Sports briefs: Lady Grizzlies notch first win against Costa Mesa

DOWNEY – The Downey Calvary Chapel softball team currently has an overall record 1-8 and have not started Academy League play. The Lady Grizzlies were defeated by Pioneer 5-1 on 3/4, were defeated by Bell Gardens 12-4 on 3/11, were defeated by Mary Star of the Sea 6-0 on 3/13 and beat Costa Mesa 13-8 on 3/18 to nail down their first win.

The Lady Grizzlies were then defeated by Nogales 9-4 on 3/20, were defeated by Ramona Convent 5-4 on 3/21 and were defeated by Whittier Christian 18-0 and Mary Star of the Sea 2-0 on 3/22 at the Ontario Christian tournament. The Lady Grizzlies were then defeated by Bellarmine-Jefferson of Burbank 10-0 on Tuesday. DCC played Valley Christian yesterday (score unavailable at press time).

The Lady Grizzlies will begin Academy League play next Tuesday at Whitney of Cerritos. DCC will follow that up by hosting Crean Lutheran of Irvine on 4/11, will host Oxford Academy of Cypress on 4/17 and will then travel to Brethren Christian of Huntington Beach on 4/29 to complete their first round of league play.

Head coach Al Rodriguez is hoping that a difficult preseason schedule will prepare his team for the start of league play. Rodriguez’s team is very young this season. There are no seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen. Downey Calvary Chapel is competing in Division 6 this year.

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The St. John Bosco High School basketball team is the 2014 C.I.F. Division 2 champion.

The Braves finished their season with an overall record of 23-11 and a Trinity League record of 7-3. According to Maxpreps, St. John Bosco finished their season with a national ranking of 21 and a state ranking of seven.

The Braves lost their first game in the C.I.F. Open Division playoffs to Loyola 70-67 on 2/21, won their second game against Compton 58-52 on 2/28 and were eliminated from Open competition after their loss to Bishop Montgomery 64-63 on 3/4.

Although Bosco was eliminated from the Open Division playoffs, the Braves regrouped and went on a roll in the Division 2 playoffs. St. John Bosco went on a five game winning streak that culminated in the Division 2 championship. The Braves defeated Granada Hills 69-41 on 3/12, defeated Sonora 94-67 on 3/15, defeated Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista 84-64 on 3/18, defeated Compton 72-55 on 3/22 and defeated Folsom 63-54 at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento to claim their title.

The St. John Bosco basketball team joins the football team as state champions. The Brave football team won the C.I.F. Division 1 state championship by defeating Concord De La Salle 20-14 in December at the Stub Hub Center and were declared national champions by Maxpreps.

Interestingly, the Braves did not have a single player selected to the All-C.I.F. team for basketball despite winning the Division 2 title. Nonetheless, head coach Derrick Taylor is extremely proud of how hard his team has worked this season and could not be happier for his players’ tremendous accomplishment.

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The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 10-3 and are 1-0 in S.G.V.L. play.

The Bears will travel to Gahr next Tuesday to play the Gladiators. Gahr defeated Downey 7-5 on Tuesday and are also 1-0 in S.G.V.L. play. The Bears have won five of their last six games and are playing extremely well.

In their last six games, the Bears defeated Lynwood 11-0 on 3/25, defeated Diamond Bar 8-2 on 3/27, defeated Santa Fe 5-2 on 3/28, defeated Claremont 13-2 and Corona 6-0 on 3/29 and defeated Mayfair 19-2 on Tuesday.

In the Mayfair game, the Bears jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. The Bears didn’t score in the second inning but scored four runs in the third, three runs in the fourth and five runs in the fifth. The Bears led 19-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning and nailed down the mercy rule win 19-2.

Junior pitcher Courtney Sheldon improved to 7-3 on the season by pitching four innings. Sheldon allowed two hits, one walk and four strikeouts in the circle for the Bears.

The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record 8-0 and will begin S.G.V.L. play next Tuesday at Gahr. The Bears swept Santa Fe in a double header last Saturday 2-1 and 5-4, respectively. Warren’s next three games, after the away and home series against Gahr, are all non-league contests.

The Bears will play at Chula Vista on 4/15, against Brighton of Salt Lake City, Utah, on 4/16 and Torrance in the Chatsworth Tournament on 4/19 before returning to league play against cross-town rival Downey at Warren on 4/22.

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The Downey High School baseball team currently has an overall record 6-7 and will begin S.G.V.L. play next Tuesday at home against Lynwood. The Vikings have won three games in a row and four of their last six. Downey is playing their best baseball of the season right now.

Downey defeated Los Altos of Hacienda Heights 6-1 on 3/26. In the Los Altos game, the Vikings were led by two hits each from Gabriel Soto, Gabriel Llanes and Randy Labaut. Downey defeated St. Anthony’s of Long Beach 7-0 on 3/28. In the St. Anthony’s game, the Vikings were led by two hits each from Gabriel Llanes, Matthieu Bourgeault and Randy Labaut. Downey defeated Millikan 7-4 at Millikan on Tuesday. In the Millikan game, the Vikings were led by two hits each from Jacob Cook and Tyler Tungate.

The Vikings played Mary Star of the Sea of San Pedro at Downey yesterday (score unavailable at press time) and will play Firebaugh at Downey in the Edison Tournament next Thursday before their second game against Lynwood at Lynwood on Friday.

The Downey High School softball team currently has an overall record of 3-11 and are 0-2 in S.G.V.L. play. The Lady Vikings were defeated by Paramount 9-8 on 3/27 and by Gahr 7-5 on Tuesday. In the Gahr game, Gladiator sluggers Alyssa Kumiyama had three hits and Malia Quarles had two hits. Kumiyama hit a two-run home run and Quarles hit a solo home run to pace the Lady Gladiators.

Downey played at Dominguez yesterday (score unavailable at press time) and will host a double header against Santa Fe tomorrow before hosting Lynwood next Tuesday. Downey will travel to cross-town rival Warren next Thursday for their showdown against the Bears.

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Published: April 3, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 51