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Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Prep talk: Regional baseball, softball players begin on Tuesday
It's the final week of the high school sports season, and Southern California regional playoffs in baseball and softball begin on Tuesday. Some schools opted out because players decided to focus on graduations, club teams or summer travel. Advertisement Some coaches are using this week as a way to get young players experience for next season. Others will try for one last week of having their teams together seeking championships on Saturday. "The City Section championship was icing on the cake," El Camino Real coach Josh Lienhard said. "This is something extra." City Section baseball representatives have been off for more than week, allowing them to have an advantage with rested pitchers. That should help Open Division champion El Camino Real, which hosts Point Loma in its Division II opener. Christian Gastelum, who didn't pitch in the City playoffs, will get the start. The Royals have both of their top pitchers, Luke Howe and Devin Gonor, ready to go if needed. With Southern Section Division 2 champion West Ranch not playing, runner-up Mater Dei was moved to Division 1 for the regionals and will play Crespi in an opener Tuesday at Hartunian Field. Division 1 champion St. John Bosco opens at home against St. Augustine as the top seed. Advertisement El Modena is seeded No. 1 in Division 1 softball and won't play until Thursday with only five teams in the bracket. . . . The state championships in golf take place Tuesday at Poppy Hills CC. La Serna and Santa Margarita are competing for a team title. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Regional baseball, softball players begin on Tuesday
It's the final week of the high school sports season, and Southern California regional playoffs in baseball and softball begin on Tuesday. Some schools opted out because players decided to focus on graduations, club teams or summer travel. Some coaches are using this week as a way to get young players experience for next season. Others will try for one last week of having their teams together seeking championships on Saturday. 'The City Section championship was icing on the cake,' El Camino Real coach Josh Lienhard said. 'This is something extra.' City Section baseball representatives have been off for more than week, allowing them to have an advantage with rested pitchers. That should help Open Division champion El Camino Real, which hosts Point Loma in its Division II opener. Christian Gastelum, who didn't pitch in the City playoffs, will get the start. The Royals have both of their top pitchers, Luke Howe and Devin Gonor, ready to go if needed. With Southern Section Division 2 champion West Ranch not playing, runner-up Mater Dei was moved to Division 1 for the regionals and will play Crespi in an opener Tuesday at Hartunian Field. Division 1 champion St. John Bosco opens at home against St. Augustine as the top seed. El Modena is seeded No. 1 in Division 1 softball and won't play until Thursday with only five teams in the bracket. . . . The state championships in golf take place Tuesday at Poppy Hills CC. La Serna and Santa Margarita are competing for a team title. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Top-seeded Norco goes for seventh Southern Section softball title
Norco High's softball program under coach Richard Robinson has been setting the standard for excellence in the Southern Section for years. The top-seeded Cougars will seek to add a seventh section title on Saturday in the Division 1 final against El Modena in a 7 p.m. game at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. This team has lots of top hitters. Leighton Gray is batting .455 with 40 hits, eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Ashley Duran has six home runs, 34 RBIs and a .438 batting average. Tamryn Shorter is hitting .407 with 37 hits, nine home runs and 24 RBIs. Sophomore Coral Williams has emerged as a quality pitcher with a 16-0 record, backed by junior Peyton May. El Modena has gotten hot in the playoffs behind second baseman Kaitlyn Galasso and shortstop Kylie Tafua. Don't doubt that the Vanguards can score runs if needed. They were able to knock off high-scoring Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6-4 in the quarterfinals and scored 13 runs in a semifinal win over Temescal Canyon. … Cal State Northridge will be the site for three City Section softball championship games on Saturday, with the featured matchup at 3 p.m. in the Open Division in which Carson will try to defeat Granada Hills for a third consecutive year. The Division I final at noon has Port of Los Angeles facing Legacy. Taft faces Marquez in the Division II final at 9 a.m. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Los Angeles Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Devin Gonor helps deliver El Camino Real another City baseball title
After spending one year on the freshman team and another year on junior varsity, Devin Gonor was an unknown left-handed pitcher when he made his varsity debut for El Camino Real last season. He beat Crespi, the defending Southern Section Division 2 champion, serving notice of a bright future. There he was standing on the mound at Dodger Stadium on Saturday afternoon asked to deliver a 10th City Section championship for El Camino Real. He came through with a performance that will put him on a equal pedestal with all the great ECR players of the past, such as major leaguers Randy Wolf, Connor Jackson and Kurt Birkins. 'It's amazing. I can't even describe it,' Gonor said after the final out had been recorded. Gonor threw a three-hit shutout in the Royals' 2-0 victory over Venice in the Open Division championship game. It was a breakthrough senior season in which he went 11-1 and ended with shutouts over Birmingham and the Gondoliers. He's committed to Concordia University in Nebraska. 'I grew up coming to Dodger Stadium watching Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger,' he said. 'To be on the same field, it's something you can only dream of.' Venice (28-3) came in as the No. 1 seed but could get little going against Gonor, who struck out five and walked two. 'Oh my Gosh, Devin was incredible,' catcher Adan Viner said. 'I expected nothing less. He was heavily using his change-up.' El Camino Real (23-8) scored in the third inning for a 1-0 lead on a Luke Howe sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. An error on a ground ball allowed Luigi Tanner to reach base. There were two walks before Howe, El Camino Real's best hitter, lifted a fly ball to left field for the RBI. The Royals added another run in the seventh on a walk, sacrifice and RBI triple from Tanner. For coach Josh Lienhard, his team won 18 consecutive games against City Section opponents, relying on his outstanding pitching staff that also included Howe and Christian Gastelum, who performed well Saturday at first base catching throws in the dirt from the infielders. El Camino Real ties Chatsworth for most City baseball titles at 10. It was the Royals' first title since 2016. There were 4,200 tickets sold between the Division I game won by Carson 3-1 over Banning and the afternoon final. All four teams are expected to compete in the Southern California regionals in two weeks.
Los Angeles Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: City Section takes over Dodger Stadium on Saturday
It's the greatest gift to baseball players who attend schools in the City Section. Every season since 1969, except for two years during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021, the championship game has been played at Dodger Stadium. The championships return to Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Marine League rivals Banning and Carson will face off at 10 a.m. for the Division I title, followed by El Camino Real taking on Venice at 1 p.m. for the Open Division championship. There's free parking and tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for students. Gates open at 9 a.m. Three of the four semifinal games were decided on walk-off hits, showing the parity this season. In the Open Division, El Camino Real has its top two pitchers ready to go. Devin Gonor will get the start and Luke Howe has four innings left to throw if needed. Venice has its ace, Noel Moreno (12-1) available. As usual, handling the environment and dimensions of Dodger Stadium will be key, from catchers preventing balls in the dirt from going to the backstop to outfielders making catches in the sun. Banning has beaten Carson two of three times this season. Carson is coming off a dramatic win in the semifinals over Taft in which Xavier Allen hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the 11th inning. Canon King of Venice is coming off a five-for-five performance against Birmingham. El Camino Real has won nine City titles. All the teams involved will be invited to play in the Southern California regionals that begin in two weeks. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
