TORRANCE TRIBUNE June 29, 2017 Page 3 Up and Adam North High School Saxons Softball Slips to Second Place By Adam Serrao Expectations were high for the North High Saxons softball team coming into the 2017 regular season. A team that has been dominant in the Pioneer League lately, the Saxons and head coach Howard Miller had another championship on their minds from the moment that they set foot on the baseball diamond this year. Unfortunately for Miller and North, a few players from a successful season last year left the team and few rivals from around the league upped their game and got even better. The year didn’t necessarily end how Miller and the Saxons initially thought it would or wanted it to, but a record of prolonged success within their division will certainly lead to another great opportunity that is already currently in the works for North High. Two seasons ago, the North High softball team finished the year off in first place with just one inter-division loss all season long. The fantastic season led Miller and his Saxons into the CIF Division 4 playoffs where the team won four games in a row to meet up with none other than their rivals from Torrance high in the CIF championship game. The North High defense was so good behind star pitcher Alyssa Loza that the team had only allowed three runs through four postseason games up until that point. Nothing changed in the final as Loza and the Saxons blanked the Tartars by a final score of 5-0 to take home the CIF championship trophy. A lot changed over one offseason, but the biggest change was clearly the departure of Loza. In high school softball, pitching is everything. That was something that Loza taught the entire Pioneer League as she went through a dominant stretch during her senior season in the league. It wasn’t just Loza who left the team due to graduation, though. Loza was one of nine seniors to depart in the offseason, together with third baseman Shonnie Baker, outfielder Lexi Sargent, catcher Desiree Moreno and shortstop Alyssa Wing. Just like that, Miller was going to have to field an almost entirely new team for next season. That next season came and went for Miller and the Saxons. Despite all of their offseason departures, the team was still successful. Kyndra Marzorini was next in line to take the mound and lead North High to victory on the defensive side of the field. Marzorini did an excellent job all season long, but it was the Saxons’ offense that had trouble getting going and ultimately led the team to take a step back from their championship year. The offensive problems were evident for Miller and his team almost right out of the gate in the 2017 season. A 1-0 victory over Carson to start the year had the team feeling optimistic, but three straight losses quickly followed. In those losses, the North High offense was only able to produce six runs while allowing a total of 20 to be scored against them. The problems with the bats that the team experienced would follow the Saxons all the way into league play when North started divisional play against its rivals from West High. Once again, Marzorini was great against the Warriors. The right-handed pitcher had six strikeouts through the first three innings of play, allowing just one hit. The team’s inability to produce any offense at all, however, eventually came back to bite it. West scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning in the rivalry game. That’s all the inner-city and divisional rivals would need to beat the Saxons. “We had our chances, but couldn’t get the big hit,” Miller said after the game. “It was a classic pitching duel and was fun to be a part of.” That game against West was a microcosm for how most of the season went for North. Big wins like a two-game series sweep over the Torrance Tartars and a victory over their rivals from South were sprinkled into the end of the regular season that even saw the Saxons accomplish a six-game winning streak down the stretch run. An 18-12 record with a 6-2 mark in league play had the Saxons sitting pretty at the end of the regular season. Ultimately, the record was good enough for second place in the Pioneer League standings and got the team a first round playoff matchup against the Warren Bears (21-9, 8-2). Like the Saxons, the Bears entered the playoffs on a roll and as winners of five games in a row and eight of their last nine. Warren’s momentum eventually proved to be too much for North High in what was a 6-3 victory over the Saxons in the first round of this year’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Warren eventually lost and was eliminated in the next round. Despite their early exit from the playoffs, Miller and his team will be back and rearing to go next season. Marzorini found great success on the mound this year as only a junior. She will be back for her senior year to prove that like Loza of one season ago, she too can lead North High to a CIF championship. Marzorini’s battery mate, Marissa Garza, should be back in the fold behind home plate to form a solid group of veterans to lead the team. North’s season may have ended much sooner than originally expected, but Miller has a way of rallying the troops. The Saxons softball team will be back and battling for another Pioneer League championship once against next year. – Asixlion@earthlink.net Torrance Police Department Conducts Shoulder-Tap Decoys The Torrance Police Department recently participated in a “Decoy Shoulder-Tap” operation on June 12 within its city limits. During the operation, the Department utilized three decoys which resulted in the following: • Three random locations visited/checked. • Sixteen subjects contacted. • Zero subjects were found to furnish alcohol to minors (an improvement from the one subject who opted to furnish alcohol to minors back on March 11, 2017). During the operation, a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer will stand outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase alcohol. If the adult agrees, and purchases alcohol for the minor, officers will arrest and cite them for furnishing alcohol to the minor. The penalty is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours community service. The Torrance Police Department is one of several agencies to collaborate with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The goal of this operation is to continually raise awareness about the dangers of underage drinking, and also make it clear to any adults that buy alcohol for minors that there are serious consequences. The operation is also an effort to build safer and stronger communities by holding individuals accountable for illegal activity. This local operation was funded by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control through the Department’s Grant Assistance Program (GAP). The Torrance Department will continue to participate and support ABC in protecting communities through excellence in education and by administering prevention and enforcement programs designed to increase compliance with California’s alcoholic beverage laws. This operation was conducted under the command and direction of Torrance Police Captain Martin Vukotic of the Special Operations Bureau. – Content: Torrance Police Department Bill to Streamline Construction of Assisted Living Facility Passes Senate Committee Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s (D-Torrance) Assembly Bill (AB) 994 unanimously passed the Senate Governance and Finance Committee last week. The bill will allow a much-needed upgrade of the Beach Cities Health District’s (BCHD) campus to be built using a streamlined design-build construction method that will cut costs of construction by as much as 20 percent. The upgrades include much-needed maintenance on the original hospital facility, and construction of an assisted living center for the expanding senior population in the South Bay. The construction of the facility will also bring many well-paying, middle-class jobs to the South Bay. “The Beach Cities Health District campus is in urgent need of upgrades. This bill will enable campus construction of a much-needed assisted living facility for seniors to be completed utilizing a cost-effective construction method called design-build, that will save taxpayers up to $20 million on planned projects,” said Muratsuchi. “This construction project will also create good, middle-class jobs for the South Bay.” – Content: Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s Office SBWIB Receives $500,000 from EDD to Assist Veterans with Training and Finding Jobs The South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB) has been awarded $500,000 to assist unemployed and underemployed veterans with barriers to employment find rewarding civilian jobs. The funding was made available through a Veterans’ Employment-Related Assistance Program (VEAP) offered by the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD) under the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA). The SBWIB/VEAP program will focus on training and placing veterans into the construction industry, a sector projecting thousands of new job openings in the next few years, in particular surrounding the construction of the new Inglewood football stadium. For veteran job seekers that may not fit within the construction sector, the SBWIB will assist them to find jobs in other industries. Training will be provided by local training agencies, community colleges and employers and will include pre-employment and jobreadiness workshops, on-the-job training, paid work experience, and certified vocational training leading to credentials and job placement. The program will service transitioning and recently separated veterans, veterans with service connected disabilities, eligible spouses, women and minority veterans, homeless veterans, veterans recently released from incarceration, veterans lacking a high school diploma or equivalent certificate and other veterans with barriers to finding employment. Outreach and recruitment will be supported by existing partnerships with local area employers, the Los Angeles Air Force Base, the EDD (JVSG) (DVOP) (LVER) and other community partners such as U.S. Vets. The SBWIB previously established the Military Veterans to Civilian Career Pathways program to assist with resources needed to secure gainful employment for vets and over seventy percent of veterans enrolled in the program find employment. The new SBWIB/ VEAP program will open many more doors for veterans helping them to secure meaningful employment and successful careers. – Content: SBWIB Community Briefs DEADLINES OBITUARIES: Monday at noon. CALENDAR ITEMS: Monday at noon. PEOPLE ITEMS: Monday at noon. CLASSIFIEDS: Tuesday at noon. LEGAL NOTICES: Wednesday at 11:00 am. REAL ESTATE ADS: Monday at noon. AD CANCELLATIONS: Prior Thursday. LATE CANCELLATIONS WILL BE CHARGED 50% OF AD Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com
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