Downey playing well as league play starts

DOWNEY - The Downey High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 7-4 and is currently ranked fourth in the C.I.F. Southern Section Division III poll.Downey will open San Gabriel Valley League play against cross-town rival Warren today at Downey and will face always tough Gahr at Downey next Tuesday and Paramount at Paramount next Thursday. The Vikings struggled a bit at the beginning of last season by losing a few preseason games. Downey also lost their first three league games before they caught fire down the stretch. The next two weeks will be very telling as to what kind of season the Vikings will have. Thus far the Vikings have been led by the solid play and hitting of senior Alex Rodriguez (.433), and juniors Gabriel Llanes (.389) and Gabriel Soto (.382). The Vikings have featured a preseason schedule that has seen the Vikings defeat Long Beach Jordan 6-3 on 2/23, lose to Dana Hills 7-3 on 2/23, defeat Serra 15-7 on 2/25, defeat St. Bernard 8-1 on 2/27 and lose to El Toro 8-7 on 2/28. The Vikings continued into March and lost to Pacifica 13-7 on 3/2, lost to Aliso Niguel 10-1 on 3/5, defeated Anaheim 3-0 on 3/7, defeated Artesia 14-2 last Saturday and swept a double header from Long Beach Poly last Tuesay 3-2 and 1-0, respectively. The Vikings saw their season come to an end last year with a 4-3 loss to the Los Altos Conquerors in the second round of the Division III playoffs. The Vikings finished their season with an overall record of 15-13 and a league record of 11-4, good enough to win the 2012 S.G.V.L. championship. Coach Gonzalez and his team are looking forward to a strong league showing and another run in the C.I.F. Division III playoffs.

********** Published: March 14, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 48