Page 6 June 4, 2015 EL SEGUNDO HERALD It’s Over for Eagles as Playoff Runs Halted By Gregg McMullin Photos by Gregg McMullin It’s official; the 2015 El Segundo high school spring teams seasons are over. The Eagles exited the CIF playoffs in both baseball and softball and the volleyball team, which had won a CIF title, lost in the Southern California State tournament semi-finals. It all came to a halt unexpectedly against opponents on the road. Nevertheless, each team had a successful season with a program to build on in the future. The 5-0 loss to Redondo in the CIF-SS Division 3 second round was not indicative of how the baseball team has played all season long. The fact the Eagles were held to just three hits was something of a rarity in itself but to be shutout was just as odd. The Eagles had been on a roll putting together another 20-win season and winning a share of the Ocean League title on the last day of the regular season. Couple that with a 15-0 shellacking of St. Joseph in the first round of the playoffs and things looked positive that they could defeat Redondo. In front of a huge standing room only crowd, that had the interest of most of the South Bay, the Eagles committed three errors and they could not come up with a key hit when they had runners in scoring position. Willem Mostert, the Eagles ace over the past two years and a four pitcher for the Eagles, didn’t have his best stuff but battled as the warrior he has been over his career. Mostert (9-4) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Willem Mostert finished his high school career against Redondo. Noah Bergren turns on a fastball against Redondo in a CIF-SS playoff game. “Willem battled all day, but he had to get four outs an inning most of the day and I’m sure that was frustrating him,” Eagle head coach Steven Eno said. Redondo’s Marco Valenzuela and Cole Henderson had one-out singles to right field in the second inning. They advanced on a wild pitch and Valenzuela scored on an errant throw to third. Duncan McKinnon followed with an RBI single and Redondo led 2-0 after two innings. The Sea Hawks would score once more in the third inning and two more in the fifth inning. The Eagles wrapped up their season and finished 22-10 overall. The girls’ softball team defeated North Torrance 5-2 in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs and then lost a 4-3 season ending heartbreaker to Ramona in ten innings in the quarterfinals. Injuries and players ineligible helped to make this season a Laker Luck Back Again By Adam Serrao The Los Angeles Lakers and the word “luck” simply don’t seem to go together lately. After one of the team’s worst seasons in franchise history two years ago, the Lakers found a way to one-up themselves and finish with the club’s worst record ever to end this past year. A 21-win car wreck of a season that would have had even the most tardy of drivers rubbernecking on the 405 freeway ended, only to lead into what was sure to be a long, miserable summer. That summer, though, the sun recently began to shine through the clouds for the Lakers. Just over two weeks ago at the NBA Draft Lottery at the New York Hilton in midtown, the Lakers historically bad season was all but forgotten about, if only for a minute. Ping Pong balls bounced in L.A.’s favor as the team moved up the draft board. The Lakers wound up with the second overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, all but changing the team’s recent horrifying fortune for good. Emotions following the 2014-15 NBA season were understandably at an all-time low for the Lakers. After all, the team did finish with an all-time worst record. Even head coach Byron Scott allowed himself a moment to wallow in the sorrow of the season that had passed. “I’m at the point where I just need to go away and decompress and get my thoughts together,” said the head coach and three-time NBA champion guard for the Lakers. Scott wasn’t the only one wanting to get away. Laker fans everywhere were doing their best ostrich impersonations, burying their heads in the sand or booking flights on Southwest Airlines because of its catchy slogan that inquired of the public, “wanna get away?” Indeed, Laker fans did, but the No. 2 pick in the draft brings hope to Los Angeles fans like a rainbow in the sky brings hope of a pot of gold at its end. The Lakers’ pot of gold will most likely reveal itself in the likeliness of either Karl- Anthony Towns from Kentucky or Jahlil Okafor from Duke; whichever player the Minnesota Timberwolves don’t choose with their first overall selection. Acquiring one of either of those two players could be the allimportant first step that will allow the rest of the chips to fall in place for a desperately in-need Lakers club. “We caught a break,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak explained of his team to TWC SportsNet. The team certainly did. The Lakers were the only team in the entire draft lottery to move up in projected position and see their draft fortune change in a positive manner. Obviously, the higher up in the draft you choose, the better your chances of selecting the more talented player. If the Lakers need anything right now, it’s a talented player. Kobe Bryant, who was drafted just six months after the aforementioned Okafor was born, put the entire season and draft in perspective in a way that only Kobe could. “We played like crap all season so it’s only right we get the #2 pick HA.” If Kobe had it his way, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft would change the team’s fortune. With an injury-plagued and horribly unsuccessful season behind them though, there is almost nowhere to go but up from here. While one simple draft pick doesn’t assure the Lakers of snapping their two-year-long postseason absence, it can do wonders for the renaissance of what will now become a young and talented team. With the emergence of Jordan Clarkson and last year’s first overall pick Julius Randle, the Lakers can use this year’s second overall pick to along with Kobe Bryant to create a pretty dominant starting four. With free agency looming and the Lakers having a lot of money to spend, the team will surely upgrade outside of the draft as well. As of now, the Lakers don’t appear to be a playoff team next season unless they sneak in at the eighth spot, even with the No. 2 pick coming their way. Young talent only means one thing: a lot of time to learn and grow. While anything is better than last season, Kobe doesn’t have a lot of time left. Luck in the draft isn’t the only thing the Lakers will need to get back to championship contention See Laker Luck, page 12 See Eagles, page 14
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