SPORTS BRIEFS: Warren High softball off to hot start

DOWNEY – The Warren High School softball team currently has a 9-3 record after participating in the Diamond Bar Springfest Tournament last weekend. The Bears went 3-1 in the tournament after falling to La Serna 5-4 in the final. Warren has been paced this season by senior captains Kimberly Olivas, Wendy DeLeon, Whitney Pemberton and Megan Narvaez.

Warren defeated Montebello 15-1 in their first game on 3/26, defeated West Covina 7-5 in their second game on 3/27 and defeated Chino Hills 12-10 in their third game on 3/28 before falling to La Serna in the final.

In the 7-5 win against West Covina, Megan Narvaez went 3-3 with a double and home run and Jissel Caballero added a home run of her own to pace the Bear offense. Warren pitcher Jocelyn Hernandez allowed three hits and struck out six to earn the win.

In the 12-10 win against Chino Hills, Warren trailed 10-0 entering the fifth inning before rallying for the win in extra innings. Taylor Gallo went 4-5 with three runs scored and Megan Narvaez went 4-4 with four RBIs to pace the Bear offense. Warren pitcher Brooklyn Sepulveda helped stop the Chino Hill offense when she entered the game in the fourth inning. Sepulveda helped herself at the plate with a home run of her own in the sixth inning to help force extra innings.

Warren played at La Serna on Tuesday in a rematch of the Diamond Bar Tournament final and defeated the Lancers 3-0. The Bears will begin S.G.V.L. play against Gahr at Gahr on 4/14. Warren will travel to cross-town rival Downey on 4/16 and will then host Mayfair on 4/20 in a non-league game. The Bears have had a busy preseason schedule in preparation for the start of league play.

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The Long Beach Press-Telegram has released it’s annual Dream Team selections for boys’ soccer. Several Warren Bears were selected as were several Pirates and one Viking from the San Gabriel Valley League.

Warren had two players selected to the First Team Dream Team. Junior Carlos Maldonado and senior Jose Albizar received that honor. Junior Oscar Canela and Senior Hector Rojo of Paramount also received that honor. Downey did not have a player selected to the First Team Dream Team.

Warren also had two players selected to the Second Team Dream Team. Juniors Fabian Medina and Juan Albizar received that honor. Junior Danny Martinez and sophomore Bryan Ortega of Paramount also received that honor. Downey senior Robyn Ortega received Second Team Dream Team honors.

Warren had one player receive Honorable Mention recognition for his efforts. That player was junior Chris Sanchez. Senior Alfredo Garcia of Paramount also received Honorable Mention Recognition for his contributions. Downey did not have a player given Honorable Mention Recognition.

Coaches Miguel Pena of Warren and Marvin Mires of Downey are extremely proud of these standout players and their consistent performances throughout the season. Both Downey and Warren will return several young players next year and will once again compete for the S.G.V.L. title. Warren was the 2015 league champion while Paramount finished second and Downey took third.

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The Downey High School boys’ volleyball team currently has a record of 4-9 and are 1-1 in S.G.V.L. play. Downey defeated Lynwood at Lynwood in three sets 25-21, 25-20 and 25-20 in their league opener on Thursday 3/26.

The Vikings competed in the St. John Bosco/Valley Christian Tournament last weekend (3/27-28) and finished the tournament 1-4. Downey competed in several close games and gained valuable game time experience.

In the SJB/V.C. Tournamernt, the Vikings were defeated by Bishop Montgomery in two sets 25-14 and 25-22, were defeated by Ontario Christian in two sets 25-20 and 25-12 and defeated St. Anthony in three sets 15-25, 26-24 and 16-14 on Friday 3/27.

Downey was defeated by Norwalk in three sets 25-23, 16-25 and 15-12 and was defeated by LaSalle in two sets 25-14 and 25-19 on Saturday 3/28.

Downey fell to cross-town rival Warren at Downey in three sets 25-7, 25-15 and 25-12 last Tuesday (3/31) in their second league game. Warren was the 2014 S.G.V.L. champion and remains the team to beat in San Gabriel Valley League play this year.

The Vikings have had a busy preseason schedule in preparation for the start of league play. Downey hosted Gahr yesterday (score unavailable at press time) and will travel to Paramount to face the Pirates on 4/14 after spring break.

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The middle school sports’ fourth rotation of baseball and softball is winding down with only one game left to play. Wednesday saw Sussman travel to Doty and Griffiths travel to Stauffer after Doty traveled to Sussman and Stauffer traveled to Griffiths on Monday.

On Monday, the Doty varsity baseball team defeated Sussman 6-1 and the Doty junior varsity team defeated Sussman 11-0. The Doty varsity softball team defeated Sussman 10-1 and the Doty junior varsity team defeated Sussman 26-3.

On Wednesday, the Doty baseball team defeated Sussman 8-0 and the Doty junior varsity team defeated Sussman 4-2. The Doty varsity softball team defeated Sussman 5-4 and the Doty junior varsity team defeated Sussman 11-0 in four innings.

On Monday, the Griffiths varsity baseball team defeated Stauffer 9-5 while the Griffiths and Stauffer junior varsity teams played to a 4-4 tie. The Stauffer varsity softball team defeated Griffiths 4-2 while the Griffiths and Stauffer junior varsity teams played to a 3-3 tie.

On Wednesday, the Stauffer baseball team defeated Griffiths 3-1 and the Stauffer junior varsity team defeated Griffiths 4-0. Stauffer’s Justin Arreola threw a no-hitter in the junior varsity game. The Griffiths varsity softball team defeated Stauffer 6-2 and the Griffiths junior varsity team defeated Stauffer 18-0 in four innings. The final standings are as follows. The Doty varsity baseball team is 5-0-1, Stauffer is 3-2-1, Griffiths is 1-3-2 and Sussman is 0-4-2. The Stauffer junior varsity team is 5-0-1, Griffiths is 3-1-2, Doty is 2-3-1 and Sussman is 0-6. The Stauffer varsity softball team is 5-1, Griffiths is 4-2, Doty is 3-3 and Sussman is 0-6. The Doty junior varsity softball team is 6-0, Griffiths is 3-2-1, Stauffer is 2-3-1 and Sussman is 0-6.

Doty won varsity baseball, Stauffer won junior varsity baseball, Stauffer won varsity softball and Doty won junior varsity softball.