High School Roundup: Breakers finding their way
The Laguna Beach High baseball program has been playing summer ball for two weeks now, but Wednesday marked the first home game for the Breakers.
The opponent was Beckman. The matchup at Skipper Carrillo Field pitted teams that were in the top 10 of their respective CIF Southern Section rankings at the end of the 2015 spring season. The Breakers were No. 7 in Division 4, the Patriots sixth in Division 3.
Grady Morgan pitching one inning for the Breakers and didn’t allow a run or hit.
Mike Bair said his team didn’t play well, however.
“We performed poorly...too many physical and mental mistakes,” he said. “Our pitchers had too many walks. Overall, a below-standard effort.”
Laguna also played Monday at Sage Hill. Highlights for the Breakers included Ashton Goddard making “outstanding plays” at shortstop, Bair said, and the hitting of Jack Simon.
The program started its summer season June 30 and has eight more games left on the schedule.
Bair said he’s seen bright spots and areas for improvement from his team.
He said 16 players have come out for the summer session.
“Freshmen and sophomores of last year (2015 CIF season) have varsity experience to help make us a tougher team,” he said. “Overall, (we’ve had) pretty good quality at-bats. We need to improve on our pitching. Too many walks, not holding runners...much to improve on.”
What is Bair hoping to get out of his squad through its remaining summer schedule, starting with its next game at 5 p.m. Monday at Troy?
“Improvement,” he said. “Learn from mistakes. Gain momentum for the upcoming year.”
Remaining Schedule
Monday: at Troy, 5 p.m.
Wednesday: at Ocean View, 5 p.m.
July 17: at Brea Olinda, noon
July 20: Woodbridge, 5 p.m.
July 22: at Ocean View, 5 p.m.
July 29: Century, 5 p.m.
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Boys’ Basketball
The Breakers won three games handily in the past week, posting an overall record of 3-1 in summer league action.
Laguna cruised past Orange July 1 and lost a close game to Capistrano Valley July 2. On Monday, the Breakers beat Costa Mesa and came back Tuesday to down Aliso Niguel, both double-digit victories.
Scores from each game weren’t available.
“(Tuesday’s) win over Aliso was as good as we’ve played all summer,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “We were outstanding on both ends of the floor and scored 74 points against a very good team.”
The Breakers will play two games both Friday and Sunday at the Concordia Tournament at Concordia College in Irvine. They start play next week by taking on Edison at 4 p.m. Monday in the Godinez Summer League at Godinez High.
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Track and Field
Coco Putnam of Laguna Beach High placed second in the women’s 400-meter hurdles (17-18 age division) June 28 at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics Region 15 Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Putnam, who will be a senior next year at Laguna, finished in 1 minute 5.45 seconds.
Putnam has qualified to compete at the 49th USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Jacksonville, Fla. The Junior Olympics event starts July 27 and runs through Aug. 2 at the University of North Florida.
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Football
The Breakers open summer camp Monday at Guyer Field.
First-year head Coach Ted Clarke said the Breakers will enter their first summer competition July 18 at Duarte 7-on-7 Passing Tournament.
Next month, Laguna will be in a four-way scrimmage at Sunny Hills Aug. 21 and opens its 2015 regular season Aug. 28 at home against Cerritos Valley Christian.
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Girls’ Volleyball
The Breakers begin summer camps sessions under the direction of Coach Raul Papaleo starting July 20 and running through Aug. 14.
First up is a Girls’ Beach Volleyball Camp for incoming freshmen students July 20 at Main Beach in Laguna Beach. The first camp runs through July 24. A second camp is from July 27-31.
Indoor volleyball camps for incoming freshmen start July 27 and run through Aug. 14 at Dugger Gym on the Laguna campus. Papaleo also will instruct two clinics for youth grades fifth through eighth (2015-16 school year) beginning Aug. 3 and running through Aug. 13.
The Laguna girls’ volleyball team will compete in the preseason Foothill Queens of the Court Tournament Aug. 22. The Breakers officially open their season Sept. 3 at Santa Margarita.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca