SOUTHERN SECTION DIV. II BASEBALL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND, TODAY, 3:15 P.M.MOORPARK (17-11) at SAUGUS (23-3) Outlook: Saugus, primarily relying on pitching and defense, has won 18 in a row, and the Centurions enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Saugus' pivotal player is left-hander Thomas Milone, a top pitcher who also is one of the Centurions' better hitters. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior is the scheduled starter today, and he is coming off a perfect game in an 8-0 victory over Canyon in the regular-season finale eight days ago. Milone is 9-1 with a 0.68 ERA and is batting .493 with seven home runs and 26 RBI RBI abbr. 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 . In 54 games over the past two seasons, Milone is 16-2, and he has hit 14 home runs and driven in 59 runs. Saugus has a solid infield, led by shortstop Danny Hughes A fullback, Hughes was a premiership player with Port Adelaide in the SANFL prior to transferring to Melbourne. (one error), 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 Andy Parr and second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Casey Stevenson. Catcher Chris Pate also is enjoying a solid season, as are center fielder Ryan Erickson and left fielder Travis Babin. The Centurions' other key pitchers are Brandon Marcia (7-1) and Kody Kurowski (3-0). After losing three of its final four games during the regular season, Moorpark, led by infielder Nick Dingman, defeated Westlake in a special third-place playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship May 12 to secure a postseason berth. VALENCIA (15-12 at ROYAL (23-3) of 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. Outlook: Valencia finished the regular season by winning three of four to clinch the Foothill League's third and final playoff spot. The Vikings face a difficult test: No. 2 Royal is among Southern California's top all- around teams. Valencia's probable starter, Nick Ferndino (4-1, 0.79 ERA), faces a lineup featuring seven players batting .300 or better, including sluggers Phil Boscarino (.462, six home runs, 35 runs) and David Smith (.457, six home runs, 36 RBI). Royal has hit 25 home runs, 14 more than Valencia. Armando Gallardo leads Valencia with a .415 average, although he is in a 2-for-16 slump. Sean Proni (.367, two home runs, 22 RBI), Michael Hur (.365, two home runs, 25 RBI), Justin Shults (.364, two home runs, 24 RBI) 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. (.294, three home runs, 22 RBI) also are important players for Valencia. The Vikings have advanced past the first round each of the past three years. Royal has won 11 of 12 and has lost just one home game this season. Clayton Edwards is 9-1 with a 1.40 ERA. HART (17-8-1) at AGOURA (19-6) Outlook: After advancing to the Div. II semifinals as a wild-card entry a year ago, Hart hopes to make another impressive playoff run. But the team is faced with a tough opener against a loaded Agoura team that features a deep pitching staff with an 2.55 team ERA and 191 strikeouts in 170 innings INNINGS, estates. Lands gained from the sea by draining. Cunn. L. Dict. h. t.; Law of Sewers, 31. . Hart, led by Cal State Northridge-bound left-hander Tyler Fick (6-2, 2.09 ERA), also prides itself on pitching. The Indians' Shane Carlson is batting .483 with four home runs and 23 RBI. Matt Valaika (.394, 23 runs) missed four games because of an injury last month, but he has come on strong, batting .500 with five RBI the past nine games. Matt Sreden (.390, 16 RBI), Brian Charnock (.352, two home runs) Fick (.279, two home runs) also are solid. Agoura's Jason Stoffel is 8-2 with a 2.22 ERA, 65 strikeouts and just six walks in 63 innings. Sophomore phenom phe·nom n. Slang A phenomenon, especially a remarkable or outstanding person. Robert Stock is 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 19 innings. Stock, also the starting catcher, is batting .405 with seven home runs and 29 RBI. SOUTHERN SECTION DIV. II SOFTBALL softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' PLAYOFFS WESTLAKE (15-11) at VALENCIA (25-3) Outlook: Second-seeded Valencia figures to be favored because the team features two of the Southland's hardest-throwing right-handers, Jordan Taylor (15-3, 0.70 ERA) and Hawaii-bound Courtney Baughman (10-0, 0.62 ERA). They've combined for 301 strikeouts in 199 innings. Valencia, which has averaged 25 victories the past five seasons, also has a strong group of hitters. Breanne Javier, who has committed to Central Florida
Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. , is batting .386 with 12 RBI, and she also is a top defensive player. Kristen Aidem is hitting .366 with 17 runs, Danielle Maricle is hitting .359 with one home run and 13 RBI, and Lehigh-bound Whitney Lowe is batting .345 with 16 RBI. The Vikings have won seven in a row, and they have played a challenging schedule, winning the Brea Olinda tournament and the prestigious 32-team Woodbridge of Irvine tournament. Westlake has lost three of its past four games. Standout catcher Megan Shie (.500, two home runs, 18 RBI) is the Warriors' leading hitter, but she has just two RBI in the past eight games. Monica Gonzales is batting .470 with 24 runs, and Ava Amini, a four-year starting shortstop, is hitting .356 and has committed just two errors. Westlake pitcher Jenna Becerra is 11-7 with a 1.62 ERA. SAUGUS (19-4) vs. PACIFICA (11-10-1) of Oxnard at Central Park in Saugus Outlook: Saugus, the only Santa Clarita-area school to win a Southern Section softball title, is hungry after returning most of its key players from last year's Div. II quarterfinalist. ``If we come ready to play, we should do pretty well in the playoffs,'' coach Rich Perez said. ``I think our kids have as good a shot as anyone.'' Tiffany Huff huff - To compress data using a Huffman code. Various programs that use such methods have been called "HUFF" or some variant thereof. Opposite: puff. Compare crunch, compress. and Victoria Kemp are two of California's premier sluggers. Huff, a junior catcher, is batting .534 with six home runs and 34 RBI, making her one of the few Santa Clarita-area players to surpass 30 RBI in one season - and Huff bats leadoff. Kemp, a sophomore second baseman, is hitting .471 with seven home runs and 29 RBI. She has 13 home runs in two seasons, putting her on pace to break former Canyon star Crystal Bustos' area career record of 21, set in 1993-96. Saugus right-hander Ashley Arnett is 14-4 with a 1.44 ERA. She has struck out 145 in 131 innings. Pacifica has some power - eight players have at least one home run. Sasha Gomez is batting .328 with two home runs, six triples and 17 RBI. The Tritons Tritons are a race of sea gods and goddesses born from Poseidon's son Triton. Like their father, their bodies ended with fish tails instead of legs. They are often compared to other Merman/Mermaid like beings, such as Merrows, Selkies, and Sirens. have experimented with several pitchers. Freshman Casey Beighley (6-5, 2.23 ERA) leads the staff. She defeated rival Rio Mesa of Oxnard 5-1 in her last start. Only three of Pacifica's victories have come against teams currently .500 or better. HART (14-12) at 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. (18-8) Outlook: Hart claimed an at-large berth after saving its season with a seventh-inning rally in a 3-2 victory over Burroughs of Burbank in the regular-season finale last week. Hart's top players include shortstop Emily Sudik, catcher Caitlin Stiglich and pitcher Stephanie Bronson. Thousand Oaks defeated Hart 7-5 on May 7. Despite 18 victories, the Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. are vulnerable, batting just .247 overall and committing 57 errors. Pitchers Suzanne Cominski (6-3, 1.57 ERA) and Brittany Reynolds (11-5, 1.04 ERA) are very solid. Thousand Oaks freshman catcher Marla Matthews is a star on the rise, batting .276 with six home runs and 21 RBI. SOUTHERN SECTION DIV. VII SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS FIRST LUTHERAN (9-3) of Sylmar at SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, CHRISTIAN (12-10) Outlook: Streaky streak·y adj. streak·i·er, streak·i·est 1. Marked with, characterized by, or occurring in streaks. 2. Variable or uneven in character or quality. Santa Clarita Christian, led by veteran pitcher Shayna Montgomery, is on the comeback trail. The Cardinals have won three in a row to qualify for the playoffs after six consecutive losses by a combined score of 76-7. CAPTION(S): photo, 3 boxes Photo: Hart's Shane Carlson brings a .493 batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. and 23 RBI into the Indians' playoff opener today at Agoura. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: (1) LEADING OFF (2) STANDINGS (3) PLAYOFF SCHEDULE |
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