Montrose Park

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan MONTROSE PARK -- Verdugo Major Baseball All-Star Coach Jeremy Camacho isn't a confident man. Before Monday's game against Tujunga he expected his team to lose in the second chance bracket game of the Little League District 16 Tournament. Verdugo proved Camacho wrong as it defeated Tujunga 11-3 at Montrose Park. "I didn't expect to win this game, our team came out hitting and Heather Brusokas pitched very well," said Camacho.

MONTROSE ? At least they will have the chance to reverse course following a lopsided loss. That?s the approach the members of the Crescenta Valley 10- and 11-year-old All-Star Softball team will take if they want to keep their season alive. Crescenta Valley suffered a 19-7 loss to Quartz Hill in the championship contest of the Section 2 Tournament on Friday night at Montrose Park. Crescenta Valley, the District 16 champion, will meet Quartz Hill, which captured the District 51 crown, in the tournament?

Charles Rich MONTROSE -- G.P. Adrian said he's in charge when toeing the pitching mound. The Crescenta Valley Major Baseball player doesn't display an ounce of arrogance while sporting a quick release, which often leaves the hitter guessing like they are in a late stage of a tense chess match. Adrian showed the right moves, tossing a two-hitter to help CV post a 6-1 victory against Jewel City in a Little League District 16 winner's-bracket semifinal game at Montrose Park on Friday night.

Hamlet Nalbandyan So this is why they have a second-chance bracket. The Crescenta Valley 9- and 10-year-old Softball team ached at the chance of facing Arcadia American again, after the District 17 representative humbled the District 16 champions in the opening round of the Little League Section 2 Tournament at Montrose Park on Saturday. Coach Gilbert Salas' squad wanted just one more chance to show that they were indeed the same team that ran roughshod in the district tournament, outscoring its three opponents by 53 runs.

Hamlet Nalbandyan MONTROSE PARK -- After weeks of controversy, Crescenta Valley High School pitcher Meredith Cervenka set a CIF state record Wednesday at Montrose Park. Cervenka broke former La Canada High School star Lindsay Parker's record for most consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run in the Falcons' 2-1 victory in 13 innings over Newbury Park High School. Parker's record, set in the 1994 and 1995 seasons, was at 268 innings.

Charles Rich Only a canned beverage could keep Kris Kauppila's hands cold. It's a good thing that the Little League Major Baseball player decided to wait to drink the Hawaiian Punch after he turned in a red-hot offensive performance. Kauppila finished with four hits and scored four runs Wednesday to help the High Temp Metals produce an 18-2 victory against Pacific West in a Little League District 16 Major Baseball Tri-Cities Tournament winner's-bracket quarterfinal game that was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule at Tujunga Little League Field.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan Gangi Builders Major Baseball player Matt McKenzie ended any hopes of a Yankees' comeback in a span of a few seconds -- the amount of time it took for his second home run of the game to sail over the left-field fence. With his team clinging to a one-run lead in the fifth inning, McKenzie's three-run blast, his second of the season, gave Gangi a four-run cushion in a 7-4 Little League District 16 Tri-Cities Tournament quarterfinal victory at Montrose Park.

Spraying the ball around the diamond and cashing in on errors did a lot of good, to say the least, for the 9- and 10-year-old Foothill All-Stars softball team, which earned a 17-7 victory against Crescenta Valley in an elimination game of the Tri-Cities Little League District 16 All-Star Tournament on Wednesday night at Montrose Park. “When you can hit, things will happen,” Foothill co-manager Todd Fabian said. “As much as you can, you want to try and put the pressure on the other team.