviously, they have huge height, and we knew that we have smaller guys on our team, but it doesn't mean that we can't still be effective in the offense. 'I think kind of positioning ourselves into establishing the middle and then also using all of our options, back row and front row, really helped us get to that fifth set.' Mira Costa put itself on the brink of victory with a 6-1 run to move within a point of the title once more at 14-8. It was academic at that point for the Mustangs, Andrew Chapin (57 assists, 12 digs) connecting with Bradford after the Oilers had fought off three more match points. 'I can set him every single ball of every single game and trust him that we're going to go out there and win this game,' Chapin said of Bradford. 'In crunch time, the fourth set, he had a swing to put it away, and he got dug, and I never ran away from it because I knew that he's a big-time player and he makes big-time plays.' Mateo Fuerbringer had 17 kills, three total blocks and two service aces for the Mustangs. Alex Heins had nine kills and nine block assists, Thatcher Fahlbusch also had nine kills, and Wyatt Davis chipped in with six kills and 3½ blocks. Justin Warner had a match-best 14 digs. Also in the CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball finals: Sage Hill 3, Santa Barbara 2: Jackson Cryst had 31 kills, as the Lightning rallied past the host Dons 15-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 15-8 on Saturday in the Division 4 final. Sage Hill (19-11) captured a section title for the second straight year. The Lightning earned the first CIF title in program history in winning the Division 5 championship last season. Ryan Manesh pounded out 11 kills, and Ethan McNutt turned in 19 digs defensively. Sage Hill, the top seed in the Southern California Division III regional, drew a home match against Fresno Sanger West (26-15) to start the state playoffs.
Los Angeles Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Marina boys' tennis battles, falls to Woodbridge in CIF Division 1 title match
REDLANDS — The Marina High boys' tennis team will miss its core group of seniors next season. Darren Le said he has known his doubles partner, Justin Nguyen, since third grade at Circle View Elementary School in Huntington Beach. They'll be roommates at UCLA in the fall. 'We've been really tight,' Le said. 'I think I've known him for longer than I've not known him. That kind of puts it in perspective.' The Vikings' five senior starters came oh so close to helping deliver the program's first CIF championship on Friday at University of Redlands. Instead, it was Woodbridge that earned a tight 10-8 win in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match. Junior No. 1 singles player Brady Tallakson easily swept for the Warriors, who mobbed their doubles teams twice in the match after winning crucial sets. The final and clinching 10th set win came when Woodbridge's Ethan Yu and Mac Perkins topped Marina's Justin Nguyen and David Tran 6-4, though the Warriors also would have won if the match had been tied 9-9 and went to games. 'I'm definitely proud, but I'm not really satisfied,' Le said after the match, watching Woodbridge smile and take pictures. 'I can see them ecstatic and joyous. I mean, they're literally leaping for joy right now as a team. I envisioned us having that moment too, but some things just don't pan out the way you want them to. That's the tough part about tennis.' Marina (16-4), making its first CIF finals appearance, stacked its doubles teams for the match. Coach Chuck Kingman paired his usual No. 1 singles player, senior Trevor Nguyen, with Le. 'I brought up the strategy,' Trevor Nguyen said. 'All of these guys on doubles, they're all seniors. I've been playing with them for four years, and we're really close. I was honestly a lot happier to play doubles and singles, because I could share these last moments, these last matches with these guys.' The goal was to win four singles sets, and have the doubles teams of Trevor Nguyen and Le, as well as Justin Nguyen and Tran, both sweep their three sets. Marina junior Alejandro Hill and freshman DJ Buchfeller accomplished the singles part of the equation, winning two sets each. Trevor Nguyen and Le swept, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. But Woodbridge (21-7) beat Justin Nguyen and Tran twice. The Warriors' first key doubles win came in the second round, when Toby Law and Kartik Nain got past Tran and Justin Nguyen 6-4, rallying for the last three games of the set. That gave Woodbridge a 7-5 sets advantage headed into the final round. Tran said he rolled his right ankle 'pretty bad' right before the CIF playoffs began, restricting his movement in a high quality doubles set. 'That match was just really close, just some minor serves and returns that we could have made more in,' Tran said. 'Just little errors that both of us made.' Later, the match was tied 8-8 with two doubles sets remaining to complete. Law and Nain got past Marina seniors Kevin Brown and Eric Hagan for the ninth Woodbridge set, before Yu and Perkins closed out the match. Woodbridge won its fourth CIF title in boys' tennis, the first since 1997. 'Beforehand, we knew that straight up we had the slight edge, but it would have been tough,' said Woodbridge's Tallakson, a Boise State commit. 'Them trying to [stack doubles], we didn't expect it, but our dubs were ready for it. We put in the work and we got it done.' Kingman got a bit teary when describing the seniors and what they've meant to the program, though key players like Hill, Tran and Buckfeller will return. 'I'm really proud of all the boys,' Kingman said. 'They all competed, didn't get down. It actually was a lot closer than it felt. It felt like it kind of got away from us early, but looking at the numbers, it was really closer than it feels like. It was just a tough mountain to climb.' Individual pursuits still remain. Trevor Nguyen and Tran, the Sunset League singles champions, will compete in the CIF Southern Section Individuals tournament beginning on Thursday. Marina is one of five sectional sites. Nguyen and Tran won the CIF Individuals title last year, and narrowly lost in the final of Ojai this year. 'Ojai and this [CIF team] tournament, we lost in the finals both times,' Trevor Nguyen said. 'We're honestly really hungry to win it all. This is our last chance, and we really want to capitalize on the opportunity we have.'
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Marina boys' tennis storms into first CIF title match
OAK PARK — Marina High boys' tennis coach Chuck Kingman gave longtime assistant Cam Jones the honor of introducing the Vikings' lineup on Wednesday. 'He loves public speaking,' Kingman said facetiously before Marina played at Oak Park in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. There was a good reason for the honor: Jones was celebrating his 79th birthday on Wednesday. The Vikings' season has also transformed into something that might be decades in the making. Marina rallied for an 11-7 victory, advancing to its first CIF title match in program history. The Sunset League runner-up Vikings (16-3) will play Woodbridge (20-7), the No. 3 team from the Pacific Coast League, for the Division 1 crown on Friday at 5 p.m. at the University of Redlands. 'We've got to prepare, lock in,' Marina senior Trevor Nguyen said. 'We're really excited for this opportunity.' Nguyen, Alejandro Hill and DJ Buckfeller combined to win eight of nine singles sets against Oak Park (15-1), which was undefeated heading into Wednesday's tilt. Nguyen's 6-4 win over Eagles senior captain Austin Lamy loomed large in the first round, with several Oak Park supporters watching and cheering just south of the court. 'Just the nerves of this opportunity that we're in, the semifinals, I was kind of nervous,' Nguyen said. 'I was like, what if I lose? I was playing tentative, but it changed a lot.' What changed was Lamy's health. With Nguyen up 5-4, he drew Lamy into the net with a drop shot, then hit a lob over his head. Lamy went back to retrieve the ball and attempted a between-the-legs shot, but tripped and ended up injuring his hip. He gamely continued to play with a pronounced limp but lost to Nguyen, then retired early in his second set against Buckfeller. Marina, down 4-2 after the first round, took advantage. The Vikings won five of six sets in the second round to grab a 7-5 edge. Two doubles tiebreakers, the final sets of the round to complete, proved huge. Marina's No. 1 team of seniors Justin Nguyen and Darren Le beat Oak Park's Jaivin Phabiani and Ayush Kodur, while the No. 3 tandem of juniors David Tran and Joseph Le topped Levi Jefferson and Angus Rein. Players from both teams stood on the vacant No. 2 doubles court, turning their bodies back and forth to cheer on both matches simultaneously. 'My mind was like, our winning [as a team] is going to ride on this one,' Darren Le said. 'I felt like it was a pretty important match. I treated it like that, didn't let the noise get to my head too bad.' Both tiebreaker scores were the same, 7-4, giving the Vikings a much-needed boost over the Coastal Canyon League champion Eagles headed into the final round of play. 'Those tiebreakers were huge,' Kingman said. 'I mean, that was really a turning point for our doubles today. Having those two wins provided us with a little bit more of a cushion. Our doubles has kind of struggled throughout the year, but they really came through today. They got the wins that we needed.' After Trevor Nguyen and Hill breezed to 6-0 wins in the final round, the Vikings had nine sets, plus a big enough games advantage to know that they were through to the title match. Kingman said his team seems to be peaking at the right time. There's just one more match to win for further team history, after Trevor Nguyen and Tran have set individual history by winning the CIF Individuals title last year and earning Ojai Tournament finalist accolades this year. 'It's a special group of guys, not just talent-wise,' Kingman said. 'This is a great group of young men.'
