SPRING SPORTS UPDATE
BASEBALL (10-11-1, 4-4)
Laguna’s slim play-off hopes came down to the final league contest played this past Thursday at Skipper Carrillo Field. The Breakers needed a victory over Edison (8-0, 15-9) or a loss by Newport Harbor (3-5, 10-15) in their contest at Marina. The Sailors and Vikings split the first two meetings, with Marina winning 5-4 and the Sailors taking the next encounter this past Tuesday 7-6, so the final game could go either way.
April 19: Breakers 9, Marina 2 at Skipper Carrillo Field
The Breakers used a six-run in the second inning to jump over the Vikings in game two of the three-game series. Shea Blanchard went five innings as pitcher allowing no runs, three hits and striking out eight. Griffin Noah Neufeld had two hits in the game.
April 21: Laguna 2, Marina 1 at Marina HS
Joey Capobianco got the win in the 2-1 victory and sweep of the Vikings. Both teams were held to five hits, and the Breakers were lucky their three errors did not prevent the win.
April 25: Edison 2, Laguna 1 at Edison HS
Another tough outing for pitcher Griffin Naess as Laguna dropped a competitive contest at the Charger’s field. No runs were earned as Laguna made two errors and Edison three. Two errors by Edison in the third inning allowed Capobianco to score in an inning that was close to getting away from the Chargers.
Season Leaders (22 games):
Batting Average: .302 – Colin Kidd
Hits: 19 – Kidd
Runs: 11 – Kidd, Noah Neufeld
RBIs: 11 – Griffin Naess
2B: 7 – Joey Capobianco
HR: 2 – Capobianco
Innings Pitched: 42.2 – Shea Blanchard
ERA: 0.18 – Griffin Naess (39 innings)
Strikeouts: 57 – Blanchard
Full player and team stats are posted on MaxPreps.com.
BOYS GOLF (3-11, 0-5)
On April 19, Newport Harbor defeated Laguna 179-214 at Mesa Linda in Costa Mesa in a Sunset Wave League contest. Russell Franconi-Krychman and freshman Kiyan Arshadi posted the low scores for Laguna, both shooting 40.
On April 24, the Breakers lost a non-league match to Edison 198-239 on the Los Lagos course at Costa Mesa Country Club, par 37. Russell Franconi-Krychman posted the low score for Laguna with a 42.
The following day, Los Alamitos took Laguna 205-234 in a league match at El Niguel, a par 36 course. Junior Russell Franconi-Krychman led the Breakers with a 43, and Evan Kretschmer was the Breakers #2 golfer with a 46.
GIRLS LACROSSE (7-5, 0-3)
Laguna still played well but just could get the victory at Huntington Beach on April 20, losing 11-5 to the Oilers (11-4). On April 25, the Breakers battled but lost 8-5 to Los Alamitos (7-7) at Guyer Field.
GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL (8-4, 3-3) – Sunset Surf League Second Place
Laguna opened the first D1 SSCIF Beach Championships facing #2 seed Redondo Union (8-2) on April 27 at Redondo. Twenty-one teams qualified for the D1 bracket, with the Breakers seeded directly into the round of 16. Quarterfinals are May 2, Semis on May 6.
BOYS TENNIS (1-15, 0-6)
The team match season concluded with a 13-5 loss to Newport Harbor, winning five sets in doubles. The league individual tournament was held this past week.
SWIMMING
League finals were held this past week at Golden West College – results next week. The SSCIF meet will be at Mission Viejo Marguerite Aquatics Center on May 4 to 6.
TRACK and FIELD (0-3 – Sunset Wave League)
Laguna hosted the league finals on Friday, April 28 – results next week. Huntington Beach is the favorite for the Boys’ title, while Corona del Mar and Huntington will fight it out for Girls’ top honors. The league meet event champions automatically qualify for CIF, and the second-place finisher can advance if they meet the qualifying standard for their enrollment-based division. SSCIF prelims for Laguna are on May 6 at Yorba Linda, and the SSCIF finals are May 13 at Moorpark High School in Ventura County.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL (5-17, 1-5 3rd Place Sunset Wave League)
Breakers continued to bond as a team finishing the season with sweeps of playoff-bound Marina (16-14) and Garden Grove (22-9). Against the Vikings on Wednesday, April 19, Laguna blocked the visitors off the court with five solo blocks and 16 block assists with the 25-16, 25-16, 25-16 sweep. Laird Garcia led the team with 10 kills and four solo blocks, while Jake Mauro had seven kills and 12 digs. Kai Patchell was also effective, with nine kills and a solo block.
Against Golden West League champ Garden Grove, Garcia and Patchell were too much for the Argonauts in the 25-11, 25-17, 27-25 win at the loser’s gym on April 21. Garcia had 16 kills and Patchell 10 in the middle attack. Parker Gapp collected three aces in sharp serving, with Silas Richland collecting 35 assists for the game.
2023 Season Statistical Leaders:
Kills: 146 – Jake Mauro, 131 – Laird Garcia, 123 – Logan Ribarich
Kill % 44.6% – Laird Garcia
Hitting % .337 – Laird Garcia
Solo Blocks: 11 – Laird Garcia, 10 – Kai Patchell
Net Blocks: 32.0 – Laird Garcia
Service Aces: 23 – Kai Patchell
Points: 89 – Jake Mauro
Serving %: 90% – Parker Gapp
Digs: 154 – Jake Mauro
Set Assists: 331 – Silas Richland
The 2022-23 High School statistics, schedules and scores can be found by checking Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website. Frank Aronoff can be reached at [email protected].
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