Page 6 June 2, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD By Gregg McMullin A number of former El Segundo athletes are competing at the collegiate level in softball and baseball. They have continued their ability to standout for their respective teams. In the process they are assuring that not only their futures are bright but that they are tomorrow’s leaders in society. Additionally five other El Segundo high school student athletes have signed letters of intent to continue playing sports beyond high school. These four athletes are not only standouts on the field of play but are also leaders in the classroom. Rhianna Rich was a two-sport athlete at El Segundo High School, playing softball and soccer. She earned a total of seven varsity letters, four for softball and three for soccer. From left to right: Amber Carrington, UC San Diego-Crew; Paige Endo, Chapman University-Basketball; Megan Truesdale, Whitworth University-Softball; Wyatt Boyce, Cal State Dominguez Hills-Baseball and Garrett Boyce, Cal State Dominguez Hills-Baseball. Rich was softball captain in 2014 and 2015 and was the soccer captain in 2015. In 2015 Rich won the California Interscholastic Federation Scholar Award for softball and soccer. She was a three-time first team allleague selection in softball and two-time first team all-league selection in soccer. On top of all her athletic honors in high school she was a four-year principal honor roll student. So what did Rich do after high school? All this talented softball player did was attend Harvard University to play softball. She impressed in her debut season, leading the conference in hits (61) and runs (42), tying for second in doubles (13) and ranking fourth with a .381 batting average. The second-team shortstop started every game at shortstop and went error-free in conference games in 70 total chances. She was the keystone of a Crimson defense that led the Ancient Eight with a .970 fielding percentage and finished with the conference’s best record at 16-4 and 29-17 overall. The Ivy League Rookie of the Year also had a 3.8 GPA in the classroom McCall James was another decorated and honored softball player for the Eagles for four years. She was selected to the All- Pioneer League team three times and to the All-South Bay team as a pitcher. In high school, McCall was another leader in the classroom amassing a 3.8 GPA. James decided to attend Santa Clara University, not only to continue her softball playing days but for its academic programs. Both decisions paid off especially this season. At the conclusion of each athletic season, the West Coast Conference selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average while also being a significant contributor to her team. James earned her way on the team with an impressive 3.45 GPA, fourth best among those honored. James was been named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week in the final week of the season after a spectacular weekend against Saint Mary’s. She tossed her first two shutouts of the season in the first two games of the series to lead the Broncos to a series win over the Gaels to finish the 2016 season. Her ERA on the weekend was a measly Alyssa Pelegrin capped her stellar high school career with a two-run homerun, an RBI double, a walk and had four RBIs against West Torrance. Dodgers Failing Early Season Report Card By Adam Serrao It seemed like only yesterday that Dodgers fans were clamoring for the beginning of a new baseball season, with hopes of more success for their hometown team in Los Angeles. After all, the Dodgers had won the NL West division for three straight years heading into this season. Nothing was going to stop that from becoming a fourth, right? Well, Don “The Dodgers, who were once front-runners, winning division titles only to stumble in the playoffs, have now seemingly become a team constantly rallying from behind.” Mattingly hit the road and so did Zach Greinke and with that, a change to the structure of the team took place. The Dodgers, who were once front-runners, winning division titles only to stumble in the playoffs, have now seemingly become a team constantly rallying from behind. A recent winning streak over the Cincinnati Reds and partly, the New York Mets, has padded the teams current standing in the division, but at almost one third of the way through the season, it looks as if getting back to the division winning team that they were only one year ago will be much more than just a struggle for these Los Angeles Dodgers. The first thing that most people think about when they think about the Los Angeles Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw. A perennial beast on the mound, Kershaw may just be the greatest pitcher the game of baseball has ever seen when all is said and done. This year, he is currently sporting (stats as of last weekend) a 1.56 ERA to lead the league, 1,055 strikeouts, to lead the league, and a 0.65 WHIP, also to lead the league. There certainly looks to be another Cy Young Award in the lefties career and maybe even another Triple Crown this year, but Kershaw alone will not make for a great pitching staff. Subtract him from the roster, and you’d struggle to come up with a name who would be the new Dodgers ace. Kenta Maeda had a nice start to the regular season, but teams have quickly begun to figure him out. Scott Kazmir was signed to be the Dodgers No. 2, a role recently relinquished by the aforementioned Greinke, but he has the highest ERA of any pitcher in the rotation. Alex Wood and Ross Stripling have come through for the team at times, but behind Kershaw, this team’s rotation is certainly not of the caliber that is going to win you games in the postseason, let alone get you there in the first place. The Dodgers bullpen has been another area of concern early in the season. If the starters do, in fact, get the team into the later innings with a lead, the bullpen, aside from Kenley Jansen, almost always gives that lead away. While Jansen is dominant, the trouble has been getting the ball in his hands. Only Cincinnati has blown more saves than the Dodgers and Jansen has only blown two all season. The problem really lies in manager Dave Roberts love affair with reliever Chris Hatcher. Every single time Hatcher takes the mound, he gives away a run, yet he still gets the call from the bullpen, time and time again. Hatchers ERA is a stifling 6.05. Only Luis Avilan is worse. J.P. Howell is almost just as bad, sporting a 5.28 ERA. Adam Liberatore and Joe Blanton have been the best in relief, yet seemingly see the least amount of innings. Maybe they should move into the starting rotation, or maybe more people should turn their eyes to Roberts and the way that he is managing, or mismanaging his pitching. As bad as the pitching has been, the offense has been almost just as bad. “Inconsistent” is the main word that accompanies the Dodgers offense, wherever they go. While some of the youngsters, like Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Trayce Thompson have been better than expected, it’s the middle of the order that has Former Eagles Enjoying Success at Collegiate Level “A number of former El Segundo athletes are competing at the collegiate level in softball and baseball. They have continued their ability to standout for their respective teams.” See Eagles, page 16 See Dodgers, page 15
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