California: Poway Softball Makes Statement

Baseball isn’t the only spring sport they play with excellence at Poway.

Stationed in the No. 8 spot in the San Diego Union-Tribune softball preseason ratings, the Titans proved they no doubt deserve higher consideration.

The Titans (6-0) toppled the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the UT preseason poll on their way to claiming the Gold Division championship of the Escondido Cougar Classic at Kit Carson Park in Escondido.

Sophomore Haley Steele clubbed a three-run home run in the first inning to start the Titans on their way to a 5-0 victory over No. 2-ranked Mt. Carmel in the championship game.

Steele batted .500 with nine RBI in the season-opening tourney as Poway played in the final for the first time in coach Jim Bennet's seven-year tenure.

These Titans do not rely on one pitcher or one hitter to carry the load. They are loaded from top to bottom and figure to secure the No.1 ranking in the CIFSDS in the next balloting.

Arielle Craig and Rebecca Trott combined to spin a two-hit shutout with a total of 12 strikeouts against the two-time defending Division II champion Sun Devils (5-1) of Mt. Carmel.

Mt. Carmel didn't advance a runner past second base. Craig pitched the first four innings, and Trott didn't allow a base runner in her three frames.

Poway catapulted into the title bout via an 8-0 win over No. 2-ranked Escondido in the semifinals.

Should be some interesting balloting in the next poll.

More Softball: Falcon freshman one pitch shy of perfect

Torrey Pines freshman left-hander Lauren Hynes came within one pitch of twirling a perfect game against No. 6 Steele Canyon in a 7-0 win. Hynes missed with a 3-2 pitch that led to a sixth-inning walk.  She followed that with three innings of relief to gain the save in a 5-4 victory over No. 7 Rancho Bernardo.

Boys Basketball: Knights’ Leaf captures section’s scoring title

A three-year starter for CIFSDS three-time Division V champion Foothills Christian, 6-foot-3 junior Troy Leaf scored 833 points to edge El Camino’s Luke Evans by six points for the scoring championship. It is the second consecutive year Leaf has captured the section’s scoring title.

Baseball: High five for El Camino hitter

Junior Joseph Daris of El Camino tied a school record with five hits in a 10-1 win over Sweetwater. Davis, who is batting at a .727 clip, also went 2-for-3 in an 8-6 win over Westview.

Boys Track: Fast start for Torrey Pines sprinter

Torrey Pines’ Bassim El-Sabawi broke the tape with a time of 10.91 seconds to win the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Rancho Bernardo Bronco Invitational.

Other Top Performances

 — Daniel Brooks, a junior at El Camino, tied a school record with six RBI and hammered a home run in an 8-6 win over Westview. He doubled in a run in a 10-1 victory over Sweetwater and hit a home run and batted in three runs in a 7-4 win over University City.

 — Mount Miguel junior second baseman Julian Charles hit .667 with a triple, a grand slam and six RBI as the Matadors mauled San Diego Southwest and Olympian.

 — El Cajon Valley freshman Chelsea Mullens fired a no-hitter in the Braves 13-0 win over Sweetwater. It was the first softball no-hitter by an El Cajon Valley pitcher in nearly a decade.

— Record-setting running back Tyler Gaffney of Cathedral Catholic is wasting little time making an impact with the bat. In Cathedral Catholic’s first games three games – all wins – he’s batting at a .556 clip

— Junior Brett Thomas of Poway went 6-for-9 to spark the Titans to Hilltop Baseball Tournament wins over St. Augustine, Hilltop and Rancho Buena Vista.

Coming Attractions

Championship games for six early season CIFSDS baseball tournaments are slated for Saturday, Mar. 21. The lineup, which features all of the area’s top teams goes like this: Eagles-Warriors at Mira Costa College 9 a.m.; Foothiller-Aztec Classic at Grossmont High 10:30; Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament at Hilltop 10:30; Pirate-Falcon Classic at Oceanside at 11; Bully’s East Tournament at Sweetwater in National City at 11; and Christian Patriots Invitational at El Cajon Christian at 2.

Dickens Dealings

Anyone in touch with the daily news realizes that high school budgets on all fronts are starving for funding. Pink slips for teachers are being doled out by the handfuls. Classroom sizes are swelling and due to the million-dollar budget shortfalls, extra-curricular activities are obviously in jeopardy of being reduced or even eliminated.

At many schools long-time coaches have seen this money shortage coming. Thus they have organized fundraising activities in full force. Although no coach will probably come out and say so, veteran mentors are striving to be self-contained. Granted, they’ve been all but in that state for the past decade in many districts.

No coach, however, wants to live by the “pay-to-play” mandate. Think of what kind of headaches that would cause.

Most school administrators recognize the value of after-school activities such as athletics. But some teachers and parents of non-athletes could care less about spending a dime on sports.

That’s understandable. That is until you check out the alternative. Many athletic types attend high school just to play sports. Of that group, most realize the ability to continue on to the next level means excelling in the classroom.

What if sports were abolished across the board to save money? How many kids would quit coming to school because of the lack of sports? Likely more than the administrators and teachers might like to believe.

Thus, if denied of a playground to expend their energy, what would these kids do to fill the void?

Check with you local law enforcement offices for those answers.

Look at it this way: high school athletics keeps kids involved in positive activities rather than on the streets aligned with gangs.

Bottom line: Is the money – 1 to 4 percent of the total budget – worth providing athletic programs?

You better believe it.