Pasadena Poly

WALNUT - Things were already going decidedly the way of Pasadena Poly early in Wednesday night's CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match at Mount San Antonio College, making the call that threatened to cripple Hoover more tipping point than turning point. The surprising and sudden ejection of Hoover's star player Hakop Kaplanyan late in the first quarter made the Panthers' ascension to their second Division V finals appearance in as many years undoubtedly easier, but with Poly's dominant, driven play from the start of its 13-6 victory, it may not have mattered much anyway who the Tornadoes had in the pool.

PASADENA - Putting up crooked numbers is something that's served the Pasadena Poly softball team well throughout the season. It proved to be a boon again for the Panthers on Friday. With the help of two big offensive surges Friday afternoon, the Pasadena Poly softball team emphatically grabbed a piece of the Prep League championship for the first time since winning it outright in 2008. Pasadena Poly banged out 11 hits, including a solo home run by Natalie Treister, to record a 12-2 victory against visiting Rio Hondo Prep in a game called in the fifth inning because of the mercy rule.

SOUTH PASADENA - With 36 seconds left in regulation, all hope seemed lost for the members of the South Pasadena High girls' water polo team. Luckily for the Tigers, they had Devin Grab on their side to erase a two-goal deficit during that stretch. Grab scored two goals in the final 36 seconds and Rachel Clauss added the winning goal in overtime to lift host South Pasadena to a 7-6 nonleague victory against Pasadena Poly on Monday afternoon. “Devin is the best player I've ever coached and she's only a sophomore,” said South Pasadena Coach Robert Echeverria, whose team improved to 7-3 and is ranked No. 4 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division III poll.

Even though the Pasadena Poly and Flintridge Prep baseball teams didn't share the same type of success in 2012, the squads still earned Prep League first-team acclaim. The reigning 17-time league champion Panthers (17-6) merited five first-team honors, including co-Most Valuable Player Chris Ward, who shared the honor with Webb's Aaron DiGiamarino, while the Rebels also earned a nod. “There were people on the outside who expected us to have a down year and when we had our early struggles, that fed into that type of thinking,” Pasadena Poly Coach Wayne Ellis said.

PASADENA - Forty minutes of offense gave way to 40 minutes of defense in Friday afternoon's nonleague girls' soccer match between South Pasadena High and host Pasadena Poly. In either half, in both cases, the Panthers proved just a little better in defeating the Tigers, 3-2. “We came out really flat in the first half, almost asleep, and South Pasadena took advantage,” Poly Coach Pat Gray said. “My girls know they're better than that and they picked up their play.” Poly (3-0)

A dozen local girls' soccer players have the privilege many others in the Pasadena area don't in being named to the All CIF-Southern Section divisional awards lists that were released Monday. Five players from South Pasadena High, four from Marshall Fundamental and three from Pasadena Poly all earned either first-, second- or third-team selections. The Rio Hondo League champion Tigers, who made the farthest playoff run of any local team, are the only squad to boast two first-teamers in senior midfielder Taylor Colliau and junior forward Jessica Moog, who were selected in Division VI. The Valparaiso University-bound Colliau, also named the Rio Hondo League Player of the Year, scored 14 goals and added six assists for a squad that advanced to the semifinals before falling to divisional runner-up Hemet, 2-1. “If you look at what Taylor has done for this program and this team this year, it's a no-brainer that she's on the first team,” South Pasadena Coach Randy Lilavois said.

Pasadena Poly senior Michael Saeta turned in one of the more dominating seasons among area players and yet the news he heard still came as a shock. The UC Irvine-signed opposite hitter, who had expected to be chosen to the All CIF Southern Section Division V first team, was instead informed his name was atop the list, as Saeta was selected the Division V Player of the Year. Overall, Saeta was only one of two locals lauded by the CIF Southern Section as South Pasadena's Thomas Adamson was named a Division III first teamer.

RIVERSIDE - A year removed from a CIF Southern Section Division IV title, the La Salle High girls' swimming team learned there's a sizable difference between divisions. Still, the Lancers put together a quality performance that led all the other locals - Maranatha, Pasadena Poly and Mayfield - Thursday at Riverside City College in the Division III finals. La Salle took ninth place with 127 points. Not far behind were the Minutemen at 11th (119) and Pasadena Poly (91) and Mayfield (53)

BOYS' SOCCER San Marino 10, Mark Keppel 0: The Titans (2-1) already surpassed their win total of last season thanks to a dominating nonleague home win Wednesday evening. Junior midfielder Ricardo Patlan led the way with a hat trick, while junior forward Manny Vargas added two scores. Matt Wofford and Jack Basalar also scored single goals for the Titans. GIRLS' BASKETBALL Mayfield 48, La Reina 36 : The Cubs improved to 3-0 and advanced to the finals of the Buckley Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday against host Buckley with Wednesday's win. Carrie Morris had 13 points, four steals and three assists, while Erika Lin had 12 points.

BASEBALL Pasadena Poly 8, Montebello 5: Caleb Lee smacked a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to rally the Panthers from a 5-3 deficit in the pool-play finale of the Arcadia Elks Tournament Thursday afternoon at Babcock Field. Lee finished two for four and Davey Feess drove in three for the Panthers (2-2). SOFTBALL Marshall 12, Pasadena 0 (five innings): The Eagles (5-0) scored four runs in the third inning and rolled to a nonleague road victory Friday evening in five innings.