Prep roundup: thrilling play at the plate ends Downey's softball season

DOWNEY - The Warren High School boys' golf team finished league play with a record of 7-1 and as co-San Gabriel Valley League champions with Montebello.Warren did earn the top seed by defeating Montebello in the first round of league play by three strokes and then were defeated by Montebello by only two strokes in the second round. By virtue of one stroke, the Bears earned the top league spot. The Bears advanced to C.I.F. team play at Lakewood but did not advance further. San Gabriel Valley League finals consisted of three rounds of 18 holes at La Mirada, Rio Hondo and Montebello Golf Courses. Gahr High School's Isaiah Soto earned league champion honors while Warren took the next three spots. Terasak Damabhorn was second, Jared Avalos was third and Raffael Russo finished fourth. Five out of six Warren golfers, Terasak Damabhorn, Jared Avalos, Bryce Goss, Matt Perez and Rafael Russo, made the cut until the third day of league competition. At C.I.F. Individuals, held at Skylinks Golf Course, Terasak Damabhorn finished with a score of 81, Jared Avalos finished with a score of 82, and Rafael Russo finished with a score of 92. None of Warren's golfers made the cut to the second round. Coach Schmid said that Damabhorn is her only senior and everyone else is only a freshmen or sophomore. Schmid further said that all of her players improved as the season went on. Luis Maya improved the most while Damabhorn had Warren's lowest scoring average on the team. In most matches this season, five out of six players were always in the 40's while some were in the high 30's. Coach Schmid said she is extremely proud of her league co-championship and how hard her team worked to earn it. Schmid is already looking forward to next season and is always looking for some new talented golfers to welcome to the team. * The Gil Jimenez Football Skills Program will be offering the Blue and Gold Gridiron Football Development Academy on May 27 through June 19 for young student-athletes ranging from 13-15 years of age. The academy will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Warren High School football practice field next to the tennis courts. The cost of the 4-week academy is $45 and it will feature offensive and defensive drills and skills, as well as speed, agility, strength and functional training. During the final week of the academy, an introduction on effective running back skills will be discussed and drilled by a former Warren High School football standout and current Pac -12 running back. For more information regarding the academy, contact Coach Dan Latham at (562) 869-7306 ext. 5758 or e-mail at dlatham@dusd.net. Coach Jimenez and his staff hope to see you there. * The Warren High School softball team saw their season come to an end in the first round of the C.I.F. Division III playoffs. Warren hosted wildcard qualifier Kaiser last Thursday and were defeated 2-0, with both runs being scored in the top of the fourth inning. Warren finished their season with an overall record of 20-8 and a league record of 9-1. The Bears are the 2013 San Gabriel Valley League champions. Coach Starksen is pleased with her team's effort and how hard they worked this season. The Bears will reload in the offseason and put another quality team on the field next season to compete for another league title and C.I.F. playoff run. * The Downey High School baseball team saw their season come to an end last Thursday at Palm Desert, 9-5, in the first round of the C.I.F. Division III playoffs. The Vikings won their wildcard game against Rialto at Rialto, 7-0, on Tuesday to play at Palm Desert. The Vikings finished their season with an overall record of 15-14 and a league record of 6-9. At the time of this writing, Gahr is the only San Gabriel Valley League team still playing as Paramount and Warren have also been eliminated. Downey scored in the top of the first inning and held Palm Desert scoreless in the bottom of the first. Downey led after one inning 1-0. Downey did not score in the top of the second inning but Palm Desert scored five times in the bottom of the second inning. The score after two innings of play was 5-1 Palm Desert. Downey did score four runs in the top of the third inning and did not allow Palm Desert to score in the bottom of the third inning. Palm Desert scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-5 lead. Palm Desert added three insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Downey did not score again in the sixth or seventh inning and Palm Desert held on for the 9-5 win. * The Downey High School softball team saw their season come to an end on Tuesday, 3-2, against La Habra at home in the second round of the C.I.F. Division III playoffs. Downey finished their season with an overall record of 21-11 and a league record of 7-3. The Lady Vikings were the last of the San Gabriel Valley League teams to be eliminated. Warren and Paramount were both eliminated in their first round games. Downey defeated Santa Fe at Santa Fe, 11-5, in a wildcard game on May 14. The Lady Vikings then defeated top seeded Highland (24-5), 6-4, at Highland last Thursday to advance to the second round against La Habra. La Habra scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Downey scored in the bottom of the fourth to pull within a run. La Habra added another run in the top of the fifth and Downey answered back with another run of their own in the bottom of the inning to make the score 3-2 after five innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Downey managed to get their leadoff batter to third base with only one out. The play of the game followed: Downey hit a fly ball to middle-depth center field. The La Habra center fielder caught the ball and fired the ball home to catch the tagging Downey base runner from at the plate. Double play, game over.

********** Published: May 23, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 06