02 03 SoCal High School Baseball: SoCal HS Baseball Schedule & Notes 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

SoCal HS Baseball Schedule & Notes

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The annual spring break tournaments get underway this week and local teams litter the schedules.

In Cary, NC., Mater Dei and Harvard Westlake will compete in the prestigious National High School Invitational which features 10 teams in the Baseball America Top 25. The two SoCal teams were finalists in the event last year which saw Mater Dei walk away with the trophy. Locally, the Anaheim Lions Tournament begins Friday at ballparks all over Orange County. The Hard 9 National Classic kicks off with the annual Home Run Derby Saturday, before the schedule gets going in earnest next week. The inaugural Boras Classic will also kick off next week with Mater Dei and JSerra serving as host schools in SoCal.

Below is a recap of some high profile leagues in SoCal

Trinity League: Mater Dei's offense is beginning to click at the right time for the Monarchs as they finished the first round of league play with a perfect 5-0 record.  The Monarchs exploded for 5 runs in the 7th inning against OLu on Wednesday before beating JSerra 14-4 on Saturday. Coach Call's team will play a minimum of 8 games over the next 10 days which will test the Monarchs pitching depth.  Servite and OLu are tied for second place with identical 3-2 records, however, the Friars beat the Lancers giving them a half-game advantage.

South Coast League: El Toro is as hot as any team in Orange County. Winners of five straight, the Chargers are in command in league with a perfect 3-0 record. Pitchers Ryan Kayoda and Chasen Ford are proving to be as good as advertised. Offensively, Dan James is on a tear, and Gavin Collins, returning from an injured ankle, blasted his first home run of the season last week. Capo Valley and Trabuco Hills are tied for second place in league with 1-1 records.

Century League: Canyon came into league play last week on a roll. Winners of the Loara Tournament, the Comanches won a grinder vs Esperanza 1-0 in 8 innings before splitting a pair of games with El Dorado to run their record to 7-1. Esperanza bounced back from their loss to Canyon by beating Foothill twice. In addition to beating Canyon, El Dorado won a nail biter over Villa Park 2-1. Coaches in the league have told me they feel the race is going to come down to the last week or two, if that's the case, it's tough to bet against the veteran coaches at the top of the standings.

Mission League: Harvard Westlake went into league as the team to beat after winning the Chatsworth Tournament fairly easily. After splitting a pair with Loyola two weeks ago, the Wolverines split a pair with Crespi last week to run their record to 2-2 in league play. Loyola rolled over St. Francis by sweeping a two-game set and sits in second place with a 3-1 league record. Alemeny, the surprise team in league so far, sits atop the standings with a 7-3, 2-0 record.

Baseline League: Los Osos scored three in the fifth and three in the sixth innings to knock off league rival Glendora 6-2 in a game that featured two future Division 1 arms. Chris Kohler got the win for Los Osos and Scott Burke took the loss for Glendora in a game played in front of at least 25 MLB and college scouts. Due to a scheduling quirk for the six-team league, some teams have played only one or two league games thus, Rancho Cucamonga sits atop the standings with a 1-0 record followed by Los Osos (2-0) and Glendora (2-1). This league is widely viewed as on of the toughest in the Inland Empire, and that should continue this year as the league is loaded with individual talent.

Sierra League: This year was supposed to be Chino Hills and everyone else in league, the problem is, someone forgot to tell everyone else that. Ayala played Chino Hills toe-to-toe before dropping a tough 4-3 loss. Claremont used five runs in the seventh inning to beat Chino Hills 7-6 a couple days later, that win came on the heels of a 6-2 loss to South Hills who lost to Charter Oak a few days before. You get the picture? There is no clear-cut favorite in this league as we thought before the season started. Much like the Baseline League, the Sierra league is loaded with individual talent, unlike the Baseline League, the belief is there are more balanced teams in the Sierra League. This one could come down to the final week of the season before a champion is crowned.

Sea View League: Arguably one of the most intriguing leagues in Orange County. Everyone expected Aliso Niguel, led by Kyle Molnar, the number 1 recruit in the 2015 class, to run away with the crown. Things have not been so easy for Aliso in the early going of the season. While the Wolverines sit atop the league standings with a 2-0 record, Laguna Hills is nipping at their heels and played Aliso tough in a 5-4 loss. Many thought Laguna Hills was a year away from making noise but coach Tim Ellis has to be pleased with what he's getting out of this squad. San Clemente has surprised some with wins over teams from the Trinity, South Coast, Century, and Moore leagues. The Tritons (8-3, 1-1) currently sit in third in league but are primed for a big second half of the season.

Moore League: Defending champ Long Beach Poly is off to a 2-0 start in the top heavy league. Stanford signee, Chris Castellanos, threw a masterpiece in an 1-0, 8-inning win over LB Wilson last week. The Jackrabbits followed that up by beating Compton 38-2.  Lakewood, a team everyone expected to reclaim the league title, is led by seven Division 1 players and currently sits in second place in league. Lakewood and Long Beach Poly will face off this week in a game at Blair Field in Long Beach. Long Beach Wilson is trying to find some consistency while navigating its way through league. The Bruins got a no hitter from Schuyler Hill in a win over Cabrillo last week before dropping a non-league game to El Segundo later in the week.

Be sure to check back often as I will add more league notes later today.

*** - Anaheim Lions Tournament
3/26/13 El Toro vs Tesoro Tesoro 3:30
3/26/13 Aliso Niguel vs San Juan Hills AN 3:30
3/26/13 Cypress v Kennedy Kennedy 3:15
3/26/13 El Dorado v Foothill Foothill 3:15
3/26/13 Gahr v Lynwood Gahr 3:15
3/26/13 Ayala v South Hills South Hills 3:30
3/26/13 Chino Hills v Damien Chino Hills 3:30
3/26/13 El Toro v Tesoro Tesoro 3:30
3/27/13 Esperanza v El Dorado El Dorado 3:15
3/27/13 El Dorado v Foothill El Dorado 3:15
3/27/13 Glendora v Upland Upland 3:15
3/27/13 LB Poly v Lakewood Blair Field 6:30
3/27/13 LB Wilson v Compton Compton 3:15
3/28/13 Aliso Niguel vs San Clemente San Clemente 3:30
3/28/13 Mission Viejo v Trabuco Hills Trabuco Hills 3:30
3/28/13 Cypress v Kennedy Cypress 3:15
3/28/13 Esperanza v El Dorado Esperanza 3:15
3/28/13 Gahr v Warren Warren 3:15
3/28/13 Ayala v Claremont Claremont 3:30
3/28/13 Chino Hills v South Hills  Chino Hills 3:30
3/29/13 Glendora v Rancho Cucamonga Glendora 3:15
3/29/13 LB Poly v Cabrillo LB Poly 3:15
3/30/13 Glendora v San Dimas San Dimas 7:00
3/30/13 Agoura v Valencia*** Valencia 11:00
3/30/13 Ayala v Loara*** Loara 11:00
3/30/13 Ayala v Troy *** Troy 3:00
3/30/13 Bonita v Servite*** Servite 11:00
3/30/13 Bonita v LB Wilson*** Kennedy HS 3:00
3/30/13 Serra v San Clemente*** San Clemente 11:00
3/30/13 Serra v Dana Hills*** Dana Hills 3:00
3/30/13 LB Poly v Salinas*** Boysen 1:00
3/30/13 LB Poly v Santa Margarita*** Glover Stadium 7:30
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