Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-
CIF-Central Section Softball First Round:
Division 1:
St. Joseph 4, Bullard 2
Division 2:
Edison 4, Righetti 1
Lompoc 5, Frontier 0
Division 3:
Wasco 6, Paso Robles 3
Templeton 15, Golden Valley 3
Mission Prep 3, Dinuba 0
Pioneer Valley 7, Chowchilla 2
Division 4:
Coalinga 11, Nipomo 1
Division 5:
Orcutt Academy 9, Rosamond 2
San Luis Obispo 12, Avenal 8
Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Two local high schools are celebrating CIF-Central Section boys volleyball championships.
Santa Ynez outlasted Sanger West in five sets to win the CIF-CS Division 2 championship (Photo courtesy CIF-CS).
Nipomo sweeps Roosevelt to win the CIF-CS Division 3 championship. (photo courtesy CIF-CS).
(Video courtesy of Nipomo Facebook and CIF-CS).
John Palminteri
SANTA YNEZ, Calif. – It will be a special day for aviation enthusiasts Saturday at the Santa Ynez Airport.
30 aircraft will be on display or showcased on the ground and in the air.
The annual Airport Day will be a chance to see the aircraft up close and talk to the owners.
This includes the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s and Fire helicopters. Guests will be able to see first-hand what they use on emergency calls.
Scholarships will also be handed out to young people who are interested in leaving more about aviation.
The event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is free.
Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –
CIF-Central Section First Round
Division 1:
St. Joseph 4, Frontier 2
Bullard 2, Righetti 0
Division 2:
Sanger 11, Cabrillo 1
Ridgeview 3, Templeton 0
Lompoc 4, Garces Memorial 1
Arroyo Grande 6, San Luis Obispo 1
Paso Robles 6, Mission Prep 3
Kingsburg 3, Atascadero 1
Division 3:
Morro Bay 5, Justin Garza 4
Division 4:
Lemoore 4, Santa Ynez 0
Hanford West 8, Nipomo 4
Pioneer Valley 6, Santa Maria 3
Mike Klan
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Dos Pueblos High School went deep to pull out a 5-3 11-inning CIF-SS Division 4 first round win in the baseball playoffs.
Trailing 3-1 at Katella, Alexander Hajda tied the game with a 2-run home run right-center field.
(Video courtesy of John Hajda).
The game stay tied at 3 until the top of the 11th inning.
Charlie Potter led off the inning with a double and Marcus Carbajal followed with a 2-run homer to center.
(Video courtesy of Stephanie Young).
Dos Pueblos advances a second round playoff game at Valencia on Tuesday, May 20th.
Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –
CIF-SS First Round
Division 2:
Oaks Christian 9, Redlands East Valley 2
Sultana 2, Royal 1
San Clemente 8, Westlake 0
Simi Valley 3, Ventura 0
Division 4:
Thousand Oaks 5, La Quinta 1
Dos Pueblos 5, Katella 3 (11 innings)
Pacifica 8, California 0
Division 6:
Foothill Tech 3, South El Monte 1
St. Bonaventure 3, Pasadena 1
Division 8:
Duarte 5, Dunn 3
Fillmore 7, VCA 2
Cate 3, Azusa 2
Mike Klan
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (34-25, 17-10 Big West) hung around with the No. 9 national seed in the UCLA Bruins for five innings. The Gauchos took an early 1-0 lead in the top of second and hung on to it until the bottom of the fourth. Despite getting base runners on in the fourth and sixth, the Gauchos were unable to push more runs across and ultimately fell 9-1.
HOW IT HAPPENEDUC Santa Barbara opened the scoring in the second inning against the Bruins. After a single by Alexa Sams and a subsequent fielding error, Delaina Ma’ae delivered an RBI single to bring Sams home, putting the Gauchos on the board.
In the fourth inning, the Bruins responded with three runs. The Gauchos were able to strand four UCLA runners through the first three innings and looked to strand two more. With two outs and a runner on first, a Bruins single though the right side led to a bang-bang play at third base. Giselle Mejia made a perfect throw but the runner was ruled safe. After the review the call was upheld putting runners at second and third for UCLA. The ver next pitch the Bruins tagged for a home run and shifted the momentum in favor of the Bruins, giving them a 3–1 lead after the fourth.
The Bruins extended their lead in the sixth inning with six additional runs. A three-run home run followed by another two-run homer put the Bruins up eight which ended the game due to the eight run-run after five innings of play. The game concluded with the Bruins taking a 9–1 victory over UC Santa Barbara.
UP NEXTThe Gauchos now enter familiar territory as they go to the elimination side of the bracket. UC Santa Barbara will await the loser of San Diego State and Arizona State. The elimination game is set for 4:30 p.m. on May 17. Should the Gauchos win their first elimination game they will play immediately after at 7 p.m.
(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)
Mike Klan
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior catcher Jack Collins produced his second walk-off hit of the 2025 season, a single down the right-field line with two outs in the ninth inning, as Cal Poly escaped with a 6-5 Big West Conference baseball victory over UC Riverside on Friday night inside Baggett Stadium.
Coupled with UC Irvine’s 4-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton, Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs pulled to within one game of first place in the Big West. Now 36-16 overall, Cal Poly lifted its conference mark to 22-7, while the Anteaters fell to 23-8 with their fourth loss in eight Big West games.
Cal Poly will go for its second Big West title in program history Saturday at 1 o’clock, needing a win and a UC Irvine loss. Should that happen, the Mustangs and Anteaters will be declared regular season co-champions.
On Friday, Cal Poly squandered an early 4-0 lead as last-place UC Riverside scored twice in the third inning, once in the fifth and, after Casey Murray Jr.’s sixth home run of the year in the sixth, two more runs in the seventh to knot the score at 5-5.
After the Highlanders were retired in order by Jake Torres in the top of the ninth, Cal Poly’s first two batters were retired in the bottom of the frame before second baseman Ryan Fenn singled to right-center field. Fenn sprinted to third base on third baseman Alejandro Garza’s single up the middle.
Collins, who capped a four-run Mustang rally in the ninth inning with a walk-off two-run home run to beat Oregon State 7-6 on March 22, was behind in the count, 1-2, when he lined a single about five feet inside the right-field line to score Fenn with the winning run.
Cal Poly’s only other walk-off win this year was an 11-inning 10-9 triumph over Cal State Fullerton on March 7 as reserve outfielder Dylan Knowles singled to center field with one out, scoring Dante Vachini from second base.
Torres (4-4) pitched three innings in relief for the win, allowing two unearned runs and a pair of hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Starter Josh Volmerding, who retired the first seven Highlander batters of the game, gave up three runs and seven hits over six innings with one walk and six strikeouts.
The loss was charged to UC Riverside reliever Joshua Martinez (2-7) despite allowing just one run over 3 1/3 innings. Starter Matthew O’Brien surrendered five runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts.
Two Mustangs extended their hitting streaks to nine or more games.
Fenn blasted a three-run home run in the second inning, his second of the year, to give Cal Poly a 4-0 lead and stretch his hitting streak to 12 games. Murray’s home run with one out in the sixth extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Right fielder Dylan Kordic and first baseman Zach Daudet both went 0-for-4, ending their hitting streaks at seven and six games, respectively.
Shortstop Nate Castellon singled to knock in a run in the first inning for Cal Poly. Fenn’s three-run home run to left field made it 4-0 in the second frame and Murray’s one-out blast to left gave Cal Poly a 5-3 advantage in the sixth.
UC Riverside tied the game in the seventh on Manoah Chapman’s two-out two-run homer to left, tying the game at 5-5. The Highlanders also had scoring chances in the fourth (runners at first and second with nobody out), fifth (first and third with one out), sixth (runners at first and second with no outs) and eighth (leadoff double by David Whittle) innings but couldn’t take advantage of any of the opportunities.
With 11 hits, Cal Poly produced double-digit hits for the 33rd time in its last 45 games. Fenn and Vachini each had three hits and Garza added a pair of singles, giving him a team-leading 31 multiple-hit games this season, including nine in his last 11 contests.
Prior to Friday’s game, at least seven Mustang starters collected hits in seven straight games, including all nine three times. Cal Poly hit .402 in those seven contests with a .481 on-base percentage and .580 slugging percentage. Only six Mustangs collected hits in Friday’s contest.
UC Riverside’s nine hits included a single and double by both Whittle and Joshua Torres.
With Friday’s win, Cal Poly clinched the series and has won eight of 10 Big West sets for the second straight year. The Mustangs are 20 games above the .500 mark for the first time since the 2014 squad finished the year 47-12.
Cal Poly’s three-run second-inning rally marked the 92nd time that the Mustangs had posted a crooked number on the scoreboard (two or more runs in an inning) in 52 games this season.
Junior southpaw Luke Kovach (0-0, 13.50 ERA) will make his second start of the season for Cal Poly on Saturday, facing UC Riverside senior right-hander Nolan Milliman (2-3, 6.93 ERA) in the Mustangs’ final home game of the year.
(Article courtesy Cal Poly Athletics).
Mike Klan
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (36-16, 16-13 Big West) punched their ticket to The Big West Championship on Friday, defeating Cal State Bakersfield (17-38, 8-21 Big West), 10-1, in the second game of their three-game series on Friday. Tyler Bremner was dominant on the mound, matching his career high with 13 strikeouts in seven shutout innings of work. At the plate, home runs from Jonathan Mendez and Xavier Esquer headlined the scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENEDBremner set the tone on the mound early, striking out the side in the top of the first, and his offense matched his intent with a run in the bottom half. LeTrey McCollum reached on a fielding error, and the Gauchos capitalized on it. Isaac Kim’s single moved McCollum into scoring position, and Mendez drove him home with a two-out single into center field to put the home side on top, 1-0.
It was more of the same in the second as Bremner again faced the minimum, striking out the first two batters and then picking the runner off of first base after allowing an infield single. It was déjà vu in the bottom of the second too, as the Santa Barbara offense brought home another run. Esquer hit an opposite-field double, beating the shift, then came home when McCollum hit a 109-mph triple into the left center field gap.
Bremner struck out the side again in the top of the third but ran into trouble in the fourth when a walk, single and sacrifice bunt put two ‘Runners in scoring position with just one out. Bremner came back and struck out the next two hitters to get out of the jam, then had to repeat the trick in the fifth. Facing the same situation, Bremner again dealt back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam and keep Bakersfield off the board.
After Bremner worked a perfect top of the sixth, the Gauchos got back on the board in the bottom half. Mendez led off the home half of the sixth with a no-doubt home run to left on the first pitch, then Rowan Kelly smacked a single up the middle on the following pitch. He took second on a wild pitch, then Esquer beat the shift a second time with a queue shot off the end of his bat for an RBI single, plating Kelly to make it 4-0.
Bremner was perfect again in the top of the seventh, and Santa Barbara broke the game open after the stretch. Jack Holman got the bottom of the seventh started with a double to left center; he would come around to score on Nate Vargas’ single up the middle. Kelly’s two-out double into center allowed Vargas to score, and Cole Kosciukso’s double brought home Kelly. Esquer went to the opposite field for a third time on the night, but his swing went a little further than the previous ones, seeing his teammates’ doubles and raising them an opposite field, two-run home run to make it 9-0.
Raymond Olivas relieved Bremner for the top of the eighth and worked a perfect frame with a strikeout. In the bottom of the inning, the Gauchos kept on scoring, picking up their 10th run of the game. Holman reached on an error to start the inning, and again Santa Barbara capitalized. Vargas laid down a perfect bunt for a single, with Mendez’s fielder’s choice grounder putting Gauchos on the corners. Kelly brought the run home with a single, his third hit in as many innings.
Despite allowing a run on a single, stolen base and two productive fly balls in the ninth, Olivas finished the game on the mound, wrapping up Santa Barbara’s playoff-clinching win.
BY THE NUMBERSFriday night’s win was the Gauchos’ 20th in a row against Cal State Bakersfield, an unbeaten run that stretches back to 2017, before the Roadrunners were in The Big West. Since Bakersfield joined the conference, in 2021, they are yet to defeat the Gauchos.With three hits on Friday night, Kelly improved his batting average to .363 on the season and .418 in conference play. The freshman is now a qualified hitter, and his name now appears in sixth place on The Big West batting average leaderboard. When the scope is narrowed to just conference games, only one man has a better average than the Gaucho rookie.No man in the conference has more strikeouts than Bremner, who matched his career high with 13 on Friday night, his sixth double-digit strikeout night in his last seven outings. The haul brings his season total up to 111, the most he has had in one season of college ball and the most in The Big West by 27 and eighth among all Division I pitchers. Bremner’s career total now sits at 295, a handful away from becoming the first Gaucho to collect 300 in his career.
UP NEXTSanta Barbara will wrap up the 2025 regular season with Senior Day on Saturday, May 17. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m., with the Senior Day celebrations of Reiss Calvin, Jack Holman, Elliot Gallegos, LeTrey McCollum, Isaac Kim and Hayden Hattenbach set to begin at 12:40 p.m. Hudson Barrett is set to get the ball first for the Gauchos on the mound in the game, which will be live on ESPN+ with an audio broadcast and live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com.
(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).
Mike Klan
MONTECITO, Calif. – After defeating the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay (37-17) by a score of 8-1 today at the NCAA Division II Baseball West Regional, Westmont Baseball (43-12) is just one win away from advancing to next week’s Super Regional. The Warriors and Otters will meet again tomorrow to decide whose season is done, and who is moving on.
The first game tomorrow is at 11:00 a.m. If the Warriors prevail, the tournament is over and Westmont will play next week at a site and opponent to be determined. If the Otters win, a second game will be needed to determine the two teams’ fates. That game will follow the first.
Senior Bryan Peck took the mound for the Warriors and improved his record to 8-1 on the season. He pitched six and one-third innings, allowing one run on five hits. Peck struck out four and issued two walks.
In the second inning, Peck, who is already the Westmont career record holder for wins (33) and strikeouts (324), added another career record to his resume. He now sits atop the list for most innings pitched at 351 1/3.
“It is a cool thing to have,” said Peck of the newly minted record. “It was on my docket a while ago. I could not have done it without the coaches I have had and the teammates I have had too. We don’t get any of that without having good teams around me and going as far as we have gone the last few years.”
“Bryan, along with Ryan Humphreys who pitched yesterday, are workhorses for us,” said Westmont’s head coach Paul Svagdis. “Bryan pitched through a lot of adversity this season. He is tough as nails. I say this a lot, but I am honored to be on the field with these guys.”
Caden Beloian earned his sixth save of the year with two and two-third scoreless innings of work. He allowed just one hit and coaxed Otter hitters into two double plays.
“I thank this program and this staff for giving me opportunities last year,” said Beloian. “Not many freshmen get to play as much as I did. I am truly blessed for that.
“I wouldn’t ever tell Bryan to his face, but he is the best competitor I have ever played with and been on a field with. Guys like that fire me up and are the best role models.”
Offensively, Daniel Patterson got the ball rolling for the Warriors in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run blast to left field.
“That was great. He set the tone,” said Svagdis of Patterson’s bomb. “It’s great when he gets swinging. He has been a dynamic baseball player and I am so happy for him on a personal level. Certainly, when your four hitter is driving the baseball you feel like you are in a good spot. I am really proud of him.”
Patterson’s home run drove in Bryce McFeely who had singled up the middle ahead of Patterson’s at bat.
McFeely had come up limping after stepping on the bag at first. After stretching out his leg on the sideline, he remained in the game. However, McFeely was clearly hobbled getting around the bases ahead of Patterson’s home run trot.
Warrior fans held their breath, waiting to see if McFeely would resume his position at first base. Svagdis trotted down the third base line to look in on McFeely and athletic trainer Melissa Katherman. What he found was McFeely sprinting back into the field of play, looking for his glove.
More health concerns worried the fans when Zach Mora slid feet-first into a fence while trying to make a play on a foul ball down the left-field line. After two or three minutes, and some examination by a suddenly busy Katherman, Mora popped back up and returned to his position at shortstop.
With one away and a man at first, the fans found out exactly what Warriors are made of. The Otters’ Dominic Felice hit a bounding ball to first. McFeely, showing no ill effects, leapt up to field the grounder, then threw to Mora who was covering at second. After tagging the bag, Mora fired back to McFeely at first, completing the ‘who said we were injured’ double play.
The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the second when Grant Yzerman delivered a lead-off home run over the left-field fence. Michael Soper followed with a triple to left-center field, then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by McFeely. That gave Westmont a 4-0 lead.
The Otter’s only run came in the top of the sixth on a two-out solo home run to left by KW Quilici.
Monterey Bay threatened again in the top of the seventh. With one away, Cole Murchison doubled to center field, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a walk by Max Farfan, Svagdis made the decision to go to his bullpen, calling for Caden Beloian.
The sophomore reliever’s third pitch to Felice brought an end to the Otters’ threat when he grounded into a double play.
“I knew Chuck (Beloian) was going to give it his all,” said Peck. “The ball was hit a little hard and it scared me a little. It took a weird hop on Soper. Luckily it hops right up to Mora who has a good arm on it. It bounced our way and we got out of it. Thank you, Chuck.”
“Caden fires me up,” expressed Svagdis. “Every day at practice, he has a smile on his face. Being able to put him on the mound in that situation – first and third, one out, tying run at the plate – I was super confident, based on the type of stuff that he has, that he was going to get us out of that inning with the lead. He certainly did that. He has done it all year and I am very proud of him.”
In the top of the eighth, Beloian sat the Otters down in order. Then in the bottom half of the inning, the Warriors added to their cushion.
With one away, Shane Hofstadler made it a 5-1 score when he powered a solo home run to left. Mora then came up to the plate and doubled down the right field line.
“Z-man has a little juice in the tank,” quipped Svagdis of his sophomore shortstop. “I really enjoy getting to coach him. I have had the opportunity to get into him a couple of times this year. One of the things I look at as a coach is how they respond to that. He is one of those guys that looks you straight in the eye and doesn’t back down from it. He only got more competitive.
“One of the things that I am excited about is that our hitters are swinging aggressively. Each game it is a different player that is coming to the plate and doing some damage for this team.”
With two outs, Mora advanced to third on a wild pitch before Soper recorded an RBI-single to center field. After McFeely walked, both runners advanced on a wild pitch while Patterson was batting. Patterson then doubled to left field – his second extra base hit of the game – driving in both runners and making the score 8-1.
In the top of the ninth, Beloian returned to the mound with a seven-run lead. After a single by Quilici, Felix grounded to short. The Warriors turned the double play – Mora to Soper to McFeely. A soft line drive to Mora provided the final out of the game and gave the Warriors the victory.
Asked what words he would have prior to tomorrow’s game, Svagdis replied, “These guys are a senior group of guys. I met with Bryan out on the Cape when I was applying for the job. He told me, ‘You are lucky, don’t mess things up if you get the gig.’ I’m going to let these guys roll tomorrow. I’ve got no words for them. Let them go play.”
“We have had one goal in mind this whole year and it is to go to Cary, North Carolina,” expressed Beloian. “Nothing is going to change. We count down the amount of games at the bare minimum we need to get there and win the whole thing. We are just going to keep going and trusting our guys. That is what we have been doing all year and we’re not going off plan.”
Peck added, “I said last week at the conference tournament, ‘That was just step one of three steps.’ This is step two of doing what we need to do to get where we want to be.”
No wonder Svagdis doesn’t feel a need to rally the troops.
(Article courtesy of Westmont Athletics)
