Middle school baseball, softball seasons wrap up

DOWNEY – The Downey Unified School District middle school sports program concluded its fourth rotation of baseball and softball Wednesday afternoon. There were four city championships up for grabs in varsity and junior varsity baseball and varsity and junior varsity softball.

In varsity baseball, Sussman is currently in first place with a record of 4-1, Stauffer is in second place with a record of 2-2-1, Griffiths is in third place with a record of 2-3 and Doty is in fourth place with a record of 1-3-1. Sussman has clinched the city championship outright but traveled to Doty on Wednesday.

In junior varsity baseball, Doty is currently in first place with a record of 5-0, Sussman is in second place with a record of 4-1, Stauffer is in third place with a record of 1-4 and Griffiths is in fourth place with a record of 0-5. Doty has clinched at least a share of the city championship and needed to defeat Sussman Wednesday to win the city championship outright (score unavailable at press time).

In varsity softball, Doty and Griffiths are currently tied for first place with records of 4-1, Sussman is in third place with a record of 2-3 and Stauffer is in fourth place with a record of 0-5. If Doty and Griffiths both won their final games against Sussman and Stauffer on Wednesday respectively, they will share a city championship.

In junior varsity softball, Griffiths currently is in first place with a record of 4-0-1, Doty is in second place with a record of 3-1-1, Sussman is in third place with a record of 2-3 and Stauffer is in fourth place with a record of 0-5. If Griffiths won their final game against Stauffer on Wednesday, the Lady Indians will clinch the city championship outright.

■ The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 5-1 and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they travel to Paramount on April 4. 

The Bears are currently competing in the Quartz Hill Tournament where they are 2-1. Warren defeated Canyon at East Los Angeles College 1-0 on 3/9, defeated Eastside 12-0 at Antelope Valley College on 3/11, were defeated by Quartz Hill 10-5 on Tuesday and played Lancaster on Wednesday (score unavailable at press time).

The Bears will travel to Redlands East Valley later today, will travel to Cantwell-Sacred Heart next Tuesday and will host Laguna Beach at Warren next Friday in doubleheader action. The Bears have had a busy preseason schedule and things will stay that way until Warren travels to Paramount on April 4. Cross-town rival Downey, Gahr and Paramount will once again be the teams to beat in league play.  

 ■ The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 3-2 and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they travel to Paramount on April 4. 

Warren recently competed in the Redondo Union Tournament where they went 3-1. The Bears were defeated by Mayfair at Warren 5-0 on 3/7.

Warren will travel to Kennedy on 3/23 to play a doubleheader and are also scheduled to host Millikan on 3/27 in doubleheader action. The Bears will also be competing in the La Mirada Showcase Tournament the weekends of April 1 and April 8. 

Warren has had a busy preseason schedule and things will stay that way until the Bears travel to Paramount on April 4. The Gahr Gladiators were the undefeated 2016 S.G.V.L. champions with a record of 10-0. Cross-town rival Downey and Gahr will once again be the teams to beat in league play. 

■ The Downey High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 2-6 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they host Dominguez on April 4. 

The Vikings have just concluded the Loara Tournament where they finished with a record of 2-3.

The Vikings were defeated by Pacifica at Pacifica 8-4 on 3/2, defeated Irvine at Downey 2-0 on 3/4, defeated Wilson at Downey 4-1 on 3/7, were defeated by Millikan at Downey 4-3 on 3/9 and were defeated by Santa Margarita at Santa Margarita 9-5 on 3/11 to conclude the tournament. 

The Vikings were defeated by Long Beach Poly at Downey 6-5 on Tuesday, traveled to Narbonne yesterday and will host Western next Tuesday. The Vikings have had a busy preseason schedule and things will stay that way until the start of league play on April 4. Gahr, Paramount and cross-town rival Warren will once again be the teams to beat in league play. 

Coach Gonzalez, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play. The Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 13-17 and a S.G.V.L. record of 6-4. Downey defeated Redlands at Downey 7-1 in a play-in game before being defeated by Mission Viejo at Mission Viejo 7-1 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 2 playoffs.

■ The Downey High School girls’ lacrosse team currently has an overall record of 2-2 and began Ocean League play Wednesday against Beverly Hills at Downey (score unavailable at press time). 

The Lady Vikings were defeated by Palisades at Palisades 6-5 on 3/1, were defeated by Crescenta Valley at Downey 7-2 on 3/4, defeated El Segundo at Downey 12-2 on 3/7 and defeated Peninsula at Peninsula 10-2 on 3/8.

Downey will travel to Culver City later today, will travel to El Segundo next Wednesday, will host Santa Monica next Friday and will host Tustin on 3/31. 

The Lady Vikings compete in the Ocean League with Culver City, Beverly Hills, Marlborough and Santa Monica. Downey was the 2106 Ocean League champion after finishing last season with an overall record of 12-5 and a league record of 6-0. 

Downey is the only school that fields a team from the San Gabriel Valley League which explains why the Lady Vikings compete in the Ocean League for lacrosse.

Coach Mires, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play. The Lady Vikings are currently ranked 1274 in the nation and 95 in California.