BASEBALL BEAT THE SHORTSTOP LEAGUE.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer Want to see a good shortstop? The West Valley League is the place to find one - or five. Granada Hills' Ryan Braun
Ryan Joseph Braun, nicknamed The Hebrew Hammer , who signed with Miami, is best know for his hitting but is looking forward to showing his fielding skills in his first full high school season at shortstop. In addition to being a slick fielder, Cleveland of Reseda's Robert Marcial has sparked the Cavaliers' fast start as a prototypical leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. Strategy Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient rate and be able to steal bases. . He signed with Nevada after leading the City Section in stolen bases (32) and runs (37) last season. Birmingham of Van Nuys returns All-City selection Raul Campos Campos (käm`p  s), city (1996 pop. 391,299), Rio de Janeiro state, SE Brazil, on the Paraíba River near its mouth. . El
Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
``It'd be pretty hard to find another league with that many shortstops that good,'' Chatsworth coach Tom Meusborn said. ``Those five are all pretty solid.'' HART'S BIG WEEK In a league as deep as the Foothill, almost every game can be considered a big game, but Hart of Newhall is unlikely to endure a tougher stretch than one it faces the next few days. The Indians play host to Bishop Amat of La Puente La Puente (lä pwĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 36,955), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; laid out 1841, inc. 1956. Primarily residential, the city manufactures hardware, electronics, and paper products. , the preseason No. 1 team in the nation, in a nonleague doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m. before facing undefeated Canyon on Tuesday. First, however, Hart opens league today against Burroughs of Burbank, which is 4-1. Hart prefers not to place added significance on any game, even if it is against a team such as Bishop Amat, which has five players who have signed with Division I schools. ``We look at it as nothing special,'' Indians senior Chris Giordano said. ``We know what have and we know what they have. We're just going to go out and play our game. In practice, no one's going, `On my God, we're playing the No. 1 team in the country.' It's just another game.'' ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION subtraction, fundamental operation of arithmetic; the inverse of addition. If a and b are real numbers (see number), then the number a−b is that number (called the difference) which when added to b (the subtractor) equals Losing two of its top players for a week during the summer taught Camarillo to find other ways to win, something the Scorpions are hoping pays off this season. While shortstop Brad Boyer and outfielder Delmon Young Delmon Damarcus Young, (born September 14, 1985 in Montgomery, Alabama), the younger brother of Dmitri Young, is an outfielder on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was, arguably, the top hitting prospect in baseball as of the end of the 2005 minor-league baseball season. were busy showcasing their skills among the nation's elite at the Area Code Games, the rest of the Scorpions were in Yountville playing for an American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. state championship. Young and Boyer planned to join the Legion team in the later rounds, but Legion rules prohibited late additions to a team. That left others such as Travis Sutton, Andrew Berkovich, Justin Frashand and J.T. Bricker leading the way to a title. Those same players, who now have Young and Boyer back, are playing well enough to earn the Scorpions the No. 2 ranking in Division I. ``My other guys got a chance to play without looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. those guys to drive in all the runs,'' Camarillo coach Scott Cline cline, in biology, any gradual change in a particular characteristic of a population of organisms from one end of the geographical range of the population to the other. said. ``For me, that was the best thing to happen.'' STAYING GROUNDED Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. freshman Trevor Bell Trevor Bell is an abstract painter, associated with the St. Ives group. Born in Leeds, England in 1930, he studied at the Leeds College of Art. In the early 1950s he was a leading member of the artists working in St. Ives. has yet to allow a hit. Through 11 innings, the right-hander is 2-0 with a save and a 0.55 ERA. He's struck out 11 and walked one. The Falcons of La Crescenta don't have to worry about Bell thinking this level is easy, though. His hitting, not his pitching, is what earned him a rating among the nation's best for his age. He enter's today's Pacific League opener batting .263 and also has shown his youth as a third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker . ``He's just a freshman and he's got a lot to work on,'' Crescenta Valley coach Phil Torres said. ``He knows that. For all the attention and press he's got, he doesn't show it. We don't let him - or anyone else. He carries the medical kit. Today, I made him shag shag see cormorant. his own home run balls. I told him, `Good job. Now, go get them.' '' NO JOKE Saugus shortstop Josh Fogel is known for his humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was , so the Centurions figured he was just trying to be funny when he said he was the team's best pitcher. The senior drew a lot more smiles when he took the mound and showed his teammates he was serious. ``We got him in the bullpen and he's got pretty good stuff,'' Saugus coach Casey Burrill said. ``The ball's jumping up there.'' Fogel earned the role of closer. Among his performances was a scoreless seventh inning in last week's Westside tournament semifinal victory over Narbonne of Harbor City. ``The one thing that separates Josh from any of the pitchers I've been around is his competitiveness,'' Burrill said. ``He really wants to be in there when the game's on the line. ``I didn't even know he could pitch. It's kind of like a diamond in the rough. You're digging through the trash and find a Rembrandt. He could probably start, but we need him at shortstop. That's the worst part about him pitching, we don't have Josh Fogel at shortstop.'' WINNING IS CONTAGIOUS After Taft of Woodland Hills went 44 games without a victory, the Toreadors earned their second in a row Monday. The 6-5 nonleague victory over Verdugo Hills of Tujunga, a game in which Taft showed its most focus and unity of the season, was more pleasing to coach Ed Gunny than the sloppy 7-6 victory over Reseda on Saturday to end the losing streak. Junior Missael Hernandez, the lone returnee re·turn·ee n. 1. One who returns, as from a journey or to school after a long absence. 2. A person returning from military duty overseas. See Usage Note at -ee1. on a team of only 11 players, went 4 for 4 Monday. Cody Clements pitched a complete-game seven- hitter. Freshman Robert Ebin also has been a frequent contributor. He is batting better than .450 and had an RBI-triple that scored the deciding run Saturday. ``They are feeling better about themselves,'' Gunny said. ``Maybe a little too good - they were horsing around in practice. But it's good for the boys to recognize they're not the worst team in the Valley on a particular day.'' KEEPING TABS Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. graduate Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982 in Northridge, California), is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Jered attended college at Long Beach State University where he was the 2004 College Baseball's Golden Spikes Award winner. was named the Big West Conference pitcher of the week. Weaver, a freshman right-hander at Long Beach State, earned his first win by allowing only one hit in seven shutout innings of a nonconference game against Arizona. He had a no-hitter for 6 2/3 innings. ... Sophomore right-hander Tony Sulser of Calabasas leads Arizona with a 1.64 ERA and a team-high three saves. He has 11 strikeouts in 11 innings. ... Former Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. infielder Adam Leavitt transferred to Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
 `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. this season, where he is
batting .303 with seven RBI RBIabbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . The sophomore appeared in 28 of the team's first 29 games. POTENTIAL STAR A.J. Anthony, Alemany A.J. Anthony is not the most dominant player for Alemany of Mission Hills, but as a pitcher and solid hitter, he could be the Indians' biggest factor in pulling off an upset of defending Mission League champion and favorite Chaminade of West Hills. The teams meet twice next week. After helping Alemany's rising program reach the Daily News Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. championship game, Anthony improved to 2-0 by winning Tuesday's league opener against St. Francis of La Canada Flintridge. POTENTIAL UPSET If the rest of Westlake's game is in peak form, the Warriors could have the pitching to edge Camarillo when the Warriors play host to the Scorpions as part of the Redondo tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. The rivalry is strong, and both teams are looking to prove they can beat a quality opponent, so both will be ready to play. If the Westlake staff keeps the game close, the Warriors have Canyon as a reminder that beating Camarillo in the late innings is not impossible. GAME OF THE WEEK Hart at Canyon, Tuesday, 3:15 p.m. Canyon is the team that manages to beat the Indians of Newhall even when Hart wins Foothill title after Foothill title. So expect the matchup to be even tougher now that many consider Canyon the league favorite. The Cowboys have 13 seniors, including Jake Coash, the only pitcher to beat the Indians during the regular season last year. But Hart is off to a quick start despite losing eight starters from a year ago. LEAGUE UPDATES FOOTHILL Chris Valaika tripled twice last week for Hart of Newhall after the Indians had gone nearly two years without a triple. The junior broke the drought with a triple in the Westside semifinal against Chatsworth, and hit another in the third-place game against Narbonne of Harbor City. ... J.P. Slauenwhite tied Hart's record for hit batters in a game when he hit four Chatsworth players, matching Andrew Lorraine's 1989 mark. ... The league is one of the area's toughest with five teams entering league with no more than one loss. Canyon is 6-0, and Saugus is 5-1. Hart, whose lone loss was by one to Chatsworth, is 4-1, as is Valencia and Burroughs of Burbank. GOLDEN Two of the preseason favorites meet in the league opener when Quartz Hill plays at Lancaster today at 3:15 p.m. Defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre Lancaster hopes to contend for another title but has had a harder time than expected adjusting to the loss of 12 players from last year. The Eagles are 2-3. Quartz Hill (3-2) scored 59 runs in its first five games but many were against weak teams. PACIFIC Shortstop Kyle Barratt and pitcher Kris Krise were named to the all- tournament team for helping Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta to a second-place finish Noun 1. second-place finish - a finish in second place (as in a race) runner-up finish finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the at the Glendora tournament. Krise went 1-1 with a 0.43 ERA, 19 strikeouts and two walks in 14 innings. Barratt was among the few immune to the Falcons' early offensive slump. He is batting .471. MARMONTE Westlake senior right-hander Tyler Carr doesn't have look far to get pitching advice from his older brother anymore. His brother Tim, who spent last season pitching in the Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium. organization, retired as a player and joined the Westlake coaching staff. ... Newbury Park and Moorpark lived up to their high expectations during the season-opening Westside tournament - Newbury Park reached the final and Moorpark lost just once - but they both returned to their familiar Marmonte misfortunes in Wednesday's league openers. Newbury Park lost to Agoura 17-3 and Moorpark was upset 5-4 by Thousand Oaks in only the Lancers' second victory of the season. MISSION Chaminade of West Hills senior Cody Haerther hit three homers in Wednesday's 25-0 victory over Morningside of Inglewood. He is the league's second player within a week to have a three-home run game. Harvard-Westlake of Studio City junior Josh Satin did it last week against Grant of Van Nuys. SUNSET SIX North Hollywood's Erick Melera pitched a complete-game shutout against a Quartz Hill team that had scored 58 runs in four previous games. But the Huskies' offense was almost as silent Saturday. Jessie Zamora scored the game's lone run after being hit by a pitch, advancing to second on a balk balk the action of a horse when it refuses to obey a command to which it usually responds. See also jibbing. and scoring on a hit by Edgar Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
DAILY NEWS TOP 10 Records through Wednesday No. Record LW 1. Chatsworth 6-0 1 Pitching and defense a sound combo. 2. Chaminade 5-1 2 Big Series against Alemany next week. 3. Canyon 6-0 4 Big victories on way to Westside title. 4. Camarillo 4-1 3 Tough loss to Canyon. 5. Cleveland 6-0 6 Daily News Invitational champion. 6. Crescenta Valley 5-1 7 P Marerro gives Falcons improved depth. 7. Hart 4-1 8 Bishop Amat DH on Saturday. 8. Agoura 3-0 5 Newbury Park was no contest. 9. Saugus 5-1 NR Foothill's surprise contender. 10. Birmingham 5-0 10 Campos can't be hit. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) CLEVELAND'S ROBERT MARCIAL (2) SAUGUS SHORTSTOP JOSH FOGEL Box: DAILY NEWS TOP 10 (see text) |
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