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The season officially kicks off this weekend with the start of several local tournaments and traditinoal preseason double-headers which don't count against teams records. Many teams played the last of their preseason games this past weekend with several playing double-headers in advance of the start of the season.
Below is a recap of a few games that took place this past weekend.
El Dorado (Placentia, Calif.)took care of Katella (Anaheim, Calif.) 7-2 in a 10 inning scrimmage. Longtime assistant and first year head coach, Matt Lucas, has a loaded team heading into the 2013 season. Everyone knows about senior do-everything Chris Rivera and soon everyone will know about sophomore LHP Nick Sprengel. The southpaw struck out eight in three innings of work this weekend. Junior outfielder, Nate Alam, had a big day at the plate with three hits including a two-run home run.
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) will take to the road this weekend in their annual double-header exhibition games versus St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) so they played their official preseason double-header this past weekend versus Santiago (Corona, Calif.). The Lancers got great pitching to go with hot bats to win game one 5-0. Junior RHP Garret King (Nebraska) threw six shutout innings, scattering five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Senior Jason Martin (Long Beach State) was three-for-four with two RBI and two stolen bases.
Game two saw junior Leo Hernandez shutout Santiago through six inning allowing only three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Martin again had a big game going three-for-five. Seniors Travis Blue, Matt Stumee, and Brad Rinehart combined to go eight-for-11 in the 9-7 victory.
Ayala (Chino Hill, Calif.) took on La Habra (La Habra, Calif.) on Saturday and came away with an impressive 8-2 victory. Sophomore LHP Erik Cha continues to shine for the Bulldogs as he threw four innings allowing only one hit while striking out six and not giving up a run. Senior outfielder, Robert Longtree, contributed two hits and two runs in the victory. Senior second baseman, Rudy Casarez, had a spectacular day with the glove and added a triple at the plate. After a stellar outing last Tuesday by Cha, followed by this weekends performance, head coach Chris Vogt said, "this is the best week he's had for us."
Upcoming Schedule - 2/23/13 - DH v Fullerton
Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) held their annual alumni game which was won by the current varsity players on a walk-off by Austin Leyritz. Head coach, Rick Brail, suggested the game was pretty intense in the late innings then the excitement of the walk-off really put a nice touch on the alumni festivities. Notable alums included: Erik Hamren - San Diego Padres, Brandon Lodge - Los Angeles Angels, Steve Tinoco - Tampa Bay Rays, and Bryan Evans - Miami Marlins.
JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) played a nine inning game against Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.) on Saturday and came away with a 3-1 loss, but not all was lost for the Lions and head coach Brett Kay as it appears the pitching rotation competition has settled itself heading into the opening weekend of the season. "Quentin Longrie is our #1, Parker Joe Robinson our #2," Kay said. "Dominic Bastone, Zach Gloyne, and Jake Pries round out the rotation." Offensively the Lions are dealing with a rash of injuries namely, Dane McFarland and Pries. McFarland will be out a couple more weeks and Pries appears to have suffered a mild strain to his arm. When asked about how he felt heading into this weekend, Kay replied, "I am happy where we are at."
Upcoming Schedule: 2/23/13 - DH vs Brea Olinda
Harvard Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) stayed home on Saturday to play a double-headerversus Rocklin (Rocklin, Calif.) in game one and West Torrance (Torrance, Calif.) in game two. In game one, Conor Cure and Hans Hansen combined to throw a two hitter with each giving up one hit en route to a 9-0 win. The Wolverines took a 6-0 lead in the first and coasted to the easy win. Arden Pabst (Georgia Tech) had a pair of hits and Brian Ginsberg added a pair of RBI. Second baseman Alex Horwitz returned to game action for the first time in over a month. "He looked great offensively, like he hadn't missed a game," said Harvard Westlake head coach Matt LaCour.
In game two, the Wolverines got a solid start from Jack Flaherty (North Carolina) who went four innings striking out four while giving up two hits en route to a 14-4 win. Ezra Steinberg and Horwitz had a pair of hits while Hansen, Jacob Pardo, and Jackson Grayson each had multiple RBI. "The team is about as healthy as we have been all fall and winter headed into opening weekend," said LaCour.