College Update: Locals excelling in SCIAC
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Coltrane Powdrill (Crescenta Valley High, 2010) Cal Lutheran basketball: In his first season with the Kingsmen, Powdrill made an immediate impact and his postseason haul of accolades showed it.
The former All-Area Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year after transferring in from Moorpark College and was named to the All-SCIAC second team.
Powdrill, a junior forward, averaged 15.8 points per game, which was seventh in the conference. He scored in double figures in 13 of 16 conference games, with a career-high 32 against Chapman in a January tilt. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds a game and his 19 blocks were fourth-best in conference.
Cal Lutheran went 19-8 and 9-7 in conference, earning its first trip to the conference postseason tournament in four years, where it lost in the championship game to Chapman, 79-51. Powdrill, who transferred from St. Francis to Crescenta Valley, was held in check in the game, thanks to four fouls, as he scored eight points on four-of-eight shooting to go with three rebounds and one steal.
Mark Saatzer (St. Francis High, 2010) Chapman baseball senior: Saatzer had a pair of walks on Tuesday in Chapman’s 4-3 nonconference loss to Vanguard. While it was hardly a bad day at the ballpark, it brought an end to a torrid run for the former Golden Knight.
Saatzer had previously hit safely in three games, going a combined six for 12 with two home runs, seven runs batted in, two runs and three walks.
Thus far, Saatzer is turning in a simply stellar senior season, leading his team with a .436 batting average (fourth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). His .528 on-base percentage (third in SCIAC) is also best on the squad, as are his 26 runs batted in (seventh in conference), six doubles and four home runs. His 44 hits are tied for fourth in conference.
Chapman will host a three-game nonconference set against Dallas beginning Saturday. With a 12-6 mark in the SCIAC, Chapman is in third place and boasts a 16-10 record.
Ted Boeke (Crescenta Valley High, 2013) Loyola Marymount baseball freshman: A season after earning All-Area Baseball Player of the Year distinction, Boeke is transitioning into the collegiate level, as he’s played in 20 games thus far for LMU, though he has struggled a bit lately.
Still, he’s shown his potential as he’s hitting .229 with 13 starts, scoring six runs and driving in four.
Loyola, which has a 17-12 record and a 7-2 mark in the West Coast Conference, hosts San Francisco in a WCC three-game series beginning Friday.
Alyssa Sovereign (Crescenta Valley High, 2010) Penn State softball senior: Like Penn State, Sovereign has had some struggles this season, but she’s currently on an upswing in the form of a three-game hitting streak that’s seen her go a combined five for 11 in three games with two runs batted in and a run scored.
She went four for eight in a Wednesday doubleheader against Saint Francis of Pennsylvania, which included a 9-1 win in the second game.
The win over Saint Francis broke an eight-game losing streak for the Nittany Lions, who are 7-22 with an 0-6 record in the Big Ten.
For the season, Sovereign has started in all 29 games with a .195 batting average, 14 runs, six runs batted in, nine walks and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
Kelly Jacobs (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2013) Loyola Marymount softball freshman: The former All-Area selection is just scratching the surface so far in her rookie season, having played in just 12 games with one start.
She tallied her first collegiate hit on March 9 at home as a pinch-hitter in an 8-0 victory against Brown.
She’s also scored a pair of runs for a Loyola team that’s 19-14.
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Follow Grant Gordon on Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon.