The baseball season for Redlands East Valley began on a rocky note when it dismissed from the team standout player Tyler Shreve, whose response was to physically attack the bearer of bad news, coach James Cordes.
In the team picture, taken later that day, Cordes had a swollen eye and Shreve – not pictured – had troubles up the wazoo. Shreve, who was the school's quarterback, shortstop and possessed a 90-plus mph fastball, was expelled.
Yet without him, REV's baseball team has done just fine. The Wildcats (22-4, 11-1) essentially nailed down the Citrus Belt League title with a 8-4 victory over Yucaipa (20-6, 8-4). REV is No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 rankings, behind Chaminade and Glendora.
The Wildcats' Aaron Beckley (.559) has led the way with 36 runs, 20 RBI and 23 steals. He has been ably complemented by Brad Burcoff (.480, 24 runs, 34 RBI), Drew Hernandez (.459, 16 runs, 15 RBI), Michael Delcid (.408, 25 runs, 15 RBI) and Andrew Redman (.410, 30 runs, 22 RBI).
Griffin Murphy (10-0, 0.89 earned-run average) and Kyle McNutt (9-1, 1.94) have led the mound corps, which collectively has a 2.41 earned-run average.
Michael Delcid, Redlands East Valley
File photo by David Hood
"You've got to give a lot of credit to the seniors on the team," Cordes said, praising captains Murphy, Delcid and Burcoff. "I knew we had a great group coming in. The day of the incident, our seniors had a team meeting, an entire program meeting, and they handled it very well. When you see that from your senior leaders, it trickles down through the program."
Hernandez moved from second base to shortstop, McNutt stepped up as the No. 2 pitcher, and REV hasn't blinked since. Delcid and Redman are seniors but first-year varsity players who have impressed.
"That's the reason we had such a tough preseason schedule; we wanted to get a bunch of games under our belt before league," Cordes said.
The Wildcats close this week against second-place Rialto (13-10, 9-3) and Carter (5-16, 2-10) needing just one victory to clinch the league title outright.
"Division 2 is stacked," Cordes said. "The playoffs are all about getting the right batters hot and the pitchers ready to go. Murphy is our stud, he'll be ready. McNutt seems to be peaking at the right point. I think we're starting to get a couple of our middle-of-the-order guys swinging well, and if you can get all that lined up, you have a chance."
As for Shreve, who was 18 at the time of the attack, he is still considered a signee of Utah, according to a university spokesperson, and the college won't make a determination about his status until resolved in court. He has been charged with misdemeanor battery and has a hearing on Thursday.
Shreve told the Riverside Press-Enterprise at the time that the reason for his dismissal was that "(Cordes) said I wasn't going to class and I wasn't respecting the coaches, but I thought I showed him nothing but respect." Shreve also said that the cause of the attack was because Cordes was "taking my dreams away ... if you were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars you wouldn't be too happy either" and later that the expulsion "was the right decision."
Cordes has refrained from indicating the nature of Shreve's offenses that got him kicked off the team, but said, "If that's all there was, that isn't enough to dismiss someone from the team."
It's been 45 years, but who's counting?
Rancho Alamitos-Garden Grove got a strong performance from pitcher Justin Zielinski, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 5-2 victory over La Quinta-Fountain Valley (16-10, 11-3), giving the Vaqueros (18-4-2, 12-2) a share of the Garden Grove League title, their first since 1965.
La Quinta has won 17 straight league titles, and could still force a tie for first place with a victory over Rancho on Thursday; if that happens, and Garden Grove (17-6, 11-3) beats Santiago (10-11, 6-8), it could be a three-way tie for first place.
"I told our guys our school had not won it in 45 years, not since 1965," Greg Pines, the Rancho Alamitos coach, told the Orange County Register. "We don't want to share the championship with anybody, and we don't want anything to come down to a coin flip."
In the ninth, Rancho Alamitos scored on Mike Frank's bases-loaded bunt and Kory Weeks' two-run single.
In the spirit
North (Riverside) wore "Los Huskies" jerseys in its game against Centennial (Corona) in a 3-1 Big VIII loss. Centennial, coincidentally, is also nicknamed the Huskies. The game was played on Cinco de Mayo, and Spanish music was played between innings. David Arellano and North's Jack Johnson both pitched six-hitters.
They don't get paid by the hour
You don't hear about enough games like this. A Marmonte League baseball game in which Westlake (Westlake Village) scored a 2-1 victory over Newbury Park took only 66 minutes to complete. Winner Alex Daley and loser Jordan Brower each allowed five hits, each threw only 65 pitches. The difference was Collin Yelich's RBI single in the sixth inning.
Generally, there's too much posturing by batters to complete a game in about an hour. Credit to both those pitchers and teams – and probably the umpires, too – for staying focused and playing the game as it should be played.
Notes from the bullpen
This is the final week of the regular season before Southern Section playoffs begin.
Konnor Armijo hit a three-run homer in Mater Dei's 14-4 victory over St. John Bosco-Bellflower as the Monarchs (15-9, 11-3) positioned themselves to win the Trinity League title if they win their season finale against Bosco. They are tied with Orange Lutheran (20-5, 11-3) but, with two wins over the Lancers, hold a tiebreaker advantage for playoff-seeding purposes. Cory Hahn improved to 10-1 for Mater Dei.
Orange Lutheran kept pace with Mater Dei with a 6-4 victory over Servite-Anaheim on the strength of Chase Harrison's two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Moorpark junior Matt Higginbotham outdueled Royal-Simi Valley pitcher Cody Buckel in a 2-1 Marmonte League victory. Higginbotham benefited from two unearned runs in the first inning and made it stand with a two-hitter that included one walk and eight strikeouts. Buckel also allowed two hits, walked none, struck out six and retired the final 16 batters, but couldn't overcome Justin Greco's two-run double. Moorpark (19-8, 10-3) came into the final week of the season a game behind Royal (21-6, 11-2).
Brando Tessar (8-0) struck out nine and Chaminade-West Hills defeated last place Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 6-2, to remain atop the Mission League. The Eagles (23-4, 8-2) play third-place Alemany (17-8, 6-4) twice this week and try to protect a one-game lead over Crespi-Encino (20-5, 7-3).
Bishop Amat-La Puente clinched its fourth consecutive Del Rey League title on the strength of Brandon McNitt's two-hitter, an 8-1 victory over St. Paul. The Lancers (25-2, 11-0) have won 37 consecutive league games and are a win away – against St. Paul (19-9, 9-2) – from making it four straight unbeaten seasons.
Valencia (15-9-1, 10-3) continued its hold on the Foothill League and continues to have a one-game lead over West Ranch (17-7, 9-4). The Vikings close this week with a pair against last-place Canyon-Canyon Country.
La Mirada (19-8, 9-1) has won 16 of its last 17 and are in first place in the suburban league, but the Matadors close with two against second-place Bellflower (17-5, 8-2) to determine the league champ.
Fulton (Van Nuys) won its first-ever league title, a 16-3 victory over Northridge providing the Valley League title.
Nick Schmidt of Grace Brethren-Simi Valley set a Southern Section record by hitting his 55th double. The state record is 56 by Josh Barber of Mountain Empire-Pine Valley from 2005-08.
Kyle Ferret of Santiago-Corona had five hits and eight RBI in a 16-4 victory over Norco. He had three singles, a triple and a home run. Santiago is tied with Riverside Poly in the Big VIII.
Kaiser (Fontana) (17-8, 13-1) has clinched its first title since 2005 in the Sunkist League. The Cats have a three-game lead with one to play.
Northview (Covina) won its fifth consecutive Valle Vista League title after beating defending Southern Section Division 4 champion San Dimas, 13-7, behind pitcher Xavier Martinez. The top two teams in the Sunbelt League, Hemet (12-0) and Paloma Valley (10-2), play twice this week.
El Toro (Lake Forest) got homers from Chris Manning and Nick Villar in a 6-3 victory over Trabuco Hills-Mission Viejo to clinch the Sea View League title. Banning-Wilmington won the Marine League title with a 6-5 victory over San Pedro as Alex Sixtos pitched a three-hitter.
Chatsworth and El Camino Real (Woodland Hills) tied for the West Valley League title and will be among the favorites to win the City Section title. Chatsworth (23-4, 9-1) is likely to be the top-seeded team in the playoffs. ECR is 15-11 overall.
Recruiting notes
Dwayne Polee of Westchester-Los Angeles, the City Section Player of the Year who led the Comets to the Division I state title, has made it official: He's going to St. John's, where he will be a cornerstone in coach Steve Lavin's program. He will get a chance to continue playing in Los Angeles: St. John's plays at UCLA on Feb. 5, which should not only be special for Polee, but also for Lavin, who coached UCLA for seven seasons. Polee (6-foot-7), who long ago had committed to USC but reneged with its coaching change, also considered Oregon and Georgia.
Aqeel Quinn, a point guard at Leuzinger-Lawndale, has signed with Northridge. ... Thomas Bernal, a shortstop at Paso Robles, has committed to Kentucky. ... Cedric Provost, a receiver, running back and defensive back at Canyon Springs-Moreno Valley, has signed with South Dakota State, where he will also run track. ... Rory Perez, a punter and kicker at Canyon Springs, has signed with Montana State.
Comings and goings
Steve Thornburgh, athletic director at Citrus Valley-Redlands, has retired. He will be replaced by football coach Pete Smolin.
All administrators and athletic directors in the Fontana Unified School District have received notices that they will not return next school year; according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The paper also reports that Dwight Berry of Miller-Fontana and Evelyn Vance of Fontana have put in for early retirement pending board approval. Among other ADs who have received their notices are Ed Kearby of Summit-Fonanta, the 2008-09 CIF State Athletic Director of the Year. Another, Melissa Bako of the newly formed Jurupa Hills-Fontana, has not yet been allowed to hire a football coach with the season beginning in September.
Pending board approval in the wake of Don Markham's resignation at Rialto, Gavin Pachot has been named interim football coach. The permanent job will be advertised and an in-district candidate will first be sought; according to a spokesperson, Pachot will be eligible. He was offensive coordinator at Rialto for the past three seasons under Eric Rodriguez, who was fired. Pachot was also a member of Fontana's famed 1987 undefeated team that was named mythical national champion.
Scott Morrison, who coached six seasons at Damien and went 32-33-1 before becoming an assistant at Citrus College, has been named the new football coach at Workman (City of Industry). He replaces Fred DeLilio, who resigned after three seasons.
John Phillips has been named the new boys basketball coach at Charter Oak (Covina), where he replaces Ray Walker, who resigned. The school also named Todd Quinsey its girls basketball coach to replace Keisa Pineda; Quinsey was previously at Northview.
Mike McFarland, who coached last season at Pasadena, is expected to be named the new football coach at Temple City pending board approval this week. He replaces Anthony White, who resigned after only one season to take over at Buena Park.
That would be down
Mayfield (Pasadena) has fired its girls volleyball coach, Ernest Banaag, and he wonders why. The school has won three consecutive section titles and told the Pasadena Star News that the only reason provided was they wanted to "go in a different direction." The school has been smug since, refusing to respond to comment other than a "we wish him well in all his future endeavors" e-mail. "I don't know what direction winning CIF three years in a row is," Banaag said. "If it was for due cause, then I would understand. If it was three losing seasons, I would be happy to go."
The program was 90-24 under his direction, 22-4 in the playoffs.
Softball notes
Nicole Sappingfield set an Inland Empire record by delivering the 188th hit of her career, a single in the bottom of the sixth inning that sparked a three-run rally to give Norco a 5-4 Big VIII League victory over Riverside Poly. Sappingfield, who has signed with Michigan, still has a ways to go to break the section record held by Kelsey Kollen of Mater Dei (1995-98), who had 241 – a 35-hit advantage over the No. 2 position. "Now that I've reached it, I can move forward," Sappingfield told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. It should be noted that Sappingfield has done pretty well for herself while, apparently, not going forward.
Jessica Hall pitched a one-hitter and drove in two runs to lead Ayala-Chino Hills to a 3-0 Sierra League victory over Glendora, giving the Bulldogs (24-4, 8-1) a one-game lead over Glendora (19-5, 7-2) with a game to play between the teams on Thursday.
Carson and San Pedro, who have dominated so much of the last decade in City Section softball, are seeded 1-2 in this year's playoffs that begin May 12. Kennedy-Granada Hills is No. 3, and Chatsworth is No. 4. The title game is May 26 at Cal State Northridge.
Football notes
Damien-La Verne, in the effort by parochial schools to add to their facilities to raise their athletic programs and lure new students, has unveiled its new 3,400-square-foot weight room with 80 lifting stations. This is in addition to previous upgrades on campus, including a new gym and refurbishing of its baseball and football fields. "Twenty-five years ago, kids coming on your campus didn't really care about the weight room," football coach Greg Gano told the San Gabriel Valley News. "It's a good selling point for the school."
The Don Markham saga
Don Markham, 70, has won 309 football games and ran an offense that set a state scoring record. His legacy is secure, but he wants to make sure it isn't tarnished, which is one reason he doesn't plan to let his situation with the Rialto Unified School District get swept under the rug.
Markham was hired by Rialto in January to be its football coach, but after three incidents that, according to Markham, sound harmless enough, he has been cast as a villain in an odd chain of events. It certainly cost him any chance of coaching at Rialto, it has already cost him an opportunity to be an offensive coordinator elsewhere and could jeopardize his new goal of building the program at the new Grand Terrace High. "I've got to protect my name," said Markham, who met with a detective late last week. The school district says it will continue its investigation.
Allegations that he struck and choked players led to the investigation. Markam was suspended and, two days later, resigned only to reconsider; he rescinded his resignation within four hours, but district superintendent Harold Cebrun accepted the resignation and wasn't letting Markham back into the fold. Markham alleges former coach Eric Rodriguez has fanned the flames with e-mails, which Rodriguez has denied. Here are Markham's version of the incidences:
Instance 1: One of his players, in a dispute over the music played in the weight room, got in Markham's face and smarted off to him; Markham stiff-armed the student, who was standing about 18 inches away and slightly to Markham's side, as he walked past the student and away from the confrontation. Both apologized to each other shortly afterward.
Instance 2: Markham, a former Los Angeles policeman, broke up a near-fight by taking the tougher combatant from behind; he put an arm across his throat to pull the kid away and said, "Relax, don't even think about it."
Instance 3: A football player, 6-3, 330 pounds, jokingly said to Markham, "You want some of me," and put his hands up to slap box; Markham put his hands up, gave a fake "and gave him a little slap on the jaw with an open hand."
Markham could, theoretically, face misdemeanor charges if guilty. He vows to fight it. "I've got to clear this problem up," he said.
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.
