Big West Conference baseball ‘as good as it’s been in years’

• April 14, 2023

If the midseason report on Big West Conference baseball is any indication, the stretch run might require the kind of detailed analysis one might find in politics trying to separate red and blue states.

Eight of the 11 teams are competing for the Big West regular-season title and the automatic NCAA postseason berth that comes with it. Three teams already have 21 wins, five teams have a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 77 or better, and the conference RPI was ranked eighth nationally, third-best among non-Power Five conferences.

Parity has become the league’s theme recently, but this jump for the conference as a unit recalls days when as many as four Big West teams were contending for an NCAA tournament berth.

Most notably, Cal State Fullerton has rebounded from the first real slump in program history and is getting local and national attention. Fullerton’s national reputation was a big part of Big West success in the past.

“The conference is a lot better,” said second-year Fullerton coach Jason Dietrich, a former Titans pitching coach. “I was gone for five years, and when I came back last year I thought it was a little light.

“The talent is better and we have so many good coaches who take pride in their program and the league. It’s so good to see.”

Fullerton (16-11 overall, 9-3 Big West), which visits UC Riverside (6-23, 0-9) this weekend, has won all four league series to date and is led by pitcher Flynn Chester (4-0, 2.73 ERA) and hitters Carter White (.416) and Brendan Bobo (five home runs).

Dietrich brought in 22 new players to the program for 2023, and they’ve jelled nicely with the returnees.

“I would never put it on any one player or pitcher,” he said. “It’s really about guys buying into the program. We really worked hard to build a roster of players who understood what we wanted.”

“It’s been a good year for the Big West,” UC Irvine coach Ben Orloff said Thursday as the Anteaters (19-10, 5-7) head north to play preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara (21-9, 6-3) this weekend. “We had one of the best nonconference records in the sport, so it’s not surprising to have so many good teams.

“I think we’re back to being the kind of conference that has multiple teams good enough to get a postseason bid.”

The Anteaters are led by first baseman Anthony Martinez (.350, six home runs, 33 RBIs), and have scored eight runs or more in 14 games. A program that has traditionally featured stingy pitching has been a bit unsettled after a good start.

Long Beach State (21-10, 8-4), which hosts Cal State Northridge (19-8, 6-3) at Blair Field beginning Friday night, has won 11 of its past 13 games and is having a prodigious season at the plate, with four starters batting over .300 including Johnathon Long (.318, nine home runs, 34 RBIs), while starting pitchers Graham Osman (5-0, 1.93 ERA) and Nico Zeglin (4-2, 2.44), transfers from Gonzaga and Arizona State, respectively, have been dominant.

“It’s been a fun run, and we’ve played a lot of one-run games,” LBSU coach Eric Valenzuela said. The Dirtbags have been involved in 10 walk-off games this season. “There’s no doubt that Blair is a pitcher’s park, but we finally have developed a hitting philosophy after two of the last four seasons were during COVID.

“The conference is as good as it’s been in years. No one is talking about them, but Northridge and Hawaii (14-12, 4-5) are tough teams to play.”

CSUN is leading the league in most hitting categories and has five starters hitting above .300, taking advantage of their home field’s modest dimensions. Oddly, the team leading the league is UC San Diego (21-10, 10-2), which Valenzuela said was the best team the Dirtbags have played this season. The Tritons are still transitioning from Division II and are not yet eligible for league titles or postseason play.

Long Beach State’s Jonathon Long celebrates his two-run home run during the third inning of a 10-inning victory over Cal Poly earlier this month at Blair Field. Long is hitting .318 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs for LBSU (21-10 overall, 8-4 Big West). (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: A satisfactory night for Kings, Ducks and their fans

• April 14, 2023

ANAHEIM — A gentleman wearing a Jamie Drysdale Ducks sweater stepped into a nearly full elevator at Honda Center on Thursday night, a half-hour or so before faceoff, and said: “Any Kings’ fans in here willing to guarantee a win tonight?”

No, he wasn’t spoiling for a fight. The Columbus Blue Jackets entered the night a point ahead of the Ducks (they beat Pittsburgh), and the Chicago Blackhawks were even with Anaheim (they went to overtime with Philadelphia and picked up a point). A Ducks loss to their historic rivals from up the freeway would secure last place in the league and with it the best chance to win the draft lottery and select generational talent Connor Bedard.

Goin’ Yard for Bedard. That’s what it came down to for the Ducks, who went into a full-on rebuild this season and have endured more than a full season’s worth of growing pains.

In a sense, then, both the Kings and Ducks got what they (sort of) wanted Thursday night.

The Kings got the win, 5-3, featuring an Adrian Kempe hat trick, and will begin the playoffs on Monday night in Edmonton on a fairly positive note, winning their last two after a three-game skid that cost them not only a shot at the division title but home ice in the first round.

Kempe’s empty-net goal with a little more than a minute to play was his 41st of the season, giving him his first career 40-goal campaign following a 35-goal performance last season. Better yet, he burnished his reputation as an all-around player this season; he finished last spring a minus-2, but finished this regular season a plus-22 and also finished third on the team in scoring (67 points) behind Anze Kopitar (75 with his 28th goal and two assists) and Kevin Fiala (23 goals and 72 points, but currently injured).

“A couple of years ago, I feel like I had a lot of good looks (but) always was a pass-first guy,” Kempe said. “And, you know, I figured out that if I try to put the puck on net a little more, it’ll go in. And, yeah, kind of a switch went off in my head, and coming into last year I think was the biggest step I took just in terms of volume shooting.”

The Kings also had the good fortune to get out of Thursday night with everybody still ambulatory, always a plus. Health has been an issue down the stretch; in addition to Fiala, defenseman Alexander Edler and right wing Gabe Vilardi have been unavailable and were injury scratches Thursday night, and Mikey Anderson only recently returned from an injury suffered when Connor McDavid boarded him in Edmonton two weeks ago.

“The relief comes in the fact that … we’re as healthy now as we were coming into the game,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said Thursday night. “I’d be lying if I said we weren’t concerned about that, a game that really doesn’t mean anything to either of the two teams playing. You hate to see somebody block a shot and go down or take a hit. But that’s where the relief comes from.

“I don’t think we can take a deep breath and relax. That would be a mistake for our group and we don’t have enough time to do that anyhow.”

But Thursday’s results did mean that the Kings were locked into a rematch with Edmonton, and that could be problematic. Never mind last year’s result, when the Oilers knocked out the Kings in seven games in the first round. These Oilers come into the postseason on an even more blistering pace, 18-2-1 and with nine straight victories to end the regular season. Their goalie, Stuart Skinner, has a .972 save percentage over his past five starts and stopped 63 of the 64 shots he faced in the two recent victories over the Kings.

A questioner suggested to McLellan on Thursday night that facing the Ducks’ young talent might have set the Kings up for their meeting with the Oilers. A few years from now, that might be true. Now, not so much.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s anything that sets you up for Edmonton,” he said. “It’s a different monster there, you know. … I think that they have a little bit of a different approach. Certainly, their power play’s a little more dangerous, and there’s just different elements.”

Simply put, what Edmonton has – building with talent around a budding superstar – is what Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek would like to emulate. And while the sights and sounds of the rivalry on the ice and among the fan bases were the same as always Thursday night, those in the audience who were plugged in certainly would have considered this a good loss if it has the desired effect on lottery night.

Losing enabled the Ducks to sew up 32nd and last place and with it the best chance to draft the Regina Pats’ Bedard. He doesn’t turn 18 until July 17, but he finished his junior season with 71 goals and 143 points in 57 games – and added an exclamation point with nine goals and 14 assists in seven games for champion Canada at the World Junior Championships over the holidays.

How important was it to finish 32nd instead of 31st? In the NHL the last-place team has a 25.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick. Chicago, by finishing 31st, has a 15.5% chance.

Then again, there was this sign held by a Ducks fan in the stands Thursday night: “Top Three Draft Pick – Better Than First-Round Playoff Loss.” That might depend on who you’re able to take with that pick. But you work with what you have.

And while the athletes don’t and shouldn’t be expected to care about such things when they’re on the ice, everybody in the Ducks’ room has been aware of the situation for a while. While it can be a difficult situation for players, their compete factor doesn’t seem to have diminished. (And the smart ones are well aware that when it does, they’re expendable.)

“It’s been a long time coming of kind of compressing things and going over what we need to do as an organization moving forward,” right wing Troy Terry said. “No matter the (circumstances) we’re playing to win. Everyone in here is competitive. I think you can see it in our game. Whether we lost or not, what I was proud of is we kept battling until the end.

“It’s hard to go through that. Especially last year it felt like we took a step (only) to have it go backwards this year. Just to keep everyone in this room together, that’s something that we’re proud of. There’s a lot to address this summer about what we need to do moving forward.”

The first step is May 8, lottery night.

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register 

Kings captain Anze Kopitar still setting the pace, creating a culture

• April 14, 2023

ANAHEIM — Before this season began, one veteran scribe sat beside Kings captain Anze Kopitar and pondered if perhaps it wasn’t time for another skater to lead the club in scoring.

It seemed like a valid question given that he’d paced the Kings in points for 14 of the previous 15 campaigns and the team was transitioning back to competitiveness.

Eighty-two games and 74 points later, Kopitar gave everyone a definitive answer: not this year.

Not only did Kopitar surpass the injured Kevin Fiala for sole possession of the team scoring title in Thursday night’s regular-season finale, a 5-3 victory over the Ducks, but he had already received nods as the Kings’ most valuable player and best defensive player, as voted by the local media, earlier in the day.

“He views himself as a top player and he wants to continue to be a top player. He’s held that crown with the Kings for a long, long time,” said Dave Taylor, with whom Kopitar has jockeyed around franchise leaderboards and who drafted Kopitar during his time as general manager.

Taylor said a 17-year-old Kopitar was the best player on the Slovenian senior national team as well as the second best in his draft class behind Sidney Crosby (Kopitar has single-handedly scored more points than the eight players selected between him and No. 2 pick Bobby Ryan combined). Longtime teammate Dustin Brown said he felt Kopitar was the best player in Kings training camp a few months later, even though Kopitar opted to return to Europe for one more season.

So much has happened since, including three trips to the Western Conference finals and the only two Stanley Cup championships in Kings lore, from 2012 and 2014.

“It’s super hard to say exactly what it is that he does, I mean he does so much,” forward Trevor Moore said. “It’s amazing that he’s a guy who was leading the team to Stanley Cups before and then he went through a rebuild, and you know how hard it is to go through a rebuild and have another team that can be a playoff-contending team. Leading the team in the scoring and all this stuff, he’s not done, he’s still pushing.”

Across 17 seasons with the Kings, Kopitar has reached the top five in franchise history in all 10 major offensive categories and plus-minus rating. He has also put himself in the same breath as Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Boston’s Patrice Bergeron as the two-way centers par excellence of their generation. They’ve each spent their entire career with one franchise and have combined to win six Stanley Cups, with Kopitar getting a shot at a third this season while Bergeron’s Bruins enter the postseason as favorites to win his second.

Kopitar is the only one of the three competitors to capture the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward and also be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy as its most valuable player during his career. In league history, only five other players – Bobby Clarke, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov, Doug Gilmour and Steve Yzerman – have accomplished that feat. Yet since winning his second Selke in three seasons in 2018, Kopitar hasn’t finished in the top five in voting.

“The fans, the media, sometimes even coaches and teammates take him for granted, and it’s the wrong thing to do because he does so many things for the group as a whole,” Coach Todd McLellan said. “We see him do the things on the ice, but it’s off the ice as well, the leadership skills that he provides for not only the young players but the veteran players.”

As if his own contributions across every centimeter of the ice and in the dressing room weren’t enough, Kopitar has also elevated the play of his teammates. In the final campaign of Brown’s career and the first of his retirement, Kopitar skated alongside Adrian Kempe. Kempe had scored 55 goals in 312 career games entering last season, but he erupted for 75 in 160 matches during two campaigns on Kopitar’s flank.

“He’s the guy that can do it all. He’s great in the D-zone, he helped me a lot there, and in the O-zone, too,” Kempe said. “He’s such a strong person on the puck, and he just finds me when I’m open. He’s probably the biggest (reason) why I’ve been scoring so many goals lately.”

Kopitar’s impact extends beyond his linemates or even the forward grouping, his teammates said.

“I think he’s one of the most underrated if not the most underrated guy, especially defensively. He’s so smart,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “He’s got such a good stick, he handles pucks probably better than anyone I’ve seen. Just overall, his mindset, every day, he helps us defensemen out and makes our game really easy.”

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Having arrived at an organization that then featured current GM Rob Blake as a player, Kopitar’s tenure, which began in 2006 and saw him become team captain a decade later, has spanned generations. Of his 17 seasons, he’s only failed to top the team in scoring twice, his rookie year and in 2016-17, all while drawing top defensive assignments, D-zone faceoff duty and eschewing opportunities to cheat for points.

Kopitar’s quest to win a third ring and his first as captain begins Monday night, when the Kings will open their first-round playoff series in Edmonton for a rematch of last year’s grueling seven-game series with the Oilers.

There, Anderson took down one Oilers superstar, Leon Draisaitl, causing an injury that limited his effectiveness. Last month, another Edmonton phenom, Connor McDavid, boarded Anderson, causing him to miss six games with an upper-body injury. Anderson, like Kopitar and fellow Cup-winning mainstay Drew Doughty, will shoulder heavy defensive responsibility in the series.

“Once you get out there for Game 1, it’s going to ramp up. Both teams are going to feel it,” Anderson said.

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach earns spot in Boras Classic final with victory over Aquinas

• April 14, 2023

SANTA ANA — Huntington Beach extended its winning streak to 15 in a row with a 4-1 victory over Aquinas in the semifinals of the Boras Classic South Thursday at Mater Dei High School.

The Oilers (17-6), who are ranked No. 5 in Division 1 of the CIF Southern Section, will play Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, the top-ranked team in Division 1, for the championship Friday at 6 p.m. at JSerra.

The Knights defeated Orange Lutheran 1-0 in the other semifinal Thursday.

“We’re playing a good team tomorrow but we are going to go out and compete our tails off,” Oilers starting pitcher Bradley Grindlinger said.

After allowing a run in the top of the first, Grindlinger pitched four scoreless innings before reliever Wyatt Thomas came in and shut out the Falcons over the final two innings.

Grindlinger minimized the damage in the first by getting the final out with two runners on base. He then pitched out of trouble with runners in scoring position in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

“He made huge pitches in big counts against tough hitters,” Oilers coach Benji Medure said. “They had really good swings and good approaches, so for him to pitch like that against those hitters says a lot about him and his toughness.”

Huntington Beach starting pitcher Bradley Grindlinger pitched four scoreless innings after allowing a run in the first as the Oilers defeated Aquinas 4-1 in the Boras Classic South semifinals Thursday, April 13. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

In the seventh, the Falcons (14-3) had the bases loaded with two outs when Thomas struck out Jordan Murillo on a three-ball, two-strike pitch to end the game.

Earlier in the inning, Oilers left fielder Trevor Goldenetz made an excellent running catch on a deep fly ball hit by Owen Egan.

Oilers right fielder Bradley Navarro made a terrific diving catch on a sinking line drive that was tailing away from him.

The Oilers were also clutch on offense, scoring two runs in the first on back-to-back two-out hits.

Ralph Velazquez walked with two outs, stole second and scored on a double from Aiden Espinoza.

Trent Grindlinger then singled home Espinoza, giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

“To have an answer against them right away was huge,” Medure said.

Velazquez also came through with a two-out hit in the fifth, driving home Brian Trujillo with a double to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead.

The Oilers’ game against Notre Dame will be a rematch of last season’s CIF SS Division 1 semifinal, won by the Knights 2-0.

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Huntington Beach then bounced back to defeat JSerra 2-0 to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division I championship.

The winner of Friday’s championship game will play the Boras North champion, Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, in the tournament’s state final on April 29 at Santa Clara University.

The Oilers won the Boras Classic’s South title and the state title in 2017.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran shut out by Notre Dame’s dominant pitching in Boras Classic semifinals

• April 14, 2023

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Notre Dame pitchers Levi Strider and Erik Puodziunas combined to shut out Orange Lutheran 1-0 in the semifinals of the Boras Classic South Thursday at JSerra High.

The Notre Dame pitching staff has allowed just one run in its first three games in the tournament, and it has not allowed a run in 17 consecutive innings.

“We are going to throw out some pretty good pitchers every game,” Notre Dame coach Tom Dill said. “I don’t think a lot of teams in the third game of a tournament still have this kind of pitching. When you can do this in the third game of a tournament, you’re in good shape.”

Notre Dame (19-2), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, will play Huntington Beach, ranked No. 5 in Division 1, in the championship game Friday at 6 p.m. at JSerra.

“They sped the game up on us and we had some at-bats where we swung at pitches where we shouldn’t have,” Orange Lutheran coach Eric Borba said of Notre Dame’s pitching. “There’s no doubt about it, their pitching staff is the best I’ve seen in a long time.”

Strider, a Texas commit, was making his first start of the season and hasn’t allowed a run all season. He pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed four hits with three strikeouts.

He exited the game in the fifth inning with two base runners and one out. Puodziunas entered the game and retired the next two hitters on a flyout and a strikeout.

“We have one of, if not the best, defenses in the nation, so I was just throwing strikes and attacking guys,” Puodziunas said. “We do a great job as a staff of attacking hitters and not getting ahead of ourselves.”

Notre Dame beats Orange Lutheran 1-0. Combined shutout for Levi Strider and Erik Puodziunas (below). ND has allowed just 1 run in the Boras. Knights will play Huntington Beach in the South final tomorrow. @ocvarsity @TheBorasClassic @SteveFryer @Tarek_Fattal @erik_puodziunas pic.twitter.com/qQgSGwsNsi

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) April 14, 2023

The junior has allowed only one earned run this season. He finished the game on the mound, allowing just one hit over 2 2/3  innings with three strikeouts.

Orange Lutheran (12-8-1) got a standout pitching performance from junior Vincent Hudson, a transfer from Ayala. The Arizona commit allowed just one run in six innings on two hits with five strikeouts.

“This is his third consecutive great outing for us after becoming eligible a few weeks ago,” Borba said. “He has a fastball with some movement to it and kept guys off-balanced.”

Notre Dame scored its lone run of the game in the sixth inning. Greg Pierantoni led off the inning with a walk. He advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Kai Gonzaga.

Pierantoni advanced to third on a ground out to first base. With two outs, he scored on a passed ball to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Orange Lutheran’s best opportunity to score came in the first inning. The Lancers had runners on the corners with no outs after back-to-back singles by Josiah Hartshorn and Derek Curiel.

After an infield flyout, Notre Dame got a double play when UCLA signee Dean West caught a pop fly in center field and threw out Hartshorn at the plate.

“The message to the team is that we are close. We just went toe-to-toe with the best team in the state,” Borba said. “We have to do the little things better because when it comes down to crunch time, we have to be able to get bunts down and execute.”

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Notre Dame beat Huntington Beach 2-0 last season in the semifinals of the Division 1 playoffs.

“They’ve been a top program for years and even in that game last year we scored on two passed balls and had breaks go our way,” Dill said. “Hopefully we can stay close and maybe pull it off.”

The winner of Friday’s championship game will advance to play the winner of the Boras Classic North tournament on April 29 at Santa Clara University.

​ Orange County Register 

Adrian Kempe, Kings dismiss Ducks in regular-season finale, will face Edmonton in playoffs

• April 14, 2023

ANAHEIM — On the final night of the regular season for the Kings and Ducks – teams occupying wildly different ends of the spectrum – they found a form of common ground on Thursday night at Honda Center.

Their fates and fortunes were, in part, determined elsewhere.

In short:

By losing 5-3 to the Kings, the defeat ensured that the Ducks will finish last overall in the NHL, thereby securing the best odds (25.5%) in the draft lottery on May 8 and the chance to win the right to select Connor Bedard, who is widely considered the best prospect in hockey since Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid. But they received some late ‘help’ in the race to the bottom a little more than half an hour before their own game started when the Columbus Blue Jackets tied the Pittsburgh Penguins with 3:25 remaining in regulation and went on to win in overtime.

That win gave the Blue Jackets 59 points, one more than the last-place Ducks, who have missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons but can fall no lower than third in the lottery, which means they will get a premium prospect in a top-heavy field headlined by forwards Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Matvei Michkov.

“Long year, a challenging year,” Ducks goalie John Gibson said. “It was the circumstances that we were in. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it was fun. It was a long year. It was growing pains. I wish I had an answer.

“That’s the most frustrating part. Sometimes we looked good. Sometimes we looked bad. The only thing we were consistent at was being inconsistent.”

As for the Kings, there was the question of a playoff opponent. Heading into the game, there were two possibilities – Edmonton or the Vegas Golden Knights and the Kings left the ice still awaiting the Vegas result that would decide their foe. The Golden Knights’ 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken assured the Kings and Oilers will meet in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. Game 1 is Monday night in Edmonton.

A year ago, the Oilers trailed 3-2 in the best-of-seven series but went on to win, taking Game 7, 2-0, in Canada. The Kings were without defenseman Drew Doughty and forward Viktor Arvidsson.

This time around there are other injury concerns for the Kings. They are still without forwards Kevin Fiala and Gabe Vilardi and defenseman Alex Edler, who is getting closer to returning, did not play against the Ducks.

Adrian Kempe’s four-point night – three goals and one assist – paced the Kings. Kempe’s fourth career hat trick included his 39th, 40th goals and 41st goals of the season, another impressive campaign after his breakthrough season a year ago. His 41 goals – making him the first King with a 40-goal season since Luc Robitaille in 1993-1994 – are six more than last season – and his 67 points are 13 more than last season.

“The fact that he’s been able to elevate his play almost on a weekly basis – he just keeps getting better – is a real good sign for him as an individual and us as an organization for a long time,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Less streaky than he was in the past. Scores big goals. Scores them from all over the place. While he’s doing that, he’s physical and defending well.

“Hell of a year. Hell of a player.”

Two of Kempe’s goals came on the power play as the Kings went 3 for 8 with the man advantage and his hat trick came on an empty-netter with 1:38 remaining in regulation.

“I probably didn’t think about it before the season,” Kempe said of hitting the 40-goal plateau. “But obviously throughout the year, I just tried to stay with my game and not focus too much of where I’m at in terms of goals and stuff like that. Playing with some really good players.

“They were looking for me all night. I’m just very happy I’m out there with those guys. My linemates helped me all year to score, to get there.”

Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves, making his second start in as many games. The last time he started in back-to-back games was March 28 and March 30, both losses.

Arvidsson had three assists and Doughty had two assists. Captain Anze Kopitar (No. 28) and Trevor Moore (No. 10) scored the Kings’ other goals.

Shaking off a 2-5-0 skid that killed their chances at the division title, the Kings won their final two games to finish with 104 points, the second-most in franchise history behind the 1974-75 squad (105).

Kempe and Moore scored goals in quick succession in the second period to turn a 1-1 game into a 3-1 lead.

Troy Terry (No. 23) scored in the first period for the Ducks, and Max Jones (No. 9) and Trevor Zegras (No. 23) scored in what was a fight-filled third period. Gibson, who made 31 saves, made his first start since April 1.

The Ducks were running the gamut of emotions after finishing the season on a 13-game winless streak. Their power play was ranked 30th, the penalty kill was 31st and their goals allowed (338) was the most since the San Jose Sharks gave up 357 in the 1995-96 season. The Ducks ranked last in the NHL in goal differential (minus-129) – the league’s worst since the 1999-2000 Atlanta Thrashers (minus-143).

“I think it’s a lot,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “It’s sadness. It’s frustration. There’s a number of things that we’re very proud of. There’s a lot that, it just comes in waves. I am proud that in a game like this – where it’s our last game – and we know it is totally over, that they still had some rage in them.

“They went out and battled hard and really kept the love of the rivalry between us and the Kings.”

There were three Ducks players making their NHL debut in the waning days of the season, including defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson, who both drew in against the Kings. Rookie Mason McTavish missed the finale with an upper-body injury but played in 80 of 82 games and was in the Calder Trophy conversation for most of the season.

Terry knows what it is like to have endured tough times early in his career.

“I never wanted Mac (McTavish) to go through that but some of those guys get to see what it’s like,” Terry said of a losing season. “To have that feeling that we all have right now. And we never want to feel like this again.”

​ Orange County Register 

Sunny Hills softball holds off Fullerton to stay undefeated in Freeway League

• April 14, 2023

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FULLERTON — Sunny Hills softball pitcher Alexis Perez encountered one jam after another during the final three innings at Fullerton on Thursday.

The Indians had runners at second and third with one in the fifth, and loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and seventh.

And if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, Perez also dealt with nausea, especially in the last inning. Lancers coach Elise Laws visited the sophomore in the circle and the game was briefly stopped.

Sunny Hills stuck with Perez, and she rewarded the first-place Lancers by escaping a final bases-loaded jam en route to a 3-2 victory in the Freeway League.

Perez sealed Sunny Hills’ sixth league victory in as many games by forcing a groundout to freshman first baseman Elayna Marquez with two outs and bases loaded.

One batter earlier, Sunny Hills third baseman Gabby Flores threw out the potential tying-run at home plate after she dropped a fly ball behind the bag with the bases loaded. The senior alertly fired a strike to catcher Riley Gonzalez for the second out.

Perez credited Flores — who also hit a home run in the third — for her encouragement throughout the game — but Flores praised her pitcher.

“It’s going to come down to who wants it more, and Alexis wanted it more,” Flores said. “She threw a great game.”

Sunny Hills (9-5-1, 6-0), ranked No. 23 in Orange County, has struggled with pitching depth this season because Perez and junior Maddie Moreno have dealt with injures. But the Lancers have opened a two-game lead over No. 24 Fullerton (18-3, 4-2) as they pursue the league title.

“She powered through,” Laws said of Perez. “I’m proud of her. It’s not easy to come out for a game like this when you’re not feeling well and you almost want to throw-up. That takes character and it takes heart.”

“That’s a huge win for us today,” the coach added.

End of 4th @SoftballSunny 3 Fullerton 0 Alexis Perez helping her cause by starting a slick double play @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/4AHA49fSJl

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) April 14, 2023

The Indians scored twice in the seventh. Freshman ace Malaya Majam-Finch drew a bases-loaded walk with one out to bring in one run and catcher Maiah Rodriguez followed with an infield single to drive in another.

Flores led off the third by launching the first pitch over the fence in left for second home run. The solo shot gave Sunny Hills a 3-0 lead against Majam-Finch (11-2), who entered with a 0.29 ERA.

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The Lancers scored two unearned runs in the first by capitalizing on three errors and a passed ball.

In the teams’ first meeting in league, Sunny Hills scored six runs — one earned — in the first inning en route to a 6-0 victory.

Fullerton coach Trevor Holton was pleased how his team recovered from its shaky first inning, especially considering he started five freshmen. The Indians finished with eight hits, including two from freshman Abby Galvan.

“They just haven’t been tested the way Sunny Hills has,” Holton said of his young squad. “They’re starting to figure (it) out.”

​ Orange County Register 

Jordan Chiles wins 2 national titles, but UCLA gymnastics ousted in NCAA semifinals

• April 14, 2023

The UCLA gymnastics team made its first appearance in the NCAA championships since 2019 on Thursday night and received a dominant outing from Olympian Jordan Chiles, but the Bruins did not advance to the finals, finishing behind Pac-12 rival Utah and defending national champion Oklahoma in its four-team semifinal.

The rivalry between UCLA and Utah has only grown this season, with the Red Rocks getting the better of the Bruins no matter the venue. No. 5 Utah topped No. 4 UCLA four times this season, adding the latest chapter at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

UCLA bounced back from a low-scoring vault rotation to move into second place going into the final rotation. Chiles scored a perfect 10.0 on uneven bars to boost the Bruins to a team score of 197.9125, but Utah was still in the midst of its balance beam performances and proved again why it is the best team in the nation in that event. The Red Rocks’ Maile O’Keefe scored a perfect 10, which dropped UCLA into third place.

Utah and No. 1 Oklahoma advanced to the four-team finals with scores of 198.225 and 198.1625, respectively. Utah, in the finals for the third straight year, and Oklahoma, making its 10th consecutive trip to the finals, were the only programs in either semifinal to score 198 or better. UCLA finished ahead of Kentucky, which scored 197.125.

Chiles won individual national titles on the uneven bars with her perfect score and the floor exercise (9.9875), then came in second in the all-around to O’Keefe, who became the first Red Rock to win the all-around title since 1999. Selena Harris and Margzetta Frazier tied for second place on the floor at 9.95 and Chiles and Chae Campbell tied for third on the vault at 9.9.

“I’m very proud of the girls … the love, the trust that we have in each other,” Chiles said on the ESPN broadcast. “Just seeing the emotional-ness coming out of them at the end of this like, yes it’s hard. It’s really really hard knowing you were that close. But it’s only going to make them stronger.”

The Bruins seized first place after the balance beam, their first rotation of the evening. Emily Lee and Ciena Alipio both hit 9.9 as the first two competitors in the event and Emma Malabuyo ended the group with a 9.950 – her second-highest beam score of the season.

The highest-ever postseason floor exercise score kept UCLA in first place after two events. Harris scored a career-high 9.95 and Frazier tied her career-best with another 9.95. Emma Malabuyo posted a 9.8875 even though her music cut out midway through the routine.

UCLA dropped to third after scoring 49.1750 on vault, which was its lowest score in the event since the Pac-12 Championships in mid-March. Chiles’ 9.9 in the anchor position wasn’t enough to lift the Bruins.

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Utah’s other star, Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum, competed for the first time since Feb. 11 due to a knee injury and scored a 9.95 on the uneven bars in an emotional return. She helped put Utah in the final with a good showing on the beam following O’Keefe’s 10.

No. 3 Florida, which received a lift from the return of defending NCAA all-around champion Trinity Thomas, and No. 6 LSU advanced from the early session and will join Oklahoma and Utah in the finals, which are Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. LSU posted the top score (197.4750) of the first session and Florida outpaced Cal and Denver.

McDonald brought the Bruins back to national prominence in her first season as head coach. In addition to getting them back to the NCAA Championships, she guided the team to three meet scores above 198 and all-time best team scores in multiple events throughout the season.

“This team believed they could build something special this season and were intentional every step of the way to make it happen,” McDonald said prior to the meet. “The thing I am most proud of is how they have shown up each weekend to compete for each other with joy and gratitude for the opportunities in front of them.”

JORDAN CHILES WITH A PERFECT 10 ON BARS #ThatsaW I @uclagymnastics pic.twitter.com/siyllcYgkE

— ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2023

Jordan Chiles’ floor routine at Nationals hits different

ESPN2#Pac12Gym | @uclagymnastics pic.twitter.com/tF1a9N9YhE

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) April 14, 2023

The way @EmmaMalabuyo kept going despite the technical difficulties (music cutting off) a true pro @uclagymnastics pic.twitter.com/d0Vi2Obxnq

— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) April 14, 2023

The beam of our dreams! @EmmaMalabuyo ties the top score on BB with a 9.950!@uclagymnastics | @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/mWL5WCtiWY

— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) April 14, 2023

​ Orange County Register