With CIF playoffs right around the corner, three area scholastic baseball teams are hoping to make their mark in the post-season.
At La Jolla High School, head coach Gary Frank and the Vikings headed into this week with a record of 15-8 (7-2 league play).
According to Frank, some key players to date include senior shortstop Brett Volger (.329 batting average with 5 doubles, set school record for most games played in a career); senior third baseman Alex Eliopulos (.333 batting average, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, and 12 RBI’s); senior pitcher Sam Schneider (6-2 record, with a 1.10 ERA); junior second baseman/pitcher Tim Holdgrafer (.368 batting average with 3 doubles and 13 RBI’s, 6-2 record as a pitcher with a 1.95 ERA); and junior right fielder/pitcher Weston Clark (.319 batting average and 1.81 ERA on the mound).
As of the start of the week, La Jolla was in first place in the Western League (one game up on Madison) with three games left to play. “Our goal is to win the first league title since 2007 and fourth in school history, and compete for a Division II CIF championship,” Frank commented.
Heading into action this week, the La Jolla Country Day School Torreys, under head coach John Edman, sat at 11-9 (3-3 in league). “We have lost three close games in the league that have put us in the running for second place but not a championship,” Edman stated. LJCD lost 3-2 and 7-4 to Santa Fe Christian, along with a 3-2 setback to Parker. In another meeting with Parker, LJCD tallied a 4-1 win on the strength of freshman pitcher Brennan Rubin’s five-inning, one-run performance. Brandon Wachs had a huge two-RBI double to give the Torreys a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning. “So far, Brennan has been our standout on the mound, with a 3-2 record and an impressive 1.31 ERA, 38 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched,” Edman added. Offensively, Keaton Weisz (.369 with 11 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, a homer and 11 stolen bases), Wachs (.358 with 14 RBI, 7 doubles and 2 homers) and Dylan Robertson (.462 with 14 runs, 10 RBI, 3 doubles, 1 home run and, 7 stolen bases) are having big years.
“Our goal for the rest of the year,” Edman said, “is to finish as high as we can in the league and then get in and make a run in the playoffs (Division I this year).”
At The Bishop’s School, head coach Joe Centanni and the Knights entered action this week with an overall mark of 10-11.
According to Centanni, key players to date include shortstop Bulla Graft, catcher Jamie Abrams and first baseman/outfielder Cyrus Nolan.
“Our goal is to finish the regular season on a high note and make a run in the Division IV playoffs,” Centanni said. Softball Teams Look to Score Bids in Upcoming CIF Playoffs As the number of regular-season final games dwindles, several local scholastic softball teams are looking to lock up seeds in the upcoming CIF playoffs.
At The Bishop’s School, the Lady Knights, under head coach Art Schiele, were a perfect 18-0 entering this week of play.
According to Schiele, key players have included junior captain/third baseman Sabrina Moreno (5 home runs, leads county players with 52 RBI); junior captain/shortstop Aida Ayala (.464, with 3 home runs); freshman center fielder Livy Schiele (top 10 in San Diego County with .600 batting average, on-base percentage .681, 40 runs scored and 26 stolen bases); and sophomore pitcher Grace Young (10-0 record, 1.73 ERA).
“This team is ready to work harder right now to ensure that we’re playing our best softball at the end of the season,” Schiele said. “Our goals of winning league and CIF championships are still within reach.”
At La Jolla High, the Lady Vikings, under head coach Anthony Sarain, have had a tough go of it this season, sitting at 3-23 as they headed into action this week.
“We are still hoping to squeeze into the Division IV playoffs,” Sarain noted.
At La Jolla Country Day School, the Lady Torreys, under head coach Lissa Lewis, were to finish up regular-season play this week against rival Bishop’s. As of this week, LJCD sat at 5-13.
“It has been a rough season,” Lewis said, “but this team has fought to stay in the game. This showed when we played Santa Fe Christian going into the ninth inning. Our pitchers Jacqueline Nelson and Kayla Magid have stepped up and worked together. Our hitters, seniors Taylor Johnson, Emily Springfield and Jacqueline Nelson, and sophomore Kayla Magid and freshman Samantha Moothart, continued to get stronger throughout the season.”
Lewis added that she is most proud of the work this team has put in and that they continued to find ways to improve both on and off the field. Bishop’s and La Jolla High looking to net volleyball titles With the regular season having closed out, The Bishop’s School and La Jolla High School boys volleyball teams are hoping to find CIF gold in their nets soon.
At The Bishop’s School, head coach Jacqueline Bernardin’s Knights were sporting a 17-4 overall mark (8-0 and undefeated Coastal League champions). According to Bernardin, key players have included senior outside hitter Scotty McPherson, junior outside hitter Chris Alleyne, junior libero Alec Swanson and freshman setter/right side Owen Gallahue.
“We achieved our first goal,” Bernardin said, “and that was to win league. And now, our goal is to win the Division II CIF championship and have a blast doing it.”
At neighboring La Jolla High, head coach Dave Jones and the Vikings finished the regular season 7-5 in Western League and 17-14 overall. Junior captains Joe Palatella (middle blocker) and Jack Chapman (outside hitter) helped to avenge an earlier season loss to Cathedral Catholic in the team’s final league match, upending the Dons 19-25, 27-25, 25-23, 26-28, 15-13. “We were moved from Division III to Division I this year in CIF due to the overall strength of our program, which will make playoffs more of a challenge than ever,” Jones said. “We received the fifth seed (of 12 teams) heading into Wednesday night’s (May 14) first round match (hosting visiting Mission Hills).
“In terms of goals,” Jones added, “we know where we want to finish this season, but to get there at this point, we’ve got to remain focused on the next opponent in front of us at any given time, and right now, that’s Mission Hills.”