The season began tragically for Mater Dei (Santa Ana) softball, but up until Tuesday the on-field portion had gone just about perfectly. The Monarchs had won 17 in a row, including a victory over previously undefeated Santiago (Corona) to win the Santiago Spring Fling.
But the Monarchs aren't invincible. They were beaten on Tuesday, 4-1, in a Trinity League game, by Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita). Jessie Dauton hit a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, Danny Doucette had an RBI double in the seventh, and Amy Letourneau pitched a four-hitter. Nevertheless, Mater Dei's season has been extraordinary in light of the suicide of sophomore Bri Matthews 10 days before the season began. Matthews was one of the team's top two hitters and its pitching ace.
“The team really rallied around itself and it is probably the most focused group, as far as doing the little things, that we've had in a long time, preparation and taking one game at a time, making adjustments,” coach Doug Myers said. “The chemistry is the key thing. ... (It) developed as the season moved on.” Since the tragedy that enveloped the school, Myers said “everyone pushed themselves.
“I have been surprised how well this team has played,” Myers said. “They don't seem to get too high or too low when things happen, which is a great credit to them.”
That's very similar to what happened with the girls basketball team, which was also greatly affected by the death and openly said that Matthews was an inspiration even though she was not a basketball player; the team won the State Division II title.
The softball team was poised to be No. 1 in the state, and perhaps even No. 1 in the nation with its victory in the Spring Fling over previously unbeaten Santiago, 4-0, with timely hitting and stout pitching and defense. Among the defensive plays turned in by the Monarchs: Taylor Buononato threw out pinch-runer Alex Braley on Shelby Kuryllo's shallow single to left field. That's the kind of thing that's been going on all year.
Through the first 20 games, Mater Dei committed only 17 errors. Pitching has been solid, too. Junior Miranda Tamayo is 11-1 with a 0.74 earned-run average. Senior Carly Wade is 8-1 with a 0.99 ERA. On-base percentage against Tamayo is .185, against Wade .182. Offensively, the Monarchs have been led by junior catcher Amber Freeman (.463, 8 HR, 23 runs, 26 RBI), senior first baseman Amy Nunez (.434, 10 runs, 17 RBI), freshman third baseman Nicolette Udria (.418, 19 runs, 9 RBI) and sophomore center fielder Micaela Arizmendi (.367, 19 runs, 8 RBI).
Freeman, a catcher who has eliminated opponents' running games, missed last season because of surgery on her knee. Against Santiago in the fifth inning, after pitching around Freeman, Nunez hit a two-out, two-run single. Junior shortstop Caila Chirichigno was the tournament MVP. All told, Mater Dei has four sophomores and two freshmen in the starting lineup; Nunez is the only everyday player who's a senior.
But after the loss to Santa Margarita, “we'll see how we react,” Myers said. So far, given all they have faced, they have reacted just fine.
. . . And the law won
Harry Welch was a good hire by Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) to replace Mike Jacot, but it didn't take Welch long to run afoul of the law. Welch, who coached Canyon (Canyon Country) and St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano) to California State Bowl championships, apparently violated CIF Southern Section rules when he was part of an open house at the school on March 31 that extended an invitation to local youth coaches and players. Santa Margarita self-reported the undue influence violation of rule 510, and also administered a punishment that was accepted by section administrators. No word from the school on what the punishment was but reportedly it was not omission from the playoffs next season.
The rule covers “any act, gesture or communications . . . which may be objectively seen as an inducement, or part of a process of inducing a student (or his guardians) to enroll in, transfer to, or to remain in, a particular school for athletic purposes.”
On a separate note, Welch added Marty Spalding to his staff. Spalding had been one of the key coaches in helping Mission Viejo maintain its South Orange County dominance the last decade. Coincidentally, Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson was one of the candidates for the head coaching position at Santa Margarita. Also joining Welch's staff are former Canyon players Nate Longshore, a quarterback who went to Cal, and receiver Sean Coen.
Notes from the bullpen
Through April 19, Jared Ortiz, a senior outfielder for West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.), had an 18-game hitting streak. Included was an 8-for-15 performance in the Diamond Sports National Classic using wood bats. ... Karl Perez of La Mirada hit for the cycle and had six RBI in a 16-11 victory over Palos Verdes Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates) in a Redondo Tournament game.
Because some paperwork was lost, La Puente was omitted from the Don Lugo tournament. The Warriors never rescheduled another tournament, and as such have played only about half the number of games of most teams. They came into this week 8-2 overall, 6-2 in the Montview League, and sophomore pitcher Raymond Sedillo is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA.
“We're young and I'm not sure we have the arms to play four or five games in a week,” coach Brian Day told the San Gabriel Valley News. “I think the lack of games has kept our arms fresh and the kids focused. Next year we're going to be real solid. I've already entered us in the Glendora and Northview tournaments because I feel so good about what we have coming back.”
David Lira, a junior left-hander who was ruled eligible by the City Section and finally got a chance to pitch on Saturday after an investigation into his transfer from Chatsworth, threw a two-hitter and struck out 10 in a San Fernando 6-0 victory over Verdugo Hills (Tujunga). ... Leadoff hitter Isaac Gonzalez hit the first home run in Citrus Valley (Redlands, Calif.) history in an 18-0 victory over Shadow Hills (Indio). Citrus Valley is a new school playing without juniors and seniors.
Former major-leaguer Brian Hunter, a 1984 graduate of Paramount, had his number retired by the school on Tuesday.
The Best of the West Tournament hosted by Righetti (Santa Maria) has been one of the best tournaments around, and in the 31 years of its existence, no one had pitched a perfect game until UNLV-bound Amanda Oliveto of Simi Valley did so against Alemany (Mission Hills), recording 11 strikeouts in a 3-0 victory. In total, she struck out 29 in 16 innings. ... Since becoming the leadoff hitter, Anna Edwards of La Canada had 14 hits in her first 19 at-bats. She is 30-of-44 on the season (.682).
Spirit awards
Joseph Lavalle of Norco (Norco, Calif.), a standout in both baseball and basketball, has been one of four students selected statewide as a recipient of the CIF Spirit of Sport Award for the Winter/Spring. The award recognizes student athletes who have demonstrated the 16 principles of the CIF's Pursuing Victory with Honor campaign, are active in school and community service and exhibit leadership qualities.
Lavalle was the only selection from Southern California, although Tyler Polasek of Crean Lutheran South (Irvine) was a Fall award winner.
Athletic directors honored
Ralph Trigstad of Sunny Hills-La Habra has been named the State Athletic Director of the Year by the California State Athletic Directors Association, which recently named its annual award winners.
Dave Reid, district athletic director for the Corona-Norco Unified School District, was named the Bob Troppmann Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
Four Southland educators were named athletic directors of the year for their sections. From the Southern Section are Rich Imbriani of Cajon-San Bernardino, Nicki Bonomo of San Dimas and Mark Alves of Fairmont Prep, and from the City Section is Rose Low of Miguel Contreras Learning Center-Los Angeles.
For the organization's rookie of the year award, cited were Matt Howell of Arroyo Valley (San Bernardino), Matt McCain of Chino, Richard Zabala of Buena Park and Kevin Kanemura of Kennedy (Granada Hills).
City cuts hurt
The City Section often gets chided for some of the things that go on there, and now there's more. Because of cutbacks, coaches wanting to use their own school facility – in other words, use their field – after July 1 will have to pay $78 per quarter for a Civic Center Permit, plus $10 per hour for utilities and custodial supplies.
“Just for kids to play, it's getting ridiculous,” Wendy Triplett, Marshall-Los Angeles athletic director, said in an IAC meeting, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I think this is a scam.” Additionally, two coaching positions have been cut in football and basketball.
School ousted from the section
The Interscholastic Athletic Committee rescinded City Section membership of Community Charter (Lakeview Terrace) for repeated rule violations. It will be ineligible for the City playoffs next season and will be considered to be an associate member.
Recruiting
Keith Shamburger, a guard at Serra (Gardena) who helped the Cavaliers win the Division III state basketball title, has signed with San Jose State.
Avery Johnson of Ocean View (Huntington Beach) has apparently signed with San Francisco. His teammate, Anthony Brown, had already opted for Stanford.
Bonnie Samuelson, one of the outstanding juniors in the Southland, has reportedly committed to Stanford for women's basketball.
Malia Cravens of Temecula Valley (Temecula, Calif.) has committed to Hawaii for women's basketball.
Comings and goings
Mike Mooney has been hired as the new football coach at San Marino. Mooney has been the school's assistant principal, and is a former coach at Temple City and San Marino (in 1996-97); he also assisted D.R. Moreland the past two seasons and the program went 17-6.
Miguel Gonzalez, football coach at Grant (Van Nuys), has resigned after six seasons, four playoff berths and a 29-29 record. He will be replaced by Rudy De La Torre, who is already on campus as a counselor and is a former offensive coordinator in the program.
Kurt Ruth, boys basketball coach at Vista Murrieta, has resigned for family reasons after six consecutive winning seasons. His son will be a freshman soccer player next season and it conflicts with his season of coaching. “It wouldn't be fair to my son and family or my players,” he told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “Family does come first. You can't just say that, you have to live it.”
LaTrina Duncan, who took over midseason at Summit (Fontana, Calif.) for pregnant coach Alexis Barile – who had twins that were 10 weeks premature – has been named head coach of the program. The team reached the section finals. It was 28-7 overall, 18-3 under Duncan.
Richard Kitagawa has been named to replace Ralph Punaro, who coached girls basketball at South Pasadena for nearly two decades.
Polee's selection gets seconded
Sports writers selected Dwayne Polee of Westchester as the City Section Player of the Year a few weeks ago. City Section coaches came out with their All-City team and agreed: Polee is the player of the year.
Polee was one of five members of Division I state champion Westchester who made the 16-man first team that included Jordin Mayes, Denzel Douglas, Reggie Murphy and Kareem Jamar.
More all-star basketball
Bryce Jones of Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) scored 18 points to garner Most Valuable Player honors and lead the West to an 87-84 victory over the East in the Battle of the Valley All-Star game. Jones, who has signed with USC, also had 12 rebounds and scored a layup with two seconds left to give his team an 86-85 lead. Jason Johnson of Cleveland (Reseda, Calif.) scored 15 for the West, and Jamal McClerkin of Chaminade-West Hills scored 19 for the East.
North Carolina State-bound Kody Burke of Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), the school's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking, had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots to lift the East past the West, 91-75, in the girls game. Chatsworth's Monica Jackson scored 25 for the West.
In a pair of all-star games in which five minutes were added to each half, Jasmine Lister, who seemed to win so many games for Corona Santiago during the season, made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Riverside County a 116-115 victory over San Bernardino in that all-star game. Lister scored 17. Jasmine Ray of San Bernardino scored 32.
San Bernardino won the boys game, 142-109, as Kenneth Morgan of Summit (Fontana, Calif.) scored 15 to gain MVP honors. Derek Kaster of Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley, Calif.) scored 21 and won the slam dunk contest.
Mt. SAC Relays
A week after the Arcadia Invitational provided a showcase for some of the top performances in the nation, the Redondo Union group of Lindsay O'Neill, Rachel Bush, Lyndsey Mull and Chloe Curtis gave the 52nd Mt. SAC Relays its own reason to crow as they combined to run the fastest 4-x-1,600 meter time in U.S. history, 20 minutes, 3.48 seconds.
It was just one of several performances that set this year's season bests. Elias Geydon ran a 4:05.7 anchor to help Loyola (Los Angeles) to 10:05.15 in the boys distance medley. Long Beach Poly ran a 3:56.01 in the sprint medley, and Torrey Pines (San Diego) had an 11:41.84 in the distance medley.
Passings
Wendy Talarico died after being removed from life support 10 days after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Talarico, wife of JSerra-San Juan Capistrano CEO Frank Talarico, was 38.
A softball game pitting two Southland powers was postponed last Friday because of the death of Cody Van Acker, a junior at Canyon-Anaheim, the brother of senior first baseman Tayler Van Acker.
Hal Lambert, the first football coach at Taft-Woodland Hills in 1960 and continued for 20 years, died last month. He was 84.
Martin Henderson began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times. He contributes to the Orange County Register, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun, and offers up motorsports opinions at Racescribe.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.