April 10, 2014 Page 5 Fast Start Keys Tigers Over Aviators Baserunner Juan Salcedo of Lawndale Environmental Charter slides safely to second base after a failed attempt to tag him out by Hawthorne Math and Science Academy second baseman Marcus Cooper in last Thursday’s Harbor League baseball rivalry. The White Tigers downed the Aviators 15-9. Environmental Charter faces Pacific Lutheran at the Henderson Youth Sports Complex in San Pedro on Friday at 4 p.m. Hawthorne Math and Science hosts El Segundo Vistamar at Alondra Park next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. Lawndale works hard in Girls Softball Shortstop Brittney Hernandez catches a fly ball for an out. Second Baseman Kim Mendez hits a line drive. Photos by Shelley Kemp. Left Fielder Kathleen Sirink makes a catch for the out. By Kelly Kemp The Lawndale Girls Softball Team struggled this past Saturday at West Torrance, losing a doubleheader. But the girls tried really hard. Center Fielder Cynthia Lopez had a nice catch Gabe Salache and James Brown from Morningside and Lawndale’s R’lando Beckles. Beckles, who keyed the Cardinals to their second consecutive Pioneer League championship this past season, had eight points. “There were a lot of great athletes out there,” Meekins said. “We tried to do a little bit of everything.” The Monarchs finished only fourth in the Ocean League behind champion Beverly Hills, second place Santa Monica and third place Inglewood, but recorded a league-ending victory over the rival Sentinels on February 13 at Morningside. This past Morningside squad was senior-studded as it had Dakaria King play on the Red squad. Salache, meanwhile, had 14 three-pointers in the pregame three-point shooting contest. He was second behind Palos Verdes’ Connor McKeeve who had 16. Also on the Red all-stars was Inglewood’s only senior player, Cory Dollarhide, who had two points. Dollarhide keyed the Sentinels to the CIF-Southern Section Division IAA semifinals where they fell one point behind eventual champion Long Beach Poly 48-47 on March 4 at Poly. Coaching the Reds were Doug Mitchell, who guided Torrance Bishop Montgomery to the California State Division IV championship with an 85-44 blowout of Hayward Moreau Catholic on March 29 at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, and Carson’s Kevin Shaw. • Joe’s Sports By Joe Snyder Local high school sports fans are used to the rivalries between Hawthorne, Lawndale and Leuzinger, and Inglewood and Morningside, but a rivalry baseball game between two local smaller schools--host Hawthorne Math and Science Academy and Environmental Charter from Lawndale--was played last Thursday at Alondra Park. The White Tigers entered the game unbeaten in seven games, while the Aviators were struggling at 0-7. Environmental Charter started quickly with nine first inning runs and went on to down Hawthorne Math and Science 15-9. In the top of the first, the Tigers sent 13 batters to the plate. They took advantage of six hits, three errors, one walk and one hit batsman to race to a quick 9-0 lead. Highlighting the big inning were Rolando Sosa with a two-run double and Cesar Lopez and Alexis Muro each with run-scoring singles. After his poor start, losing pitcher Antonio Navarro went on to strike out eight consecutive batters and retired nine in a row before walking Juan Salcedo in the top of the fourth. He finished with 13 strikeouts in five innings. The Aviators managed one run in the bottom of the fourth when Dennis Toledo doubled and scored on a throwing error. Environmental added two runs in the top of the fifth, behind an RBI single from Donis for an 11-1 lead. Hawthorne Math and Science got its offense going, scoring eight runs in the last three innings. Navarro had a two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers scored three in the sixth and one in the seventh to keep a good distance ahead of the Aviators. Sosa sparked Environmental’s offense by going two for five with two RBIs and two runs. Donis was two for four, reached base on an error, scored three runs and drove in one. For Hawthorne Math and Science, Toledo went two for four, drove in one run and scored twice. Daniel Arias was two for four, including a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth. The Tigers visit Pacific Lutheran from Gardena at the Henderson Youth Sports Complex in San Pedro on Friday at 4 p.m. The Aviators are at home against Vistamar from El Segundo next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. HAWTHORNE DEFEATS RH PREP Hawthorne High’s baseball team increased its record to 7-4-1 with a 6-1 home victory over Rolling Hills Prep from San Pedro last Thursday. Cougar pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts. Hawthorne will have a pair of Centinela Valley District rivalry games at home against Lawndale and Leuzinger next week. The Cougars host the Cardinals next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. and then face the Olympians on April 11 at the same time. Hawthorne Inglewood’s Cory Dollarhide of the Red team dribbles the ball during last Thursday’s South Bay All-Star Boys’ Basketball Classic. Left of Dollarhide is Lawndale’s R’Lando Beckles of the Blue squad. The Blues defeated the Reds 121-106. swept those two opponents earlier this season, defeating host Lawndale 9-7 and host Leuzinger 14-2. LOCAL HOOPSTERS PLAY IN ALL-STAR CLASSIC Several local prep boys’ and girls’ basketball players vied in last Thursday’s South Bay All-Star Classic at South Torrance High School. In the girls’ game, the Red stars held off the Blue team 57- 52. The Blues captured the boys’ contest 112-106 over the Reds. For the Red team in the girls’ contest, Hawthorne’s Kristina Brown scored four points. Leading the Reds was DeMoria White of Playa del Rey St. Bernard with 14 points. The Reds held a 19-point (56-37) fourth quarter lead, but the Blues chipped away to make the game close. The Red squad was coached by Hawthorne’s Joe House and Marcelo Enriquez from Redondo. The Blue team was coached by McKinsey Hadley from Gardena Serra and Rick Momohara of Torrance. For the boys, Morningside head coach Donnell Meekins helped Manhattan Beach Mira Costa head mentor Jeff Amaral coach the Blues to a high-scoring win over the Reds. It was a game that featured several slam dunks and three-point baskets. Local players on the Blue team were Hawthorne Math and Science Academy pitcher Antonio Navarro throws to a Environmental Charter batter during last Thursday’s Harbor League baseball rivalry. Navarro struck out 13 batters in five innings despite the Aviators’ 15-9 loss to the White Tigers. Photos by Joe Snyder. until she got injured crashing the fence in a valiant effort to run down a line drive, and her replacement, Ashley Fliegel, and Right Fielder Priscilla Rojas each had a couple of nice put outs. Opening the fourth inning, Pitcher Samantha Hernandez had a nice hit. A walk and a miscue later, the bases were loaded with no outs. It was Lawndale’s best opportunity to score. Unfortunately, a triple play ended the inning and thwarted the scoring chance. “It was a disappointment,” according to Head Coach Candace Vidaurrazaga. “But between games, I just told them, ‘Stay positive, keep your head in the game.’” That goes for the rest of the season, so good luck, Lady Cardinals! •
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