Downey, Warren off to hot starts in baseball

DOWNEY – The Downey High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 10-7-1 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 4-0.

The Vikings competed in the Babe Herman Tournament March 16th-19th and finished with a record of 2-0-1. Downey tied Granada Hills Charter 1-1 in nine innings on March 16th, defeated El Camino Real of Woodland Hills 2-1 on March 18th and defeated Cleveland of Reseda 10-4 on March 19th.

The Vikings were defeated by Marina of Huntington Beach at Downey 4-1 in eight innings on Monday and will play Bellflower at Downey later today. Downey will travel to Mayfair to play the Monsoons next Tuesday and will then travel to Edison of Huntington Beach to play the Chargers next Thursday.

The Vikings will host cross-town rival Warren on April 9th and will then travel to Warren on April 11th to complete the home and away two-game series. Downey will host Gahr at Downey on April 16th and will travel to Gahr on April 18th. The Vikings will conclude league play when they travel to Paramount on April 22nd and when they host Paramount at Downey on April 24th.

Coach Gonzalez, his staff and players are all looking forward to finishing league play on a strong note and qualifying for the postseason. Gahr and Warren will once again be the teams to beat in league play.

WARREN BASEBALL: The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 19-2 and are 5-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play.

The Bears defeated Dominguez at Dominguez 17-0 on March 18th, defeated Lynwood at Warren 12-0 on March 19th, defeated Dominguez at Warren 18-0 on March 21st and defeated Lynwood at Lynwood 8-1 on March 22nd.

The Bears defeated Hawthorne at Warren 9-6 on March 23rd and defeated Bellflower at Bellflower 8-2 on Monday. The Bears are scheduled to compete in the Santa Ana Elks Tournament March 30th-April 3rd. Warren is scheduled to play Loyola on March 30th, Village Christian on April 1st, Villa Park on April 2nd and a “to be determined” opponent on April 3rd.

The Bears will travel to Downey on April 9th and will host the Vikings on April 11th in their annual two-game season series. Coach Pearson, his staff and players are all looking forward to league play and qualifying for the postseason. Downey and Gahr will be the teams to beat in league play.

WARREN SOFTBALL: The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 6-6 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 1-0.

The Bears are currently competing in the La Mirada Tournament where they are 1-1 and will continue playing this weekend against “to be determined” opponents based on previous results. Warren defeated Cajon 6-2 in their first game and was defeated by Diamond Ranch 6-5 in their second game on March 23rd.

The Bears defeated Lynwood at Lynwood 25-3 on Tuesday and traveled to Paramount yesterday to play the Lady Pirates (score unavailable at press time). Warren will host Gahr on Tuesday and will travel to cross-town rival Downey next Thursday.

Coach Starksen, her staff and players are all looking forward to league play and qualifying for the postseason. Downey and Gahr will be the teams to beat in league play.

DOWNEY GIRLS LACROSSE: The Downey High School girls’ lacrosse team currently has an overall record of 7-1 and are 2-0 in Ocean League play. The Lady Vikings recently competed in the Laguna Hills Tournament where they finished with a record of 1-1. Downey was defeated by El Dorado 11-9 and defeated Carlsbad 11-7 on March 9th.

Downey defeated Beverly Hills at Beverly Hills 22-5 on March 13th, defeated Culver City at Downey 14-5 on March 20th and defeated Corona Centennial 14-6 on March 21st. Downey hosted Santa Monica at Downey on Wednesday and hosted JSerra Catholic on Thursday (scores unavailable at press time). The Lady Vikings will host Millikan at Downey on April 2nd and will then host King of Riverside at Downey on April 4th.

Coach Mires, his staff and players are all looking forward to finishing league play on a strong note. The Lady Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 12-4 and an Ocean League record of 4-0.

DOWNEY BOYS VOLLEYBALL: The Downey High School boys’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 14-6 and are 1-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Vikings defeated El Dorado at El Dorado 3-0 on March 19th in non-league play and defeated Paramount at Paramount 3-0 on March 21st in league play.

Downey defeated Dominguez at Downey on Tuesday, hosted Lynwood at Downey yesterday, will host cross-town rival Warren at Downey on April 2nd and will host Gahr at Downey on April 4th.

Coach McCarthy, his staff and players are all looking forward to league play, qualifying for the postseason and defending their 2018 C.I.F. championship. Downey won the Division 3 title last year and is competing in Division 2 this year.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS: The fourth rotation of middle school sports has concluded and four more city championships have been claimed. Championships were up for grabs in varsity and junior varsity baseball and varsity and junior varsity softball.

Griffiths was the city champion in varsity baseball with a record of 4-1-1. Stauffer finished in second place with a record of 4-2, Doty finished in third place with a record of 3-2-1 and Sussman finished in fourth place with a record of 0-6.

Griffiths was also the city champion in junior varsity baseball with a record of 6-0. Doty and Stauffer tied for second place with records of 3-3 and Sussman finished in fourth place with a record of 0-6.

Griffiths was the city champion in varsity softball with a record of 5-0-1. Doty finished in second place with a record of 4-1-1 and Stauffer and Sussman tied for third place with records of 1-5.

Doty was the city champion in junior varsity softball with a record of 5-1. Griffiths finished in second place with a record of 3-2-1, Sussman finished in third place with a record of 2-3-1 and Stauffer finished in fourth place with a record of 1-5.

After four completed rotations Griffiths has 8.5 championships, Doty has 8 championships, Stauffer has four championships and Sussman has 2.5 championships. Track and field is the fifth and final rotation this year.

Six more city championships will be up for grabs with six gender and grade level teams competing against each other. Doty has won the Champions Trophy the last five years but needs a strong finish to keep the trophy at Doty.