FOOTHILL AGAIN LOADED WITH TALENT.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer By the time the Hart High baseball team was on its way home from its season-ending loss to El Dorado El Dorado, legendary country of South America El Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. of Placentia in last year's Southern Section semifinals, the Indians already were focusing on how they want this season to end. Hart wants to play for the title it didn't win last year, when a magical postseason run took the Indians from a wild-card berth to within one victory of the program's first final since 1999. With most of last season's team back, Hart's goal is not unrealistic. First, there is the matter of getting to playoffs. The Indians are preparing for a Foothill League campaign in which several teams are expected to contend for the title. ``The league will be tough,'' Hart coach Jim Ozella said. ``Our league's always tough.'' Valencia has won at least a share of the past three Foothill titles and could contend for another despite the graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. of record-setting stars Jared Clark and Matt Aidem, who are among four Vikings from last season playing at Division I colleges this year. Michael Hur and Casey Mulligan mul·li·gan n. A golf shot not tallied against the score, granted in informal play after a poor shot especially from the tee. [Probably from the name Mulligan.] Noun 1. return and will be counted on to pick up the slack 1. (operating system) slack - Internal fragmentation. Space allocated to a disk file but not actually used to store useful information. 2. (jargon) slack offensively. Junior transfer Brian Howe Brian Howe can refer to:
Saugus was one of the few teams to figure out how to beat Valencia last season, but the Centurions settled for second place. Saugus, under the guidance of first-year coach George Lopata, looks to improve on last year's 20-6-2 record and compete for its first league title since 1992. The Centurions return two All-Southern Section selections, seniors Travis Babin and Thomas Milone, both leading hitters and pitchers. Babin posted a 1.60 ERA last season, and Milone's was 1.93. Shortstop Daniel Hughes Daniel Hughes may refer to the following:
Hart's combination of talent, experience and momentum will be difficult to beat. The Indians return the core of their lineup A criminal investigation technique in which the police arrange a number of individuals in a row before a witness to a crime and ask the witness to identify which, if any, of the individuals committed the crime. , including Cal State Northridge-bound left-hander Tyler Fick, who was the winning pitcher in four of Hart's five postseason games last season. Junior Tyler returns as the No. 2 starter. Junior shortstop Matt Valaika is back as a defensive and offensive leader. He's surrounded by seniors, such as returning outfielders Ryan Gagno and Robert Van Scoyoc, and UC Santa Barbara-bound 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 Shane Carlson, who missed much of last season because of injury. ``I'm very optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op ,'' Ozella said. ``We have the makings of being a good team. A lot of things need to go our way - we need to be healthy - but I like this team. I think they're competitive.'' The Indians followed last season's postseason run by winning the Valley 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. Baseball League championship during the summer. ``When we got on the bus last year on the way home from El Dorado, we started talking,'' Ozella said. ``I said, 'This was obviously a fun deal, we were real close to going all the way. If we work hard again, we could get right back here and get another chance next year.' The group said, 'Hey, if we focus on what we want to accomplish and don't lose sight of our goals, we could go even further next time.' ``It's a lofty goal, but it's something you want to shoot for.'' Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com BASEBALL PREVIEW PLAYERS TO WATCH --Tyler Fick, Sr., LHP/OF, Hart: Signed with Cal State Northridge. --Johnny Hay, Jr., OF, Canyon: One of Foothill's top power hitters. --Thomas Milone, Sr., LHP/1B, Saugus: All-state selection an ace and leading hitter. --Casey Mulligan, Jr., SS, Valencia: Third-year varsity player; one of Vikings' few veterans. --Matt Valaika, Jr., SS, Hart: Record-setting soccer player as dangerous on the diamond. NEWCOMERS TO WATCH --Jared Arce, So., 3B/P, Burroughs: Will bat in heart of the order after playing for Eagle Rock varsity as a freshman. --Brian Howe, Jr., P, Valencia: Son of former Dodger Steve Howe Steve Howe may refer to:
--Andrew Parr, Sr., 3B, Saugus: Batted .430 during the summer. --Casey Stevenson, Jr., IF, Saugus: A leading hitter during the summer. --Donny Williams, So., P/1B, Hart: Submarine-style pitcher and a solid hitter. KEY GAMES --Today: Saugus vs. Crespi at Valley College, 3 p.m.: The Centurions finish pool play of the So Cal Showdown against Crespi of Encino, which has appeared in back-to-back Southern Section finals. --March 15: Saugus at Hart, 3:15 p.m.: Foothill's leading contenders face off in league opener, the first of three regular-season meetings. --March 28: Hart vs. West Torrance, 3:15/7 p.m.: The Indians have a unique doubleheader against preseason No. 1 Div. II team, playing the first game at Hart, then heading to Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). for a night game. --April 8: Valencia at Saugus, 3:15 p.m.: The Vikings, defending champions defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre , finish the first round of league against the team that shut them out last season. CAPTION(S): box Box: BASEBALL PREVIEW (see text) |
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