Bats

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Danny Casey (Glendale Community College, 2009) Concordia University, Irvine baseball, senior : Casey and Concordia stayed hot on their biggest stage thus far, opening up National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series play with an impressive 7-2 victory over Faulkner University on Friday morning in Lewiston, Ida. The La Crescenta resident went two for three with three runs scored, was hit by a pitch, reached on an error and stole a base.

LAKE ARROWHEAD — With a blast into the thin mountain air, Flintridge Prep's Denise van der Goot gave the Rebels and their faithful reason to believe a comeback was possible. And when Ashley Kim let fly on another blast that traveled deep into right field, the Rebels and their fans once again were lifted from their seats. Only this time, Kim's blast came up short, as did the Rebels in a 3-1 loss to host Rim of the World on Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Danny Casey (Glendale Community College, 2009) senior, Concordia University baseball: The La Crescenta resident played a role in helping the Eagles advance to the Avista-National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, for the first time since 2006. Concordia received a three-run homer from designated hitter Bryan Nicholson to record a 4-2 win against third-seeded host California Baptist on Saturday in the title game of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round Riverside Bracket.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — After remaining a swing or two away from evening things up for most of the game and confident that the 7-1 final score doesn't quite tell the complete story of Friday afternoon's loss to Cypress College in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. regional playoffs, the members of the Glendale Community College baseball team are ready to close the book on an underwhelming postseason opener. The Vaqueros could never get much going against Cypress College pitcher Tommy Nance during what remained a pitchers' duel for eight compelling innings before, to cap off the frustrating afternoon, they surrendered five runs in the top of the ninth inning to scuttle their own chances of an 11th-hour rally.

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.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Jesse Meaux (Glendale High, 2007) senior, UC Santa Barbara baseball: Against a formidable foe in seventh-ranked Cal State Fullerton, the former Nitros standout pitched into the eighth, giving up just two earned runs, but taking a hard-luck 3-2 loss Friday. Meaux tossed 7 1/3 innings, allowing just five hits and three runs (two earned). He walked two and struck out two, also. Despite Meaux's performance, the loss set an ominous tone for the Gauchos, who were swept in the Big West Conference series and have lost four overall, dropping to 14-16 overall and 2-4 in conference.

WOODLAND HILLS — Glendale Community College's baseball team must have been able to taste the Western State Conference Southern Division title coming into Saturday's road game against L.A. Pierce. Glendale was on a five-game winning streak, including a huge win over Pierce on Thursday, and had beaten the Brahmas in both of the teams' previous meetings this year. Saturday's winner would earn sole possession of first place in the division, as both squads were tied for first coming into the game.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Heather Brusokas (Glendale High, 2006) senior, Davenport University softball: A hot streak at the plate is quickly turning into a season-long tour de force for the former Nitros standout. For the second consecutive week, the talented shortstop was bestowed the honor of being the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Week. For the previous week, Brusokas hit .444 and extended her hitting streak to 15 games, when it was broken.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE — Both La Cañada and Hoover high's baseball teams came into Monday's game at La Cañada desperate for a win. The Tornadoes had dropped their last four games and the Spartans were on a five-game losing streak. The game's two starters, Hoover's Anthony Cuccinelo and La Cañada's Brendon Shoemake, were both determined to get their clubs back in the win column, as the nonleague contest quickly turned into a pitchers' duel. La Cañada scratched out what proved to be the difference-maker in the second inning when Cuccinelo issued a bases-loaded walk, bringing home Shoemake who started off the inning with a double.

GLENDALE — Freddy Sanchez was unable to keep his six-game postseason hitting streak going on Thursday night, but with his San Francisco Giants teammates feasting on an implosion by the Texas Rangers bullpen for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, it hardly mattered. One night after going four for five in Game One with a major league-record three doubles in his first three World Series plate appearances, the former Burbank High and Glendale Community College standout went hitless in five at bats in Game Two, which the Giants won, 9-0, to take a 2-0 series lead.