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By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on Twitter • April 29, 2021
The Gahr High baseball team is going through its usual roller coaster of a non-league season but is beginning to find comfort in the San Gabriel Valley League portion of its schedule. The Gladiators, winners of five straight league titles prior to last season, in which the season was cut short before they could play a league game, are on the early track to make it six in a row.
After defeating Downey High 3-1 this past Monday, the Gladiators completed the weekly sweep, shutting out the Vikings 4-0 this past Wednesday on the road. Gahr, winners of four straight games, improved to 9-8 overall and 4-0 in the SGVL. It’s the third time this season Gahr has been over .500.
Sophomore Noah Andrunas pitched six solid innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. Senior shortstop DJ Massey went two for three and drove in a run while freshman Donavan Afemata came off the bench to hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.
Gahr will face Foothill High on Saturday in a Newport Elks Tournament contest before hosting Warren High on Tuesday, Warren began this week ranked second in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Top 10 poll.
In other baseball news, John Glenn High, which has two games under its belt but not since Apr. 13, will host Pioneer High on Tuesday while La Mirada High posted a 13-5 win at Glendora High this past Monday, improving to 9-10. The Matadores will host Capistrano Valley Christian High today before jumping into Suburban League action on Tuesday at Bellflower High.
Valley Christian High knocked off Whittier Christian High 12-8 last Friday and will take its 9-4 overall mark into today’s non-league affair at Bishop Montgomery High. The Defenders, who are 2-1 in Olympic League action, will visit Maranatha High on Tuesday in the front end of a home and home series.
SOFTBALL
It’s been rough going for Artesia High and first-year head coach Ed Blanck, who was the Cerritos High head coach in 2008. The Lady Pioneers, who started six freshmen, juniors and one senior against Cerritos this past Tuesday in the 605 League opener for both, were no match for the 2019 league champions. Cerritos junior pitcher Erin Gibbs allowed one hit over three innings and struck out seven in a 15-0, five-inning victory. Gibbs also went three for three and drove in four runs while sophomore right fielder Camile Lara went three for three, scored three times and drove in a pair of runs as part of a 15-hit attack.
Following a 9-8 win against Fountain Valley High this past Wednesday in which senior first baseman Samiya Jones doubled in a pair of runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Cerritos improved to 8-1 overall. The Lady Dons, just outside the Top 10 in Division 3, hosted Whitney High on Apr. 29 and will visit Pioneer on Tuesday. Artesia (0-2) hosts Oxford Academy today and will visit Whitney on Tuesday.
Gahr was stunned by Downey 6-3 this past Tuesday in the SGVL opener as the Lady Gladiators, ranked 10th in Division 1, fell to 7-3 overall. It was the first league loss for Gahr since the final league game of the 2018 season, also at Downey, and just the third loss in the past 50 SGVL outings. Gahr hosted Dominguez High on Apr. 29 and will entertain Murrieta Mesa High on Saturday, Orange Lutheran High on Monday and Lynwood High on Tuesday before travelling to Warren on Thursday.
Glenn slammed Whitney 27-1 this past Tuesday to improve to 4-0 overall. The Lady Eagles, who have outscored three opponents 45-3 thus far with the other victory coming by way of a forfeit, hosted Pioneer on Apr. 29 and will be home to Oxford Academy on Tuesday.
La Mirada knocked off JSerra High 5-1 last Saturday to move its mark to 5-1. The Lady Mats will visit Millikan High today and host St. Paul High on Saturday before visiting Bellflower on Tuesday.
Norwalk High lost a chance to reach .500 for the first time this season as Mayfair High defeated the Lady Lancers 8-1 this past Tuesday in the Suburban League opener. Norwalk dropped to 3-5 overall as it will face the Monsoons again on the road today.
It’s been rough going for V.C., which has been shutout in its last two games and six times this season. The Lady Defenders (1-9) travelled to Maranatha on Apr. 29 in the Olympic League opener and hope to get back on track. They will also host Village Christian High on Tuesday.
The top area basketball news comes out of Cerritos where the boys won their fourth straight game, after a 56-40 conquest at Pioneer this past Tuesday. Since moving to the 605 League, the Dons are 22-1. Before the game, the Cerritos girls were defeated 78-55 and dropped their record to 1-4 overall with two losses coming in league action. Since joining the league, the Lady Dons are 17-6.
The top area soccer news centers around Valley Christian and its dominance in the Olympic League. The V.C. boys blanked Whittier Christian 5-0 this past Tuesday to move to 11-1-1 overall and 6-0-0 in league action. The last time a V.C. boys team lost a league game was Jan. 19, 2018, a 2-1 setback to Maranatha. Since then, the Defenders have gone 16-0-5 in league action.
V.C. is ranked eighth in Division 5 and will wrap up the regular season hosting Village Christian today and visiting Heritage Christian High on Tuesday.
Even more remarkable are the V.C. girls, who posted a 6-0 win at Whittier Christian this past Monday to improve to 10-0-2 overall and 6-0-0 in the circuit. It’s the seventh straight shutout for the Lady Defenders and ninth this season. V.C. is on target for its fifth straight league championship and since the program’s last league loss on Feb. 5, 2016, a 2-0 affair at Maranatha, V.C. has gone 32-0-4, including this season.
V.C., ranked second in Division 4, will be at Village Christian today and entertain Heritage Christian on Tuesday before hosting Sage Hill High on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the CIF State office this past Wednesday announced the calendar for the Season 2
sports championships with Southern California Regional Championships being offered for baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls golf, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls tennis and boys volleyball. The last day for section plays range anywhere from May 29 for soccer and tennis to June 19 for baseball and softball. The last day for regional championships ranges from June 5 for soccer and tennis to June 26 for baseball and softball.
The state office also announced that there will not be state championships for swimming and diving, track and field and wrestling.
