Sports Briefs: Bears in thick of playoff race
DOWNEY – The Warren High School baseball team won their second round game of the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs Tuesday, 4-1, at Diamond Bar. The Bears are now 28-4 overall after finishing San Gabriel Valley League play 7-3. Warren earned the number 2 league entry from the S.G.V.L. for the Division 3 playoffs. Warren has a 21-1 record outside of league play.
Warren had a wildcard round bye before defeating Rancho Alamitos last Friday at home 6-0 in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs. The Bears have won 14 games in a row and are playing their best baseball of the season. Warren’s last loss came against cross-town rival Downey at Downey 1-0 on 4/25.
Warren will play Palm Desert (23-6, 12-0) later today in the third round of the playoffs. The Palm Desert Aztecs defeated Loara on Tuesday to advance. Palm Desert is the number one entry from the Desert Valley League and have currently won 13 games in a row. La Quinta (17-12, 8-4) and Indio (17-9, 7-5) were the number two and three Desert Valley League seeds, respectively.
If Warren can get past Palm Desert today, that would set up a semifinal game against the winner of the Paloma Valley (21-6, 13-2)/Palos Verdes Peninsula (23-7, 7-3) game next Tuesday. The C.I.F. Division 3 final will be held at Dodger Stadium on Friday, June 6, at 2 p.m.
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The Warren High School girls’ softball team has seen their season come to an end in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs. The Bears lost to California (18-13, 8-2) last Thursday 7-6 after defeating Notre Dame (16-12, 7-3) 2-0 at Warren on 5/20 in the first round to advance. California fell to Palos Verdes (24-7, 8-2) 12-5 on Tuesday in the third round.
Notre Dame was the number three entry from the Mission League behind Chaminade (17-8-1, 7-3) and Alemany (17-9, 7-3), respectively. California was the number two entry from the Del Rio League behind league champion La Serna (27-3, 9-1).
The Bears finished their season with an overall record of 22-6 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 9-1. Warren was the 2014 S.G.V.L. co-champion with Gahr at 9-1 but earned the number one league entry by winning their second round league game against Gahr 2-1 at Warren on 5/1.
Warren was playing well entering the Division 3 playoffs. The Bears had won 12 of 13 games before playing California.
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Warren’s Benjamin Gonzalez won the Division 1 C.I.F. Championship in the 3200 meter final of the C.I.F. Track Championships last Saturday. Gonzalez broke the school record in the process.
Bear teammate Andres Barragan finished fourth in the same race and also beat the old school record. Both Gonzalez and Barragan will be competing this weekend at Cerritos College in the Master’s Meet with a chance to move on to the State Finals.
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Sam Kang of the Warren High Tennis team competed yesterday in the C.I.F. Individual Tennis Championships at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in Pico Rivera (scores unavailable at press time).
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The Downey High School baseball team saw their season come to an end Tuesday at home against the Quartz Hill Rebels (21-9, 13-1) by the score of 2-1. The Vikings were eliminated in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs. The Quartz Hill Rebels will go on to play Bishop Amat later today.
Downey finished their season with an overall record of 20-9 and a S.G.V.L. record of 9-1. Downey was the 2014 S.G.V.L. champion, number one entry from the S.G.V.L. in the Division 3 playoffs and the number three seed overall going into the playoffs.
Downey received a wildcard round bye before defeating Rialto (15-13, 8-7) last Friday 7-2 in the first round. The Rialto Knights were the number three entry from the San Andreas League. Carter (21-6, 14-1) and San Gorgonio (21-4, 13-2) were the first and second league seeds, repectively.
Downey’s loss was disappointing. The Vikings had won six games in a row and were on a hot streak.
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The Downey High School boys’ swim season has come to a close. The Vikings are the 2014 San Gabriel Valley League champions and were 13-0 in swim meet competition. The Vikings continued their strong season at league finals.
Coach Delhousay loved his team’s depth in combination with how well the younger swimmers meshed with the more experienced swimmers. As the season progressed, this combination turned into a solid, well balanced team.
Tadeo Marquez, Mike Kim, Nick Apodaca, Preston Medina, Danny Benitez, Frankie Gonzalez, Ryan Cruz, Christian Gomez, Tim Nilan, and Christian Kim will all returning to the pool next season with more experience and speed under their belts.
Downey had several swimmers qualify for C.I.F. prelims. Tadeo Marquez qualified in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Mike Kim qualified in the 200 IM and 100 breastroke. Tim Nilan qualified for the 500 freestyle and Nick Apdodaca qualified for the 50 freestyle. All three relays of the 200 IM, 200 and 400 freestyle qualified.
No Downey boy swimmer qualified for C.I.F. finals. Coach Delhousay said, “ the competition was very tough, but we still had nine boys make it and get a chance to compete against the best and that was very exciting for them,” Coach Delhousay said. “Overall, I would have to say this was my strongest team to date. I am looking forward to next year.”
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Published: May 29, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 07