SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: BASEBALL RANKINGS, Feb. 27, 2023
La Mirada, Bonita and San Dimas headline an competitive group of teams.
(CIFSS)
La Mirada (3-1): It took an outstanding pitching performance from Los Alamitos’ Cole Tryba to hand the Matadores their first loss of the season. Knowing coach Jimmy Zurn, he found an indoor facility to do some battling practice and get some work in. La Mirada is scheduled to have a home-and-home series with Warren starting on Tuesday to kick off Gateway League play. Warren is 3-2 on the season and should be an early season test.
Bonita (4-0): What can be said about the Bearcats’ impressive win over San Dimas in the championship game of the San Dimas tournament that hasn’t been said? Justin Santiago was terrific on the mound, and you have to like the way they finished the deal in the seventh inning. They are scheduled to take on San Dimas again on Tuesday and you can almost guarantee that San Dimas will spare no expense to get the field ready so that can get another shot at these guys. If that wasn’t tough enough, they have a Wednesday appointment at home against La Serna.
San Dimas (3-1): It’s bounce back week for the Saints as they are scheduled to take on Bonita once again on their home field. The game that catches our eye is a Thursday home game against Servite. Kasen Khansarinia did his best to make sure that the Saints were in the game against Bonita. He’ll be a problem for Valle Vista League hitters again in 2023. Let’s see who gets the call from coach Regan for Tuesday’s rematch.
Arcadia (3-1): Give coach Nick Lemas two quality pitchers and he’ll find a way to have his team in the mix for a Pacific League title. Here is bad news for teams in the Pacific League, he’s got two pitchers. Gabe Lopez has been a nice revelation early in the season and with Ian Hoffstetter, Arcadia fans should love this newfound luxury for the rest of the season. It’s time for Pacific League action to begin as Arcadia takes on Pasadena in a home-and-home series. Let the fun begin!
La Serna (4-2): Tough loss to Arcadia as they had one really bad inning that proved to be the difference. We are banking that coach Anthony Gonzalez got into his team a little bit and is bouncing to get back on the field this week. The weather might be a problem on Monday as the Lancers are scheduled to take on Troy, but they’ll have one more preseason test with Bonita on Wednesday before starting Del Rio League on Friday with an early season showdown with California.
South Hills (3-1): Darren Murphy always likes to find tough opponents and that could be the case on Tuesday as the host Huntington Beach, field conditions permitting. Then it’s a long and tiring trip down Cameron Ave (yes I’m trying to be funny) to West Covina for their annual rivalry game against the Bulldogs and a Saturday home game against Newbury Park (Maranatha played them in their season opener and won, 3-1). It’s back to work for the Huskies.
Maranatha (3-2): The Minuteman’s bats came alive in a 7-1 win over West Ranch that was badly needed. Time for league play to begin this week as Maranatha hosts Valley Christian at Jackie Robinson Park. They do have a huge nonleague game against Arcadia on Saturday, March 25th, which will be a very interesting game.
Bishop Amat (3-2): The Lancers suffered a brutal 1-0 loss to Garden Grove Pacifica in a semifinal game of the Loara Tournament. If you had to ask coach Joe Hoggatt if he would take a 3-2 record into their season opener against St. Paul, I’m sure he’d take it. The game with the Swordsmen is scheduled for Tuesday, but that depends on the weather and field conditions. Then comes a Friday road trip to Paraclete, where temperatures could be in the mid ’40s during the latter part of their game… Bundle up!
Charter Oak (2-2): Love that win over Claremont last week. It was the much-needed evidence to show everyone that things are just fine with the Chargers. Interesting matchup on Tuesday with a Santa Fe team that is much better than most people think. Then comes a Friday showdown with Ayala, which should give us a lot of answers about how good this team is. Stock rising – I’m buying.
La Salle (3-2): Clever move by coach Andy Nieto to save his pitching for Thursday’s big win over St. Paul. Morgan Sullivan and Val Gomez showed that they can pitch in big games and were the main reasons behind the big win. Weather permitting, they’ll be playing Paraclete on Tuesday at Arcadia County Park before traveling to Serra on Friday. Don’t be surprised to see La Salle 3-0 in Del Rey League play by the end of the week.