Baseball (3-2)
Breakers finished third in the Costa Mesa division of the Newport Elks Tournament with an 8-5 victory over Westminster in a contest played on Friday, March 9, at the loser’s field. Breakers blew a three-run lead and had to rally with a five-run fourth inning outburst to seal the game. Blake Hester and Robbie McInerny led Laguna with two hits each. Breakers lost out on a chance to defend their title. Segerstrom, ranked second in the latest CIF D-III poll, blasted the Breakers 12-1 on Wednesday, March 7, at Skipper Carrillo Field. The Jaguars rolled up 14 hits in the rout.
League play opens this Friday, March 16, when Laguna hosts league favorite Estancia (4-1). Calvary Chapel (5-0) is the other league team that could snap Laguna’s current 16-game league win streak.
Breakers travel to Calvary on Tuesday.
After five games, McInerny and Hester are the big bats this season while Laguna pitching has struggled.
Larry Stewart has been sidelined after having appendicitis and is due back early next month. Stewart hit for .385 last season and had a 1.73 earned run average over 24 innings pitched
Boys Golf (1-4, 1-1)
Calvary Chapel (3-1, 1-1) defeated the host Breakers 184-201 Monday at Aliso Creek.
Softball (4-2)
Laguna finished fifth in the recent Costa Mesa Softball Tournament last week. On Thursday, March 9, Laguna lost to eventual tournament champion Newport Harbor as the Tars won 8-3 at the winner’s field. Breakers came back on Saturday with a 14-11 win over Saddleback Valley Christian before shocking then undefeated Godinez 8-5. Haley Putnam had six strikeouts in the effort. Breakers continue their non-league schedule next week before beginning league play on March 27 hosting Estancia. Calvary Chapel (4-2) is expected to defend their title but Godinez and Laguna appear capable of stopping the Eagles. Estancia (2-7), Costa Mesa(0-6) and Saddleback don’t seem to be as competitive.
Boys Tennis (0-4)
Laguna lost 16-2 at Corona del Mar on March 7 and at home 15-3 to San Clemente on March 9. Breakers match with Dana Hills this past Monday was cancelled. League play opened on Tuesday with Estancia, clearly Laguna’s chief opponent in the Breakers quest to take their fourth straight league crown. Estancia (5-1) has not faced the same caliber of opponent as Laguna and last won the conference title in 2007.
Boys Volleyball (7-2)
Laguna lost to Dana Hills in the finals of the 26th annual Foothill Tournament this past weekend at Beckman High School. Laguna opened pool play on Friday defeating a tough Mission Viejo squad 25-23, 25-19 as Weston Barnes led the way with 11 kills and 10 digs. Breakers then cruised past St Bernard 25-12, 25-16, giving the bench ample play time. Jake Hexburg was the kill leader as 10 different players scored. In Friday’s nightcap, Laguna swept host Beckman 26-24, 25-19 in a rematch of last year’s CIF semifinals. Barnes had 13 kills while Austin Hillemann added 10 kills, two aces in the effort.
On Saturday, Laguna cruised past Sage Hill (SSCIF D-4 # 9) 25-16, 25-14 and Claremont (SSCIF D-3 # 5) 25-12, 25-19 before facing off against a tall athletic Capo Valley squad in the semifinals. Laguna battled back against the SSCIF D-2 #7 team 23-25, 25-18, 15-11 as Austin Hillemann led the way with 14 kills while Weston Barnes added 11 and Maxx McCarter added six kills on seven attempts. Jack Winn added 19 assists and Grif Fair 12.
In the finals, a tired Laguna squad fell 25-11, 25-20 to finish second for the second straight year.
This week the Breakers are in the 39th Annual Orange County Tournament seeded 5th and will face Dana Hills, Marina, and Fountain Valley in pool play at Fountain Valley on Friday, March 16. Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor and Santa Margarita are seeded # 1 thru # 4 in the 16-team tournament. Play concludes on Saturday at Edison.
SSCIF Poll for March 12: 1- Oak Park, 2 – Corona del Mar, 3 – Laguna Beach, 4 – Valencia/Valencia, 5 – Trabuco hills, 6 – Aliso Niguel, 7 – Capistrano Valley, 8 – San Juan Hills, 9 – Hart, 10 – Oaks Christian, Others: Irvine, El Toro, Hemet. NOTE: CdM stumbled to Oak Park last weekend in Poway losing 25-23, 25-21. The Eagles face little competition the rest of the season and should keep the # 1 seed into the playoffs.
