Quick Hitters
Kings open with win
The Kofa volleyball team opened its season with a 3-1 victory over Imperial (Calif.) on the road Monday.
The Kings lost the first set 25-21, but bounced back to win the second set 25-18, the third 25-16 and the fourth 25-21.
Keiley Sharp had nine kills, seven digs, four blocks and three aces; Isabel Ponce had 47 assists and two asses; Pam Aguilar had 17 kills and three aces; and Jocelyn Webber had 11 kills and five blocks.
Trout, Ohtani homer as Angels rally past Rockies
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani homered, Eric Young Jr. drove in the go-ahead run during a five-run eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels blew a three-run lead before rallying to snap their six-game skid with a 10-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
After DJ LeMahieu’s first career grand slam put the Rockies up 7-5 in the eighth, the struggling Angels improbably mounted a five-run rally in the bottom of the inning.
Los Angeles loaded the bases against Adam Ottavino (6-3) and got a run on Andrelton Simmons’ sacrifice fly before Young capped an eight-pitch at-bat with a two-out, bases-loaded single to center on a full-count pitch from Seunghwan Oh. The Angels, who sent 11 men to the plate in the eighth, added two insurance runs on Rockies shortstop Trevor Story’s throwing error.
Ohtani hit a three-run homer and Trout added his first homer since his return from injury for the Angels, who have won 11 of their last 12 meetings with Colorado.
After both bullpens flopped mightily in the eighth inning, Noe Ramirez calmly pitched the ninth without incident for his first career save.
Tony Wolters hit an early homer for the Rockies (71-60), but their bullpen wasted the chance to pull even with Arizona atop the NL West for the second time in three days. Colorado opened a six-game California road trip by losing for the third time in four games.
LeMahieu doubled and scored in the seventh, and he drove a hanging curveball from Jim Johnson (5-3) into the short porch down the left-field line in the eighth after the Angels’ bullpen walked the bases loaded. The homer was LeMahieu’s 12th of the season, setting a new career high for the veteran second baseman.
Trout also had an RBI single during a four-run fourth inning by the Angels. Ohtani capped the rally with a huge shot to left-center, the 15th homer of the season by the two-way rookie star.
Trout added a sixth-inning solo homer, his 31st of the season, in the two-time AL MVP’s fourth game back from a 19-game absence due to an injured right wrist and his brother-in-law’s death.
Jon Gray pitched seven-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the Rockies’ late rally prevented him from losing for the first time since June 12. Colorado failed to win for the first time in Gray’s last 10 starts, leaving him even with Ubaldo Jimenez’s run in 2010 for the longest such streak in franchise history.
At least one Yuma Union High School District boys or girls cross-country runner has placed top-10 at state each of the last four years, and every year since 2004 except for 2013.
Last year, there were three: Cibola’s Thomas Cain (8th in Div. I), and Gila Ridge’s Christian DeBoard (2nd in Div. II) and Daniel Marquez (5th in Div. II). All three were seniors.
This year, the local high school running scene is without an established star, making for plenty of intrigue regarding who rises to the top of the city — particularly on the boys side.
All seven 2017 Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club AllRegion boys runners, including Runner of the Year Cain, were seniors. Cibola now-junior Jacob Avelar, who placed eighth at the YUHSD meet and 85th at the Division I state meet, and Gila Ridge now-senior Bryan Mendez (9th at YUHSD, 91st at Div. II state) are the only two boys back who placed both top-10 at YUHSD and top-100 at state.
Kofa now-senior Jose Valtierra finished 65th at the Division I state meet, and therefore belongs in the conversation for top returning boys runner as well.
“I think it’s just going to be a really interesting year in Yuma,” second-year Gila Ridge coach Caleb VanderBaan said. “A lot of guys are gone — the entire all-region team. I know Kofa has a couple of guys, Cibola has a couple, Bryan Mendez for us should be competing for the district title.”
Between Cain and Bernie Montoya (2010-12), Cibola has had a boys runner in the state-title conversation six of the past eight seasons.
“Each season kind of presents a new approach to it,” Raiders coach Kris Norton said. “In a way it’s a little less stressful when you don’t have a kid trying to win a state title. You can kind of focus on that team mentality.”
Norton is less interested in who emerges as the top boys runner in the area as he is the top team. Gila Ridge won the YUHSD boys team title last year, as well as in 201415; the Raiders took it in 2016.
“I think it’s going to be hard to tell,” Norton said. “I think it’s pretty open. Even San Luis could step up with some fast runners and change the picture, along with Kofa and Gila Ridge. Nobody is running any power runners up front.”
The girls picture is a little clearer, though as the case with the boys, there is no clear runner with top-10 state potential.
Four of last season’s all-region selections — including Runner of the Year Ashley Valenzuela, now a junior at Cibola — are back. Juniors Aylin Quintero and Kenia Zepeda also return for the Raiders, while Gila Ridge sophomore Hailey Faz rounds out of the group of four.
Cibola has won 10 straight district girls team titles and figures to be the heavy favorite again this year.
Here’s a closer look at the Cibola, Gila Ridge and Kofa crosscountry teams:
Cibola boys
Avelar is the Raiders’ clear top runner, followed by senior Julian Gutierrez, senior Jan Fortunato and junior Jaden Dulesky.
“After that, it opens up,” Norton said.
Only Avelar from that group did and/or took cross-country seriously last year, according to Norton.
“What happens is kids realize they have the opportunity to run top seven, and they pick up their training to another level,” he said.
The Raiders are the back-toback Division I Section III champ, but after realignment, their section now includes what Norton considers to be the top three programs in the state (Desert Vista, Highland and Corona del Sol).
“We’ll try to hold our own,” Norton said. “We plan on making a trip to the state meet (top half of