Pictured L-R: Charter Oak & San Dimas pitchers, Anthony Vasquez & Kody King

Baseball:

Final Week Preview:

As the 2023 regular season reaches its climax, there is still plenty of drama that lies ahead.

I’ll touch on what’s been decided as well as league titles that have yet to be determined.

Baseline League:

Damien (19-4-2, 12-0) has paved a path that any program would envy.

The Spartans have already secured three-game Baseline League sweeps of Chino Hills, Upland, Los Osos and Rancho Cucamonga.

They enter the final week with a two-game lead over the defending league and CIF-SS Division 2 champs from Etiwanda.

DHS’ pitching staff deserves massive accolades for putting the Spartans in this position.

They’ve surrendered just 27 runs in league and have a 2.26 team ERA.

That is 20 fewer than second-place Etiwanda.

Damien does not have updated stats online, but Andrew Carter has been exceptional on the mound, and at the plate.

If the Spartans clinch, Carter would be considered a heavy favorite to win league MVP.

But DHS has also gotten terrific contributions on the mound from Nathan and Justin Ries, Rudy O’Dell, Ty Tancredi, Tristen Usher and Paul Barrera.

Damien’s offense is spearheaded by Justin Dunn, Nikko Paoletto, Tyler Daley, Julian Hines, Jett Hernandez, Daniel Serna, Cristian Grino and Carter.

Counting Etiwanda out would be a huge mistake, and don’t think for a second that Damien coach AJ Lamonda doesn’t feel the same way.

The Eagles (15-7, 10-2) still have the bulk of their title team in place, and that playoff-like experience and atmosphere is invaluable.

Etiwanda has a team ERA of 2.46, and they have three starting pitchers with at least one complete game each.

Dylan Goff (6-2, 0.86), Nico Neri (3-1, 0.68) and Brady Ebel (4-0, 3.08) would all need to win this week if EHS were to remain the Baseline League champions.

Etiwanda’s offense is led by Anthony Huezo (.406, 28 hits, 20 runs, 26 RBIs, six doubles, one triple & two HR’s), Brady Ebel (.344, 22 hits, 19 runs, 15 RBIs, eight doubles, one triple & one HR), Parker Sobiesiak (.353, 18 hits, 11 runs, seven RBIs, five doubles & one triple), Tyler McEvoy (.387, 12 hits, three runs, eight RBIs, one double & one HR), and Austen Roellig (.250, 18 hits, 16 runs, six RBIs & two doubles).

DHS will host EHS on Wednesday and Friday, and travel to Etiwanda on Wednesday.

The drama doesn’t begin and end with the premier match up.

Upland begins the week with a one-game lead over Rancho Cucamonga in third place.

And the Highlanders (10-10, 5-7) and Cougars (10-12, 4-8) meet up three times, with RCHS hosting on Monday and Friday.

Del Rey League:

Bishop Amat (19-3-1, 10-0) takes a two-game lead into their two-game set with La Salle (19-8, 10-0).

Amat already has one win against the Lancers, 6-3, in 12 innings.

La Salle, however, is playing its best baseball, and they’ve won eight consecutive games.

Will Clougherty (.481, 26 hits, 15 runs, 11 RBIs, four doubles and two triples), David Mysza (.518, 29 hits, 15 runs, 17 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples and one HR) Hunter Vigil (.333, 14 hits, 10 runs, six RBIs & one double), and Chris Cardenas (.333, 14 hits, 11 runs, nine RBIs & four doubles) lead the La Salle offense.

Val Gomez and Morgan Sullivan anchor a pitching staff that boasts a 2.26 team ERA.

Gomez is 5-1, with a 0.90 ERA, and Sullivan has a record of 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA.

La Salle heads to Amat on Monday and then host the Lancers on Wednesday at Arcadia County Park.

Hacienda League:

South Hills (18-6, 7-1) holds a one-game lead over second-place Walnut (12-9-3, 6-2) with two to go.

And while it’s politically incorrect to say, the Huskies will sweep last-place Rowland.

South Hills has surrendered just seven runs in league play and currently have a 1.33 team ERA.

The Raiders, however, are 3-12 and 0-7, and they’ve been outscored by a margin of 54-14.

Joseph Moreno had a rough outing on Friday, but he’ll certainly bounce back.

Moreno (5-3, 1.92) and Sterling Patick (6-1, 0.39) make up a formidable one-two punch on the mound.

The SHHS offense is paced by Marcos Rosales (.320, 24 hits, 23 runs, 13 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples & two HR’s), Matt Moreno (.320, 24 hits, 17 runs, 13 RBIs, three doubles, one triple & one HR), Noah Malone (.333, 17 hits, eight runs, 15 RBIs, two doubles & two HR’s) and Paul Vazquez (.284, 21 hits, 16 runs, 20 RBIs, six doubles & three HR’s), Luke Bauer (.304, 17 hits, nine runs, four RBIs, two doubles & one triple) and Steven Jimenez (.286, 18 hits, 15 runs, 11 RBIs, four doubles, one triple & one HR).

Pacific League:

While either Crescenta Valley (20-4, 12-0) or Arcadia (19-4, 11-1) will secure a Pacific League title, Burbank threw a monkey wrench into the mix.

On Friday, the Bulldogs handed AHS its first loss, and now the Apaches need the two-game sweep of the Falcons to continue their rein.

AHS has a .286 team batting average and they are led by Fernando Palencia (.441, 30 hits, 21 runs, 12 RBIs, eight doubles & one HR), Avery Truesdale (.350, 21 hits, 11 runs, 12 RBIs, four doubles & one triple), Christian Garcia (.339, 21 hits, 18 runs, 11 RBIs, four doubles & two triples) and Devon Eskridge (.304, 24 hits, 19 runs, 15 RBIs, five doubles & three triples).

The Apaches pitching staff has a combined ERA of 1.42.

Ian Hoffstetter (7-1, 1.07), Palencia (7-1, 1.01) and Gabriel Lopez (4-0. 1.79) have been big contributors to Arcadia’s success.

Crescenta Valley doesn’t post its roster, let alone stats, but the Falcons have scored a league-high 85 runs and surrendering a league-low 14.

And the Falcons are currently riding a 13-game win streak.

Arcadia will host CV on Tuesday, and the Falcons host the Apaches on Friday.

Both games are slated for 7.

Palomares League:

Bonita (15-4, 7-1) and Ayala (13-7, 7-1) are tied with two games to be play.

The Bearcats and Bulldogs are coming off sweeps of Glendora and Claremont, respectively.

BHS has arguably the area’s best 1-2 punch in Justin Santiago and Garrett Patterson.

Santiago (7-0, 0.88) and Patterson (4-1, 1.75) both have no-hitters in 2023.

Bonita has just a .247 team batting average.

Bryan Bradshaw (.305, 18 hits, 10 runs, seven RBIs, two doubles & one triple), Patterson (.304, 14 hits, six runs, seven RBIs & two doubles) and
Tyler Holley (.298, 14 hits, nine runs, six RBIs & five doubles) are the only three Bearcats with at least 35 at-bats and near or north of the .300 mark.

BHS has two with fourth-place Colony (8-14-1, 3-5) this week.

Ayala’s 66 runs are best in the Palomares League, with Glendora (48) being the next closest.

Aiden Erlandsen (.387, 24 hits, 18 runs, 11 RBIs & three doubles), Marcus Galvan (.367, 22 hits, 16 runs, nine RBIs, two doubles, two triples & two HR’s), Andrew Torres (.351, 20 hits, 14 runs, 16 RBIs, six doubles & two triples), Jake Lemoine (.317, 19 hits, nine runs, 18 RBIs, six doubles & one HR), Caleb Trugman (.318, 14 hits, 13 runs, six RBIs, two doubles & one triple), and Ethan Nunez (.291, 16 hits, 11 runs, 11 RBIs & seven doubles) lead the AHS offense amonth those with 35 or more at-bats.

Matt Yarc (3-2, 2.16) and Jeremy Byers (2-1, 3.09) will face third-place Glendora twice to close out their regular season schedule.

Ayala and Bonita are both CIF-SS Division 1 programs, so if they were to finish the regular season in a tie, they’d have to face off one more time to determine the one seed out of the Palomares League.

Rio Hondo League:

San Marino (15-6, 6-4) is arguably the best feel-good story in this coverage zone.

The Titans opened league with four consecutive losses, and all came by one run.

Since then, San Marino has reeled off six wins in a row.

With one week to play, SMHS is tied with South Pasadena (13-12, 6-4) and Monrovia (12-11, 6-4).

The Titans have scored a league-high 50 runs and surrendered a league-low of 22.

Truman Koch (.393, 22 hits, 11 runs, 18 RBIs & two doubles), Coleman Morning (.389, 21 hits, 16 runs, 11 RBIs & three doubles), Ryan Park (.328, 21 hits, 18 runs, 10 RBIs, two doubles & one triple), and Tyler Giddings (.328, 21 hits, 18 runs, 10 RBIs, two doubles & one triple) have been the heart of the SMHS lineup.

Michael Liquori (5-1, 1.32) and Tomas Bilvado (5-3, 2.55) anchor the Titans staff.

Monrovia and San Marino will meet up on Monday and Thursday.

The Wildcats have a team batting average of .219, and the offense is led by Noah Ellison (.312, 20 hits, 12 runs, six RBIs & eight doubles), Camden Conklin (.288, 17 hits, nine runs, eight doubles & two RBIs), Jack Zinn (.258, 17 hits, seven runs, 10 RBIs & three doubles) and Jared Cardenas (.278, 15 hits, 10 runs, five RBIs & one double).

Zach Menlove (4-4, 2.36) amd Andrew Cito (4-1, 2.33) lead a pitching staff that has a 1.97 team ERA).

South Pasadena has the least difficult challenge, as the Tigers battle last-place Temple City (5-12, 3-7) in a two-game series.

SPHS has a .236 team batting average.

Jason Yipp (.403, 29 hits, 17 runs, 12 RBIs, eight doubles & one triple) and Luke Riffle (.328, 22 hits, 13 runs & six RBIs) pace the Tigers offense.

Ben Petrillo (3-3, 3.86) and Nolan Adams (3-4, 1.83) lead a pitching staff that has a 2.88 team ERA.

Valle Vista League:

Charter Oak (15-8, 8-0) and San Dimas (18-6, 8-0) get to decide the VVL championship in a head-to-head match up.

The Saints host the Chargers on Tuesday and then head to COHS on Thursday.

Something will have to give, because San Dimas has scored a league-high 72 runs and Charter Oak has surrendered a league-low seven.

The SDHS offense (.299 team batting average) is led by Ryan Castro (.408, 31 hits, 21 runs, 13 RBIs & seven doubles), Kasen Khansarinia (.341, 28 hits, 22 runs, 11 RBIs & 11 doubles), Landon White (.371, 26 hits, 17 runs, 25 RBIs, 11 doubles & two HR’s), Vaughn Coleman (.371, 23 hits, 20 runs, 13 RBIs, six doubles & two triples) and Ryder Young (.288, 21 hits, 13 runs, 18 RBIs & 10 doubles) and Rocco Regan (.250, 18 hits, nine runs, 13 RBIs & six doubles).

San Dimas’ pitching staff is anchored by Kody King (6-2, 1.09) and Jude Favela (5-1, 1.11).

Charter Oak boasts a .301 team batting average.

The Chargers are led by Diego Ortiz (.514, 38 hits, 14 runs, 21 RBIs & five doubles), Anthony Vasquez (.329, 23 hits, 13 runs, 13 RBIs & 10 doubles), Chris Gonzalez (.327, 18 hits, seven runs, nine RBIs, two doubles & one triple), Josiah Martinez (.327, 16 hits, nine runs, three doubles & two triples), Athen Malone (.294, 15 hits, nine runs, 11 RBIs, six doubles & two HR’s) and Samuel Morales (.291, 16 hits, 14 runs, six RBIs, one double & one triple).

Anthony Vasquez (7-1, 1.58), Athen Malone (3-3, 2.42) and Chris Gonzalez (3-0, 2.41) pace a COHS pitching staff that has a 2.50 team ERA.

2023 League Champions Through April 23:
Mission Valley: Marshall Fundamental (16-4, 11-0)
Olympic: Maranatha (19-4, 12-0)

Baseline League:
Damien (19-4-2, 12-0)
Etiwanda (15-6, 10-2)
Upland (10-10, 5-7)
RCHS (10-12, 4-8)
Los Osos (7-14, 3-9)
Chino Hills (7-13, 2-10)

Del Rey:
Bishop Amat (19-3-1, 10-0)
La Salle (19-8, 8-2)
Serra (9-13, 4-5)
Paraclete (9-13, 4-8)
St. Paul (5-21, 0-10)

Hacienda:
South Hills (18-6, 7-1)
Walnut (12-9-3, 6-2)
Diamond Bar (9-11-1, 5-3)
Los Altos (5-16, 3-4)
Wilson (7-9, 2-6)
Rowland (3-12, 0-7)

Mission:
Notre Dame (23-2, 16-2)
Harvard Westlake (17-7, 11-6)
Crespi (15-5-3, 10-5-3)
Sierra Canyon (14-9-2, 7-9-2)
St. Francis (11-14, 7-11)
Chaminade (10-14-1, 6-11-1)
Loyola (8-15, 6-12)
Alemany (11-13, 5-12)

Mission Valley:
Marshall Fundamental (16-4, 11-0)
Gabrielino (9-8, 7-3)
Arroyo (12-6, 6-4)
South El Monte (10-10, 5-4)
Mountain View (6-9-1, 4-6)
El Monte (1-13, 1-8)
Rosemead (2-13-1, 1-10)

Montview:
Nogales (17-1, 8-0)
Gladstone (9-8, 6-1)
Duarte (8-4, 4-4)
Azusa (7-14, 4-6)
Sierra Vista (5-9, 1-5)
Workman (2-11, 0-7)

Olympic:
Maranatha (19-4, 12-0)
Village Christian (10-12-1, 6-4)
Whittier Christian (11-11, 4-6)
Valley Christian (6-11, 4-6)
Heritage Christian (6-15, 0-10)

Pacific:
CV (20-4, 12-0)
Arcadia (18-4, 11-1)
Burroughs (11-10, 7-5)
Burbank (10-8, 6-6)
Pasadena (10-10, 6-6)
Glendale (9-15, 4-8)
Muir (6-12, 2-10)
Hoover (4-19, 0-12)

Palomares:
Bonita (15-4, 7-1)
Ayala (13-7, 7-1)
Glendora (11-9, 5-3)
Colony (8-14-1, 3-5)
Alta Loma (7-11-1, 1-7)
Claremont (9-15, 1-7)

Prep:
Flintridge Prep (14-8, 8-2)
Providence (10-9, 6-4)
Poly (8-9-1, 5-4)
Chadwick (9-7, 4-5)
RHP (5-13, 2-10)

Rio Hondo:
San Marino (15-6, 6-4)
Monrovia (12-11, 6-4)
South Pasadena (12-12, 6-4)
La Canada (8-14, 5-7)
Temple City (5-12, 3-7)

Valle Vista League Standings:
San Dimas (18-6, 8-0)
Charter Oak (15-8, 8-0)
West Covina (14-7, 4-4)
Northview (9-12, 4-4)
Covina (9-10, 0-8)
Diamond Ranch (5-12, 0-8)