Bats

TUJUNGA -- A steady stream of offensive production can do plenty to boost a player's confidence, and perhaps lead them to succeed in other aspects on the baseball field. Coach Rick Dickerson believes this to be particularly true about his 13- and 14-year-old players on the Foothill Junior All-Star baseball team. After all, it was Foothill's four-run opening inning that ignited a 12-8 win Sunday afternoon over Tujunga in the second-chance bracket of the District 16 Tournament at Tujunga Little League Fields.

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 — With extra-base hits aplenty and power pitching to boot, Crescenta Valley High's baseball team flexed its might against host Glendale. Behind big contributions from Elliott Surrey and Terry Ha at the plate, among others, and a standout performance on the mound from Troy Mulcahey, the Falcons thumped the Nitros, 11-0, in Tuesday afternoon's Pacific League tilt at Glendale High. "It should be a game that we pound the ball and work on some things," said Surrey, who went three for five with four runs batted in and two runs scored.

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.

COMPTON - Arroyo Seco Saints Coach Aaron Milam said his team thrives when it plays on emotion after it won its first game facing elimination Saturday. Milam found out just a few hours later that his team doesn't do well playing angry, as it saw its season end in a 10-0 mercy-rule loss in a much-anticipated and heated rematch with Chinese Taipei in the 2012 Palomino League World Series at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton. The Saints left a total of seven runners on base (five in scoring position)

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a vandal who used a metal baseball bat Saturday to smash windows and scratch up seven vehicles parked on Graynold Avenue. The vehicles were parked about 11 p.m. in the neighborhood between the 800 and 1200 blocks of Graynold Avenue and sustained scratches, dents and shattered mirrors and windows, according to Glendale police reports. “It is unknown who this individual is, what the purpose is or what the reason,” police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - First the Burbank 10-11 Baseball All-Stars made it easier on pitcher Blake Traxel, scoring three runs in support of the right-hander before he even took the mound in Tuesday evening's District 16 championship game at Scholl Canyon Park. Then Traxel simply made it look easy, holding Crescenta Valley's lineup in check over the next five innings of Burbank's 7-0 victory that propelled it into the Section 2 Tournament on Saturday. "The pitching was there, we had timely hits, timely defense, it was an all-around great game," said Burbank Coach Thomas Magoon, whose team will open Section 2 play at 4 p.m. Saturday at Arcadia Little League against District 17-champion Sierra Madre.

TUJUNGA -- A steady stream of offensive production can do plenty to boost a player's confidence, and perhaps lead them to succeed in other aspects on the baseball field. Coach Rick Dickerson believes this to be particularly true about his 13- and 14-year-old players on the Foothill Junior All-Star baseball team. After all, it was Foothill's four-run opening inning that ignited a 12-8 win Sunday afternoon over Tujunga in the second-chance bracket of the District 16 Tournament at Tujunga Little League Fields.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Though his first three at-bats, Glendale Angelenos lead-off batter Scott Hong had turned in a less-than-stellar performance in the summer collegiate baseball opener Tuesday night at Stengel Field. Hong had failed to hit the ball out of the infield in his first three plate appearances before connecting on consecutive run-scoring singles, the second plating teammate Matthew Tellesco with the winning run in the 10th inning of the Angelenos' 6-5 win over the visiting East Los Angeles Dodgers.

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.