By Loren Kopff
While the area schools take a break from their studies, there won’t be any time off for many baseball and softball players. Usually, the St. Paul Easter Tournament, in which Artesia, Cerritos, Gahr and John Glenn will be a part of, is a time for baseball teams to get more competition and prepare themselves for the final month and a half of the regular season. For softball, Gahr, Norwalk and Whitney will be enjoying their vacations.
BASEBALL
Artesia dropped a 4-2 decision to Bellflower this past Tuesday in its Suburban League opener. The Pioneers (2-9 overall, 0-1) visited Bellflower on Apr. 2 and will face the Whittier Christian on Saturday and Aquinas on Monday in pool play action of the St. Paul Tournament.
Cerritos fell to visiting La Mirada 6-2 this past Tuesday to drop to 10-3 overall, 1-2 in the Suburban League. The 10 victories are still the most since 2001 when the Dons went 11-14. Cerritos, which travelled to La Mirada on Apr. 2, will face Ontario Christian on Saturday and Schurr on Monday in pool play action of the St. Paul Tournament.
Gahr improved to 7-4 overall after edging Millikan 4-3 last Saturday in a Redondo Tournament contest. The Gladiators hosted Corona in a doubleheader on Apr. 2 and will be home to John Glenn on Saturday and Carson on Monday in St. Paul Tournament games.
After Bellflower blanked Norwalk 3-0 and 5-0 to begin the Suburban League action, the Lancers bounced back and shutout Mayfair 2-0 this past Tuesday. The Lancers (5-6, 1-2) visited the Monsoons on Apr. 2 and will be off until Apr. 15 when they host Glenn.
Valley Christian posted a 4-2 road win at Maranatha this past Tuesday and concluded the first round of Olympic League action against Whittier Christian on Apr. 2. The Crusaders (8-4, 2-1) will face Santa Ana Valley on Saturday, Garden Grove on Monday and Calvary Chapel Santa Ana on Tuesday in Century Tournament games.
SOFTBALL
Fresh off of sweeping Mayfair in the first week of Suburban League action, Cerritos flexed its muscles against La Mirada in an 8-0 win this past Tuesday. The Lady Dons put the game away with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and collected six of their nine hits in that frame. Senior pitcher Jennifer Iseri went two for two and drove in a pair of runs while allowing three hits and striking out 14 Matadores. No La Mirada runner got past second base. Freshman designated player Kiarra Pope also went two for two and senior catcher Heather Cameron drove in a pair of runs as the Lady Dons improved to 5-5 overall and 3-0 in the league.
The win also dropped La Mirada to under .500 in league this early in the season for the first time in at least 15 seasons. La Mirada, which fell to 1-2 in league play, has not lost more than three league games since 2000 when it finished 8-4. In fact, when the Matadores lost to John Glenn 1-0 last Friday, it was the earliest league loss since falling to Norwalk on Mar. 30, 2001. The loss to Glenn was its first to the Lady Eagles since 1999.
Cerritos will visit Cypress on Tuesday before facing El Rancho on Thursday in pool play action of the Whittier Christian Tournament.
Glenn will visit Fullerton for a doubleheader on Tuesday for its only action during Spring break. Valley Christian, which travelled to Glenn on Apr. 2, will be off until Apr. 11 when it hosts Western in a doubleheader.
Gahr (10-5) and Whitney (4-6) won’t resume action until Apr. 14 when their respective leagues begin play. Gahr will travel to Warren while Whitney hosts Oxford Academy.
