Bats

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Anything less than a win wasn't going to be acceptable for the Glendale High softball team. The Nitros were reeling from two straight losses when they finally got back on track with a commanding 11-1 win over Los Angeles High at home in the final game of a double-header with the Romans as part of the Lincoln High Tournament Saturday. "We needed this," Glendale Coach Christine Paknik said. "They've got to realize they have to do this every game. It has to happen every inning.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Quieting the bats of the Crescenta Valley Landry's Minor Baseball team is no easy task, but one that the Vaquero Cougars were up to nonetheless. Behind 4 2/3 strong innings from starter Geo Ceballos, in which the right-hander allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out nine, the Cougars opened their Tri-Cities District 16 Tournament of Champions run with a 3-2 win Wednesday afternoon at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields. "It's always tough against CV, they're always the No. 1 team to come out of this area," Cougars Coach Mickey Moreno said of Landry's, which had scored a combined 38 runs in its previous two tournament contests.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Amid a slow start to the season, scoring some runs and taking an early lead over visiting Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy on Thursday certainly qualified as a breakthrough for the Glendale High softball team. Unfortunately for the Nitros, the nonleague affair was much more of a breakout day for the Tologs’ own recently quiet bats, which rapped out 13 hits in a 14-2 victory shortened to six innings by the mercy rule. Coming off two shutout losses to open the season and a 2-1 win over Flintridge Prep on Tuesday, Thursday’s output may be a sign the Tologs are gaining confidence at the plate.

PASADENA — Whether the St. Francis High baseball team’s bats stay hot and its pitching steady when Mission League play rolls around next week remains in question, obviously. But for now, the Golden Knights are rolling, having dismantled their last two opponents, including Tuesday afternoon’s 12-3 pummeling of visiting Sierra Vista in an Arcadia Elks Tournament contest at Jackie Robinson Field. “Every game, we get better and better,” said St. Francis junior designated hitter Ryan Pires, who was one of five Golden Knights with multiple hits.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Riding a six-game winning streak and hitting the ball hard all over the field, the Crescenta Valley High baseball team is spending its spring break heating up. The Falcons bats were white hot over their final two offensive innings of Wednesday’s closing game of the 44th annual Babe Herman Tournament, pounding out 14 runs on nine hits in that span to bury Jesuit, 19-9, in what had been a close game through four-plus...

NORTHEAST GLENDALE ? Struggles at the dish were the main reason the Glendale Community College baseball team started its 2007 campaign winless in its first four games. A quick start and a seemingly endless hit parade on Thursday were the reasons the Vaqueros got their first win of the season. Glendale college nearly doubled its offensive output in its previous four games in the first four innings before fending off Mt. SAC for a 7-4 win in the Western State Conference Tournament on a chilly, overcast day at Stengel Field.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Both the Burroughs and Crescenta Valley high baseball teams entered Tuesday night’s Pacific League bout swinging hot bats, with each club averaging over 13 runs in its previous five contests. At the end of the night, only the Indians were able to keep that trend going. Burroughs junior right-hander Kyle Hart tossed a one-hit, complete-game gem to silence the lethal Falcons attack and the Indians pounded out 10 hits, including two towering home runs, to grab a pivotal 6-2 victory over the Falcons at Stengel Field.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Crescenta Valley Junior Softball Coach Chris Sanford said his team hasn’t had much time to build onfield chemistry since the District 16 Championship Tournament began. But things had clearly started to jell for CV on Wednesday at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields, when it held a powerful Burbank team that had defeated it by 10 runs on Tuesday to just three runs, winning, 4-3, to force a winner-take-all rematch tonight. “Tonight all the girls started playing as a unit and all the dumb-dumb plays — the shot nerves, running into each other on called balls, watching third strikes — that was out of their system and they came focused, ready to play,” Sanford said.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — While Coach Dave “Hawk” Wilder says his Glendale Community College softball team is still a work in progress, progress was certainly made in some areas during Thursday’s 8-6 win over Bakersfield College in both teams’ Western State Conference Southern Division opener at the Glendale Sports Complex. The Vaqueros’ bats came alive in a four-run third inning and a three-run fourth that gave freshman pitcher Jennifer Meza enough support to hold off the Renegades for a complete-game win. “We’ve gotten better as time goes on and we picked it up today,” said Meza, who allowed five runs on 11 hits.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Chris Cictuo looked for a walk-off suicide squeeze bunt to win the game for his Glendale Community College baseball team Saturday. Instead, the Vaqueros got a game-ending grand slam from Julian Jarrard in the bottom of the 10th inning of a 5-3 victory over San Diego Mesa in the first game of the best-of-three first-round series of the Southern California Regional Saturday at Stengel Field. "His first one came at a great time," said Cicuto of Jarrard's first home run of the season, which silenced teammates who had been poking fun at him for being the only Vaquero in the starting lineup without a bomb.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE - After taking an early lead in the first inning, the Crescenta Valley High softball team took complete control in the second Thursday afternoon at Hoover. The Falcons pounded out 12 runs on 13 hits, led by Hannah Cookson's three-for-four, three-RBI day, and rode a one-hit performance in the circle from Olivia Thayer to a 12-1 Pacific League win shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. "I thought they did a really good job given the emotion of last week and coming into this week before spring break," said Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Samford, whose team (8-4)

ARCADIA - A potent offense registering 12 hits overcame costly errors late in the game for the St. Francis High baseball squad in the opening game of the Apache Invitational Saturday morning at Arcadia High. After giving up two game-tying runs in the fifth inning on two errors, the Golden Knights rebounded to re-take the lead in the sixth and opened the floodgates in the seventh en route to a 9-4 win over West Covina in pool play. “When we took a 2-0 lead early, we went into a lull,” Golden Knights interim Coach Aaron Milam said.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Anything less than a win wasn't going to be acceptable for the Glendale High softball team. The Nitros were reeling from two straight losses when they finally got back on track with a commanding 11-1 win over Los Angeles High at home in the final game of a double-header with the Romans as part of the Lincoln High Tournament Saturday. "We needed this," Glendale Coach Christine Paknik said. "They've got to realize they have to do this every game. It has to happen every inning.

ARCADIA — After facing arguably one of the toughest lineups he will go against this season, Glendale High pitcher Jason Marquez was satisfied with his effort Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for Marquez, he didn't receive much offensive support. "I just wanted to go out there and be able to compete," said Marquez, who allowed eight hits while going the distance in a 5-0 Pacific League road defeat against Arcadia. "They have a good team and lineup and it was a good test. "I felt like if I could keep it close, then we would have a chance because they have been rolling us for the last few years.

COLLEGE BASEBALL Glendale Community College 14, Citrus 2: Two days after a shutout loss to Citrus, the Vaqueros offense blew up for a Western State Conference South Division victory on the road Thursday. GCC (16-6, 6-2 in the division) was led by sophomore Cory Popham on the mound. Popham struck out seven and walked two in seven innings to pick up the win. Glendale's Chris Stroh and Cameron Gardner had triples, while Julian Jarrad had a pair of doubles and Trevor Trinidad and Edgar Montes also had doubles.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - At the onset of what could play out as a pivotal week for the Glendale Community College baseball team, the Vaqueros had the misfortune of running into Citrus starter Mikey Ramirez. The sophomore left-hander out of West Covina High was on his game and then some, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning on his way to a four-hit shutout in the Owls' 3-0 victory over GCC on Tuesday afternoon at Stengel Field in a Western State Conference South Division tilt.

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Sako Chapjian (Hoover, 2008) junior, Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball : Fresh off a history making run with Glendale Community College last season, the former Tornado has wasted no time in coming up clutch for Cal State Dominguez Hills. Chapjian announced his presence with a two-run home run in his very first at bat for the Toros, sending a one-out shot to left-center field in the first inning of an 8-7 season-opening victory Friday.

Animal control officers have discovered the first rabid bat in Los Angeles County this year. They captured the bat inside a residential garage in the Sand Canyon area of the Santa Clarita Valley on Jan. 30. The Department of Veterinary Public Health confirmed that no one was exposed to rabies, according to a KTLA report. Health officials say most bats don't carry rabies, but they recommend avoiding the creatures. -- KTLA-TV

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - The Glendale Community College softball team might have found itself a bona fide clean-up hitter in Jennifer Nguyen. Glendale college Coach Dave "Hawk" Wilder said Nguyen's ability to be selective and work deep counts will likely help stabilize the lineup. Nguyen had three hits, drove in a pair of runs and stole home Friday night to lead Glendale to a 6-5 victory against Grossmont in a pool-play contest of the seventh annual Vaquero Softball Classic at the Glendale Sports Complex.