Servite baseball pulls out win over Mater Dei in 8 innings

• March 14, 2024

Mater Dei starting pitcher Dylan Moss delivers a pitch against Servite in a Trinity League baseball game in Anaheim on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

ANAHEIM — The Trinity League baseball game between rivals Mater Dei and Servite on Wednesday at Servite High School evolved into a pitching duel between Monarchs starter Wylan Moss and Friars starter Miles Scott.

The contest was ultimately decided by a pair of clutch, pinch-hit at-bats that resulted in a 2-1 walk-off, extra-inning victory for the Friars at Servite High.

Servite (6-3,1-1) had runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the eighth when pinch hitter Tyler Thorsteinson walked to load the bases.

Pinch hitter Isaac Ocampo then stepped into the box and was hit by a pitch, forcing in Tomas Cernius, who walked to start the inning, from third with the winning run.

Ocampo was hit on a 2-0 count to come through with the winning RBI without swinging the bat.

“I just wanted to do the job for my team,” Ocampo said. “That’s really all I wanted to do. I was waiting for my time to shine and I got my time.

The game was the second of a three-game series this week between the Friars and Monarchs (6-2, 1-1), who won the first game 5-1 on Tuesday 12 at Mater Dei.

The rubber game in the series will be played Friday at Mater Dei.

“Wednesday is always the biggest game,” Servite coach Shawn Gilbert said. “You can swing it either way. We try to win every game, but at the end of the day, you want to get the series. This gives us a chance to get the series. That’s the important thing. We have a chance going into Friday and that’s really all we’re looking for.”

Servite stranded seven runners on base over the first three innings, due in large part to Moss, who got out of a bases-load jam in the first, left runners at first and second in the second and retired the final two hitters to strand runners on first and second in the third.

The Friars had the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth and scored Jaden Liu from third on a double play for the game’s first run.

Moss then struck out Hayden Woodson to escape with minimal damage.

Scott allowed two hits and walked two hitters through six innings.

He was taken out in the seventh after giving up a walk and two singles, including an RBI single from Lawson Olmstead that tied the score and eventually sent the contest to extra innings.

“I felt good,” Scott said. “My curveball was on. Everything was on. I was hitting my spots.”

Freshman Isaiah Camacho came in to pitch for Scott and retired six of the seven hitters he faced to earn the victory.

Camacho got the sides in order in the seventh to keep the score tied after replacing Scott and kept the Monarchs off the board in the eighth, putting his team in a position to win in the bottom of the inning.

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​ Orange County Register 

2024 Dodgers preview: Expectations, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• March 14, 2024

Dodgers beat reporter Bill Plunkett and assistant sports editor James H. Williams provide a preview of the upcoming season and what the expectations are for the team this year.

Plunkett shares some insight on the offseason and what he’s already noticed about the impact of high-priced international superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the roster. Plunkett also provides some perspective on what’s possible for pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, who are expected to return later this season.

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​ Orange County Register 

Kings can’t solve Jordan Binnington in loss to Blues

• March 14, 2024

By JOE HARRIS The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Be it the postseason or the race for a postseason berth, a hot goaltender is often the difference-maker.

Jordan Binnington made 40 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Kings, 3-1, on Wednesday night in a key game in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

“We had lots of pucks in and around their net,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller told reporters in St. Louis. “I think we maybe tried to overpass in that area and the times that we did shoot and there were deflections or it just missed our stick, that’s not execution, that’s just the way the puck bounces sometimes. There were definitely opportunities to execute a little cleaner around the net [though] that we weren’t able to do.”

Alexey Toropchenko, Jake Neighbours and Brandon Saad scored for the Blues, who kicked off a four-game homestand.

“I think we’ve done a good job this year as a group, playing the right way and playing tight in our own zone,” Binnington said. “I think it’s been a lot better, and it’s fun to play back there and I’m enjoying it. It’s a big win for us, coming home like that. We’ve got more work to do. That’s the focus.”

Adrian Kempe scored the Kings’ goal and Cam Talbot made 27 saves as the Kings lost for the third time in five games.

“I think for us, our identity to play well defensively and break them down,” Kings defenseman Jordan Spence said in assessing the defeat. “And I think in general, for our whole game, I think we didn’t really do that. There are some bits and pieces that we did that during the game, but in order for us to win from now on, we have to play a full 60 minutes and we didn’t do that.”

The win moved St. Louis within six points of idle Vegas for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Blues have 16 games remaining, while the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights have 17 left.

“It makes things very interesting and starts to put a little heat on some of the teams that are in front of us and certainly an important game … but we have to continue to work to keep that feeling,” Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said.

Toropchenko gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with 2:30 left in the first period. It was Toropchenko’s second goal in as many games and it snapped a streak of 81 minutes, 10 seconds since the Kings last allowed a goal.

“That was disappointing because we thought we came out ready to play,” Hiller said. “We were, you know, in and around their net. I don’t know how much we tested them, but we were around, pucks were just kind of rolling past. So, we felt we’re going pretty good and then yeah, to have to come in down 1-0, that’s not a great feeling.”

Neighbours made it 2-0 by tapping in a bouncing puck in front of the Kings’ net at the 1:57 mark of the second period.

Binnington made several tough saves in the second, stopping several deflections. He also got help from his post.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position here to create a new story and find a way in (the playoffs),” Binnington said. “We believe in this locker room that if you get there anything can happen.”

Saad made it 3-0 with 9:34 left in the third period off a slick tip of Colton Parayko’s shot. Kevin Hayes, who was playing in his 700th career game, also got an assist on the goal.

Binnington has left an impression on Hayes, who is in his first season with the Blues.

“It’s huge,” Hayes said. “It’s every night. He’s been our best player all year. We were struggling to score goals for a bit and he kept us in every game. He pretty much keeps us in every game every night.”

Binnington continued to frustrate the Kings in the third, with a sprawling save on a shot by Drew Doughty during a mid-period flurry. Kempe finally broke through with 6:52 left.

Pavel Buchnevich suited up in his 200th game as a member of the Blues.

UP NEXT

The Kings play at Chicago on Friday at 5:30 p.m. PT

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran’s Brianne Weiss pitches perfect game against Cajon

• March 14, 2024

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Orange Lutheran’s Brianne Weiss reached one of her annual softball milestones in extraordinary fashion Wednesday.

Weiss pitched a perfect game in an 8-0 victory against Cajon at Orange Lutheran High.

The left-handed senior bound for Notre Dame recorded her first perfect game and fourth no-hitter. She has now tossed a no-hitter in each of her four seasons with the Lancers.

In teaming with senior catcher Zara Mineo-Schrank, Weiss struck out a season-high 16.

Last season, Weiss earned The Register’s Orange County pitcher of the year award after leading the county in earned-run average and strikeouts. She posted a personal-best 0.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings.

The Lancers (7-2) supported their ace by tallying 13 hits. Mya Diaz, Olivia Oskorus, and Maddy Armendariz had two hits apiece.

Orange Lutheran and Cajon (3-6-1) squared off in a makeup game from the Norco showcase.

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​ Orange County Register 

San Juan Hills baseball continues shutout streak with league win over Aliso Niguel

• March 14, 2024

ALISO VIEJO — Winning baseball games is much easier when the other team doesn’t score any runs.

San Juan Hills recorded its fourth consecutive shutout in a 1-0 win over Aliso Niguel in a Sea View League game Wednesday at Aliso Niguel High.

The Stallions (11-1, 2-0) haven’t allowed more than one run in 10 consecutive games and haven’t allowed a run in 33 innings.

“It’s been fun to watch our pitchers just compete,” San Juan Hills coach Bret LeVier said. “It’s nice to have the pitching depth that we have.”

San Juan Hills also beat Aliso Niguel 1-0 Tuesday in the first game of the two-game series. In that game, Aliso Niguel had the bases loaded in the seventh inning with no outs. The Stallions managed to get out of that inning with no damage.

“My blood pressure isn’t going to go down if we keep having to win 1-0,” LeVier said. “We know that you have to win one-run games in this league and it’s tough.”

UC Irvine signee Dane Grant pitched five shutout innings with five hits allowed and six strikeouts.

“Nobody wants to let up a run. It’s like a game for the pitchers right now,” Grant said. “It feels great and we don’t see ourselves losing right now.”

Brown University commit Drew Nelson relieved Grant and pitched two scoreless innings to earn the save.

Aliso Niguel (6-4, 2-2) was able to get runners on the basepaths, but stranded seven runners Wednesday, five of them in scoring position.

“They don’t give in when there are guys in scoring position or if there is a runner on third with less than two outs,” LeVier said. “It seems like they get a little tougher and they grind out those at-bats.”

Aliso Niguel nearly scored the tying run in the seventh inning. The Wolverines had a runner on third with one out when a line drive was hit to right field and Ryder Stowasser made a diving catch to prevent a run from scoring.

The Stallions scored their lone run in the top of the fourth when Stowasser scored on a run-scoring single by Sorrell Rubin.

Brandon Tatch pitched well for Aliso Niguel, allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts through five innings.

Connor Etnire threw two scoreless innings of relief for the Wolverines.

Tanner Kessler had two hits for San Juan Hills and Jake Vuoso had the only extra base hit of the game. Corbin Nichols had a single and a stolen base for the Stallions.

Brandon Schaff had two hits for the Wolverines with a stolen base.

San Juan Hills is off to its best start in school history and has some time to enjoy the success. The Stallions have a week off before playing El Toro in a league game Wednesday, March 20.

Aliso Niguel will host Peninsula and Sunny Hills in nonleague games on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

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​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, March 13

• March 14, 2024

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, March 13

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

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Irvine 6, Sage Hill 2

Portola 3, University 2

Woodbridge 3, Laguna Hills 1

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

San Juan Hills 1, Aliso Niguel 0

SJH: Grant (W, 5IP, 5H, 0R, 6K). Nelson (Sv, 2IP, 1H, 0R, 2K). Rubin 1-3, RBI.

AN: Tatch (5IP, 5H, 1ER, 4K). Schaff 2-3, SB.

San Clemente 1, El Toro 0

SC: Erspamer (W, CG, 1H, 0R, 3K). Cesare 2-3, RBI. Wood 1-3, 2B, R

ET: Joyce (6IP, 6H, 1ER, 1K). Merwin 1-3.

TRINITY LEAGUE

St. John Bosco 9, Santa Margarita 2

SM: Finnegan 2-4, RBI. De Groot 2-4. Ankrum 2-3.

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Tustin 4, Cypress 3 (8 innings)

Tus: Saltzer 2-4, 2B, RBI. Lavander 2-4, SB, RBI. Crain 1-4, 2B, R.

Cyp: Montgomery 1-3, HR, RBI. Short 1-4, 2B, RBI.

ORANGE LEAGUE

Savanna 12, Western 4

NONLEAGUE

Huntington Beach 3, Newport Harbor 1

HB: McNiven (W, 2.1IP, 2H, 0R, 4K). Garcia 3-4, HR, RBI. Clark 1-1, HR, RBI.

NH: Martin 2-3, RBI. Williams 2-4, SB

Other nonleague scores

Fountain Valley 7, Marina 1

La Habra 3, Tesoro 1

SOFTBALL

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Godinez 18, Santa Ana 7

Ocean View 13, Westminster 1

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Northwood 15, University 5

NONLEAGUE

Oxford Academy 10, Los Amigos

Trabuco Hills 18, Capistrano Valley Christian 1

Sonora 6, Whittier Christian 5

Redlands East Valley 19, Laguna Hills 2

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

TRINITY LEAGUE

Santa Margarita def. St. John Bosco, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18

NONLEAGUE

Newport Harbor def. Fountain Valley, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24

Edison def. Laguna Beach, 25-13, 25-16, 25-15

Huntington Beach def. Los Alamitos, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18

San Jacinto Leadership Academy def. NOVA Academy, 25-17, 25-8, 25-22

BOYS GOLF

NONLEAGUE

Los Alamitos 209, Laguna Beach 224

El Niguel CC (par 36)

Medalist: Murnane (LA) 40

605 LEAGUE

Oxford Academy 198, Pioneer 200

Navy Destroyer GC

BOYS TENNIS

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 13, Beckman 5

NONLEAGUE

Kennedy 16, Westminster 2

​ Orange County Register 

Long Beach State women topple UCSB in Big West Tournament opener

• March 14, 2024

Blowing a 21-point third-quarter lead can take the air out of a lot of teams, but the Long Beach State women’s basketball team fired back at UC Santa Barbara in the fourth and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament with a 90-75 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Henderson, Nevada.

“It was the fight,” Long Beach guard Savannah Tucker said. “It was the fight in us and we found it.”

Seventh-seeded Long Beach (14-17) will face third-seeded UC Riverside (18-12) on Thursday at noon.

LBSU helped itself by shooting 12 for 27 from 3-point range, 16 for 18 from the free-throw line and forcing 19 turnovers.

Six players scored in double figures for Long Beach, led by Tucker with 17 points, Sydney Woodley with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals and Cheyenne Givens with 16 points off the bench.

Patricia Chung contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for LBSU, which did not return any starters this season, featured a new coach in Amy Wright and lost seven of its first eight conference games before going 7-5 the rest of the way.

Tucker said Long Beach caught a lot of teams off guard in the second half of conference play, including UCSB, which beat LBSU by 13 points in the first meeting only to lose by six in the second meeting at home last week.

“I think we flipped that switch that second time around in conference,” Tucker said. “We showed what we really could do and I think that showed today in the fourth quarter.”

The sixth-seeded Gauchos (16-15) were led by Alexis Whitfield, a former CIF-SS Division 1 Player of the Year from Chaminade High in West Hills, who finished with a career-high 30 points along with 17 rebounds and eight assists.

The Gauchos finished the season on a seven-game losing streak.

UCSB ended the third quarter on a 13-0 run and Whitfield’s jumper on the first possession of the fourth further trimmed the lead to 65-64, but LBSU came back with five straight points to establish some breathing room.

After the Gauchos scored their first points of the fourth, Long Beach came back with a 7-0 run to put them back down by double digits and they could only get back within five before LBSU closed the game on a 10-0 surge.

Wright said her team experienced a similar game on Feb. 10 at Cal Poly, when LBSU owned a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter before losing 84-76.

“That moment at Cal Poly, they felt that,” Wright said. “They know what it’s like for this to happen to them, so they weren’t going to let it happen again.”

Much like UC Davis did in the first game of the day, Long Beach was on fire in the first half from 3-point range, shooting 8 for 15 to build a 54-34 lead.

UC Davis shot 10 for 16 from 3-point range in the first half against Cal State Fullerton to help it to a 46-26 halftime lead and the Aggies eventually won, 81-57.

Long Beach also flashed its defense early on by forcing four turnovers in the first 3½ minutes to help it take an early 10-3 lead.

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LBSU scored eight unanswered points during a 34-second stretch later in the opening quarter to stretch the lead to 25-11.

Whitfield scored the final five points of the first quarter and the Gauchos converted the first field-goal attempt of the second to cut the margin to 27-20.

An 11-0 run by Long Beach extended the lead back to 45-26 with 2:56 left in the half. After the Gauchos scored five straight points, Jada Crawshaw and Tucker made back-to-back 3-pointers for LBSU to push the lead to 51-31 and LBSU maintained the 20-point lead at the half.

Tucker told her teammates at the half that UCSB would make a run.

“We had to match that, we had to bring another level to that,” she said. “We knew they were going to come out, they were going to make some shots.”

​ Orange County Register 

Bill Essayli: Voters deserve a strong opposition party in Sacramento, not a cozy uniparty

• March 14, 2024

Republicans have lost 10 seats in the State Assembly over the last 10 years. When you’ve lost seats in every single election over the last 10 years, you might be doing something wrong. Republicans in the legislature dropped below super minority status years ago, and now at only 18 out of 80, we’re less than 1/4 of the votes in the Assembly. This means Republican votes alone can’t stop legislation in Sacramento—what matters is serving as a strong opposition party against Democrat policies which hurt Californians.

To be an effective opposition party, Republican lawmakers must be zealous advocates for the public in the face of fierce resistance from the Democrat party and their allies. And yes there will be consequences from the party in power, and legislators may not get the crumbs they so crave from the Democrats in Sacramento. That is okay because the goal is not crumbs, it’s to be relevant. 

Last year, when Democrats in the Assembly Public Safety Committee rejected SB 14, Republican Senator Shannon Grove’s bill to make human trafficking of a minor a “serious” felony, the public outcry was swift and decisive. So decisive, in fact, that Democratic leadership attempted to distance themselves from then-Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, who refused to support the bill. Republicans rallied human trafficking victims and their stories ultimately won the day and the bill was signed into law, demonstrating both the moral bankruptcy of those who opposed as well as the power of public scrutiny in a building that would much rather push their harmful agendas under cover of darkness.

This year, Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer introduced a horrific bill, AB 2031, which would spend taxpayer dollars to defend illegal immigrants facing deportation after they have been convicted of violent or serious felonies—in other words, free lawyers for illegal immigrants who murder Californian citizens. I strongly condemned this bill and rallied the public to pressure the Assembly Judiciary Committee to reject this dangerous bill, and it worked. The author pulled his bill from the committee hearing, even though he was in town and presented other bills in committee that same morning.

Violent and serious felonies, as the naming implies, are some of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Murder, rape, kidnapping, lewd acts on a child under 14 years of age, and, as of SB 14 being signed into law, human trafficking of a minor. Keep in mind, the illegal immigrants this bill sought to provide legal assistance to are not merely accused of these acts, they have been convicted of them. 

We’re talking about the lowest, most detestable dregs of society receiving taxpayer-funded legal support. The same ones that murdered 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, beheaded 55-year-old America Thayer, stabbed to death 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbets, and shot 32-year-old San Franciscan Kate Steinle in the back of the head, among the many other horrendous murders perpetrated by criminals who never should have been in this country in the first place. 

It is almost unthinkable that an elected member of the California Legislature would even introduce such a dangerous bill—almost. Assemblymembers who think like Jones-Sawyer are far more common than Californians would like to believe. 

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Just as the public outcry was felt in Sacramento when SB 14 was initially rejected last year, I am proud that our communities made their voices heard when AB 2031 was set for a hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee this morning. Social media pressure, phone calls to the offices of the Judiciary Committee members, and press scrutiny led directly to Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer pulling the bill from consideration last night. A win for public safety and a win for common sense. 

While this represents a tremendous victory for California and a testament to the importance of public participation in the legislative process, this is only the beginning of the fight. AB 2031 could make a comeback at a future hearing in the coming weeks. Republican lawmakers need to stand firm if AB 2031 rears its ugly head again to engage and activate the public to kill this bill for good.

Bill Essayli was elected in 2022 to represent the 63rd State Assembly District, which includes the whole cities of Norco, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, and Canyon Lake, as well as portions of the cities of Eastvale, Riverside, and Corona. Assemblyman Essayli is a former federal prosecutor and Riverside County Deputy District Attorney. He is also a small business owner as partner at the estate planning law firm of Essayli & Brown LLP.

​ Orange County Register