May 30, 2009

The Eagle Rock baseball team's dream of returning to Dodger Stadium for a championship game for the first time since 2001 came to an end Friday, May 22, when the Eagles lost to the Fremont Pathfinders 9-8 in an exciting, and ultimately heart-stopping game played at Fremont.

The Eagles scored two runs in the first inning when Josh Dominguez tripled and scored on Jonathan Cuatete's double. Cuatete advanced to third on Andrew Portier's single, and scored on Nick Perez' single.

The Pathfinders rolled a seven in their half of the first, however, by virtue of only two hits. Starting pitcher Marcus Rodriguez struggled with his control, and Fremont took advantage of this, and a costly bobble of a pop fly which would have ended the inning to take a 7-2 lead. Sophomore pitcher Calvin Bonilla came in to get the Eagles out of the inning, and would hold the Pathfinders in check until the 6th inning, giving up just two hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings.

The Eagles recovered quickly from that haymaker however, and in the 2nd inning, senior first baseman David Halstead launched a grand slam homerun on to Avalon Boulevard which cut the Fremont lead to 7-6.

Halstead came through again in his next at bat with a two-run double, which gave the Eagles an 8-7 lead. They held that lead until the bottom of the 6th, when Fremont cashed in a walk, single and double to take an 8-7 lead.

In the top of the 7th the Eagles put together a couple of hits, but had the tying run cut down at the plate, and thus a remarkable season came to an end.

Coach Zuber will have a good nucleus with which to start next season. Sophomore pitchers Noel Orihuela and Calvin Bonilla return, as will outfielder Francisco Cabral, and infielder Josh Dominguez. Junior third baseman/pitcher Tom Ochoa also returns. All five saw significant playing time this year as starting players.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

May 30, 2009

The third time was supposed to be the charm for the Eagle Rock softball team. Twice before the Eagles had played for the City Invitational Championship at UCLA's Easton Field and had come up short. The Eagles and Coach Martin Kelley were hoping that would change on Wednesday, March 27 when they played the Narbonne Gauchos. Instead, the Gauchos took a hard-fought 2-1 victory for the championship.

Senior pitcher Theresa Kelley pitched well for the Eagles, limiting the Gauchos to four singles and striking out 10, but Narbonne's Elia Lizarraga was just a little bit better, as she held the Eagles to two hits and struck out 9.

The Eagles had their best scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning when they loaded the bases. After retiring the first two Eagle hitters, Lizarraga then walked the next three hitters in a row. Those would prove to be the only walks she would allow. Senior outfielder Mayra Maldonado then hit a groundball which might have gone through to rightfield for a run-scoring single. Instead it hit the runner on first, ending the inning.

The Eagles turned a couple of double plays in the first three innings to back Kelley's outstanding pitching. In the bottom of the first, senior catcher Vicky Delgado threw Lizarraga out trying to steal second on strike three to the batter. In the third inning, junior third baseman Arely Alvarez (whose older brother Luis was a star shortstop on the baseball team) made a great catch on a bunt attempt, and then fired a strike to first baseman Ivette Rodriguez to double up a Narbonne baserunner.

The Gauchos broke through in the fifth inning. After Kelley struck out the first batter of the inning, the next batter reached on an error. Then came the first big play of the game. The batter grounded sharply to Alvarez at third. Arely instinctively looked to throw to second base to get the lead runner, but there was nobody was there, and she had no chance to get the speedy runner at first, so both runners were safe. The next Gaucho hitter blooped one to right field that fell in for a hit, and that scored the first run of the game. Later in the inning, with two outs, the Gauchos cashed in a second run on an infield single.

The Eagles scored their run in the top of the 7th inning. Mayra Maldonado reached base on an error by the Narbonne thirdbaseman. Ivette Rodriguez followed by also hitting one to third. This time the third baseman fielded the ball cleanly but made a wild throw to rightfield, and Mayra came all the way around to score, with Ivette taking second on the play. She took third when the next batter struck out, but was stranded there. Arely made the final out of the game by ripping one to shortstop, but Narbonne's Jennifer Enriquez fielded the ball cleanly and threw her out to end the game.

Sulbmitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Eagle Rock baseball team's dream of returning to Dodger Stadium for a championship game for the first time since 2001 came to an end Friday, May 22, when the Eagles lost to the Fremont Pathfinders 9-8 in an exciting, and ultimately heart-stopping game played at Fremont.

The Eagles scored two runs in the first inning when Josh Dominguez tripled and scored on Jonathan Cuatete's double. Cuatete advanced to third on Andrew Portier's single, and scored on Nick Perez' single.

The Pathfinders rolled a seven in their half of the first, however, by virtue of only two hits. Starting pitcher Marcus Rodriguez struggled with his control, and Fremont took advantage of this, and a costly bobble of a pop fly which would have ended the inning to take a 7-2 lead. Sophomore pitcher Calvin Bonilla came in to get the Eagles out of the inning, and would hold the Pathfinders in check until the 6th inning, giving up just two hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings.

The Eagles recovered quickly from that haymaker however, and in the 2nd inning, senior first baseman David Halstead launched a grand slam homerun on to Avalon Boulevard which cut the Fremont lead to 7-6.

Halstead came through again in his next at bat with a two-run double, which gave the Eagles an 8-7 lead. They held that lead until the bottom of the 6th, when Fremont cashed in a walk, single and double to take an 8-7 lead.

In the top of the 7th the Eagles put together a couple of hits, but had the tying run cut down at the plate, and thus a remarkable season came to an end.

Coach Zuber will have a good nucleus with which to start next season. Sophomore pitchers Noel Orihuela and Calvin Bonilla return, as will outfielder Francisco Cabral, and infielder Josh Dominguez. Junior third baseman/pitcher Tom Ochoa also returns. All five saw significant playing time this year as starting players.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

Friday, May 29, 2009

The third time was supposed to be the charm for the Eagle Rock softball team. Twice before the Eagles had played for the City Invitational Championship at UCLA's Easton Field and had come up short. The Eagles and Coach Martin Kelley were hoping that would change on Wednesday, March 27 when they played the Narbonne Gauchos. Instead, the Gauchos took a hard-fought 2-1 victory for the championship.

Senior pitcher Theresa Kelley pitched well for the Eagles, limiting the Gauchos to four singles and striking out 10, but Narbonne's Elia Lizarraga was just a little bit better, as she held the Eagles to two hits and struck out 9.

The Eagles had their best scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning when they loaded the bases. After retiring the first two Eagle hitters, Lizarraga then walked the next three hitters in a row. Those would prove to be the only walks she would allow. Senior outfielder Mayra Maldonado then hit a groundball which might have gone through to rightfield for a run-scoring single. Instead it hit the runner on first, ending the inning.

The Eagles turned a couple of double plays in the first three innings to back Kelley's outstanding pitching. In the bottom of the first, senior catcher Vicky Delgado threw Lizarraga out trying to steal second on strike three to the batter. In the third inning, junior third baseman Arely Alvarez (whose older brother Luis was a star shortstop on the baseball team) made a great catch on a bunt attempt, and then fired a strike to first baseman Ivette Rodriguez to double up a Narbonne baserunner.

The Gauchos broke through in the fifth inning. After Kelley struck out the first batter of the inning, the next batter reached on an error. Then came the first big play of the game. The batter grounded sharply to Alvarez at third. Arely instinctively looked to throw to second base to get the lead runner, but there was nobody was there, and she had no chance to get the speedy runner at first, so both runners were safe. The next Gaucho hitter blooped one to right field that fell in for a hit, and that scored the first run of the game. Later in the inning, with two outs, the Gauchos cashed in a second run on an infield single.

The Eagles scored their run in the top of the 7th inning. Mayra Maldonado reached base on an error by the Narbonne thirdbaseman. Ivette Rodriguez followed by also hitting one to third. This time the third baseman fielded the ball cleanly but made a wild throw to rightfield, and Mayra came all the way around to score, with Ivette taking second on the play. She took third when the next batter struck out, but was stranded there. Arely made the final out of the game by ripping one to shortstop, but Narbonne's Jennifer Enriquez fielded the ball cleanly and threw her out to end the game.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Eagle Rock varsity baseball team has advanced to the second round of the Division II playoffs. The Eagles will travel to Fremont on Friday, May 22 to take on the Pathfinders in a game that is scheduled to start at 3:00. The teams met twice this season in RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) Tournament games and Fremont won both games by the scores of 10-2 and 4-3. In both of those games Eagle Rock coach Rick Zuber substituted his players frequently.

The Eagles advanced by defeating the Fairfax Lions 13-9 in a game played at Yosemite Park on Wednesday, May 20, while the Pathfinders eliminated North Hollywood 11-1.

The Lions came out swinging--and running--in the first inning, and scored two runs off the Eagles' starting pitcher Andrew Portier on a couple of singles, a couple of stolen bases and a well-placed bunt.

The Eagles countered with four in their half of the first. Junior Josh Dominguez, who has emerged as the team's leadoff hitter in recent weeks, led off with a walk, and advanced to second when Jonathan Cuatete was hit by a pitch. Portier grounded a single to center to score Dominguez. David Halstead's fly advanced Cuatete to third, where he scored on Nick Perez' single to tie the game. Francisco Cabral's single to center scored Portier, and the Eagles led 3-2. Tom Ochoa singled to right to score Perez, to make it 4-2.

The Lions responded with three in the top of the second to take a 5-4 lead, and the Eagles tied it in their half when Cuatete reached on an error, was wild pitched to second and scored on Portier's single to center. It was to be a big day for the two seniors who are the heart of the Eagles batting order. Cuatete had three hits, including a homerun, and drove in three runs, while Portier had four hits and scored four runs.

The Eagles seemed to take control of the game in the bottom of the third inning by scoring six runs. Big hits in the inning included Cuatete's two run-single and Ochoa's booming double to left which scored two.

The Lions were not intimidated and scored four runs in the top of the 4th to close to 11-9. The big hit in the inning was a triple to centerfield near the corner of the fence around the swimming pool.

The Eagles added a run in the bottom of the 4th when Noel Orihuela, who had come in to pitch after starting the game at shortstop, hit a double. He came around to score on Halstead's single.

That run looked especially important in the top of the 6th inning when the Lions put two runners on base. Another demonstration of the versatility of Coach Zuber's team came when he summoned junior Tom Ochoa in from third base to pitch. Ochoa slammed the door on the Lions and got the final out of the inning. After Cuatete's homerun over the right field fence in the bottom of the 6th upped the Eagle lead to 13-9, Ochoa retired the side in the top of the 7th to preserve the win for the Eagles. The game lasted over three hours, and was delayed at the start by 25 minutes to fill in squirrel holes in the outfield.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Northern League champion Eagle Rock varsity baseball team will be making its first postseason appearance in three years Wednesday, May 20 when the Eagles host the Fairfax Lions in a first round playoff game. The game will be played at Yosemite Park with the first pitch scheduled for 3:00.

The Eagles are seeded 5th in the Division II playoffs, while the Lions are seeded 12th. Two other teams from Fairfax's league, the Western League, are seeded #1 and #2 in this division. Westchester is seeded first and Crenshaw is seeded #2. The winner of the Eagle Rock-Fairfax game will play the winner of the North Hollywood (#13)-Fremont (#4) game on Friday, May 22 at the home of the higher-seeded team.

Eagle Rock's team completed one of its most successful seasons in recent years this past year, dethroning Marshall as Northern League champions by going 13-2 in league play. The last time an Eagle Rock team posted a record that good in league play was in 1991, when they went 15-2 in Gary Kuniyuki's first year as coach. That was also the last time the team won an undisputed league championship.

The team rolled to the league championship by sweeping all of the teams in the league except Marshall, and having at least one mercy game (10-run lead after five innings) against every team, including Marshall.

The Eagles lost their last game of the year to Marshall on Wednesday, May 13, 9-2. Senior righthander Jose Valdez pitched a complete game against the Eagles, and outfielder Christian Hernandez robbed Eagle Rock first baseman David Halstead of at least a double with a diving catch in left centerfield. Junior outfielder Josh Dominguez singled in the only Eagle runs in the 5th inning.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Assistant Athletic Director

Tuseday, May 12, 2009

The newly crowned Northern League champion Eagle Rock baseball team will close out the 2009 regular season with a game against Marshall High School on Wednesday, May 13. The game will be played at Yosemite Park at 2:30 pm.

The Eagles won their first league title since a co-championship with LA High in 2005. It is their first undisputed championship since the early 1990s.

The clincher was anything but a cinch: the Eagles had to come from behind to beat the Wilson Mules 12-11 in eight innings in a wild game played at Yosemite Park on Monday, May 11.

Every time the Eagles seemingly had the game put away, the Mules came back to take it away..

In the bottom of the third inning, with the game tied at 1-1, the Eagles scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Jonathan Cuatete was hit by a pitch, and came around to score on a double by starting pitcher Andrew Portier, which almost dented the Red Cross container in deep left centerfield. David Halstead reached base, and Nick Perez followed with a double that just missed clearing the fence in right center. Portier scored and Halstead went to third on the play. Francisco Cabral then bounced a high hopper to short which scored Halstead.

The Mules made it 4-3 in the top of the fourth when senior Joey De Alba launched one into the pool off Portier, and in the fifth they took the lead when senior catcher Andy Velarde hit a two-run homer off the roof of the pool building in left center.

In talking about his team Coach Rick Zuber usually says two things: "These guys love to hit" and "They hate to lose."

In the bottom of the 5th, the Eagles demonstrated both of these qualities in making quick work of Wilson's 5-4 lead. Cuatete led off with a rocket down the right field line for a double. One out later Halstead grounded a single up the middle, advancing Cuatete to third, where he was replaced by pinch runner Cesar Flores. Flores scored on Cabral's single to give Eagle Rock a 6-5 lead. On the play, Cabral hurt himself rounding first and had to leave the game. Kevin Killgore ran for Cabral. Killgore came around to score when the Wilson catcher made a bad throw to second that went in to center field. The center fielder came in to back up the play, but the ball hit a rock or a gopher hole and bounced over his head and out to the outfield grass. Killgore raced around the bases to give the Eagles a 7-5 lead.

Which lasted all of an inning. Junior Jason Ruiz hit a two-run double off relief pitcher Noel Orihuela, and the score was tied 7-7. Cuatete came in to close the door on Wilson.

In the bottom of the 6th, Orihuela grounded a single to center, and the ball hit the same gopher hole as the previous inning, and Noel sped all the way to third base. Cuatete lined a single to center to score Orihuela and give the Eagles the lead again 8-7. Seconds later, Portier sent a towering drive into the swimming pool, and the Eagle lead was 10-7.

However, no lead was safe this day. The Mules put together a couple of hits, and took advantage of a couple of Eagle Rock errors, and tied the score at 10 in the 7th inning. The Eagles were retired in the bottom of the 7th, and the game moved in to extra innings.

The Mules pushed across a run in the top of the eighth inning to take an 11-10 lead.

The Eagles came up in the bottom of the 8th desperately seeking to reclaim the victory which had seemed in the bag not too long before. It began to look as if the Marshall game would be for all the marbles on Wednesday when the first two batters were retired. But then Cuatete hit a ball down the third baseline which the Wilson third baseman knocked down, but couldn't make a play on, and up stepped Portier. On a 2-0 pitch, he connected for his second homerun of the game, a drive which bounced off the swim building in left centerfield for a walk off, game-winning, championship-winning homerun for the Eagles. Game, set and match!

The playoffs will begin the week of May 18, and the Eagles figure to get at least one home game.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Asst. Athletic Director

Wednesday, April 24, 2009

The Eagle Rock varsity baseball team is on the road this week, with games against Belmont on Wednesday, April 29 at Bishop Canyon Park, and against Marshall on Friday, May 1.

The Eagles are currently 9-0 in league play and in undisputed possesion of first place in the Northern League after a week which saw them outscore their two toughest opponents, Wilson and Marshall, by a collective score of 45-6.

On Monday, April 20, the Eagles came from behind to defeat Wilson 12-2 in a game at Yosemite Park. The Mules took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a pair of singles, a misplayed bunt and a sacrifice fly. They held that lead until the bottom of the fourth inning. David Halstead and Andrew Portier lined consecutive singels to center, then Francisco Cabral smacked a double to left center to score them both. Cabral, a junior outfielder, would go 3-3 in the game with 3 RBIs. Cabral advanced to third on a passed ball, but was later caught in a rundown and tagged out on Marcus Rodriguez' infield hit. Tom Ochoa's hit later scored Rodriguez, and Noel Orihuela's hit eventually scored Ochoa to make it 4-2, Eagle Rock.

The Eagles then put the game away in the fifth. With one out, Halstead and Portier were hit by pitches. Cabral's hit scored Halstead and Portier scored when the Wilson right fielder misplayed the ball.. The Eagles ended up scoring four more runs, the final one coming on Halstead's hit to left which scored Nick Perez with the final run. Marcus Rodriguez pitched a five-inning complete game to pick up the win for Eagle Rock.

On Wednesday, the Eagles travelled to Wilson, and the result was much the same, with the green and gray team winning 10-1. Andrew Portier pitched the first three innings, giving up one h it and two walks to pick up the win.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning, when the Eagles broke loose for four runs. Luciano Orozco singled, and Orihuela and Josh Dominguez reached on errors to load the bases. Portier quickly unloaded them with a booming triple, and scored on Halstead's single for the fourth run of the game.

In the 5th, the Eagles scored three unearned runs, and then the Eagles added their 10th run in the sixth when Alex Gallegos walked with the bases loaded. The game ended abruptly in the home half of the sixth inning when the Wilson coach was ejected for arguing with the umpire.

The much-anticipated game with defending league champion Marshall never reached trial, as the Eagles scored two runs in the first two innings, then lowered the boom on the Barristers with a eight-run third inning. Highlights included catcher Nick Perez' homerun over the right field fence and then a few batters later, David Halstead hit a three-run homer on a ball that landed on the roof of the swimming bleachers down the left field line. Marshall scored two in the top of the fifth, but the game was called when they were retired on account of the 10-run mercy rule.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Asst. Athletic Director

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Eagle Rock varsity baseball team will be battling for first place in the Northern League all week long. First, they will take on the Wilson Mules in a home-and-home series beginning Monday 4/20 with a game at Yosemite Park at 2:30. Then they travel to Wilson on Wednesday, 4/22 , then finally they will host Marshall on Friday 4/24. Coach Rick Zuber is scheduled for surgery and will not be with the team for the Monday Wilson game.

The Eagles had no trouble with the Lincoln Tigers in either of the games the week of 4/13. On Wednesday 4/15, they beat the Tigers 12-0 at Lincoln, in a mercy-shortened game of five innings. The Eagles pounded out several big hits, including Jonathan Cuatete's ground rule double to centerfield, which missed the homerun line by inches, and Marcus Rodriguez's bases loaded single. Starting pitcher Andrew Portier allowed a single to Lincoln's leadoff hitter, and that was the Tigers only hit of the game.

The Eagles scored six runs in the first inning, and four in the second to put the game away early. Coach Zuber put in the reserves in the third inning, and they also played well. Senior outfielder Eric Alvarado singled in one run and scored another, while third baseman Corey Springer teamed up with relief pitcher Calvin Bonilla to pick two Lincoln runners off third base in the same inning!

The Eagles beat the Tigers easily on Monday 4/13 at Yosemite Park, in another shortened game, 10-0. Marcus Rodriguez struck out six and allowed three hits in a 10-0 romp for the Eagles. The Eagles got off to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning of this game, as first baseman David Halstad singled in Noel Orihuela and Portier, and then scored himself on a groundball by Tom Ochoa. The Eagles padded their lead in the second inning as Francisco Cabral singled to right, was balked to second and then scored on Cuatete's double. Cuatete picked up a couple of more RBIs in the fifth on a two-run single in the fourth, and then the Eagles ended the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Asst. Athletic Director

Monday, April 6, 2009

While the rest of their classmates are enjoying spring break and sleeping in, the Eagle Rock Varsity baseball team will be participating in the Reviving Baseball in the Innercity (RBI) Tournament. The Eagles will play against the Fremont Pathfinders, a school which has probably produced more major league baseball players than any other in the country, on Saturday, April 4. The Eagle team will be playing games throughout the week of 4/6.

When they return to school and Northern League action on April 13, the Eagles will find themselves atop the league standings with a perfect 4-0 mark. The Eagles will host the Lincoln Tigers that day at 2:30 at Yosemite Park. The Eagles are currently one game ahead of Wilson, and will be playing the Mules the week of 4/20.

The Eagles rolled over the Franklin Panthers 21-3 on Monday 3/30 in a game played at Panther Field. "We have never beaten them that badly," Coach Rick Zuber said after the game. Zuber, in his 15th year coaching Eagle Rock's baseball team has seen many close games in this rivalry. This one started out close. After the Eagles scored two in the top of the first, the Panthers put together a three run inning of their own, combining several singles and a key error to score three off Eagle Rock starting pitcher Andrew Portier. But those hits turned out to be the only ones Portier would give up in a game that was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. The senior righthander struck out nine and did not walk a batter. He also contributed a two-run double to contribute to the Eagle hitting attack. The game got so out of hand that the Franklin scoreboard operator turned off the board when it was 19-3.

The game on Wednesday, April 1 was more of a traditional Franklin-Eagle Rock battle. The Panthers put together four hits and a walk and put up four runs in the first inning against starting pitcher Marcus Rodriguez. The Eagles came back with two of their own in the bottom of the first inning, and lost a third run when senior catcher Nick Perez was ruled out for failing to touch homeplate after driving one in to the pool in left field. Coach Zuber said the team was not deterred by the lost run. "These guys hate to lose," he said. "That's different than being afraid to lose. They HATE to lose, and when that happened, they just said 'We'll get 'em next inning.'"

They actually had to wait two innings. After Franklin padded its lead to 5-2 in the top of the third, the Eagles came out firing on all cylinders. Francisco Cabral led off with a walk. One out later, senior outfielder/third baseman/pitcher/catcher Jonathan Cuatete singled left. Portier singled to center to score Cabral. First baseman David Halstead was hit by a pitch to load the bases to score . Nick Perez singled to center to score Cabral, and then thirdbaseman Tom Ochoa was hit by a pitch to narrow the score to 5-4, Franklin. Marcus Rodriguez then cleared the bases on a double to deep center to put the Eagles ahead 7-5. He then stole third and scored on Luciano Orozco's sacrifice fly. Cabral then walked again, and one out later, Cuatete bombed one off the roof of the swim building in deepest left centerfield to push the Eagles to a 10-5 lead. The Eagles added a run in the bottom of the fifth, when Perez singled in Portier, who had been hit by a pitch.

Sophomore righthander Calvin Bonilla came in and pitched three strong innings of relief for the Eagles holding the Panthers to two hits, but the Panters were able to score two in the top of the sixth to narrow Eagle Rock's lead to 11-7. Bonilla surrendered two leadoff hits in the top of the 7th, and Coach Zuber decided it was Tete time. Cuatete trotted in from left field and got the first batter to hit a pop fly that should have been caught. Instead it fell, and the Panthers had the bases loaded with no outs. Cuatete then struck out the next two batters, before walking the Franklin leadoff hitter on a 3-2 pitch. That narrowed the score to 11-8, and Franiklin had its best hitters soming up. Cuatete got the next hitter to pop out to Ochoa at third for the final out, and the Eagles had the victory.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Asst. Athletic Director

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Eagle Rock baseball team will take on the Franklin Panthers in a two game series before spring break. The two teams will meet at Franklin for a game Monday afternoon 3/29, and then the Eagles will host the Panthers at Yosemite Park on Wednesday, April 1. The first pitch for both games is scheduled for 2:30.

The Panthers will represent the first big challenge for the Eagles, who started off the season by winning their first two games against the Belmont Sentinels. The first game against Belmont was played on March 23 at Yosemite Park. The Eagles cruised to a 15-3 win in a game shortened by the mercy rule (they were ahead by more than 10 runs before the 5th inning). Senior first baseman David Halstead's booming homerun to the deepest part of Yosemite Park was the final shot.

When the two teams met a couple of days later at beautiful Bishop Canyon Park, the Sentinels played a much better game, and the issue was in doubt until the end. Sophomore Noel Orihuela and junior Tom Ochoa, teamed up to hold the Sentinels in check. The two righthanders combined to strike out 10 and a few scattered hits. The Eagles had a couple of big hits at key times. Luciano Orozco's two run single gave the Eagles the lead, and Jonathan Cuatete's two-run double down the left field line in the seventh gave the Eagles some insurance.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Asst. Athletic Director

Friday, June 7, 2007

Congratulations to the J.V. baseball team on a very good year! The Eagles finished at 13-4-1. The Eagles won the Northern league with a 7-6 victory over Franklin which put the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time ever.. (J.V. baseball did not have playoffs). The Eagles drew a tough draw in Chatsworth, one of the premier baseball programs in the country! The Eagles led by pitcher Andrew Portier, played Chatsworth to a tough game losing 3-0. This is more remarkeable in that Chatsworth won their next two games by scores of 21-0 and 17-3. Chatsworth then lost in the championship game. Congratulations to the J.V. Eagle baseball team!!!

Submitted by Coach Mike McKay

Monday, May 21, 2007

The Eagle Rock Varsity baseball team concluded its season with a 5-1 loss to the Lincoln Tigers on 5/14 in a game played at Rose Hills Park. The Eagles finished the season at 8-10 overall and 5-10 in Northern League play.

"We'll have a lot of returners next year," said Coach Rick Zuber recently, "guys that contributed a lot this year." Some of those returners will likely include freshman Juan Rodriguez, who hit three of the team's four homeruns this year and batted .444. Sophomore catcher Nick Perez added the team's other homerun and was second in RBIs with 14. Junior pitcher Darwin Bacellis hit .522 and struck out 13 in 12 innings. Junior centerfielder Albert Stirl hit .393 and sophomore David Killgore hit .382 and filled in ably at catcher when Perez was injured. These players along with other returning players, plus the nucleus of an outstanding JV team should mean a better year for the Eagles next year.

One player who won't be returning is senior Jim Ochoa, who certainly left his mark this year. Jim led the team in average at .590, hits (23) and RBIs (16). He was also the team's best pitcher, leading the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, while compiling an ERA of 1.14.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Eagle Rock varsity baseball team closes out its season against the Lincoln Tigers on Monday 5/14 with a 2:30 game at Rose Hills Park. The Eagles are 8-11 overall, and 5-9 in Northern League play.

The Eagles lost to the Franklin Panthers 9-7 on Wednesday 5/9 in a game Franklin desperately needed if it wanted to win the league. The Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, but couldn't hold it. The Panthers got back in the game with four in the bottom of the third, thanks in part to some Eagle errors. The Panthers then scored two more in the fourth to take the lead, and added three for insurance in the fifth.

For Eagle Rock, Jim Ochoa had a pair of doubles and knocked in two runs. Kevin Ortega and Albert Stirl also had two hits for the Eagles.

Submitted by Steve Calhoun

Sunday, May 13, 2007

The Eagle Rock J.V. baseball team had a productive week last weeek by beating Belmonte 17-4 and then with an impressive 7-6 victory over Franklin on Wednesday to give the Eagles a shot at winning the Northern League title and a shot at the playoffs. The Eagles will win the Northern League with a victory over Lincoln on Monday the 14th and place the eagles in the playoffs. As far as I can tell, this will be the 1st time that playoffs will be held for J.V. baseball. The Eagles had a difficult time the week before the week before. The Eagles had a great game against Wilson and beat them 12-4. Then on a very controversial game, the Eagles lost to Marshall. The game was under protest as the host team Marshall was found to have a pitching rubber a full 6 feet to long!!! however, the Eagles lost the protest due to the fact that the game was started under adverse conditons. Fortunately, this game will not effect the Eagles with a victory over Lincoln on Monday!!!

Submitted by Coach Mike McKay

Monday, May 7, 2007

Eagle Rock's varsity baseball team will conclude its season this week with games against Belmont (at Bishop Canyon Park) on Monday 5/7, and then a home game with Franklin on Wednesday 5/9. The Eagles are currently 4-8 in Northern League play and 7-10 overall. The game with the Panthers could be important to Franklin, as they are one game behind first place Marshall and play the Barristers on Monday.

The Eagles lost to the Barristers 12-2 last week. Jim Ochoa pitched well for the first five innings, and lowered his ERA to 2.80. When he left the Eagles trailed 5-2. As has been the case all year, the Eagles did not play well defensively, and three of the runs Ochoa gave up were unearned, as were three of the runs in the 7th, when Marshall broke it open.

Frankie Clemente pitched a complete game for Marshall, limiting the Eagles to only six hits. Darwin Bacelis collected three of them, as he continued his torrid hitting since his return to the team. He's hitting .563 on the season. Kevin Ortega had a double for Eagle Rock's lone extra base hit.

Earlier in the week the Eagles dropped a 4-3 decision to the Wilson Mules.

Submitted by Stephen Calhoun

Monday, April 30, 2007

The Eagle Rock Varsity baseball team heads in to the final third of its season needing some wins to make the City Section playoffs. They play Wilson on Monday 4/30 and host Marshall on Wednesday 5/2.

The Eagles are currently 7-8 overall and 4-6 in Northern League play. The Eagles can take inspiration for the stretch run from two sources: first, last year's team won its final six straight games of the season, and second, there was the miraculous comeback against Lincoln last week.

The Eagles put together an eight run inning in their final at-bat to sink the Tigers by the unlikely score of 20-16 last week at Lincoln Park. Kevin Ortega walked to start the inning. David Killgore struck out, but Josh Sotelo and Juan Luna both singled to load the bases. Albert Stirl's single scored Ortega, and the Eagles trailed 15-13. Darwin Bacelis, who had gone 3-4 and scored and driven in three runs, was then hit by a pitch. This allowed Sotelo to score, and the Eagles trailed 15-14.

Jim Ochoa picked up his third hit of the game to score Luna and Stirl, and the Eagles had the lead. Jim, who had five RBIs in the game, is now hitting an even .600 on the season. After Gilbert Osuna flied out for the second out, Juan Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Ortega then reached base on catcher's interference, and Bacelis walked home. Killgore's single plated two more runs, and Sotelo finished off the scoring with a single to score Ortega, giving the Eagles what appeared to be a safe lead going in to the home half of the 7th.

No lead was safe on this day, however. The Tigers scratched back for one more run and had two men on base when the final out was recorded.

Friday, April 20, 2007

The JV Eagles baseball team split the games with League rival Franklin this past week. The Eagles, led by sophomore picture, Andrew Portier, beat the Panthers 11-0 as Andrew threw a one hit shut out and struck out 13 in five innings. He faced only 1 batter over the minimum and very nearly pitched a perfect game.

The Eagles lost to Franklin 9-5 on Wednesday as they did not take advantage of two bases loaded situation with no outs. The eagles are now 7-2 -1 and are 1/2 game out of first place behind Franklin.

The Eagles face Lincoln next Monday at Rose Hills and face Lincoln at home on Wednesday.

Submitted by Stephen Calhoun

Monday, April 12, 2007

The Eagle Rock JV baseball team will host the Franklin Panthers on Monday, 4/16 in a game at Yosemite Park. The Eagles are currently 6-1-1 in Northern League play and will play two games against the Panthers next week that may help determine the league championship.

In last week's games against Belmont, the Eagles flexed their muscles in beating the Sentinels, winning 24-7 on Monday 4/9, and 15-0 on Wednesday. In Monday's game at Bishop Canyon Park, sophomore pitcher Marcus Rodriguez hit a double off the center field fence, and a triple to left center and pitched the first two innings.

In Wednesday's game, sophomore pitcher Andrew Portier pitched five innings and faced a total of 16 batters. He struck out 13, and surrendered only a bloop single. That single was the only time a Belmont hitter even made contact after the first inning.

Submitted by Coach Mike McKay

Monday, April 9, 2007

The Eagle Rock Varsity Baseball team will be looking to even its Northern League record at 3-3 when they take on the Belmont Sentinels at Bishop Canyon Park on Wednesday afternoon 4/11. The Eagles squeaked by the Sentinels 2-1 on Monday 4/9 at Yosemite Park, the first day back from spring break.

Sophomore outfielder David Killgore singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th inning to win it for the Eagles. Killgore's hit scored Sammy Raphael with the winning run. Raphael had led off the inning with a walk. He advanced to third after Juan Luna singled and Cesar Valladares walked. One out later. Killgore came through with his hit.

David scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning when he tripled against the fence in right field. Albert Stirl then banged one up the middle to score Killgore.

Belmont tied it up in the fifth inning on an unearned run.

Starting pitcher Jordan Bello gave the Eagles six good innings, allowing four hits and walking six batters. He also struck out seven. Jordan Mills pitched the seventh inning, turned a double play, and picked up the win.

Steve Calhoun, Counselor

Friday, March 23, 2007

The Eagle Rock Varsity baseball team will play two games against defending Northern League champion Marshall next week.

In their last game, the Eagles lost to Wilson 3-2 at Wilson on Wednesday 3/21. The Eagles only collected one hit against Wilson pitching, and that came in the first inning. They scored two runs on a combination of wild pitches and passed balls. Two of Wilson's runs were unearned as well. The Eagles did have the tying and potential winning runs in scoring position in the top half of the seventh but couldn't get them in.

Steve Calhoun, Counselor

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Eagle Rock Varsity baseball team will be looking to pick up its second Northern League win in as many tries this Wednesday when they take on Wilson.

In the league opener at Yosemite Park on Monday 3/19, the Eagles turned back the Wilson Mules 4-0. Jim Ochoa and Kevin Ortega held the Mules to six hits in combining on the shutout. Wilson's starting pitcher, John Paul Salazar, pitched well, but didn't get a lot of help from his defense.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, when the Eagles broke through with three runs. Shortstop Sammy Rafael walked, then Cesar Valladares laid down a beautiful bunt and beat the play to first. Second baseman Luna then tried twice unsuccessfully to bunt the runners over, but on an 0-2 pitch he lined a single to right to load the bases. Albert Stirl then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Rafael with the first run of the game, and when the throw left the playing field, Valladares also scored. Ochoa then poked one through the left side of the infield for a hit that scored Luna.

Wilson's closest chance to score came in the top of the fourth. With a runner on second and two outs, the batter hit a base hit to left field that Cesar Valladares just missed making a great catch on. The ball got by him, but Valladares recovered quickly, and threw a strike to Rafael, who relayed a strike to catcher Nick Perez, which nailed the runner at the plate and ended the inning.

The Eagles added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth, when Jordan Bello stole home on a delayed double steal.

Ochoa pitched in to the 5th inning, when Ortega came in to bail him out. Ortega ran into a little trouble in the top of the seventh, when, with one out, the Mules loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batter and a single. However, he induced the next batter to hit in to a game-ending double play and the Eagles had the win.

Steve Calhoun, Counselor

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Eagle Rock's Varsity baseball team opens Northern League play on Monday 3/19 against the Wilson Mules. The game will be played at Yosemite Park.

The Eagles had no trouble last week in their two non-league games, easily defeating Santee and Locke High Schools. Centerfielder Albert Stirl had five hits in the two games, which computes to an average of .833.

The Eagles travelled to Santee on Tuesday for their first game against the newly opened high school. Pitcher Juan Rodriguez, a freshman, and sophomore catcher Nick Perez both homered for the Eagles.

Against Locke on Thursday 3/15, the Eagles disposed of the Saints 13-3.

Steve Calhoun, Counselor