Edison remains in softball league title hunt

Edison High pitcher Samantha Cordova, left, high fives catcher Jessica Plaza, right, after closing out the top of sixth inning against Fountain Valley. (Kevin Chang)

Edison stayed in a share of the Sunset League softball lead by picking up a victory Tuesday and Ocean View scored a key road win to take hold of sole possession of first place in the Golden West League.

Edison was a 5-2 winner over rival Fountain Valley. The Chargers, ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, used home runs by Maddy Hickman and Jessica Plaza, and two hits apiece from sisters Karley and Ali Wester to get the win. Junior Sammy Cordova went the distance, struck out eight and improved to 20-3.

“We overcame some adversity in the beginning to grind out the victory,” said Coach Josh Musselman, whose Chargers fell behind, 2-0, but came back to run their record to 21-3 and 6-1 in league and stay tied for first place with Los Alamitos.

Brenda Bott’s two-run home run in the top of the second inning gave Fountain Valley (17-9, 3-4) a 2-0 lead. Emily Brucelas (double), Khailey Campos (double), Tara Robinson, Cerissa Rivera, Kelli Tatum and Madi Perez also had hits for the Barons.

Marina improved to 4-3 in league and 14-9 overall Tuesday by routing Newport Harbor, 8-1. Samantha Agamaite went two for three with a double and sophomore Tera Blanco, who is nursing a bad back, struck out nine to run her record to 12-5.

For more photos, click here.

–Mike Sciacca, @MikeSciacca, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Edison remains in softball league title hunt”

UCI volleyball player Tillie in own orbit

Kevin Tillie leads top-seeded UC Irvine against No. 4 seeded Penn State in a semifinal of the NCAA Championship Thursday at 6 p.m. at USC's Galen Center. (DON LEACH)

Even in board shorts and a T-shirt, Kevin Tillie raises eyebrows in his Newport Beach neighborhood, navigating somewhat skittishly along the cultural shore break that sometimes renders him a hopeless outsider.

“I’m getting better [with the cultural differences], but I still get people who recognize me and ask me ‘Where are you from?’ or a random ‘You’re not from around here,’” said Tillie, a native of France in his first season with the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team.

His mildly discernible accent often gives him away, and prompts kidding from teammates who refer to him as [French] toast, Jean Pierre, or the less-provincial Tillie.

It is, however, when he takes the court that the 6-foot-5 outside hitter most noticeably separates himself from his peers. It is, oddly, within the confines of college volleyball that the high-flying Tillie orbits increasingly apart.

“Oh my God, he’s unreal,” said Tillie’s UCI teammate, Connor Hughes, who recalls first witnessing the rather unique athleticism that made the transfer from Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada an instant commodity on his recruiting visit to Irvine.

“He came with us to hit some balls in the gym one morning and just started crushing balls,” Hughes said. “We were all like, ‘We’ve got to get this guy.’”

–Barry Faulkner, @BarryFaulkner5, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “UCI volleyball player Tillie in own orbit”

First time for everything

Kevin Walsh, left, works out with trainer Ricky Gutierrez at the LA Boxing facility in Aliso Viejo. (DON LEACH)

Kevin Walsh became a ring leader in one day’s work.

In the his first boxing match, the longtime Laguna Beach resident made the most of his chance at the Ringside Masters World Championships, held March 30 and 31 at Kansas City, Mo. The newly minted septuagenarian, who turned 70 on April 20, was a mere 69 when he took on 73-year-old Jim Barnette of Corpus Christi, Texas, in the Over-65 (140 pounds) age class. Walsh scored a decision victory in a match that went three rounds. The result dethroned the division’s reigning champion.

“My face looked a little bit marked up, but there were no real injuries,” joked the witty 5-foot-7 Walsh, who weighed in at 138 pounds for his match. “Overall, it was a great experience. All the training — and there was a lot of it — was worthwhile.”

Walsh’s wife Tomi felt the same way. She accompanied her husband to the championships, even videotaped his bout.

“No, my wife did not shoot it with a special slow-mo camera,” Walsh said. “We old guys just don’t move that quickly.”

The Walshes, who have called Laguna Beach home for 40 years, will celebrate their 42nd wedding anniversary in October.

–Mike Sciacca, @MikeSciacca, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “First time for everything”

3 dead, 1 missing after sailboat disappears south of San Diego

Three people are dead and a fourth missing at sea after a mishap Saturday involving a 37-foot sailing boat near the Coronado Islands south of San Diego, the Coast Guard reported.

The vessel, called the Aegean, was participating in a race from Newport to Ensenada, Mexico, when it was reported missing shortly before noon.

Three bodies were found by midafternoon, one by a Coast Guard helicopter, and two by a civilian crew, in an area where debris was spotted, the Coast Guard said. The three bodies were brought to San Diego for examination by the medical examiner.

…Continue reading “3 dead, 1 missing after sailboat disappears south of San Diego”

Misty plays with purpose

Misty May-Treanor, a former Newport Harbor High standout, is preparing for the London Olympics. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

In 2002, Misty May-Treanor hit the lowest point in her career.

In a career filled with so many highs, there have been very few lows. When she was 24, she was down there. It didn’t have so much to do with an injury or a missed opportunity.

May-Treanor said her mother’s death caused her great pain and challenged her love for volleyball, she revealed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Pilot on Thursday afternoon.

She was in Huntington Beach to promote a contest with Arnold/Brownberry/Oroweat bread. People can enter on the company’s Facebook page. The winner receives a one-on-one clinic with May-Treanor.

The bread company is a supplier of U.S. Olympic teams and May-Treanor is one of their most popular athletes.

Back in 2002, May-Treanor was well-known, but not as popular as now. Back then she was on the cusp of legendary status. She had already won a national championship with Long Beach State and competed in the Sydney Olympics, where she finished fifth with Holly McPeak.

Her world would never be the same later after her mother, Barbara, died of cancer.

–Steve Virgen, @SteveVirgen, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Misty plays with purpose”

Four locals land on AVCA All-American teams

Two UC Irvine standouts and two others out of Newport Harbor High have been recognized on the American Volleyball Coaches’ Assn. All-American teams in men’s volleyball.

UC Irvine stars Carson Clark and Kevin Tillie were named to the first team, as was former Sailor Kyle Caldwell of UCLA.

Weston Dunlap, a UCLA senior who played at Newport Harbor, was a second-team honoree.

Clark, a 6-foot-6 opposite, is a four-time All-American, having also earned first-team honors in 2010. He was a second-team choice in 2011 and 2009, the latter when he helped the Anteaters earn the program’s second NCAA title.

Clark is the school’s all-time leader and kills (1,797 entering Thursday) and service aces (172). He ranks third in the nation in aces (0.53 per set), is 10th in hitting percentage (.335) and 11th in kills (3.72 per set).

Clark is the only player to earn first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation recognition all four seasons.

–Daily Pilot staff reports

…Continue reading “Four locals land on AVCA All-American teams”

Olympic party in Newport

Swimmers Jason Lezak, left, and Amanda Beard, right, both seven-time Olympic medalists, are introduced during a 100-day countdown celebration for the London Olympics in Newport Beach Wednesday. (KEVIN CHANG)

NEWPORT BEACH — Outside the Bayview Corporate Center, a poster hung with the letters “USA” on top and five Olympic rings below it, with the words, “ROAD TO LONDON.”

Two men dressed in British guard uniforms stood near the entrance.

Inside the building on Wednesday, 15 U.S. Olympic champions and hopefuls celebrated the 100-day countdown to the London Games.

Two of the biggest names, swimmers Amanda Beard and Jason Lezak, led the way during a VIP event put together by the U.S. Olympic Committee and DISC Sports & Spine Center benefiting the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Beard and Lezak are both seven-time Olympic medalists and close friends.

The two grew up in Irvine. Beard went to Irvine High with Lezak’s wife, Danielle. She wasn’t at the event, because Lezak said they couldn’t find a babysitter for their two children.

With no kids around, Lezak, 36, was happy to have the spotlight on him.

“It’s turning out to be pretty good so far,” Lezak joked. “I mean nobody wants to talk to me yet, so I’m pretty happy now that somebody does.”

–David Carrillo Penaloza, @DCPenaloza, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Olympic party in Newport”

Slater’s perfect 10s: Which was better?

Reigning Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ World Tour champion Kelly Slater has pulled off two perfect 10s in the last year, most recently at the Rip Curl Pro in Bells Beach in Australia last week.

His other perfect 10 came in the Quiksilver Pro in New York last year.

Surfinglife.com has created a side-by-side video showing Slater’s two perfect moves. You can judge for yourself if one is better than the other.

Read surf writer Joe Haakenson’s column about the Rip Curl Pro contest here.

Irrelevant pick can win you $253

Guess who will go No. 253, the last player chosen in the NFL Draft on April 28, and you can win $253.

The winner of the Mr. Irrelevant XXXVII contest will also be a guest during the Lowsman Trophy All-Star Banquet in Newport Beach on June 13 and receive a prize basket.

You can enter the contest in four ways. You can email your pick to irrelevantweek@gmail.com, tweet it @irrelevantweek, post it on the Facebook Irrelevant Week fan page, or mail it to 3723 Birch St., Suite 11, Newport Beach, CA 92660.

Include your draft selection, your name, email or phone number. If there is a tie, the winner will be selected by coin flip.

Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. on April 25, the day before the NFL Draft.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza, @DCPenaloza

City Lights: When Angels were a family affair

As the Angels embark on a new season, I have a signed baseball in my collection at home that probably isn’t worth much money.

But I don’t care.

Suffice to say that it’s probably the only baseball in existence signed by Chad Curtis, the Angels’ left and center fielder from 1992 to 1994, and his wife.

Yes, his wife.

And anyone can see that, because, unlike the average ballplayer’s, her handwriting is quite legible.

Right now, of course, it’s hip to love the Angels. Just last weekend, former pitcher Jim Abbott, who famously overcame a disability to achieve major league stardom, visited Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach for a book signing. When the Angels make the playoffs, the local sports bars turn into seas of red. That’s what a world championship and a decade of contention will do for a team.

But that Chad-and-Candace Curtis ball, snug in its tight plastic box, evokes a time when following the Halos was a decidedly minor-league affair. Back then, the Angels and their fans felt more like a family, just because, frankly, there were so few of us at the ballpark.

– Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, Huntington Beach Independent

…Continue reading City Lights: When Angels were a family affair