Bats

MONTROSE — It was painful enough for Jason Chang while he recovered from a non-related baseball injury that caused him to miss the first half of the season. The Crescenta Valley Major All-Star baseball player suffered the setback in January and needed several months for his broken left wrist to heal. Now, he's back at full strength and showing no signs of the injury nagging him. Chang came through with a career-type performance Wednesday night, as he hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to spark Crescenta Valley to a 17-1 victory against Tujunga in the District 16 championship game at Montrose Park.

MONTROSE — The Crescenta Valley 10-11 baseball team did in the District 16 10-11 championship game what it had done all tournament, as it put up plenty of runs and just as many zeros when it was in the field. In Tuesday's finale against Burbank, Crescenta Valley's dominant effort on offense and defense resulted in a mercy-rule call and the squad punching a ticket to the Section 2 Tournament. "We have a potent offense, and we hit the ball better than anything else," said Crescenta Valley Coach David Mulcahey after the team's 15-1 title-clinching win at Montrose Park.

GLENDALE — Down to its last out, the Crescenta Valley 10-11 Softball All-Star team looked for a spark. Trailing by a large deficit, Crescenta Valley wished to steer clear from having a perfect game thrown against it during an opening-round contest of the Section 2 Tournament against Quartz Hill on Saturday morning. Crescenta Valley thwarted Quartz Hills' perfect-game bid, though it suffered a 13-0 loss in a game called after four innings because of the 10-run mercy rule at Canyon Country Little League Field.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Before delivering her biggest pitch of the season, Alli Lombardo checked the runners standing on all three bases and took three deep breaths. Lombardo and the members of the Crescenta Valley 9-10 Softball All-Star team had arrived on the doorstep of winning a championship and extending their season for at least another round. With every ounce of energy, Lombardo's last pitch led to instant celebration after a brief scare. Lombardo got a fly ball to shallow center field for the final out and helped Crescenta Valley notch a 6-4 victory against Burbank in the District 16 All-Star Tournament championship game on Tuesday night at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes in minor league baseball. Fernando Valenzuela Jr. (St. Francis High, 2000) designated hitter, Leones de Yucatan: Valenzuela has started his season out on the right foot, leading his team in batting average. Sixty-eight games into the season, he's hitting .362 (85 for 235), which is also tied for seventh best in the Mexican League. The St. Francis and Glendale Community College product has hit 18 doubles, six homers, a triple and driven in 44 runs this season.

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.

TUJUNGA — From top to bottom, there appear to be no easy outs in the Crescenta Valley Landry's Major Baseball team's lineup. In two games of the Tri-Cities District 16 Tournament of Champions, Landry's has shown how resourceful it can be. Whether it's recording an infield hit or a home run, they are prepared to make things tough on their opponent. The latest chapter came Monday night, as Landry's pounded out 17 hits en route to a 21-3 victory against the Tujunga Red Sox in an elimination game at Tujunga Little League Field.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Lonnie Kauppila (Crescenta Valley High, 2008) Stanford baseball, freshman: Kauppila, a former two-time All-Area Baseball Player of the Year, recently helped Stanford sweep through the Cal State Fullerton Regional and advance to the Super Regional for the eighth time in the program's history. On Friday, Kauppila and the Cardinal looked to continuing their winning ways. Unfortunately for the unseeded Cardinal, it suffered its first playoff loss.

GLENDALE — At a glance, the evening practices that have occupied Stengel Field recently resemble any other that typically take place on the venerable field, which is home to high school and junior college baseball contests throughout the year. But to the ear, it's quickly clear that something different is afoot. As the Glendale Angelenos take batting practice, the crisp, satisfying crack of wood bat meeting rawhide echoes around the yard — replacing the shrill ping of aluminum — a sure sign that California Collegiate League baseball, as promised, has arrived in Glendale.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Kassy Uchida (Burbank High, 2010) Utah State softball, freshman: Uchida was on a tear coming into the month of May, then she suffered a concussion in practice. She sat out a three-game series against the University of Nevada to open the month, but didn't miss a beat once she got back out on the field. The freshman's batting average kept increasing all season and stopped at .346 (53 for 153)