Category Archives: Fairfax High
Softball Roundup: A slow start does not stop Venice from taking the Western League
Venice pitcher Milana Casillas threw a complete game in the Gondoliers 12-2 victory over Westchester. / Photo: Paul Alvarez Jr
Two days after beating Westchester in a mercy rule game, Venice found themselves struggling in a tied contest heading the fourth inning.
Then the bats got going as the Gondoliers grab three runs and four more in the fifth to clich their first Western League crown in six years with a 12-2 win over the Comets.
“Came out flat and realized quickly that [Westchester] brought their ‘A” game,” said Venice head coach Daniel Soto. “We had to step up our game and rose to the occasion. They also had some players today that did not play against us [on Tuesday].
Leanna De La Paz went three-for-four with two RBI’s, Gabriela Patino drove in two more runs and Kira Wessels had an inside the park homerun.
After coming throwing a five inning no-hitter in their last meeting, Venice pitcher Milana Casillas was nowhere near as dominate. The senior gave up eight hits and five walks in a complete game victory
“I struggled throwing strikes, but glad that my teammates were able to back me up when I needed it,” said Casillas.
Baseball Roundup: Rappoport’s grand slam helps Venice blasts by University
The bats came alive for Venice as the Gondoliers picked up an important road victory in a 10-6 win over University on Tuesday.
Max Rappoport had a grand slam in the third inning and Alexander Tash added another home run for Venice (16-5, 4-1). It is their seventh victory row.
University (11-7-1, 3-2) has lost three straight.
Other scores in the Western League…
Hector Velazquez had two double and five RBI’s in a Hamilton’s 11-1 victory over Fairfax to remain in a first place tie in the Western League.
Peter Rolan had three hits and drove in three run for the Yankees (12-2, 4-1) and pitcher Aaron Sabin had nine strikeouts in four innings of work.
Fairfax is 2-11 and 0-5 in Western League play.
In the Ocean League…
Westside High School Basball Schedule: Wednesday, April 3rd
Below are the westside high school baseball and softball schedule for Wednesday, April 3rd.
LA CITY SECTION
Western League:
University at Westchester
Fairfax at Venice
LACES at Hamilton
CIF SOUTHERN SECTION
Non-League:
Culver City at North Torrance
Windward vs Arrowhead Christian
St. Monica at St. Paul Tournamnet
St. Bernard at St. Paul Tournament
Boys Basketball: Westchester’s Grant is the Western League MVP
After leading Westchester to their first LA City title in three years, Comet shooting guard Matthew Grant has been named the Western League MVP by a vote of the conference coaches.
The senior was instrumental in Westchester’s (29-7) undefeated league play that fefour teams qualifying for the state playoffs. The Comets advanced to the Open Division Regional Semifinals before losing at Etiwanda.
Basketball: Scores from the first round of the state playoffs
Below are the scores of the first round state basketball playoff games involving westside teams.
Boys Basketball:
Division I
Santa Monica 63, Narbonne 58
Palisades 72, Mission Viejo 70
Division III
Leuzinger 75, Hamilton 58
Division IV
Chula Vista Mater Dei 62, Brentwood 58
Pacific Hills 84, Chowchilla 50
Crespi 58, LACES 38
Girls Basketball:
Division I
Long Beach Poly 80, Fairfax 22
Canyon Springs 73, University 30
Division II
Murrieta Valley 71, Westchester 48
Granada Hills 49, Culver City 46 OT
Division IV
St Bernard 64, Animo South 22
Boys Basketball: Palisades beats Fairfax for the third time this season; move on the City semifinals
Who says that its tough to beat a team three times in a season.
That was the sentiment of Palisades High boys basketball team after they jumped out to an early lead on their 54-46 victory over Fairfax to advance to the LA City Division I semifinal.and qualified for a state playoff berth.
The Dolphins scored the opening eight points of the game and Fairfax burned through two timeouts in the first quarter in an effort to stop the an early 20-8 run.
“We got out in front of them early and that’s something we have not done. We were down by eight and 25 points in the first two games,” said Palisades head coach James Paleno.
Kurihara, Rehman, and Dakota Chambers led the the Dolphins with 11 points each as they never trailed in the game.
Fairfax rallied back in the second quarter as Chauncey Hill’s tip-in just before the halftime buzzer help cut the deficit to 27-21.
Palisades (22-8) scored six consecutive points in the beginning of the third to push the lead back to double-figures, but Fairfax did not give up.
The Lions seemed to regain momentum when Jonathan Brown made a layup off a steal and was sent to the free throw line after being fouled by Kurihara. Brown missed the chance to complete the three-point play but the rebound was put back by Reggie Theus Jr to narrow the lead to 35-30 with under four minutes left in the third.
That would not get any closer until the final minutes as three-point by Kurihara and a tip-in by Dakota Chambers pushed the lead back to ten points.
“Dakota picked up a lot of the load for us on offense and Louis hit some big shots for us,” said Rehman. “Its the first time for me to play in the state playoffs.”
The biggest change that the Dolphins have experienced throughout the season in the improvement of the play of center Dakota Chambers. The senior has turn into a more consistent offensive weapon as he was able to get in the lane with three dunks and a couple of scores off of rebounds.
“My play was 100% defense at the beggining,” said center Dakota Chambers about his improvement throughout the season. “Now I’m able to attack the basket and get some dunks.”
It was the second time in three years that the Dolphins have qualified for the state playoffs and bittersweet
after Crenshaw denied them a chance to make it three in a row on a last second shot on their home court last year.
Theus had a game-high 13 points for Fairfax (19-12) and Brown added eight points for the Lions.
Palisades will face off against another league rival and No. 1 seed Westchester at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday.
Fairfax’s season is not over as they will host Narbonne next Tuesday in the first round of a four-team state play-in bracket. The winner has a chance to advance to the state tournament if one of the LA City teams, most likely Westchester, is pick to play in the newly created Open Division.
-Ed Gonzalez
@LASportsJournal
Girls Basketball: Time Warner to broadcast tonight’s University vs San Pedro game
Time Warner will cover tonight’s University vs San Pedro Division I girls basketball game on their Channel 101. It will be televised tomorrow night at 8 p.m. and replayed throughout the week.
This is the second time a Western League girls basketball game as been covered by Time Warner. They broadcast Fairfax vs Westchester earlier this month.
