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Los Angeles Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Canon King and Venice High look to earn a trip to Dodger Stadium
There was pure joy as Canon King ran toward his Venice High teammates standing outside the dugout after touching home plate to complete a home run. He launched a group chest bump with Dylan Johnson, who went tumbling through the dirt like a kid playing in a sandbox. 'This feels great,' King said later. 'We've worked so hard for four years.' Venice (27-2) is tantalizingly close to earning a trip to Dodger Stadium to play for the City Section Open Division baseball championship. The Gondoliers play Sylmar at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the semifinals. The other matchup as part of a doubleheader has El Camino Real facing Birmingham at 3 p.m. In many ways, these two games impose far more pressure on players than reaching the championship game, because each player so badly wants to make it to Dodger Stadium to fulfill dreams of a lifetime. 'It's magical,' King said. To see King's smile and excitement last week after hitting his sixth home run in a 4-1 playoff win over Chatsworth offered a hint of his value and importance to a surging Gondoliers team. He's a three-time Western League MVP. He's committed to Cal State San Marcos, has gotten all A's for four years on his report card except for one B in chemistry freshman year and one B in AP Spanish. He's a born leader and 'loves' being named Canon by his father, a high school teacher and former amateur rapper whose best friend had Canon as his last name. 'The energy is infectious,' he said of the team's success. 'It's all coming together. Our team chemistry has been high. Our practices have been so productive.' Coach Kevin Brockway has 16 seniors on the roster. The Gondoliers haven't won an upper division championship since 1972 and are trying to follow the same improbable path as last year's champion, Bell, which hadn't been to a final since 1953. Venice was given the No. 1 seed even though El Camino Real and Birmingham came from the stronger West Valley League. But the Gondoliers went 18-0 in the Western League and have the defensive prowess to do well, with a solid catcher in Charlie Nisbet, a dependable shortstop in Daniel Quiroz and King in center field. Sylmar, the Valley Mission League champion, went to Dodger Stadium jtwo years ago for the Division I championship game. Pitcher Alex Martinez remembers starting at third base as a freshman. 'It's crazy,' he said of the atmosphere. 'Overwhelming for sure. It looks different, even when the ball is up in the air. It blends in.' He threw a shutout last week in Sylmar's Open Division win over Cleveland. Coach Ray Rivera has come to rely on him as a pitcher and hitter. 'He trusts me with the ball and in special situations,' Martinez said. He thinks the Spartans are coming into Tuesday's game feeling good about themselves. 'This team is special this year,' he said. 'This team can beat anyone if we play our game.' Venice knows the challenge ahead, first having to get past Sylmar, then one of the two West Valley League powers, El Camino Real or Birmingham. Whatever happens, King is ready, though he's thankful the games are 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Gondoliers don't do well with morning games. 'We're notorious for Saturday morning games,' he said. He'll get everyone to go to bed early the night before. None of them will sleep well anyway thinking of the possibilities. 'Surreal,' is how King put it if the Gondoliers can make it to Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
Los Angeles Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
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
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Prep talk: It's all about trying to challenge Birmingham in City Section baseball
Prep talk: It's all about trying to challenge Birmingham in City Section baseball Birmingham's 7-0 start in the West Valley League has the Patriots as the favorites to win the City Section Open Division championship. The final game will be played May 24 at Dodger Stadium. But there's lots of teams jockeying to knock off the Patriots. Advertisement El Camino Real has been gaining momentum with six straight West Valley League victories while showing enough good pitching and defense to be a factor. Birmingham has not won a league title in Matt Mowry's 19 seasons as coach and plays El Camino Real in a two-game series to end the regular season May 6 and 8. Sun Valley Poly is 7-0 in its first year in the Valley Mission League. Sophomore Fabian Bravo has turned in some top pitching performances against good teams. Poly and Sylmar will meet this month to decide the league championship. Venice is 14-1 and running away with the Western League title with a veteran team that has 16 seniors. Noel Moreno is 6-1 on the mound. Banning holds a one-game lead over Narbonne and Carson in the Marine League. Advertisement Defending champion Bell has been inconsistent but still is favored to win the Eastern League. Jayden Rojas, the reigning City player of the year, is starting to build up his arm strength. Garfield is putting up a challenge to Bell with a 7-0 league mark. The two teams play April 28 and May 1 to decide the league 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
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: It's all about trying to challenge Birmingham in City Section baseball
Birmingham's 7-0 start in the West Valley League has the Patriots as the favorites to win the City Section Open Division championship. The final game will be played May 24 at Dodger Stadium. But there's lots of teams jockeying to knock off the Patriots. El Camino Real has been gaining momentum with six straight West Valley League victories while showing enough good pitching and defense to be a factor. Birmingham has not won a league title in Matt Mowry's 19 seasons as coach and plays El Camino Real in a two-game series to end the regular season May 6 and 8. Sun Valley Poly is 7-0 in its first year in the Valley Mission League. Sophomore Fabian Bravo has turned in some top pitching performances against good teams. Poly and Sylmar will meet this month to decide the league championship. Venice is 14-1 and running away with the Western League title with a veteran team that has 16 seniors. Noel Moreno is 6-1 on the mound. Banning holds a one-game lead over Narbonne and Carson in the Marine League. Defending champion Bell has been inconsistent but still is favored to win the Eastern League. Jayden Rojas, the reigning City player of the year, is starting to build up his arm strength. Garfield is putting up a challenge to Bell with a 7-0 league mark. The two teams play April 28 and May 1 to decide the league title. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
City Section top 10 high school baseball teams
With one month left in the City Section baseball season, Birmingham has earned the No. 1 ranking with an 8-6 record and 4-0 mark in the City's toughest league, the West Valley League. 1. BIRMINGHAM (8-6). Impressive one-two pitching duo in Allen Olmos and freshman Carlos Acuna. Advertisement 2. VENICE (10-1). Gondoliers are headed to Western League title. 3. BELL (9-2). Defending champs are getting their pitching in order. 4. EL CAMINO REAL (8-5). Holding down second place in West Valley League. 5. SUN VALLEY POLY (9-5). Headed to showdown games with Sylmar in Valley Mission League. 6. SYLMAR (6-3). Pitching will keep Spartans in contention. 7. CLEVELAND (6-6). Joshua Pearlstein is having big season hitting. 8. BANNING (7-4). Marine League's first-place team. 9. GARFIELD (8-2). Won four straight Eastern League games. 10. CHATSWORTH (6-6-1). Beware of Chancellors in March. 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.
