Two area scholastic baseball teams look to make their pitch at winning their respective league crowns this spring.
At La Jolla High School, head coach Gary Frank’s Vikings had a recent record of 6-5, paced to date by the likes of pitchers Tim Holdgrafer (2-2, one save, 2.82 ERA, batting .286), Sam Schneider (3-1, 1.15 ERA), Luke Bucon (1-1, 1.95 ERA), Weston Clark (.419 batting average), James Whelan (.348, two saves, 3.23 ERA), Brett Volger (.250, 4 doubles, strong defensive play) and Alex Eliopulos (.281, strong play at third base).
“Our goal as a team is to improve every day,” Frank remarked. “If we play to our abilities, we will have a good chance to compete for a Western League title and make a good run in the Division II playoffs.”
At La Jolla Country Day School, the Torreys, under head coach John Edman, were recently at 5-5 as play heated up.
“Right now, Alfonso Rivas is pitching very well for us,” Edman said. “He is 1-0, with a save, and has given up no earned runs in 10 innings while striking out 14 and walking only one.,Brennan Rubin, only a freshman, is 2-1 for us on the mound with a 1.71 ERA.”
Offensively, Edman said, “Brandon Wachs is leading our offense with a .480 average and six RBIs, while Keaton Weisz is hitting .444. Dylan Robertson is off to a very good start both on the mound and at the plate. He is 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA and is hitting .600 with a .765 on-base percentage (though he has only 19 plate appearances to date).”
While Edman said the team’s goal is to win the Coastal Conference, he expected it to be “a very competitive conference this year.,It should be a lot of fun.”
The Bishop’s School was also asked to provide information for this story. Three scholastic softball teams hope to be a hit this spring
The pursuit of league and CIF titles is on three scholastic softball teams’ radar.
Under head coach Art Schiele, The Bishop’s School’s Lady Knights entered mid-April with a record of 6-0. To date, Bishop’s has been led by the likes of junior captain/third baseman Sabrina Moreno (.667 batting average, 21 RBIs, 4 doubles, three triples, 1 home run), junior captain/shortstop Aida Ayala (.471, 16 RBIs, two doubles, 2 home runs) and freshman center fielder Livy Schiele (.706, 21 RBIs, four doubles, 3 triples, 6 stolen bases).
“Our goal coming into the season was to win a league championship and win CIF Division IV,” Art Schiele noted.
At La Jolla Country Day School, the Lady Torreys, under head coach Lissa Lewis, were sporting a 4-7 record recently. But LJCD has been led by some big bats to date, including those of seniors Taylor Johnson (who will be attending the University of Alabama) and Emily Springfield (who will be playing for Brown University next year).
“Our pitchers (senior Jacqueline Nelson and sophomore Kayla Magid) have been working hard, with defense right behind them to give their support,” Lewis said.
At La Jolla High, the Lady Vikings, under head coach Anthony Sarain, were sitting at 3-10 recently. Key players to date have included junior catcher Stephanie Alvarez (.500, 2 triples and a home run), junior pitcher Katja Sarain (third in San Diego section, with 58 strike-outs on the mound, batting .343) and freshman shortstop Linda Brown (.425, with a pair of home runs).
“We have had a lot of injuries in key positions,” Sarain said. “Our goal is to get healthy and make the Division IV playoffs.” Spikers at Bishop’s, La Jolla
are looking to net titles
With an eye on CIF gold, The Bishop’s School and La Jolla High School boys volleyball teams are looking to secure as many wins as possible in April league action.
Heading into mid-April, Bishop’s, under head coach Jacqueline Bernardin, sported a 4-1 record.
According to Bernardin, key players to date have included Scotty McPherson (senior, outside hitter), kill leader and athlete of the week Owen Gallahue (freshman, setter/right side-starter, with great leadership), Alec Swanson (junior, libero) and fellow junior outside hitter Chris Alleyne.
“Our goals this season are to win the Coastal League and win our division in CIF,” Bernardin remarked.
At neighboring La Jolla High, the Vikings, under head coach Dave Jones, came into mid-April with a mark of 5-6 overall (2-2 Western League).
“Considering the fact we only returned two starters (and two to three additional players) from last year’s CIF championship roster of 18 players, we are off to a great start,” Jones said. “We also don’t have a single senior on our roster this year, which means we’ll be even stronger next year. “That said, we don’t have to wait until next year for good things to happen; we’ve got a committed group of focused players who will be ready to push any team we play this season.”
La Jolla’s two returning starters are its current kill leaders-captains, Joe Palatella (middle blocker) and Jack Chapman (outside hitter). Junior Austin Jertberg is a strong middle blocker and outside hitter, while sophomore Jake Northrup plays just as well in the middle or on the right side, according to Jones.
“The versatility of so many of our players gives us options many teams only dream about,” Jones said. “Two more accomplished sophomores, Curran Robertson (libero) and Gavin Heap (setter), are cornerstones to our success as well.”
As of early April, La Jolla was the only team in Western League to even take a set off of Scripps Ranch High School, recently sitting in first place at 6-0 in Western League.
“With so much new blood on the varsity roster, it’s been inspiring to see all of our guys play at high levels in both practices and competitions. Even our newest players are stepping up to the challenge, working hard in practice and adding to the excellence of our strong tradition in men’s volleyball at La Jolla High School,” Jones said.