LJ baseball 1, Madison 6 - 3/15

Photos by Ed Piper

Pitcher Travis Lancaster (not pictured) clearly

picked off Easton Ochoa of Madison at

first base in the top of the fourth. Making

the tag is Viking first baseman Ryan Kestler (3).

Lancaster throws out the Warhawks' Dakota

James (not in view) on a comebacker

to the box to start the fourth inning.

LJ starter Travis Lancaster (with left

stirrup coming out) strides in the top

of the third inning.

Vike leadoff batter Carter Strauss grounds

out to start the bottom of the first.

Third-slot hitter Hank Hansen pauses before

clubbing a ground-rule double over

the left-centerfield barrier to drive in

Ryan Kestler from third base

in the first inning.

Steve Booth (R), a former La Jolla assistant

coach, and strength and conditioning coach,

who coaches third base for the Warhawks.

(Note helmet he has to wear to be

on the field.)

LJ wrestling: Postseason awards

By Ed Piper

A good time was had by all, I'm sure, at the end-of-the-season wrestling team dinner and awards presentation Sat., Feb. 8, at a family home in Pacific Beach.

Your friendly correspondent was not able to attend, due to Spring Training baseball in Phoenix, but head coach Kellen Delaney announced the following team awards:

--Senior Matisse Pickett and junior Noah Pace, both of whom advanced to the CIF Section Masters meet at the Ryan Center on the campus of Christian High in El Cajon, were named girls MVP and boys MVP, respectively, for the Vikings.

--Most Improved was Patrick Fitzmaurice at 150 pounds.

--Named Most Coachable was Chase Weise.

--Especially dear to Coach Emeritus Walter Fairley Jr. is the Terry McPherson Award, given in the name of an athlete who dedicated himself to the sport and drew respect and admiration for the way he carried himself. This year's recipient was Matisse Pickett, who wrestled all four years of high school, was named team captain over both the girls and boys team members, and progressed from a novice competitor as a freshman to the CIF Masters meet her final year at La Jolla High.

I would have to think that Matisse is the first female recipient of the award.

LJ softball: Photos 3/3

Photos by Ed Piper

Freshman Brandy Cuevas (34, OF)

First baseman JC Taylor (R) talks on the phone

in the dugout before the game; catcher

Aviv (ah-VEEV) Laska.

LF Maddie Quach, who plays

golf, wrestles--she does it all.

Freshman Ella Pearl, hitting in the third

slot in the order; third baseman.

Natalie Alvarez heads to first base,

after watching her HR land in the planter

in left-centerfield.

Aviv Laska flings her bat after hitting a high

flyball to right-center, that bounced once

before going over the temporary barrier

for a ground-rule double. Laska's double

drove in Savannah Putnam.

Third baseman Ella Pearl, a freshman, lined out

to Aztec pitcher Brianna Hernandez

in the bottom of the first.

LJ b VB 1, Bishop's 3 - 3/3

Photos by Ed Piper

Ben Salmon (left)

hits against the block.

Junior Zepher Smith (left)

on the block.

Salmon (left) spikes the ball

past the block.

LJ softball 19, Montgomery 22 - 3/3

Vike pitcher Natalie Alvarez stroked

this pitch for a three-run homer to the dirt

in left-centerfield at LJHS in the first inning.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla flexed its muscles again, amassing 19 runs from a potent offense that continues to put up numbers early in the season, despite losing to Montgomery at home in a tournament game Mon., Feb. 3.

Sophomore Natalie Alvarez, also taking her place in the pitching circle for the Vikings, clubbed a three-run homer over the short wall in left-centerfield with two outs in the first inning, landing on the grass and palm fronds there.

She drove in JC Taylor, who got aboard via a base-on-balls, and Aviv Laska, who pounded a ground-rule double that bounced over the temporary fence in right-centerfield. Both Taylor, the first baseman, and Laska, the catcher, have power as well.

Alvarez's high flyball tied the score in the bottom of the first, 4-4. The increased offensive production by La Jolla continues to be a welcome sign in the early going, after the Vikes struggled to score runs the last several years.

They have matured and gotten better. Against Aztec hurler Brianna Herrera, a freshman, the red-and-black amassed 21 hits to produce the 19-run total. including two home runs and four walks. She hit two batters. In 43 plate appearances, the Vikings forced the righthander to use 123 pitches.

LJ b volleyball: Iolani trip coming up 3/26-31

    'Iolani School (center/bottom), as seen

in an aerial view of Honolulu

on the institution's website.

(Snapshot of website photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's boys volleyball team is looking forward to its trip to Hawaii for the annual Iolani tournament March 26-31.

Iolani is a private K-12 school in Honolulu, the capital of the state, with 2,200 students, among the largest prep schools in Hawaii. The proper name actually has an apostrophe at the start of the moniker: 'Iolani.

No doubt Vikings coach Dave Jones and his team and staff are anticipating the tourney, which packs in games over six days, with a stay in the islands to boot.

The host school is probably somewhat similar to Bishop's, in that it is Episcopal Church-affiliated. Iolani School was founded in 1863.

The K-12 institution is favored by an incredible location--just view the school on its website, with an aerial view of the campus next to downtown Honolulu, with high rises throughout the center. The shore is blocks away from the pastoral-looking setting.

No wonder Jones enjoys returning to the location with his team and staff.

There is a short river or canal that abuts the campus, actually acting as a demarcation with the downtown high-rises on one side, the campus on the other. It is breath-taking.

The Father Kenneth A. Bray Athletic Center is situated in the middle of campus, presumably where tournament competition is going to take place over the six days.

Don't worry. I wasn't put up to this. I searched the website out on my own, anticipating a trip elsewhere of my own, and thought I'd get a jump on the early season with a look into the school that hosts the tournament the Vikings will take part in.

LJ baseball 4, Fallbrook 6 - 3/1 - Season opener; Pirate Classic

Photos by Ed Piper

Adam Lafever cues this ball down the first

base line, going foul, then creeping back

into fair territory for a putout. But his

groundout brought in runner Ryan Kestler

from third to tie the score 2-2

in the bottom of the third inning.

Starter Hank Hansen throws out Petey Pizzo

(not in view) on a comebacker

to end the top of the second inning.

Junior Harper Lane (6), batting in the

eighth slot, grounds out to second base

to end the second after leadoff

hitter Zoran Shepanski led off

the inning with a triple

but couldn't score.

Viking starter Hank Hansen (2) let out an

audible grunt on pitches as he exerted effort

in the season's opening game.

Senior Ryan Kestler responds to a

pitch as a runner strays off first base.

Fallbrook head coach Pat Walker (far left)

holds a mound conference with starter

Evan Thomas (11) with runners on base

in the bottom of the third. 

Harper Lane made a nice

catch on a low liner to right

to end the top of the third

inning.

LJ head coach Gary Frank (4) points to the

hazards in right field as the host coach

going over the ground rules, during the pregame

umpires' conference.

Senior Hank Hansen warms up in the bullpen

prior to the game.

Hansen, batting in the third slot, takes a

check-swing walk on a pitch low and

outside to put runners on first and third.

That set the table for Lafever's squibber

to bring Kestler in from third.