LJ baseball 2, Point Loma 3

Weston Clark walks off the field as Point Loma

celebrates the walkoff hit with two outs

in the bottom of the seventh inning.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla's fortunes have turned with the start of league play. The Vikings, who were sailing along with a .750 win percentage, lost 3-2 on a hit to short that didn't come up with Zach Sehgal's glove and drove in the tying and winning runs with two outs at Point Loma Thurs., April 23. LJHS is now 1-3 in the Western League.

Weston Clark entered the bottom of the seventh inning pitching shutout ball against the host Pointers. Quickly, David Wells' batters in the middle of the order put runners on first and second. Point Loma scored one run to inch to within 2-1. Then came the winning blow with runners in scoring position.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball recap

Shortstop Josie Sinkeldam tries to make a play on a

stolen base attempt by Islander Jennica Lasala
in the fifth inning. The runner arrived safely.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

Josie Sinkeldam had three hits from the leadoff spot, and teammate Stephanie Alvarez added three more as La Jolla downed Coronado, 5-2, on the Islanders' home field Wed., April 22.

In all, the Vikings collected nine hits and took advantage of five errors by Coronado to secure their 12th win of the season. That is four times as many wins as they had all last season, and there are three weeks left in the regular season plus playoffs yet to participate in.

The game against 'Nado was a non-league contest. The Vikings' big challenge is in the Western League, in which they are knotted in a three-way tie for second place with University City and Clairemont. All three bridesmaid teams have 4-2 league records and trail powerful Cathedral Catholic, which is 5-1 in Western League play.

The lower part of the order made contact, at times bunting, in contributing their end of the bargain. But hitters seven through nine failed to get a single hit or run scored.

But that is the way the Vikings have gone, on the power of the front end of their batting order. Sinkeldam, a freshman shortstop, continued her blazing hitting and scored one of the LJHS runs in the third inning.

Alvarez, who leads all Western League hitters with a .534 average, blasted a double to right-center in the sixth but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Sinkeldam sits third among league hitters with a .455 average.

Linda Brown, another member of the slugging sorority, pounded two hits, including a triple in the third inning. She is batting .437, fifth among Western Leaguers.

Alvarez has seven home runs and Brown six as leaders in that statistical category in the Western League.

The Vikings' aggressive base-running yielded benefits against the beleaguered Islanders, who mishandled plays at second base multiple times.

Looking ahead to CIF playoffs was unheard of in previous seasons at La Jolla. Now the Vikings are getting their ducks in order, as the success of their 2015 season continues to unfold and their confidence grows from their accomplishments.

Katja Sarain, though held hitless in the second slot in the order, held Coronado to two runs. She tops Western League pitchers with 10. Her ERA of 3.27 ranks third among pitchers. She has struck out 40 batters, good for second place but far behind the leader, Megan Faraimo.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball 5, Coronado 2

Center fielder Mazzi Tamaiko takes a healthy cut

against the Islanders. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Josie Sinkeldam gloved a hard, bounding grounder to short and threw the batter out to close out an inning. "We got ourselves a team," exclaimed Tracy Brown, La Jolla assistant coach.

And the Vikings do. La Jolla (12-8) is ranked fourth in CIF Division IV. Playoffs are a month away. Who would have thunk this, after the three wins of last season?

The remarkable turnaround of the Viking softball program owes a lot to the patience and willingness to hang in there of head coach Anthony Sarain, who lasted through many thin years of struggle by his daughter, Katja, La Jolla's pitcher, and his other players.

Now Katja, with fellow senior starter Stephanie Alvarez, her catcher, is leading the charge as the Vikings scale unknown heights, plowing through Coronado Wed., April 22, by a 5-2 margin.

Ava Verbrugghen, a sophomore, is an example of the "new" LJHS softball program. A left-handed thrower who plays part-time in right field, Ava is fairly new to the sport but is athletic and enjoys being part of the team.

There is a confidence that spreads like a contagion through the batting lineup when the likes of Linda Brown, an experienced travel ball player already as a 10th-grader, Emily Alvarez, a freshman, Sinkeldam and others bring their hitting and fielding skills to the ballpark.

Even Katja Sarain seems to benefit from the new, improved ballplayers around her. She was an experienced player when she broke on the LJHS scene as a freshman three years ago. But when not many batters are hitting through the lineup, it's tougher to pull upstream and try to build some momentum. Rallies don't get sustained well.

Now, with a talented lineup, the Vikings take their at-bats expecting to score. Coronado found that out Wednesday.

Anthony Sarain, coaching third base, signaled Stephanie Alvarez to make the turn at second and head to third on a line drive to right-center. But Alvarez got thrown out by a bit on a good relay throw. Sarain said, "I had a good hitter (Linda Brown) coming up. I should have played it more conservative."

But this kind of aggressiveness is what characterizes the Vikings now. They're having fun, and eating lots of chocolate chip cookies in the dugout Wednesday. Stephanie Alvarez was yelling at her teammate, Vanessa Shaffer, who plays left field, "Cookie Monster!" Shaffer wolfed down seven or so chocolate chip cookies between stints in the field.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball 10, Mission Bay 4

Stephanie Alvarez slides into home on wild pitch

in the first inning. (Photos by Ed Piper)

When Linda Brown hits the ball, there is a noise that can be a little startling.

She blasts a ball through the 5.5 hole--between the third baseman and shortstop--and the sound rings out a little differently than off some other girls' bats.

Well, the La Jolla slugger was at it again against Mission Bay Tues., April 21. She pounded a home run and the Vikings piled on the poor Buccaneers in Mission Bay's brand new stadium, 10-4.

There were "wow's" all around, with a few "oohs" and "aahs" mixed in, during the Vikings' first visit to the new facility opposite the football field. The visitors dugout, made out of block, towers 10 to 12 feet above players' heads and provides nice shade during an afternoon game. It is very spacious.

The pitcher's circle proved a little getting used to for La Jolla starter Katja Sarain. The dirt in the circle appeared to be very soft and ready to move. A minor crater developed in the early innings that the pitchers had to kind of step over during their routine. A little moisture on the dirt seemed to be needed in both the pitcher's circle and home plate area.

Linda Brown steps into a pitch in the first time

around the order in the top of the first.

But Sarain figured it out, and the Vikings, after some early-innings jitters, kept the hosts at bay to hold them to four runs.

As the new dirt went flying, Stephanie Alvarez slide into home safely on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning. She grinned as she brushed off a load of the brick dust from the knees of her uniform pants.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball 6, Mission Bay 1

Holdgrafer holds command

in four-hitter. (Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla rode a five-run fourth inning to a convincing 6-1 win over visiting Mission Bay Tues., April 21. Sean Hofmann led the 11-hit barrage against the Buccaneers with three hits.

Timmy Holdgrafer (6-1) went the distance in limiting Mission Bay to four hits.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball 4, Country Day 2

James Whelan struck out four without a walk, using

52 pitches over 4 1/3 innings of relief.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

James Whelan pitched 4 1/3 innings of three-hit ball in relief, giving up only an unearned run, to pick up the win in a 4-2 Viking non-league win over visiting Country Day Mon., April 20.

It was a stellar effort by the righty, La Jolla's starting center fielder, who came in in relief of starter Trenton Fudge with two outs in the third inning.

Coach Gary Frank saved Timmy Holdgrafer to pitch against Mission Bay in a Western League game the following day, Tues., April 21. The Vikings are 0-2 in league play, and need a jump start to get into the race.

La Jolla had also built its way briefly into the Top Ten rankings in CIF, but dropped out after early losses in league play to Madison and University City.

In the win over Country Day, Luke Bucon had two hits and drove in a run. Shortstop Zach Sehgal hit a double and added an RBI. In all, the Vikings collected seven hits against two Torrey hurlers.

Garrett Brown played the entire game behind the plate, and had a hit in his three at-bats.

Frank shuffled his lineup and inserted Sean Hofmann back in the leadoff spot in the batting order, with Holdgrafer moved into the third slot. Hofmann recorded a hit. Timmy added another stolen base.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b tennis: Overview

Coach Matt Previdi (straw hat to the right) leads

pre-match introductions against Scripps Ranch.

April 16. (Photo by Ed Piper)  

La Jolla boys tennis coach Matt Previdi is quick to point out the Vikings' 45 CIF team titles. It's quite a heritage. John Wooden had 10 NCAA basketball titles. 45 for CIF is that far beyond.

"Sasha Kovacevic has 'been there, done that' with just about everything there is to do in high school tennis," says Previdi of this year's senior captain. "His experience is invaluable to our team, which is comprised mostly of sophomores and freshmen."

The coach also spotlights Marcelo Losonsczi, a junior, who "adds a lot of grit to our team, as he is known around San Diego as a pitbull on the courts, fighting for every last point."

Previdi asserts, "These two young men (who are also tremendous students) help set the tone of a hard-working team that is known for strong academics, as well as carrying themselves with class."

"We will be extremely competitive on the courts, vying for our 46th CIF title this spring," says Previdi.

He's also looking ahead to the remodel/addition that comes beginning this summer. Included in the tennis portion will be a pavilion to shade spectators from the sun. That will be situated adjacent to the existing courts, which won't be altered. The location presently is occupied by dirt and old bleachers.

The new coaches office, locker rooms, and restrooms will service the tennis courts, as well as the football field. It should be quite an upgrade, Previdi says, as well as an aesthetic addition.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball: "Holdy"

Timmy Holdgrafer, enjoying a senior year with all his baseball skills coming together, is captaining the Viking flagship with steals of home, two-hit pitching gems, and all the other things he contributes as an every-game player who ably handles any position in the field La Jolla coach Gary Frank chooses to assign him to.

Holdgrafer, batting leadoff, repeatedly makes his steals and attempted steals of home an issue with opposing pitchers, who get edgy when he is leading off third base.

Meanwhile, Timmy, who is 5-1 on the mound, with his only loss coming on a four-hitter against Madison last week when his own team was blanked 1-0 and held to four hits by Imani Abdullah, is tearing up the cowhide on offense.

The slender 6-footer is hitting .377, with a likewise team-leading 11 RBI's and 11 runs scored. His 23 hits far out-distance any teammate. He went two-for-three with an RBI in the win over Bishop's Fri., April 17.

The right-hander showed his real grit in the last game of pool play in the Lions Tournament April 1. Called on by Frank to relieve Weston Clark in the seventh inning against Patrick Henry in a game the Vikings had to win to go to the semifinals, Holdgrafer, on 48 hours rest, closed the door on the Patriots.

Holdgrafer started the season at shortstop on days he wasn't filling his usual Monday day in the pitching rotation. Then Frank has moved him to outfield positions, as well. Asked earlier in the season about playing Holdgrafer at all nine positions in one game, Frank said, "Yeah, it's hard playing only seven innings in high school. But we've done it with players in the past."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

So many sports: Commentary

A mobile Helen Lee on the move against Coronado

Friday night. (Photo by Ed Piper)

It's really a pleasure to watch Helen Lee sprinting down the field again with the ball at full tilt, with no reservations, for La Jolla lacrosse (Fri., April 17) after all the time she spent in ACL rehabilitation last year.

Which leads me to another thought: You know, kids today have so many choices of sports to play, it's almost hard for them to choose which one to play.

For example, speaking of Helen, she chose to go out for basketball one winter and soccer the next. Bravo. I say, good for her.

But part of me also thinks of my brother and my playing days, when there was no lacrosse or soccer, and we played the "traditional" sports, basketball in winter, baseball in spring. I love the running and contact of boys lacrosse (a little more physical than girls lacrosse, though girls lacrosse is a good sport).

It would have been a hard choice when I was in high school four centuries ago between playing baseball or lacrosse in the spring. I played 10 years of baseball, beginning at age 8, and playing up through American Legion, as did my older brother Steve.

We also played basketball all the way through high school, even though it was a new sport for me beginning in the ninth grade.

I say bravo for choice. So many options for our young people. They deserve that element, in view of so much pressure to succeed academically as well as the almost-professionalization of youth and high school sports now, what with highlight videos, personal coaches, worldwide recruiting methods that bring a youth from far-off Belarus to a high school in Tennessee or some such. (How does this happen?)

But fewer options made choices for sports easier back in the day for my brother and me. We knew we were going to play those two sports each year of high school. There was no soul-searching, debate, considering who the coaches are, will I get to start, all of that stuff that goes on now.

Hey, we had some really good coaches in youth sports and high school, and we had some really bad coaches. In varsity baseball, it was throw out the balls and play: "Swing real hard." No one taught me to keep my weight back as I stepped forward on my swing. There wasn't nearly the science and analysis that are used today.

I guess part of me yearns for a simpler day. What makes this issue a point to discuss is that having watched lacrosse while taking photos of LJHS lacrosse (the past eight years) and doing some light reporting on it (the past two years), I've been fascinated by the elements of the sport I mentioned before--running and contact. Those were things I loved as an young athlete. You can whack the other guy over the head in lacrosse (boys, not girls)! It's not a foul if you're "going for the ball." Yippee! Watching Helen run last night over and over in the first half brought back to me the joy that running in basketball brought to me. We had to run some distances in training for community college basketball, and I finished first among the big men. I was motivated. I was a decent athlete.

More power to our young people. More power to our student-athletes. They are our future leaders, and they bring us joy in how they work hard and share it with all the rest of us.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball 7, Madison 6

Senior catcher Stephanie Alvarez crushes

the first pitch to right field for a walkoff

grand slam, 7-6. (Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla coach Anthony Sarain to a sideline observer: "Watch this. Grand slam."

Situation: Bottom of the seventh inning, one out. Bases loaded. Madison leads, 6-3.

First pitch to Stephanie Alvarez: Shot down the right field line, over the fence. Vikings win, 7-6.

A lot of firsts have been recorded lately. This is only the most recent. First league win in four years, over Clairemont. First win over Point Loma in memory. Now, something that never would have been seen last year, or in recent years: a walkoff grand slam by a Viking.

Earlier, on a defensive gem by third baseman Linda Brown, her dad, assistant coach Tracy Brown, said, "I'll have to feed her something special tonight. Surf-and-turf." It turns out her favorite burrito is called that.

Vanessa Shaffer makes another

great leaping catch in

left field.

Brown hustled down the line on a foul popup, and snagged it against the green tarp shielding the neighboring residence from the LJHS softball field. It was a nice play going away from the field of play. Dad was impressed, though he has seen a lot of those.

Linda's younger sister, a sixth-grader who plans to play for La Jolla three years from now, was sitting on the bench nearby. The two have played together in summer league, but with the four-year difference in schooling, they won't be able to play together for the Vikings. Too bad.

In a sister act that is going on, Stephanie's younger sister, Emily, smashed a double in the bottom of the sixth inning to drive in the Vikings' third run, bringing them to within 6-3. That made Stephanie's walkoff grand slam possible an inning later.

In the top of the sixth, the Warhawks looked like they had built a comfortable edge. Their pair of twins completed hitting a home run by each, this one a three-run shot into the planter behind the "Home of the Vikings" sign in center field.

The score through the game was 1-1, 2-1 Madison leading, 2-2, 6-2, 6-3, and finally the 7-6 final score.  


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Padres' home opener (cont.')

First base line, standing at a counter. Early innings. A fan from San Francisco and I talk. I explain a pitching rotation. I read a piece recently in which it explains that Japanese pitchers only pitch once a week. American baseball is going to have to change, because in March alone many Major League pitchers had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Arm injuries for pitches are now an epidemic.

I eye a concessions stand that is off the main concourse, with only one person in line. I buy peanuts. I later get a free refill (comes with the souvenir cup this season) of Diet Coke.

I move to various standing locations on the main level, all with beautiful views of the game. Much closer than if I had stayed at the Park at the Park in left field! The beach (sand in center field) is blocked by new advertising placards on the outfield fence--did the Padres get rid of the beach? We used to go there.

I can't see the new, enormous scoreboard in left field (largest in the National League, third-largest in the majors) because I don't have a seat in the stadium. I can only see the bottom edge of it.

The Padres are locked in a pitchers' duel with the Giants. I stand, by this time, at a counter down the third base line. Later innings, feet extremely tired, I ask an usher if I can sit in a chair in a handicapped section. He says yes. Ah, relief.

The couple next to me is from Edmonton, Alberta. She is in a wheelchair, he in a regular chair on the other side of her. They stay in San Diego four months a year as "snowbirds", including the month of April so that they can go to Padres games.

What team did you root for growing up in Canada? We didn't have baseball.

The game goes into extra innings. She says they have to go home to feed the dogs. "They're used to eating at 5 p.m."

The Padres don't generate offense, here in front of a sold-out home opener crowd wanting to see the Padres' new acquisitions produce: Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Will Middlebrooks. The Padres fall in 12 innings, 1-0.

The scorebook I anticipated scoring the game in doesn't come out of the backpack. The LJHS grad in line outside had said, "Ooh, sharp pencils. Those are dangerous" (sticking out of my pocket). I had explained that they were for scoring the game. Didn't use those, either.

When we leave, I tell the woman from Edmonton, "The dogs are never going to forgive you." I'm kidding. She laughs.

8 p.m. Headed home. A long game because of extra innings, despite the new clock between innings to speed up the game. The speed-up seems to be working in the first week--10 minutes cut off games so far, an official says.

Trolley is packed. Have to wait for a second train. Many fans get off at Old Town. Lots more space the final two legs back to Fashion Valley.

Bringing home my first "Opening Day" pin. Bought it at a souvenir stand in the stadium. Nice follow-up to Spring Training, which I went to a month ago. Same teams, Padres and Giants, opposed each other then, too. The Padres lost tonight, but they've already shown in the first week in the opening series with the Dodgers that they're a better team than last year. Hope springs eternal.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Padres: Home opener

Thurs., April 9

11:30 a.m., La Mesa - Half an hour to go till work lets out, then head to Petco Park for the Padres' much-anticipated home opener against the Giants, World Series champions in 2014. The game starts at 3:40 p.m.

12 noon - Administrator announces a meeting for 12:30. Bummer. I explore leaving earlier with my colleagues, but no dice. The meeting is mandatory.

12:30-2:00. The meeting drags on behind closed doors. When a colleague also going to the game begs out, saying he has to go, I likewise beg out and follow him out the door.

2:03 p.m. Speed west on the Interstate 8 toward the Linda Vista Trolley stop. I'm looking at the clock. What would have been an expansive three-plus-hour window to transit to the crowded stadium area downtown is now down to an hour and a half. On the way, I change from shorts into long pants for the cooler later hours.

2:23 p.m. Intersection of Friars and Morena, a short distance from Trolley parking. Trolley guard rails down, no one moving for five or more minutes. Apparently caused by frequently passing Trolley trains called up just for Opening Day. I'm the first car in line, so no room to turn around and try to approach the Linda Vista parking from another direction (via Sea World Drive).

Finally freed from the traffic jam, I find all Trolley parking at the Linda Vista stop is taken. A car is following me. Same predicament.

I decide to race for Fashion Valley. All "transit only" spaces look full. I park on the side of JC Penney. I see a Trolley train pass through the station as I park in the lot. Before leaving my vehicle, I check multiple times to make sure I have my scorebook, multiple pencils, jacket, wallet, ticket, adult Trolley pass, with car locked. I'm already sweating, used to wearing shorts all the time.

2:40. Time's a-wastin'. An hour to first pitch. Numerous people waiting for the train. A lot of blue. Some retro Padres jerseys. Some with "Gwynn" on the back. (Tony passed away earlier this year.) Thank God we don't have to transfer at Old Town from the Green Line to the Blue Line, like in the old days. The Green Line takes us all the way to the Convention Center.

A man and his son and I talk about the upcoming game. I'm ambivalent about the Pads, having grown up a Dodger fan in the days of Koufax and Drysdale and Maury Wills, but then taking my wife to her first major league games to see the Padres at Qualcomm Stadium, back when an outfield ticket could be had for $4 and parking was free in the dirt lot where IKEA now stands.

3:30. The entrance to the park on Tony Gwynn Dr. is jammed with thousands of people trying to get in. New Major League rules require us all to go through metal detectors, with one person passing through each detector at a time. Very time-consuming. As we stand in the street, almost to the curb, we sing the National Anthem and watch the flyover directly over our heads. The couple behind me decides to follow me, since at 6'5" I'm one of the bigger people around. She graduated from La Jolla High in 1987 and is the baseball fan. She's coaxing him to adopt baseball.

3:50. Finally inside the gates. The staff persons were friendly, relaxed, very helpful in aiding us in placing our tickets in the scanner to read the UPC. No one was rushing us, frantic. I really appreciate that in retrospect.

Game has already started. Gotta get food. My ticket is for the Park in the Park, so I'm going to be hoofing it at various counters around the park throughout the game. The hill of the park is loaded with people.

Hot dog. Souvenir Diet Coke--Padres' schedule on the cup. Soft pretzel with salt for dessert. Might as well get them all now, though it is keeping me away from seeing the game, because the concession lines are long and I want to avoid repeating standing in line as much as I can help it.

Counter on the main level, first base side, down the line. Great view. My feet are already a little tired, from teaching during the morning, now standing so much. "No rest for the wicked," as my mother used to say jokingly.

(To be continued)


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b VB: Commentary

The Vikes' Alex Krzyz dives for a ball early in match

at Parker. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Volleyball is a funny game.

La Jolla's boys team led Parker in the first game Fri., April 10, on Parker's home court, 10-2. Then 11-6. Then the Vikings scored 11 straight points to make the score 22-6, finally closing out the first game, 25-10. Both teams had their first-line players in. It seemed the La Jollans could do no wrong, and that Parker could not stop them.

Then for the second game, Coach Dave Jones put in some second-line players. La Jolla won the second game, as well. But some momentum, or mojo, or something, was lost, and a match that seemed to be the Vikings' in a sweep ended up tied, 2-2, in games, with the fifth game necessary to decide it.

La Jolla did win the fifth game, and the match. But it makes you scratch your head at how what looked like a sweep became a cliffhanger.

That's the unpredictability of sports. And the unpredictability of sports involving young people.

When I began following soccer--a sport I never played, because it wasn't introduced into my high school until the end of my senior year--around World Cup time more closely, I heard repeatedly from soccer pundits and aficionados, "Soccer is a cruel sport." It seems a little overplayed, but I get the point: You can outplay the other team for the whole game, and still lose 1-0 on one mistake or letdown.

In basketball, generally, a better team can enforce its will on an inferior team. But then again, if the better team comes in cocky, or has an off-night, anything can happen. That's why we play the game--we don't go off predictions.

We love our sports. Because anything came happen. And it is one of the few areas of life where you go home with a clear result, a win or a loss. In my teaching job, I can put in a great day in the classroom, but no one may ever say so to me. I have to provide my own feedback. And that's the difference with sports. It's on the scoreboard.

Like they say, a coach gets graded in public at every game. Just look at the score. It's not an entirely accurate assessment--the other coach may recruit illegally, or may pursue victory at any cost, regardless of the values he teaches his athletes. But the final score is there for everyone to see.

I remember accompanying the American School boys basketball team in Mexico City, whose coach and players I became somewhat familiar with, to an away game at a tiny pueblo way out in the middle of nowhere. This is decades ago when I lived and taught in Mexico City. The referees, apparently from that small town, completely homered the visiting team and made blatantly biased calls against them. And the American School team lost. There's not much you can do in a situation like that except play the best you can and argue the calls as best you can to implore the referees to consider fairness.

Though it was unfair, no one got hurt. No one lost their family or their physical health or any of the other major issues. It was a lesson, looking back all those years, to keep sports in perspective. It is just a game. There are things more important in life.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball 0, Madison 1

Viking trainer Ben Howe treats

Zach Sehgal for a "strawberry" on

his left leg after he was thrown

out on an attempted steal in

the 6th. (Photo by Ed Piper)

Senior right-handers Timmy Holdgrafer of La Jolla and Imani Abdullah of Madison matched each other by limiting their opponents to four hits. But the Warhawks came out on top, 1-0, to take the two teams' Western League opener on the Vikings' home field Monday afternoon, April 13.

Holdgrafer, who has 11 stolen bases this season, provided one of the high moments of excitement in the bottom of the second when he broke for home in an attempted steal. But Holdgrafer was tagged out at the plate after Abdullah's pitch by catcher Ruben Valdez.

Sophomore Zach Sehgal, activated last week for La Jolla after transferring from Parker, continued his hitting at the plate by getting one of the Vikings' four hits off Abdullah. Sehgal, playing shortstop in three games so far, is three-for-eight in the early going.

Madison scored the sole run of the game in the top half of the third inning. In the bottom of the seventh, with the Vikings trailing by a run and one out, James Whelan got aboard off a smash to third that Zac Kolek could not handle. The ball glanced off Kolek and snaked down the line behind him. 

Holdgrafer hit a liner to right field that looked like it might drop, but Warhawk Andrew Shabloski ran a long way to catch up with the fly ball for the second out. Abdullah then retired Luke Bucon on a grounder to third to end the game.

The other Viking hits came from Holdgrafer, in the second, and Bucon, in the fifth.

La Jolla is ranked ninth in the CIF San Diego Section, Madison 24th.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball: Western League stat leaders

Lefty Weston Clark and righty Timmy Holdgrafer rank 1-3 in ERA among Western League pitchers in MaxPreps statistics.

Clark is carrying a phenomenal 0.84 ERA, while his teammate is only seven hundredths back at 0.91.

Holdgrafer, who plays shortstop and various other positions when he is not pitching, ranks second among Western Leaguers with 11 stolen bases.

He leads Western League pitchers with five wins, while Clark is fifth with three wins.

Timmy has 36 strikeouts, good for third, and Weston 34, fourth place among league hurlers.

Backing up the pitchers on the Vikings' defense, first baseman Noah Strohl ranks third in fielding percentage among all Western League players at .993.

Statistics are for the season, and include data for all games, not just league games, though the rankings only include players on Western League teams.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Sun-baked brains

I don't feel pain in my side, like the Vikings' Nate
Gibfried did after being hit by a pitch last Thursday
against Desert Oasis. I feel it in my head--
scrambled brains. (Photo by Ed Piper)

This is my therapy. I freely admit it. I was embarrassed until a couple of weeks ago to tell anyone associated with the La Jolla High baseball program that, for years, I have limited my time at games due to the effects the direct sun has on my head.

I often went home from games in previous years (in other sports, as well) with a headache and feeling generally unwell if I spent more than a short time in the sun taking photos and/or covering the game for my blog or one of the local newspapers.

But I never saw or heard anyone else complain of headaches or nausea or any other ill effect from exposure to the direct sun, so--like I said--I felt embarrassed and kept it to myself and my wife.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, determined to pursue my interest in learning more about the "inner game" of baseball beyond just spending a few innings watching games, after attending Major League games at Spring Training in Arizona March 6-7, I looked into bringing a large umbrella to shield myself at LJHS games.

This way, I figured, I could stay at games longer, and score more innings, and, conceivably, take more photos of the games. Plus I could take more time to learn more about the game of baseball than I already know, from having played it for 10 years when I was young and taking photos of LJHS baseball the past decade without really studying it.

One member of the LJHS baseball family suggested wearing a hat with a wider brim. I have what I call a lifeguard hat, made of straw, that I bought years ago to attend the air show at Miramar. But straw hats make my head itch, and the hat never became a solution for the sun issue.

Someone else (one of the Vikings' assistant coaches) said Costco sells big umbrellas that can be screwed into the dirt (or sand at the beach) to stand up and provide shade.

I was picturing carrying all of this, in addition to rolling my wheeled camera case, from my car to the field at Muirlands Middle School. I didn't know how practical that would be. Did I really want to make it that big of a production?

But at least these queries got me talking to others about my headaches from being in the sun at games.

What provided a little respite were the four Lions Tournament games the Vikings, who made it to the tournament semifinals, played all at 12 o'clock noon over the four days of the competition. At Country Day on the first day, that meant shade the whole game at the door of the dugout. At Muirlands on days two and three, the earlier starting time meant shade was available if I stayed at the doorway of the tiny equipment room in the Vikings' dugout. (Usually, at games that start at 3:30 p.m., the sun is already beating down from the west, and the equipment room isn't an option.) On day four, the Vikings occupied the dugout on the first base line at Cathedral Catholic High--the overhang providing shade from the midday sun.

This intense time at the Vikings' games all through the tournament enabled me to score each game in detail, listen and observe what went on throughout the games, and as a result write more intelligent and informed game stories, including play-by-play (with better photos than I would have taken otherwise) for my blog.

Prior to the tournament, when I was looking into umbrellas, I Googled the sun problem. I was amazed and comforted to find that other people suffer from the same issue. However, their symptoms are different. One wife said her husband is nauseous after five minutes in the direct sun. After 10 to 20 minutes, he is sick and pretty much has to go to the Emergency Room. I was amazed. I had never heard of others having such problems. But the important thing was that I didn't feel embarrassed as the only one slinking away at games.

Significantly, I mentioned the issue to our cleaning lady. She is super active in going to her eighth-grade son's outdoor sporting events, including football and baseball. She told me she has gotten nosebleeds from being in the sun ever since she was a child! I had never heard of such a thing. She has to plan ahead, and she takes a special diet of fruit and other things to keep her hydrated and feeling better when she goes to his games.

She told me about one baseball facility that has an air-conditioned room next to the field that allows you to pay a $5 entrance fee to sit inside during the game. I know I keep repeating it, but I had never heard of this. It was comforting to know others who love sports and want to go to games struggle with the same thing I do.

Here's to all of us who want to spend entire games watching the Vikings in baseball (and other outdoor sports), who appreciate the opportunity even more because we have to plan in advance, take a hat and other items, and decide--at least in my case--how long we want to stay out because that will directly determine how much we have to pay for the experience afterwards: headaches, and often a difficult time sleeping and tiredness the next day, as if we had been through a difficult experience and had health problems (which, in a way, we do).

If I have a demanding task to do the next day, like teach a special lesson in my classroom or present a talk at church, I have to weigh the effects staying at a game the day before will have on my performance. Because often a longer stay in the sun renders me with "dead head", just being slower, and more tired, making it harder to think clearly and slowing down my speech. Now, that is embarrassing. I think that others think I'm dumb when this happens!

As a nurse practitioner friend told me when I informed her of my susceptibility to sun problems, I may have an allergic reaction to sun exposure.

Feeling better already, Ed Piper


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball 9, Point Loma 6

Stephanie Alvarez circles the bases as coach Anthony

Sarain (foreground) claps in celebration of her

three-run homer in the fourth inning.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

La Jolla's softball team made history for the second time in three weeks with a convincing 9-6 win over visiting Western League power Point Loma Tues., April 7.

The victory, powered by catcher Stephanie Alvarez's three-run homer over the left field fence onto the neighboring street, was the Vikings' first win over the Pointers in several years.

This followed on LJHS's win in the league opener last month over Clairemont--its first league win in four years.

Assistant coach Tracy Brown, father of Linda Brown, the Vikings' third baseman, had his head down and hoping as Point Loma came back with two runs off Katja Sarain in the top of the seventh inning. But La Jolla held on for the win.

"You're seeing history in the making," said shortstop Josie Sinkeldam's father, an unofficial advisor/coach, who was keeping score of the game behind the backstop.

Point Loma appeared stunned at the reversal of its fortunes. While the Pointers were trailing 7-4 in latter innings, the team bench was silent as the game went on--an occurrence not repeated in recent memory. The coaches, as well, were not vocal and barking out encouragement or correction during the latter part of the game.

Alvarez (center) is congratulated by teammates

after crossing the plate on her towering shot

that easily cleared the left field fence.

The Pointers, apparently unaware of the improvement of La Jolla's softball program after years of futility, did not start their number-one pitcher or catcher, the latter who was ill. They made a pitching change early in the game after trailing--something you never saw in games against formerly lowly LJHS.

In the crucial fourth inning, when La Jolla built up its 7-4 lead, the Vikings got three straight hard hits to left field. Sarain singled, Linda Brown lined a shot to the same spot just in front of the left fielder, then Alvarez unloaded, clearing the left field fence with a long drive that bounced on the paved road. No one on Point Loma uttered a word.

The Vikings scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pad their lead, fortunate in view of the pair of runs that Point Loma brought across in the top of the seventh in a last futile effort at a comeback.

The younger players newer to La Jolla's team probably couldn't fully appreciate the significance of the win over Point Loma. Seniors Sarain and Alvarez suffered through years of humiliation, especially in Western League play. Often games against the Pointers terminated prematurely on the mercy rule that mandates the end of the game when one team leads by 10 runs or more after five innings.

La Jolla is now 2-0 in the league, 8-6 overall.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ softball update

La Jolla's softball team has already more than doubled its win total of all last year, with a 7-6 record. What's also nice is the Vikings' win of their opening league game against Clairemont before last week's spring break.

Anthony Sarain's squad is predominantly young, with seniors Katja Sarain and Stephanie Alvarez leading the way. That means there's a lot more softball to play this season, and there is plenty to look forward to next year and in years beyond.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Elbow flexion and other tracking

Righty Luke Bucon, seen here in Thursday's game,

would seem to have elbow flexion at release, one of

the biomechanics markers.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

 

According to what I'm reading in Baseball Prospectus 2015 (the last several entries), right-hander Luke Bucon of the Vikings would seem to demonstrate visible elbow flexion when he releases the pitch. (See photo above from Thursday's game.)

 

As we've talked about before, this is one of the contributors to pitch movement, along with shoulder abduction and body tilt, all three playing into delivery angle.

 

Obviously, I'm writing this at this point for my own enrichment. This is my fifth installment, I think, as I read the Brooks et al article on pitching biomechanics and pitch-tracking.

 

The authors point out that analysis of a pitcher's biomechanics--the angle of his delivery and other elements--is useful medically to understand "the forces acting on key joints and ligaments". (Witness the rash of Tommy John surgeries on Major League Baseball pitchers in March 2015 alone.) "Tweaks or changes" can be made to a pitcher's delivery to reduce stress on the arm. But this is also going to result in changes in pitch movement by that hurler.

 

Steve Booth, one of the assistant coaches at La Jolla's baseball team, already does one of the things pointed out in the article. (Steve has nothing to do with the information in these articles, and I have not interviewed him on the subject. It is my product alone.) He talks in terms of "11 o'clock" and "10 o'clock) for arm angle. Brooks and his colleagues in Baseball Prospectus 2015 state that detail like this is much more informing than "3/4" or "overhand".

 

 

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Pitched balls

Timmy Holdgrafer in

Monday's game: torso tilt

not right or left, leaning

forward. (Photo by

Ed Piper)



More on delivery angle, I'm picturing a ball not spinning (a knuckleball) and how it moves: It doesn't move in a straight line. Rather, it bobs back and forth.

That's different movement from a two-seam or four-seam fastball. Those have more of a direct trajectory in a slope, like what I teach my students when we graph slope in Algebra.

When Trenton Fudge throws a pitch for La Jolla, there is air between him and home plate. That means the ball is going to encounter filled space as it races toward Jackson Hyytenin's catcher's glove. There isn't a vacuum.

Molecules of oxygen, nitrogen, and various particles of dust and pollen floating in the air from all the vegetation surrounding the field (I'm picturing where the Vikings played last, on Cathedral Catholic's field Thursday) have to get out of the way. This sphere is pushing its way through all of that, creating eddies of air movement and spinning from Fudge's or Ben Wintringer's or Luke Bucon's or James Whelan's (whew--a lot of pitchers Thursday) grip and release of the pitch.

A funny thought: The poor Aztecs basketball players--didn't they play one of the games on the Midway?--having to loft jump shots, with the wind from the bay blowing the ball to the side or back to them! Changing baskets at halftime meant you either had your shot blow over the basketball stanchion, or fall short of it, depending on the direction of the wind during the game.

As I read the Brooks article (see previous entries) on pitching biomechanics, I still don't understand why and how the spin of the ball interacts with air resistance. Can someone out there explain it to me in lay terms?


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper