Anaheim Discovery Christian’s Zuxu Wu places 11th at CIF State boys golf championship

• May 30, 2024

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Anaheim Discovery Christian’s Zuxu Wu carried the weight of Orange County boys golf into the CIF State championship on Wednesday.

As the county’s lone qualifier for the competition at San Gabriel Country Club, the senior proved ready for the task.

Wu carded an even-par 71 to tie for 11th overall and give Orange County’s season one final highlight.

Wu, the Academy League champion, recorded five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey to finish fourth among golfers from Southern California.

Oaks Christian sophomore Max Emberson shot a 5-under-par 66 to claim the individual title by one stroke over senior Kai Hirayama of Temple City.

Torrey Pines carded a 6-over-par 361 to claim its fourth team championship.

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​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, May 29

• May 30, 2024

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, May 29

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

WEDNESDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR GAME

South 3, North 2

​ Orange County Register 

Dejan Joveljic scores 2 more goals to lead Galaxy past FC Dallas

• May 30, 2024

CARSON — If at first you don’t succeed, just wait for another opportunity.

It’s a simple moment and thought process, but it was one that helped the Galaxy escape with a 3-1 victory over FC Dallas on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten at home.

In the first half, the Galaxy had a penalty attempt saved. In the 65th minute, the Galaxy received another penalty attempt as Dallas defender Sebastien Ibeagha fouled Diego Fagundez.

Dejan Joveljic stepped up to the penalty spot and without hesitating he went to the lower right corner of the goal, converting for the lead and sending the Galaxy (7-2-7, 28 points) on its way to another victory in front of 19,505 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

“I took the ball, I thought I should have shot the first penalty as well,” Joveljic said.

The win increases the Galaxy’s current unbeaten streak to six games (2-0-4) and keeps the club unbeaten at home so far this season (4-0-3). The game was the second of the first set of back-to-back home games for the Galaxy this season. The club defeated Houston Dynamo, 2-1, on Saturday night.

“We started to get out in the transition a little bit more,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of the second half. “We had set piece opportunities, we had some chances …and I think in the second half, just adapting just a couple of things and us eventually getting on top of the game, led to them opening up a little bit more, us having some counter-attacking opportunities which is one of our greatest strengths is in the transition.”

The Galaxy played the final eight minutes of regulation and seven of stoppage time with a man advantage on Wednesday after Dallas defender Nkosi Tafari picked up his second yellow card. Halfway through stoppage time, Riqui Puig put the game on ice with a goal that sneaked over the line to make it 3-1.

“Dallas is a team that plays really good and I think the second half we went more direct and that was the key and we played really well,” Puig said.

Joveljic opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but the lead didn’t last long as Dallas scored the equalizer in the 22nd minute on a one-time blast from Patrickson Delgado. The play developed against the run of play and Delgado found himself with some room for quick finish.

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The momentum appeared to swing back in the Galaxy’s direction in the 31st minute. Joveljic was fouled by Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes for a penalty kick. Gabriel Pec stepped up and his first attempt was saved, as was the rebound, but Joveljic was able to get the rebound and stuff it in for an apparent goal. However, the linesman raised the flag for offside.

As the Galaxy is proving, converting penalty kicks isn’t as easy as it sometimes appears. The club is now 2 for 5 from the spot this season.

Later in the first half, Maya Yoshida had a header off of a free kick that hit the post, and the teams headed into halftime deadlocked at 1-1.

As part of the crunch that is the MLS schedule the last couple of weeks, both teams played last weekend and will be back in action this Saturday. Dallas will remain in Los Angeles and visit LAFC, while the Galaxy travels to face the Chicago Fire. After Saturday, the Galaxy will get two weeks off, returning June 15, which should give Joseph Paintsil (hamstring) time to recover and return to the field.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels drop another tight home game against Luis Gil, Yankees

• May 30, 2024

ANAHEIM — The Angels spent another night pestering one of the best teams in baseball as they appear ready to enter June with a little less gloom.

The New York Yankees lost their manager to an ejection in the first inning on Wednesday yet still managed to maintain their resolve.

Angels starter Tyler Anderson walked an early tightrope before the Yankees ultimately pulled off a 2-1 victory before a mostly pro-New York crowd.

Unlike the series opener, when the Angels produced an eighth-inning rally for a victory, the offense mustered little against Yankees rookie phenom Luis Gil. The right-hander allowed just one hit until Logan O’Hoppe tagged him for a seventh-inning home run.

The difference ended up being an overthrow to third base on a seventh-inning triple by Anthony Volpe, who was able to dust himself off and walk to the plate when the relay from second baseman Luis Rengifo rolled into the Angels’ dugout.

Yet not everybody was willing to consider two tight games against a top team as a reason to celebrate.

“We have to win (Thursday) and I think we can have that (positive) mindset moving forward,” O’Hoppe said. “We’ve got to win a series against a good club and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Until the seventh inning, the rule book had been kind to the Angels, who ended up losing for the fourth time in five games. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was tossed in the opening inning when he argued an interference call.

The Yankees loaded the bases against Anderson after three batters, but on a pop-up in the middle of the infield by Giancarlo Stanton, Angels shortstop Zech Neto backed into Juan Soto while trying to make the catch. Umpires already called for an infield fly, to retire Stanton and Soto was ruled out when Neto crashed into him.

“I was just trying to catch the ball,” Neto said. “I wasn’t trying to do it on purpose. It was just bad timing on his part, I guess. But there was no intention for me to get in his way or for him to get into my way.”

Said crew chief Vic Carapazza to a pool reporter: “The only time (runners) are protected is if he was on the base just standing there. So I had him interfering with the infielder and called the infield fly first, which now the batter is out. The interference after that was the second out.”

Carapazza said he did not think Soto tried to intentionally interfere with Neto.

Again in the third inning, more hijinks on the bases ensued when the Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo was hit in the foot by a ground ball while running between second and third base. While Rizzo was called out, the move prevented the Angels from pulling off a double play.

“Kind of some strange stuff,” Anderson said.

New York finally broke through in the fourth when Alex Verdugo hit a home run down the line in right field, much to the delight of the Yankee fans seated up and down the first-base line.

Anderson (5-5) gave up one run despite allowing four hits and six walks in five innings. Five Angels pitchers combined to walk nine batters.

After Volpe’s triple and run scored when Rengifo’s throw got past both third baseman Luis Guillorme and reliever Hunter Strickland, who was backing up the play, the Angels finally found the scoreboard.

O’Hoppe’s sixth home run of the season, just cleared the wall in right center on an 0-and-1 changeup from Gil. It was just the second home run allowed this month by Gil, who owned May with a 6-0 record in six starts and a 0.70 ERA.

Gil (7-1) gave up the lone run over eight innings with nine strikeouts. Yankees starters extended their MLB-record run to 16 consecutive starts of at least five innings and two runs or less.

Volpe also extended his hitting streak to 21 games by delivering two hits.

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And yet the Angels managed to hang into the bitter end, making things interesting in the ninth inning against Clay Holmes, who blew the save opportunity Tuesday.

Trailing by a run, Rengifo singled to lead off the ninth and immediately went to second base on a wild pitch. Tuesday’s hero Taylor Ward walked, but Willie Calhoun grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

Rengifo was left on third base as the tying run when O’Hoppe grounded out to third base to end the game.

“We hung in the game,” Manager Ron Washington said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance early in the game but we had the winning run on the bag, we had the tying run on the bag. We just didn’t come through.”

The Angels (21-34) are now 7-20 at home, while playing .500 baseball on the road. They haven’t won a series at home all season, are 8-20 in games decided by one or two runs overall and 3-14 in those tight games at Angel Stadium.

Bench coach Brad Ausmus, who managed the Angels in 2019, took over after Boone was ejected.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ bullpen eager to make more consistent contributions

• May 30, 2024

ANAHEIM — Twice on Tuesday the top two batters of the dreaded New York Yankees’ lineup came to the plate in the late innings of a tight game.

The Angels’ bullpen not only dispatched the duo, four relievers combined for four perfect innings against an offense that entered Wednesday night’s game leading MLB in home runs (82) and in OPS (.770).

The next challenge is repeating the feat, or something like it, so that it becomes normalized.

“Everyone’s going to have their opinions and pull up the numbers or whatever it may be, but we know that’s what is expected on a consistent basis,” Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe said of the bullpen on Wednesday. “So it is good to see but I don’t think it needs to be celebrated anymore because I think we all just did our jobs there.”

Having already extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the Yankees’ Anthony Volpe grounded out in the sixth inning Tuesday and again in the ninth. Having already hit a home run earlier in the game, Juan Soto struck out in the sixth and flew out to end the game.

In the seventh inning, New York slugger Aaron Judge struck out against Luis Garcia and Giancarlo Stanton hit a soft ground ball to second base.

The Angels rallied to win the game, 4-3, on a two-run double from Taylor Ward in the eighth inning, in an opportunity that only was available because of the assist from a much-maligned bullpen. Yet, the group still ended its 12-up-12-down magic trick with a 4.71 ERA through 56 games.

Don’t be so surprised by the success, ever-optimistic Manager Ron Washington said.

“You know, early in the season they were doing that,” Washington said. “They were coming in getting things done and the ERA blew up because they had a bad inning. It takes many outings to get that balloon down. So they showed (Tuesday) what they are capable of doing.”

O’Hoppe was behind the plate for all of it. He guided Hunter Strickland, Garcia, Matt Moore and closer Carlos Estevez to the 12 consecutive outs to end the game.

While the Angels’ overall bullpen ERA is high, individual numbers paint a contrasting picture. Despite a 4.43 ERA, Adam Cimber has not been scored upon in 18 of 22 outings and stranded his first 15 inherited runners before allowing one to score Sunday. Strickland has held opponents scoreless in 16 of his past 17 outings.

“I definitely think there needs to be a time and a place to celebrate the success and acknowledge the good, but at the same time, we’re not here to not play well,” O’Hoppe said. “We’re here to do our jobs the best we can. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to downgrade that my any means. I think that’s just kind of what we do.”

MAKING MOVES

Infielder Michael Stefanic (quadriceps) was activated off the 60-day injured list and then optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Right-hander Jose Cisnero (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day IL after also experiencing lower back discomfort.

The Angels entered the day with 12 players on the injured list.

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“It’s always tough, but sometimes when you’re being challenged – and I think we are being challenged by the baseball gods, and I do believe there’s baseball gods out there – we’re going to weather the storm,” Washington said.

IN THE MIX

The left-handed-hitting Mickey Moniak was back in the lineup on Wednesday against Yankees right-hander Luis Gil, while Kevin Pillar was in a reserve role one night after hitting his fifth home run in 17 games for the Angels.

Moniak batted .280 overall last season with 14 home runs and hit .294 against right-handed pitching. The hope is that opportunities against right-handers will help him to recover from a .179 batting average and .265 slugging percentage through 41 games this season.

“We have to get Moniak going and we certainly won’t get him going facing left-handers,” Washington said. “So he’s going to get the right-handers and Pillar will get the left-handers. And I will also get Pillar some games against right-handers.”

UP NEXT

Yankees (LHP Carlos Rodon, 6-2, 2.95 ERA) at Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 2-7, 5.60 ERA), Thursday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

TikTokers post viral video of themselves breaking into Knott’s Berry Farm

• May 30, 2024

A pair of teenage boys who hopped the fence at Knott’s Berry Farm so they could ride roller coasters and thrill rides for free shouldn’t be hard to find after they posted clear images of their faces in a viral TikTok video with 1.4 million views.

The trespassing incident at the Buena Park theme park took place on May 20, according to the Buena Park Police Department.

ALSO SEE: How Knott’s Berry Farm turned a 65-cent fried chicken dinner into an $8 billion theme park empire

Buena Park Police are seeking the public’s help identifying the two teenagers who posted the TikTok video after hopping a fence to break into Knott’s Berry Farm. Anyone with information should call 714-562-3902.

The teens used fire hydrants and trees to climb over the perimeter fence to the park and drop into the Camp Snoopy construction zone where Knott’s is building a new family coaster and other kiddie rides. Once inside the park, they rode the Silver Bullet roller coaster and the Supreme Scream drop tower.

The teens posted the video of themselves breaking into Knott’s to TikTok under the username @Shawty_Grandmaa — which has 19,000 followers and 1.2 million likes.

Other TikTok videos posted by Shawty_Grandmaa show the teens breaking into Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome as well as climbing the Oceanside Plaza skyscrapers in Downtown Los Angeles, according to KTLA.

​ Orange County Register 

L.A.’s guy at the Scripps Spelling Bee is tripped up by the word “desinent”

• May 30, 2024

The 12-year-old spelling whiz kid from Los Angeles tripped up Wednesday, May 29, on the word “desinent” in the fourth round of the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland and was eliminated from the finals.

Oliver Halkett, a sixth-grader at The Mirman School in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the San Fernando Valley, misspelled the adjective that means “forming an end” by choosing the incorrect spelling “desonant.” Katelyn Nguyen, a seventh-grader in Orange County,  was also tossed out after she misspelled “ritsu,” a Buddhist school. She spelled it “ritzu.”

“The bee has been an enlightening experience,” Oliver said on Wednesday. “I’ve met so many new people and seen so many new things. Even though I did get (tossed) out, I learned a lot from it.”

He said he will be using new techniques to ready himself for the next bee challenge.

With the contest limited to students in eighth grade or below, Oliver will have the opportunity to compete in next year’s Scripps contest.

His mother, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, who accompanied her son to Maryland, said, “Oliver was devastated when he first got (tossed) out, but is feeling better now. … To tie for 60th out of millions of spellers in this country is incredible. He has several years left (to compete). Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Oliver started Wednesday by correctly spelling “desiccate,” a verb meaning to dry up. And he then chose the correct answer to the vocabulary question “Acerbity is?” selecting “a manner that is harsh, biting or irritated.”

In the third round, Oliver correctly spelled doxycycline, a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic used orally to treat various bacterial infections.

There were 54 spellers eliminated in the first round, 15 in the second and 28 in the third.

Ibrahim Zaki, 13, who attends Golden Valley Charter School and was the only student in the bee from Ventura County, was eliminated in the second round.

The bee began with a field of 245 spellers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Canada, the Bahamas, Germany and Ghana. The field is the largest since 2019. Contestants for the 96th edition of the national bee range in age from 8 to 15.

To date, no speller from Los Angeles County has ever won the longstanding Scripps National Spelling Bee. For those students who are still in the game, the champion round will be held on Thursday, May 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. Pacific time.

​ Orange County Register 

Jon Hughes named boys basketball coach at St. Margaret’s

• May 30, 2024

St. Margaret’s hired Jon Hughes as its boys basketball coach, the school announced Wednesday.

Hughes coached the girls basketball team at Calvary Chapel the past two seasons. Before that he was the boys basketball coach at Calvary Chapel from 2019 to 2021. He led the Eagles to the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA championship in 2021. He was also the school’s athletic director.

At St. Margaret’s he replaces Chris Nordstrom, who resigned recently and will remain a teacher at St. Margaret’s.

St. Margaret’s this past season finished 17-11 overall. The Tartans were second in the Orange Coast League with a 9-3 league record. They lost to Pilibos in the first round of the Division 3AA playoffs.

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​ Orange County Register