Football: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor To say there was an inordinate amount of pressure on Sean Jastrab as he took over the reigns of the Bonita offense would be a massive understatement. The Bearcats junior replaced a Bonita legend in quarterback JP Andrade, who now plays for Ohio State. In 2018, Andrade capped off […]
Baseball: Pictured L-R: Brandon Ramey pitching to Franco Alonso, Zach Jacobs getting ready to face a batter, & PCC pitching coach/Legends Tournament Director, Nico Calderaro. By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor The idea of running an indoor baseball league had percolated in his brain for over a year. Nico Calderaro, a member of the PCC baseball […]
Girls Basketball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Even by Flintridge Prep standards, Sofia Gonzalez is a remarkably impressive and accomplished young lady. Gonzalez stepped into the role as the sixth-man (or woman) during her freshman year and she’s never looked back. During her three-year run at the La Canada school, the Rebels have won 73 […]
Softball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor You couldn’t blame Miranda Robson or her teammates at Los Osos if they’d never heard of singer Vanessa Williams. But it seems a No. 1 hit single that she released more than a decade before any of the 2020 Grizzlies had even been born called ‘Save the Best for […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Mark Daley’s senior season at La Salle was a rough one. He injured his hamstring in December, and later in that same month, reinjured it again. Daley played in the first contest of the 2020 season at Crescenta Valley, and on the sixth pitch of the game, he hit […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor As the 2020 baseball season neared, Arcadia senior Justin Rios was expected to be the No. 3 pitcher for the reigning Pacific League champions. Fellow seniors Preston Howey (13-1, 0.75 ERA) and Chris Wilson (10-1, 0.99 ERA) were coming off a remarkable 2019 season. And they were arguably the […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Luke Heiberg’s high school baseball career was much like a roller coaster. He had dramatic up and down moments. But unlike a roller coaster, Heiberg finished on top (of his game). Heiberg began his prep career at La Salle, and despite starting his freshman campaign on the JV team, […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Before Adonis Harrison took over the reins of his alma mater in 2018, the Muir baseball program was irrelevant. It might sound mean, but it’s the nicest and most politically correct way of saying it. Harrison, though, came in and his impact was felt instantly, and it earned the […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto Justin Gutierrez was ‘heart broken’ when COVID-19 cut his high school baseball career short. And it wasn’t just because he wanted to finish out the final two-thirds of his senior season. It was also because in 2020, Gutierrez had gone from PO (pitcher only) to the second best hitter in the […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor There were a number of players and programs in the San Gabriel Valley that members of the media looked forward to covering during the 2020 baseball season. For this writer, Maranatha’s Brock Vradenburg was on a very short list, because of his ability to change the complexion of a […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Eli Paton finished his high school career at Maranatha on a high note. But it didn’t start off that way. Paton transferred to the Pasadena school after his sophomore season at Loyola. And after sitting out the first eight games of 2019, Paton struggled mightily. Heading into mid-April of […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor When Marshall takes the near eight-mile bus ride to Rosemead on Tuesday in the CIF-SS Division 7 semifinals, the Eagles go in with some serious momentum. Marshall and Rosemead have played twice this year in Mission Valley League play. And the Eagles were victorious on both occasions. In fact, […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor There isn’t a scintilla of hyperbole in saying that Thomas Arnst left the Marshall Fundamental baseball program much better off than when he found it four years ago. And before going any further, Arnst would want you to know that his teammates and coaches had just as much to do […]
Football: Pictured L-R: Cade Marshman, AJ Salgado & Matt Gonzales By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor There are a lot of reasons why the Glendora football program is 5-0 in 2019 and ranked No. 1 in the CIF-SS Division 5 poll for the last five weeks. The Tartans are well coached and they have much of […]
Football/Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor If you watched Glendora High School football over the past two years, the first four names you probably heard were Cade Marshman, Jacob Gonzalez, Xzavier Ford and AJ Salgado. Each of the four were studs and massive contributors for Coach Brandon Rohrer. In just two years, Rohrer’s program has […]
Football: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor In 2019, Rio Hondo Prep has faced 10 football teams and each of its opponents knew exactly what the Kares were going to do. RHP has literally run over its competition and is 10-0. They won their first outright Prep League championship since 2015, knocking off the three-time champs […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Rio Hondo Prep three-sport athlete Alex Vazquez didn’t see his name in the headlines very often. Evan Foor, Jack Van Cleve, Jake Lang, Jonathan Guerrero and others got the lion’s share of the credit for the success of the Kares’ athletic programs by those of us in the media. […]
Football/Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Jack Van Cleve is a winner. The last time he got to play a full baseball season (2019), the Rio Hondo Prep right-hander got the save in the CIF-SS Division 6 title-game victory over Costa Mesa, 9-7. Van Cleve went two scoreless innings at UC Riverside to close out […]
Baseball: By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Bonita’s AJ Moreno and Trevor Caton played instrumental roles in the success of both Steve Bogan’s football program and Ryan Marcos’ baseball team. Moreno and Caton also did well in the classroom, are regarded as very solid young men and they are best friends. The Bearcats’ duo played football […]
High School Sports: Photo credit to LaVerneOnline.com By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor When Eric Podley announced his intentions to retire this past week, the overwhelming reaction was that of appreciation for his 40 years of meaningful service in education, which included roles as a social studies teacher, football coach, athletic director and assistant principal. And […]
