Bay League Notebook: Oh, What a Night

What a game. What a night. What a season for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Panthers, who have captured the imagination of the community with their historic 30-2 season.

The Panthers are in the semifinals of the Southern California Regionals—a.k.a. the State Tournament quarterfinals—after an inspiring 63-49 victory over Foothill Thursday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

From a total-team standpoint, it might have been their best performance of the season. It certainly was their most watched game, coming as it did in front of the three-quarters full gym at CSDH.

“This is awesome,” star senior Reese Morgan said. “Our community is behind us. It’s definitely a special experience for all of us.”

Every now and then a high school does something so special the local community starts to pay attention. There’s a sense of pride and togetherness that comes from watching students who grew up in the community do something so special.

“I’m stoked,” junior forward Sam Borst-Smith said. “The way I look at it, every night we’re making history. Peninsula’s never done anything like this before.”

The fans, many of them dressed in black and all smiles after the game, didn’t know the half of it on Thursday. Morgan, so sick he was throwing up at halftime, wasn’t himself. He couldn’t buy a basket from beyond three feet—a dramatic change for him and the team.

And yet the Panthers found a way to win. Morgan went inside for his points, several other Panthers stepped up—most notably unheralded senior Odera Anakwanze— and the team played great defense to come from behind and win going away.

“This is so special this ride these young men are taking me on,” Peninsula Coach Jim Quick said. “These guys love each other. They really do. They pick up each other. They did it again tonight when they saw Reese throwing up at halftime.”

When the game ended, Peninsula’s fans did not go on their way. They stuck around, waiting for the players and coach to speak to reporters. Then the players met friends and family in what will be a joyous memory that will last forever.

“I want them to experience this,” Quick said. “They’ve earned it.”

Yes, they have. But it’s not over. Peninsula lost to Mayfair in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs, but has made the most of an at-large berth in the State Tournament.

The 11th-seeded Panthers have played well while beating sixth-seeded Hoover and 14th-seeded Foothill. They’ll travel on Saturday to Fontana to face 10th-seeded Summit, which upset second-seeded Ventura. All of a sudden, the Panthers have a realistic shot at playing for the Southern California Regional championships on March 19 at the Galen Center, with the winner of that game playing for the Division 2 state championship.

“I told them when the playoffs started ‘You guys have had the season of a lifetime. Everything from here on in is gravy. Just go play and have fun,’” Quick said.

They’re certainly doing that. What was intriguing about Thursday’s performance is that they appear to be getting better as they’re having fun. If they can sustain the team-wide productivity they showed on Thursday, anything is possible.

One thing’s for sure. The community will be watching.

HOME SWEET HOME -- After six years as an assistant baseball coach, Cassidy Olson left Mira Costa in 2008 in search of a head coaching job. He got one in 2009 at Redondo, but when the same job opened up at Mira Costa in 2010 he opted to return to the school where he has been a teacher since 2003.

The Mustangs are glad he did.

Olson’s Mustangs won a Bay League championship in his first season. They also reached the CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals.

So, the logical question now is: What do Olson and the Mustangs do for an encore?

“We lost seven of our nine starters, including all of our pitchers,” Olson said prior to Mira Costa’s 8-5 win over Canyon Thursday in the Loara Tournament.

“We know we’re going to be inexperienced. But so far I’m pretty happy with how we’ve done, especially with our pitching and our defense.

“We got three quality starts in our first three games, but we didn’t hit. We know we will start hitting, so that bodes well for us later in the season.”

No matter what happens this year, though, Olson is happy to be back at Mira Costa.

“It’s a great school,” he said. “The kids are great. They work their butts off. There’s great facilities and great community support. The parents are very involved.”

Mira Costa benefits from a strong year-round baseball program in the immediate area. That was proven last summer when a team from Manhattan Beach went 15-0 to reach the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine.

“All the kids were on that team,” Olson said. “I don’t think we’re going to out-talent everyone, but if we play together as a team we can do some damage this season.”

While the Mustangs are inexperienced at the varsity level, they do have 10 seniors on their team. Seven of them played for the JV team that went 26-3.

“Those juniors got a lot of playing time instead of sitting on the bench on varsity,” Olson said, “so a lot will depend on how they make the transition.”

Senior right-hander Sean Isaac, junior righty Turner Conrad and senior right-hander Michael Romo have turned in solid starting stints early in the season. Derek Largent, Anthony Lombardo, Morgan Ashner and Austin Henning also figure to get some innings early in the year.

“We’ve got a deep staff, but not a lot of innings between them,” Olson said. “We will see how it all plays out.”

Left-fielder Bret Collins and Lombardo in center fielder are the two returning outfielders. Lombardo has already committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Early in the season Olson has been pleased by the play of Largent, Isaac, Conrad and junior Ian McLoughlin at catcher.

By the time Bay League play rolls around there should be more clarity. At this early stage, Olson said, Peninsula looks strong, Palos Verdes is always good and Redondo appears to be improving.

FIELD OF DREAMS -- The Redondo girls softball program has a new look. Well, a new field anyway. And it’s a showcase step forward for the program.

That’s how seven-year coach Jennifer Dessert sees it. In a troubling period where so many are so unhappy about how our tax dollars are spent, it’s great to see the enthusiasm Dessert and Redondo’s softball community feels for their brand new softball field.

“The new facilities have changed in a big way the outlook for our program,” Dessert said Thursday. “We’re excited to be able to play under the lights and to have such a great facility for softball.

“I think that’s raised the energy level and the expectations for everyone. We were the Bay League champions in ’07 and ’08, but the last two years we’ve been battling for second place.

“A lot of us feel we’re ready for a fresh start with the facility we have now. My girls are ready to fight for a league championship.”

Of course, it takes more than beautiful new facilities to compete for a league championship. On that score, Dessert thinks she has a team that has enough talent to win if it fights for every run, plays good defense and gets good pitching from senior captain Brett Aspel and talented freshman Katrina Cohen.

The team’s other two captains, shortstop Cindy Zamudio and infielder Linda Park, also are critical to the Sea Hawks’ chances this season.

“When my three captains show the leadership that is equal to their ability, which I think they will, we will really rise as a team,” Dessert said. “I believe that senior leadership can take us far this year.”

The Sea Hawks got off to a sluggish 1-3 start this season, but they’ve played a very tough schedule, losing to CIF Division I-quality teams.

“We want our team playing the best because that’s where we want to get to,” Dessert said. “We got down in a couple of those games, but we fought back.

“Everybody is starting to understand that we have a team that wants to fight for it. I think that will be a big plus as the year goes on.”

The timing couldn’t be better for Cohen, who is just starting her high school softball career just as the new facilities have upgraded the program. She’s already hit a home run this year and she has the ability to contribute as a pitcher as well.

“She’s definitely a star in the making,” Dessert said. “She’s got a great swing and she can pitch, too.”

The Sea Hawks’ roster includes a number of players Dessert thinks will have an impact on the 2011 season. She likes the potential senior Jennifer Stevens brings as a center fielder and a hitter. Junior Jillian Mattor has great speed, as do twins Juliana and Jazmin Jordan.

The catching position is in good hands with Cotton and Analisa Nicholson.

The Bay League will be tough, as usual, Dessert said. But she’s optimistic.

“Palos Verdes will be tough and Costa’s bats will be a factor,” she said. “But if we can compete with them, we’ll be contenders for No. 1 in the league.”