El Segundo

Victoria Pitts-Creelman passed away in her sleep Jan. 30 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 38. Victoria was born July 18, 1966, in Philadelphia, Penn., and moved to California in 1967. A 1984 graduate of La Cañada High School, Victoria later moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where she worked as a corporate travel agent for World Travel. She loved to ski, ride horseback, scuba dive, sail and explore new places. She had a zest and a contagious joy for all of life. To know her was to be her friend.

BOYS' WATER POLO Crescenta Valley 11, El Segundo 10: Ricky Mulcahey and Chris Sherman each scored three goals Tuesday to lift the host Falcons (13-3) in a nonleague match. CV, ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division III, got two goals from Jin Kim and one each from Jay Kim, Nick Trimis and Steven Claessens. CV goalkeeper Sam Blum finished with two saves against El Segundo, ranked No. 2 in Division VI. Redlands 15, Crescenta Valley 6: Chris Sherman scored three goals and teammate Ricky Mulcahey added two on Monday for the Falcons in a pool-play match of the North Orange County Tournament.

It came down to one team for the La Crescenta Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars baseball team in the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament at Stevenson Park in El Segundo. All the locals had to do was beat El Segundo twice on Tuesday afternoon, first in the title game and then in the final to win the regional championship, which would have earned them a trip to the Babe Ruth World Series in Longview, Wash. next week. But it wasn't to be. El Segundo outlasted La Crescenta 11-9 in the championship game to win the regional title and advance to the World Series.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan The La Crescenta Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars still have one more game left in them. If Coach Joe Sember's baseball team has its way, it will make room for another. La Crescenta advanced to the championship game of the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament by defeating Bakersfield Southwest, 9-6, on Monday in the second-chance bracket final at El Segundo Recreation Park's Stevenson Field. -- BOX SCORE -- -- Bakersfield SW 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 -- 6 9 0 La Crescenta 1 1 5 1 1 0 x -- 9 11 4 -- -- Bakersfield SW IP H R ER BB K Hoyt 2.1 6 6 6 5 0 Valdez 2.2 4 3 3 2 1 Inman 1 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 6 11 9 9 7 2 -- -- La Crescenta IP H R ER BB K Costanzo 6 9 6 3 2 6 Klein 1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 7 9 6 3 2 6 -- -- WP-- Costanzo (2-0)

For La Crescenta Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars baseball team manager Joe Sember it's about as close to Deja Vu as one can get. His team, which won the District 4 state championship in its age group last week in Glendale, is now playing in the Pacific Southwest Regional at Stevenson Park in El Segundo. If Sember and his players have the funny feeling that they have been here before, it's because they have. "With a few changes, this is the same team that we took to the World Series in Quincy, Mass.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan The La Crescenta Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Star baseball team walked through the Southern California State Tournament, outscoring its three opponents, 30-9, en route to capturing the championship. Coach Joe Sember said he knows his squad is capable of having a similar showing in the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament, but he said he expects a much stiffer challenge. But it's a test that his experienced players are ready to challenge.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan They'll be scattered in El Segundo, Watsonville, Palmdale, and other parts of the country. But they'll have this in common: They'll be playing for championships. Local baseball and softball players are in the thick of their teams' postseason runs, which have sent them scurrying to make travel plans. The La Crescenta Babe Ruth 13-, 14- and 15-year-old baseball teams each advanced to the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament.

Erik Boal During its run to the Babe Ruth 14-year-old World Series last summer, the closest the La Crescenta All-Star baseball team came to being at home was an occasional practice at Dunsmore Park, or a few days rest in between tournaments. Before finishing third at the World Series in Quincy, Mass., La Crescenta had to win the Southern California State Tournament in Brawley and the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Murray, Utah, as the 13 players gave new meaning to the term "road warriors" during their successful five-week run. So, when the majority of the athletes who played on last year's squad agreed to get together again this summer to compete at the 15-year-old level, they were probably expecting to pack their bags for another series of grueling trips on the road to a potential berth in the World Series in Longview, Wash.

Charles Rich There's a behind-the-scenes story concerning the La Canada High boys' water polo team. It goes something like this: The Spartans have toppled opponents with a take-charge offense, but there's also a gritty defense that's on track to possibly help the Spartans win their first CIF Southern Section Division III championship since 1999. As an example, take a look at La Canada's convincing 12-2 victory Saturday against El Segundo in a quarterfinal match at Santa Monica High.

Charles Rich The widespread emotions suffocated Jan Sakonju. Logical explanations were presented by the Crescenta Valley High boys' water polo coach Thursday after the Falcons dropped a 14-13 decision in sudden-death overtime to El Segundo in a CIF Southern Section Division III match at Burroughs High. Especially when the Falcons (16-12) failed to protect a two-goal lead with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, and paid the price for their defensive shortcomings.