Monrovia

grantBasketball: Spartan girls outscore rival Wildcats, 13-2, in overtime to force first-place tie in Rio Hondo League standings.LA CA—ADA FLINTRIDGE -- For four quarters it was a nailbiter. For the last four minutes, it was one-sided dominance. The La Cañada High girls' basketball team, led by stellar efforts from Emmilee Ringelberg and Emily Ballard, held its archrival to just two points in overtime as the Spartans defeated visiting Monrovia, 63-52, in a crucial Rio Hondo League showdown on Friday night.

Charles Rich LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The La Canada High football team hasn't forgotten how to play a combative defense. Now if the Spartans can just maintain their health while swarming their opponents. La Canada opened defense of its Rio Hondo League championship with a stingy defense, which forced four turnovers en route to a 21-7 victory against visiting Monrovia. The Spartans (4-2, 1-0 in league) recovered a pair of fumbles deep in Monrovia territory to help set up two touchdowns, and extended the Spartans' winning streak to two against the Wildcats (1-4, 0-1 in league)

Julio Cortez In desperate need of a spark on Friday, the Glendale High softball team got a charge from its battery. Pitcher Jennifer Nazarian reached base on an error before catcher Dominique Gonzalez knocked her home with a two-out, walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning that propelled the Nitros to a 2-1 nonleague victory against visiting Monrovia. An inning earlier, Gonzalez, who went two for four, reached base as she got her first hit despite a diving stop by Monrovia shortstop Courtney Mihm with one out. Audrey Andrade followed with a double before an RBI single by Heather Brusokas tied the score, 1-1, as the Nitros (9-2)

Erik Boal All season long, the members of the La Canada High baseball team promised this would be the year. And so confident in their guarantee, the Spartans even made T-shirts to let the rest of the Rio Hondo League -- especially perennial thorns Temple City and Monrovia -- know their aspirations. On Thursday, those promises -- and T-shirts -- became a reality. -- BOX SCORE -- -- La Canada 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 -- 3 6 3 Monrovia 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -- 1 4 2 -- -- La Canada IP H R ER BB K Hibbs 7 4 1 0 6 9 -- -- Monrovia IP H R ER BB K Caudillo 6 5 3 2 3 7 Sechi 1 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 7 6 3 2 3 8 -- -- WP-- Hibbs (6-2)

Charles Rich Talk about leading a charmed life. That's what the members of the La Canada High baseball squad have done the past week. They've gone from alone in third place to a tie for second in the Rio Hondo League standings. The Spartans reached that level Wednesday with a 5-2 league win against visiting Monrovia. La Canada can take the next step Friday with a win at Temple City, which is in first place. -- BOX SCORE -- -- Monrovia 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 -- 2 3 3 La Canada 0 0 0 2 3 0 x -- 5 8 2 -- -- Monrovia IP H R ER BB K Parry 5 8 5 4 1 6 Sechi 1 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 6 8 5 4 1 7 -- -- La Canada IP H R ER BB K Hibbs 7 3 2 1 2 10 -- -- WP-- Hibbs (5-2)

Hamlet Nalbandyan LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The result is painful, but by no means fatal. The La Canada High baseball team lost to Temple City, 3-0, on Thursday in a Rio Hondo League game at home, making it the third time this season the Spartans fell on the wrong side of the score against the Rams. But believe it or not, Grant Vermillion's squad is in control of its own destiny as far as winning its first Rio Hondo League title goes -- or at least sharing a piece of it. Of course, it's not that easy.

Charles Rich It wasn't the right time for Alex Perez to become uncomfortable in one of his key at-bats of the season. Fortunately for the third baseman on the La Canada High baseball team, he didn't know if he was a respectable two-out hitter. He made a believer out of himself. Perez delivered a key bases-loaded single in the third inning to help lead the Spartans to a big 4-3 Rio Hondo League home victory against Monrovia on Tuesday. La Canada (14-10, 9-5 in league)

Charles Rich Matt Sprowles might have made the varsity team last year, but the chances of him performing probably would have been slim. So, Sprowles decided to play a full year at the junior varsity level with the idea of preparing him for life at the varsity level. So far, it appears as though the tall La Canada High baseball pitcher made the correct decision. Sprowles struck out two and scattered five hits in a complete-game performance to carry La Canada to a 6-1 Rio Hondo League road victory against Monrovia on Monday.

Charles Rich Here's a suggestion for St. Francis High: Have its athletic department hand out a volunteer athlete of the week award. Baseball pitcher Joe Sember would be an ideal candidate. Making his first start in nearly two years, Sember scattered three hits in five innings Wednesday to carry St. Francis to a 2-0 victory against host Monrovia in the third-place game of the Arcadia/Elks Tournament. -- BOX SCORE -- -- St. Francis 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 -- 2 5 2 Monrovia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 5 -- -- St. Francis IP H R ER BB K Sember Caldwell 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 Totals 7 3 0 0 3 6 -- -- Monrovia IP H R ER BB K Parry 7 5 2 1 1 10 -- -- WP-- Sember (1-0)

Charles Rich It's official: There's a degree of desperation for the La Canada High School football team. The players realize it. So does the coaching staff. After a miserable performance, in which La Canada dropped a 34-8 Rio Hondo League home game Thursday night to Monrovia, the Spartans have little time to turn things around. Rich Wheeler's hands are tied with the Spartans (2-6, 1-2 in league) closing out the regular-season portion of their schedule with games against South Pasadena and Temple City.