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    Loara baseball’s hard work pays off with undefeated record in Grove League
    • April 29, 2025

    Todd Rolph has coached Loara baseball for six years.

    If his teams continue to have the type of kids Rolph has on this year’s team, he probably could coach another 60 years.

    “They’re a bunch of great kids,” Rolph said Monday. “They love baseball. They work like no other.”

    Loara has worked its way to a 15-2 record. The Saxons are 10-0 in the Grove League. They have done this with zero seniors on the roster.

    They take Orange County’s longest intact winning streak of 12 games into this week when the Saxons play second-place La Quinta (14-5 overall, 8-2 in league) on Tuesday at La Quinta and Friday at Loara.

    Pitching is a Loara strength.

    Sophomore left-hander TJ Nicholson is 8-0 with a 0.56 earned-run average. He pitched a perfect game in Loara’s 11-0 season-opening win over Calvary Chapel of Downey.

    Junior right-hander Carter Smith is 5-0 with a 0.29 ERA.

    Junior lefty Evan Martinez also contributes on the mound although he is best known as a clutch hitter.

    “When Evan comes up he comes through,” Rolph said. “The kids call him ‘The Magician.’”

    Martinez has a team-high 27 hits with 20 RBIs. Junior shortstop Cesar Ponce has leads Loara in RBIs, with 22, and in runs scored with 25. The Saxons No. 9 hitter, slick-fielding junior third baseman David Poe, is batting. 333 and has scored 23 runs.

    Loara has outscored Grove League opponents 147-12. Including nonleague games, the Saxons have outscored opponents 204-29.

    The Saxons struggled to score runs last season when they finished 9-12-1 and missed the playoffs. Offseason and in-season work changed that.

    “With these kids it’s always ‘What can I do to help the team?’” Rolph said. “They’re always fishing for more information. ‘What can I do to get better?’”

    CENTURY ROLLING

    Century is in first place in the Coast League with a 9-1 league record. The Centurions play second-place Estancia (7-3) twice this week, on Tuesday (at home) and Thursday (at Estancia).

    Centurions coach Theo Cortes was forced to make some adjustments early this season. Senior pitcher Miguel Ulloa, who was 11-1 last year and also played catcher, injured his pitching arm and now is strictly a designated hitter. Senior pitcher/third baseman Ismael Valverde, last season’s Orange League player of the year, had to recover from a strained elbow ligament before returning to the mound.

    Ulloa and Valverde continue to make big contributions. Senior outfielder Andy Santana gets the offense going as the leadoff batter.

    Cortes, in his 21st season as Century’s baseball coach, said senior Julian Arias is among the team’s more consistent hitters and is an excellent defensive first baseman.

    NOTES

    St. John Bosco is running away from the competition in the Trinity League with its 11-1 league record coming into this week. Orange Lutheran is second at 8-4. Tied for third are JSerra and Santa Margarita at 5-7 each, followed by Servite at 4-8 and Mater Dei at 3-9. This week’s three-game league series are JSerra vs. St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran vs. Mater Dei and Servite vs. Santa Margarita. …

    The CIF Southern Section baseball championship games will be played at Cal State Fullerton and Blair Field in Long Beach on May 30 and 31. Specifics on which of the nine division finals will be played where and when will be announced May 28. …

    CIF-SS baseball playoff brackets will be released May 12 at 10 a.m. First-round games in Divisions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are on May 15. First-round games in Division 2, 4, 6 and 8 are on May 16. …

    Computer rankings determine which playoff teams are placed into which divisions and how teams are seeded in those nine divisions. So it is essential that teams provide to the Southern Section complete reports of their wins and losses. According to the CIF-SS playoff bulletin teams, team that “fail to accurately enter/complete regular season results … will not be placed into a playoff division and will be ineligible to participate” in the playoffs. …

    The Orange County All-Star Baseball Game is June 4 at Great Park in Irvine. The Ryan Lemmon Foundation is organizing and managing the game. The All-Star game head coaches are Mike Caira of Pacifica for the North team and Burt Call of Villa Park for the South.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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