SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL: DIV. II: ST. FRANCIS REVELING IN TEAM SUCCESS.Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News Evan Simonitsch was approached earlier this season by a fellow student at St. Francis High of La Canada Flintridge and asked, ``Where did the baseball team come from?'' Being a member of a program that boasts major-league talents Mark Loretta Mark David Loretta (born August 14, 1971 in Santa Monica, California) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Houston Astros. Previously, Loretta played with the Milwaukee Brewers (1995-2002), Houston Astros (2002), San Diego Padres (2003-2005) and Boston and Gregg Zaun Gregory Owen "Gregg" Zaun (born April 14, 1971 in Glendale, California) is a Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays. A catcher, his plate-blocking ability and hustle have made him a fan favourite in Toronto. among its alumni, in addition to producing several others promising minor-league players, Simonitsch was at a loss in trying to answer such a question. Then the Golden Knights' 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. realized, for all of the individual achievement associated with St. Francis baseball, team success hadn't always followed. Thanks to Simonitsch and fellow juniors Joe De Pinto, Brett Hertz and Andrew Sember, the baseball team won't have to worry about flying under the radar This article is about the magazine. For other uses, see Under the Radar (disambiguation). Under the Radar is an American magazine that bills itself as "The solution to music pollution." It features interviews with accompanying photo-shoots. any longer. Building on a bond that began as 10-year-olds, the longtime friends have helped St. Francis reach the Southern Section finals for the first time in program history. The Golden Knights
Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. (26-4) --the top-ranked team in the state in Div. II by Cal-Hi Sports - at 4:30 p.m. today at Angel Stadium. ``You would think with all those great players, they would have had that type of success,'' said Simonitsch, whose older brother Errol - a 2000 St. Francis graduate - now pitches for the New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats are a minor league baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Rock Cats play in New Britain Stadium. , the Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Twins have played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Double-A affiliate. De Pinto and Sember won a Crescenta Sports Assn. Pony division championship when they were 10, Hertz and Simonitsch led Foothill Little League to only its third 12-under district title in 2001 and all four individuals combined to help La Crescenta's 14-under Babe Ruth team place third at the World Series in Quincy, Mass., two years ago. ``It brings back a lot of memories,'' said De Pinto, the team's shortstop, who hit a seventh-inning home run in a 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Yucaipa. ``How great is it when you can say you're playing baseball with a group of your best friends and you have an opportunity to do something really, really special for your school.'' Mike Solar, St. Francis' fifth-year coach, knows how amazing the experience can be, having won a Div. 4-A title in 1988 as a player at Covina High. Solar said the chemistry shared by this year's group reminds him a lot of his championship team because of the strong senior leadership and unselfish attitude of the younger players. Hertz, Sember and Simonitsch, taking part in this journey has become even more rewarding, since they are all younger siblings of former St. Francis players. Along with Solar's guidance, they credit the coaching of their fathers and additional instruction from their older siblings for helping them reach this level. ``They're really proud of us,'' said Hertz, whose father Bill coached the boys on his Glendale Knights travel-ball team that competed in the Cooperstown Dreams Park Cooperstown Dreams Park is a youth baseball tournament, that is held in Cooperstown, NY. Children aged 12 or younger stay in barracks at the field complex for 5 days, the last couple of days being days for playoffs. tournament in 2001. ``(Our brothers) are a little jealous because there's always a competition between brothers.Hopefully we can get extra props if we win (today).'' erik.boal@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: St. Francis coach Mike Solar is glad he has, from left, Brett Hertz, Joe De Pinto, Andrew Sember and Evan Simonitsch on his team. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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