Baseball: Quartz Hill and Paraclete defying underdog status
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All year I’ve been complaining about how Antelope Valley-based teams don’t make it very far in the playoffs. But what do I know? It appears 2007-08 is quickly becoming one of the most successful years for sports out in the alphabetic and numerical grid lines of the southwestern High Desert.
Palmdale’s football team reached the Western Division finals last fall, and Knight’s boys’ basketball team advanced to the Division II-A finals. And let’s not forget about the Quartz Hill boys’ volleyball team’s outstanding march to the Division III championship Saturday.
Of course, a couple of other championships could be added to this list before the week is out.
Quartz Hill and parochial neighbors Paraclete (only 30 numbers and one letter away) have defied expectations to advance to their respective division semifinals this afternoon. The Rebels play host to second-seeded Notre Dame for a trip to the Southern Section-Toyota Division III finals at Dodger Stadium, and the Spirits will attempt to upset third-seeded host St. Paul in a Division V semifinal contest.
I thought a not-so-tough Golden League schedule would make the Rebels a little soft come playoff time, but that has certainly not been the case. Home-run cycler Shon Roe has pounded opposing pitchers into submission this postseason, and fellow plate phenoms Mick Gaston, Travis McBride (nice homer on Friday, man) and Dustin Cota have also been cracking the bat with stunning regularity.
Still, no one has played a more central role in Quartz Hill’s success than Cal State Bakersfield-bound pitcher Brandon Van Dam. The 6-foot-7 ace pitched a shutout against Bellflower and was on the mound for the Rebels’ 5-2 quarterfinal triumph over California. In addition, he has a .373 batting average, 25 RBIs and five homers on the season.
As for Paraclete, I’m still stunned the Spirits have made it to the semifinals after having to win two elimination games to grab the Olympic League‘s final playoff berth. Beau Lynch has been at the forefront of the Spirits’ success, batting .432 with 24 RBIs. We’ll see if Lynch and the rest of the team can break a tough St. Paul team.
I’ll be out at the Quartz Hill-Notre Dame contest, so check back later this afternoon for some updates.
And here’s today’s schedule and the brackets.
-- Austin Knoblauch
