Holy Family

For some three decades Holy Family Grade School has presented its Fiesta Tropicale. In keeping with tradition, more than 1,000 families visited the fiesta between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, in spite of the drizzle. An early morning breakfast started the festivities, but it was the Scooby-Doo Bouncer and food booths in the school yard that attracted the crowds. Event co-chairwoman Brenda De Borja and her fundraising chairwoman Mary Avila stayed busy making sure that the tamales, tacos, beans, rice, churros and skewered meat were regularly replenished.

SAN GABRIEL — With two starters out for different reasons, the Holy Family softball team was forced to go to Plan B. That plan of attack didn't turn out well for the Gaels, who made seven errors en route to a 4-1 road loss against San Gabriel Mission on Tuesday afternoon in a Horizon League contest. Holy Family (3-4, 2-1 in league) competed without starting catcher Melanie Leyva because of a hand injury and left fielder Kiara Ardines (academics), forcing Holy Family Coach Greg Ziomek to insert players into new positions for the first time this season.

BURBANK - Both the Providence High and Holy Family girls' volleyball coaches praised the resiliency of their teams after the two squads took Thursday night's match to five games. Holy Family walked away feeling better about the contest after pulling out the victory, 26-24, 25-20, 16-25, 16-25, 15-10. Providence still had something to be proud of, though, fighting with its back against the wall, after dropping the first two games, to force a fifth game. Pioneers Coach Josh Eggleston said his team lost because it didn't play up to its ability from the beginning.

GLENDALE — With the Southern Section divisional playoff brackets released by the CIF offices on Sunday, the girls' volleyball teams from Holy Family High , Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Crescenta Valley now have a roadmap for their respective playoff journeys that will begin on Tuesday. Holy Family, which captured the Horizon League championship this season, will host Santa Clarita Christian in the opening round of the Division 4-A playoffs at 4 p.m. at Providence High.

GLENDALE — For the second straight season, the Holy Family softball team qualified for the postseason. In doing so, the Gaels counted on a reliable core of juniors to accomplish that feat. While the quartet of Rachel Turner, Elena Lomeli, Aurora Aguirre and Jennifer Rodriguez expected to be a large part of the team again next season, they'll each have something to build on after securing All-Horizon League honors for helping the Gaels go 9-7 and 6-2 in league for second place.

SOUTHWEST GLENDALE — Right from the start, things clicked for the members of the Holy Family volleyball team. And they couldn’t have picked a better time for it to happen, as their stellar play led to them clinching a playoff spot. Holy Family received nine kills and 20 digs from sophomore outside hitter Ashlee Sandoval on its way to recording a 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 Horizon League victory against visiting San Gabriel Mission on Tuesday afternoon at Pacific Park Community Center.

PANORAMA CITY — The Holy Family girls' volleyball team wasted little time getting acclaimated to the playoffs. The Gaels stormed out of the gate on the way to sweeping St. Genevieve, 25-9, 25-10, 25-12, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs at St. Genevieve High School. "A win is a win wherever it happens," said Holy Family Coach Robert Bringas, whose squad was forced to play a scheduled home game on the road because of a venue issue.

The Holy Family softball team pulled off a stunning upset in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs. The Gaels defeated host Calabasas Viewpoint, 4-1, on Friday, advancing to the second round, where they'll face another stiff test in Santa Maria Valley Christian Academy, the Coast Valley League champion. Holy Family (12-5) finished runner-up in the Horizon League to Sierra Madre Alverno, but Raymond Rosas' squad had no problem disposing of Liberty League champion Viewpoint (14-5)

LOS ANGELES - That the Holy Family High School softball team qualified for the playoffs is a victory unto itself. Considering there are no seniors on the Gaels' team and only one junior, that's a whole lot of freshmen and sophomores taking the field. Thus, there may indeed be a silver lining underneath Tuesday afternoon's postseason loss. “I know because I've seen it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year how they've progressed in so many ways,” said Holy Family sophomore shortstop Ginnes Paladini.

Two local softball teams will participate in the CIF Southern Section playoffs after the CIF office unveiled its playoff pairings Monday. Crescenta Valley High and Holy Family will have little time to prepare for their postseason contests, as both the Falcons and Gaels will take part in wild-card games Tuesday. Crescenta Valley (14-10-1) will make the short trip to Pasadena to face La Salle (12-12-1) in a Division III contest at 3:15 p.m. Holy Family (6-14) will host Frazier Mountain (14-7)

SOFTBALL Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy 11, Louisville 1 (five innings): The host Tologs picked up a Mission League victory Thursday. The games was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule. Flintridge Sacred Heart improved to 10-11-2 and 1-7 in league. San Gabriel Mission 8, Holy Family 2: The Gaels fell Thursday in an Horizon League road contest. Holy Family dropped to 6-13 and 3-4 in league with one league game remaining Tuesday at Alverno. The Gaels are in third place in league.

BURBANK - With four double plays, three home runs and more than 30 runs scored, Tuesday's nonleague softball game between Holy Family and Providence provided its share of wild moments. However, the most thrilling moments of the contest came in the later innings, as well as in extra innings, as the Gaels and Pioneers tried to settle things in the game at Olive Park. While both teams saw their pitchers struggle, it was finally Holy Family that was able to take advantage of its opportunities down the stretch, as the Gaels scored nine runs in the eighth inning to walk away with a 22-14 victory.

GLENDALE - Less than 20 minutes into his team's nonleague game against Holy Family, Hoover High softball Coach Rich Henning looked at his assistant coach and told her that he wanted to win with class. Henning and his players didn't want to embarrass the Gaels. The Tornadoes scored 10 runs in the first inning before taking intentional outs by leaving the bases early in the second inning. All 10 Hoover batters scored at least one run - with six players scoring at least twice - in a 23-0 home victory.

A season ago, the Flintridge Prep girls' basketball team went 7-18 and received a surprising at-large bid into the playoffs. Thus, the turnaround orchestrated by first-year co-coaches Kevin Kiyomura and Jayme Kiyomura-Chan has been rather impressive. Evidence to that came Sunday, when the Rebels, after posting a 16-7 record and a second-place finish in the Prep League, were granted the No. 4 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 5-AA playoffs. “I'm very happy,” said Kiyomura, whose team will host California Military in Thursday's first round at 7 p.m. “Granted, we don't know a whole lot about California Military, but we're really excited about getting in [to the playoffs]

GIRLS' BASKETBALL Bishop Conaty-Loretto 33, Holy Family 23 : Charise Talaro had 11 points Thursday for the visiting Gaels in an Horizon League game. Holy Family dropped to 2-9, 0-2 in league. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Glendale Community College 52, Citrus College 49 (OT) : Olivia Ochoa finished with 17 points and Lana Hadad contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists Wednesday for the visiting Vaqueros in a Western State Conference opener. Glendale improved to 5-12.

LOS ANGELES - The Holy Family girls' basketball team suffered through a horrendous shooting performance in the first half of its Horizon League opener Thursday afternoon against Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a result, the Gaels fell behind by nine. However, it appeared Holy Family was poised to pull out if its shooting funk early in the third quarter when it converted its first three shots from the field and cut the deficit to six. But the Gaels followed the three makes with five straight misses and the Comets took full advantage.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - For most of its nonleague game Thursday night, the Flintridge Prep girls' basketball team resembled a wall near midcourt. The Rebels had several of their players at center court, daring Holy Family to dribble past them. Flintridge Prep forced numerous turnovers and turned them into baskets. Flintridge Prep recorded 10 steals en route to a 55-23 home victory against Holy Family. “We can't be stagnant, so we have to play good defense and move the ball around,” said Flintridge Prep senior center Kinsey Thompson, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to help the Rebels (6-2)

EAGLE ROCK - The Holy Family girls' basketball team didn't want to talk about its 32-point loss in its season-opening game. But it had plenty to talk about after its second game of the season. The Gaels recovered from their loss with a dominating performance against an eight-member St. Monica Academy squad that consists of five freshmen and three juniors. Holy Family forced 38 turnovers, tallied 21 steals and received a game-high 22 points from Charise Talaro in a 61-16 nonleague victory Thursday at the Eagle Rock Recreational Center.