Month: May 2013

LJ Light Article: La Jolla Youth Baseball ready for championship games May 18

Ryan McCasland steals home. Photo by Michele Friszell

By Tom Murphy
La Jolla Youth Baseball (Read on La Jolla Light’s website)

The La Jolla Youth Baseball season comes to a close Saturday, May 18, 2013 with championship games in the Pinto, Mustang and Bronco divisions. Shetland doesn’t have playoffs, but a lot of kids will play post-season games on tournament teams. Pony schedules its inter-league playoffs over the Memorial Day weekend at Tecolote.

LJYB continues to lead San Diego Pony play with Aladdin maintaining its perfect record at 14-0, and On the Inside Design (OTID) moving into second place, following a come-from-behind bottom-of-the-eighth victory over Mira Mesa’s Storm.

Reed Farley pitches four innings last week. Photo by Michele Friszell

OTID went into extra innings tied 2-2 against Storm. La Jolla left the bases loaded three times along the way. Reed Farley pitched four solid innings. Mira Mesa picked up a couple of unearned runs off of closer Carson Greene. Chasing two, the bottom of the lineup produced a hit and a couple of walks.

Ryan McCasland stole home on a passed ball. With runners on the corners, two outs and two strikes, Greene crushed a high fastball into the gap that scored John Murphy from first to win the game — walk off style!

The two LJ teams face each other 5 p.m. Saturday for bragging rights. Nine Pony players will be recognized for their “Decade on the Diamond,” playing 10 consecutive years in LJYB.

Bronco division had double elimination playoff games with Pharmatek being the first team to go. Last week it overcame an 11-1 deficit to tie the game 12-12 going into the seventh inning against Morgan Stanley. MS pushed across a run to take the lead and P-tek was unable to match them, stranding the tying run on second. Last Saturday, the elimination game between Mitch’s Surf Shop and Pharmatek was a defensive and pitching battle with a 1-1 tie going into the sixth inning.

Coach Rick Macdonald executed his small-ball strategy with consecutive bunts that each produced runs. P-tek ended the inning on an interesting note with Marcus Scott on the hill, who pulled the infield in for a chat and called a hidden ball play with two outs and runners on the corners.  When the ump called “play,” the third baseman still had the ball and casually tagged the runner on third, who was called out. Unfortunately, Pharmatek was out of tricks and Mitch’s won 4-1. Alexandria remains undefeated in the winner’s bracket. Bronco championship game: 2 p.m. Saturday.

Carson Green gets a winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning. Photo by Michele Friszell

With a 14-3 record in the Mustang division, Sector 9 continues its march through the winner’s bracket in double-elimination play. Over the season, it had a commanding lead in both runs scored and runs against, which is the secret sauce to a winning season. PacVentures and Garden Communities are playing scrappy baseball and hanging tough. RAK has been the biggest surprise with its late-season hitting and improved defense, led by Luke Roberts and Nathan Latimer.

B of A Home Loans, Drache Feld and Alexandria have been eliminated. Mustang Championship game: noon Saturday.

With 10 teams in the Pinto division, Scoma Pediatric Dentistry, Donovan’s Steak & Chop House and Retirement Benefits Group have been eliminated in single-elimination format. RBC remains undefeated and like its Mustang counterpart, it dominates in runs scored and runs against, compared to the rest of the teams. Rotary Club of La Jolla, Voices for Children and Party City are very much in the hunt. Pinto Championship game: 10 a.m. Saturday.

• Following the festivities at Championship Saturday, LJYB will again serve as a host for the third annual “Home Run for Chelsea” tournament and benefit for Chelsea’s Light Foundation.

• LJYB will send a dozen teams to represent the league in the Memorial Day Tournament hosted by Tecolote Youth Baseball. Play starts May 21 and championship trophies will be handed out May 27. This tradition is a tuneup for the official PONY Sectional All Star Tournament June 22-July 2.

La Jolla Youth Baseball
Saturday, May 18, 2013 Schedule
• 10 a.m. – Pinto Championship
• Noon – Mustang Championship
• 2 p.m. – Bronco Championship
• 5 p.m. – Pony Home Finale, closing ceremony, league BBQ

• Website: lajollayouthbaseball.org

Reed Farley makes a base hit. Photo by Michele Friszell

Carson Green at the pitching mound. Photo by Michele Friszell

LJ Light Article: La Jolla Rotarians, Realtors and teens polish police storefront

Read article on La Jolla Light website

Interact Club students Tessa Lowe of La Jolla High School and Emily Halaka of University City High School paint a door at the rear of the police storefront.

Jeff Raich of Prudential California Realty and La Jolla Interact student Blake Kirland prepare to plant a donated succulent.

Members of the Rotary Club of La Jolla, the La Jolla Real Estate Brokers’ Association (REBA) and high school students involved in Rotary’s Interact Club brandished brushes, shovels and smiles to paint and landscape a long- neglected police storefront in Pacific Beach Saturday, April 27.

The volunteer effort was in honor of Rotary International’s annual Rotarians at Work Day, which promotes the organization’s concept of ‘service above self.’

Sherry Craycroft digs a hole for an incoming succulent plant. Pat Sherman photos

The building at 4439 Olney St., which also serves police who patrol La Jolla, provides a place for law enforcement and volunteer senior patrol officers to complete paperwork and take meal breaks.

The volunteers planted sod, as well as jade, aloe and other succulent plants donated by Realtor Carol Uribe. The team also painted fascia and window trimming with paint donated by Sherwin Williams. Dewhurst & Associates construction oversaw the entire project, helping line up contractors to install everything from new kitchen cabinets to bathroom fixtures and tile flooring. They include: Chism Brothers, Gold Coast Design, Adept Plumbing, D&N Electric, Dal-Tile, Studio Stratton cabinets and West Coast Drywall & Paint.

“They were unbelievable,” said project coordinator and Rotarian Nancy Gardner of Dewhurst. “They literally got all the sub-contractors involved, most of which volunteered. It was quite an endeavor.”

Rotarian and La Jolla Town Council member Nancy Gardner stands next to a holding pen for police beach cruisers (not people, she assures) inside the newly remodeled police storefront.

San Diego Police Captain Brian Ahearn, with SDPD’s Northern Division, called the renovation “a testament to how much people appreciate their San Diego Police officers.

“No words can express just how appreciative the men and women of SDPD are for the generosity displayed by so many,” Ahearn said. “We will continue to work hard for you. The storefront symbolizes the bond that brings community and police so close to one another. … The community truly stepped up to significantly improve the working conditions for their San Diego Police officers.”

Rotarians, Realtors, the La Jolla Town Council and other La Jollans raised more than $25,000 for the project, Gardner said. Another $24,000 is still needed to purchase new LAN lines and heating and air conditioning.

“It’s truly a community effort until we get it completed,” Gardner said.

— Pat Sherman