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San Juan Hills Baseball Holds on to First Place in League
While the seemingly impenetrable wall put up by the San Juan Hills baseball pitching staff has finally come down, the Stallions have kept their hold on first place in an ever-tightening Sea View League.
Following an 11-game win streak that featured nine shutouts, San Juan Hills (15-5, 5-2) has lost four of its past six games and two of its past three league contests, including a 4-2 home loss to Aliso Niguel on Wednesday, April 10.
San Juan Hills maintains a one-game lead in the Sea View League standings over both Aliso Niguel (13-7, 4-3) and San Clemente (11-10, 4-3). San Juan Hills is ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 4, and Aliso Niguel is ranked No. 8 in CIF-SS Division 2.
The Stallions took their first loss in a 4-2, extra-innings decision at home against San Clemente on March 27. After San Juan Hills tied it and nearly won it in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tritons hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning for the win.
San Juan Hills came back against San Clemente on the road on March 29 with its own late-inning dramatics. Tied 2-2 in the seventh inning, Zach Doyle got on with a leadoff double and later scored on a wild pitch to take the lead. Jake Vuoso also scored on a wild pitch two batters later, and the Stallions held on to the 4-2 win.
Over spring break, San Juan Hills lost two of three games in the Ryan Lemmon Tournament at the Great Park in Irvine, salvaging an 8-3 win in its final game over Centennial of Corona. The Stallions scored all eight runs in the third inning, including a bases-loaded, inside-the-park grand slam by Doyle.
San Juan Hills came back from the break to host Aliso Niguel on Wednesday. The Wolverines took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and never gave up their advantage in the 4-2 victory.
The Stallions look to split the two-game set, win the season series and keep hold of first place at Aliso Niguel on Friday, April 12, at 3:45 p.m. San Juan Hills plays a two-game set with last-place El Toro, with the first game at home on Wednesday, April 17, and the second game at El Toro on Friday, April 19.
JSerra Baseball Stays in League Title Fight with Wild Comeback
The back-to-back CIF-SS Division 1 champions aren’t slipping back without a fight.
JSerra baseball (12-7, 5-3) continues to hold one of the coveted top-three automatic playoff berths out of the Trinity League and sits one game behind league-leading Orange Lutheran after splitting the first two games of a three-game set with second-place Santa Margarita (14-6, 5-3).
After Santa Margarita shut out JSerra on the Lions’ diamond on Tuesday, April 9, JSerra found itself down seven runs, 8-1, entering the fifth inning at Santa Margarita on Wednesday, April 10. However, the Lions got a massive spark with “small ball” and sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth.
JSerra loaded the bases with no outs on a single by Ryder Fredriksen, Dmitri Susidko getting hit by a pitch and a walk by Cole Strane. A bases-loaded walk by Charlie Caruso scored Fredriksen and got the JSerra comeback started.
Susidko scored on a one-out single by Jordan Marian, and Strane scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Dunning. Caruso came around to score on a two-out single by Gavin Flores. A walk by Marcus Greis loaded the bases again, and Fredriksen came back up with a two-run double to score pinch runners Noah Meza and Andrew Padova to cut the Lions’ deficit to just one run.
Susidko followed up with a two-run single to score Greis and Fredriksen for JSerra’s seventh and eighth runs of the inning and the lead, 9-8.
Despite JSerra extending its lead to three runs in the sixth inning on a two-run home run by Marian, the game was far from over, as Santa Margarita answered with three runs to tie the game going into the seventh.
In the seventh inning, Susidko scored on a double by Blake Bowen to put JSerra ahead, and a two-run double by Dunning scored Caruso and Bowen for another three-run Lions advantage.
Santa Margarita scored one run in the bottom of the frame, but JSerra held on for the dramatic 14-12 comeback victory. The Lions scored 13 runs over the final three innings to take the decision.
JSerra hosts Santa Margarita on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m., with the winner holding onto second place in the Trinity League.
The Lions host two of three games next week against fourth-place St. John Bosco (14-5, 4-4), with games at JSerra on Tuesday, April 16, and Friday, April 19.
St. Margaret’s Boys Lacrosse Maintains No. 1 Spot
Without a league to play in, the St. Margaret’s boys lacrosse team is forced to schedule tough to qualify for the CIF-SS playoffs. That loaded schedule ramps up for the Tartans down the stretch, but St. Margaret’s is proving once again it is among the sport’s elite programs.
St. Margaret’s rode a 6-0 first-half run to a 9-4 road victory over reigning CIF-SS Division 1 champion Foothill on Tuesday, April 9.
Duke signee Austin Hicks scored two goals for the Tartans. Johnny Ivarone scored two goals for the Tartans, and Bryant University signee Conor McKenna added a goal and an assist. St. Margaret’s goalie Eben O’Brien made seven saves.
This was St. Margaret’s first win over Foothill since the 2019 U.S. Lacrosse Orange County championship. The Knights knocked out the Tartans in each of the past two playoffs.
St. Margaret’s has maintained the No. 1 ranking in the CIF-SS Division 1 poll all season. The Tartans have not been to a championship game since the sport came under CIF-SS administration in 2021.
Foothill was ranked No. 4 in the CIF-SS poll, and St. Margaret’s has a date with No. 3 Mater Dei on Saturday, April 13, at home at 7 p.m. The Tartans will also host No. 2 Loyola on Tuesday, April 16, at 6 p.m.
St. Margaret’s will host No. 8 Corona del Mar next Friday, April 19, and No. 6 Westlake on April 26 at 5 p.m.
This season, the Tartans have also posted wins against No. 5 Santa Margarita and No. 9 Los Alamitos.