JC NOTES : Harbor College’s Win Streak Ends With 10-7 Loss in Tournament

The Harbor baseball team, ranked No. 1 in the state, didn’t get to enjoy spring break in Visalia last week, losing two of three games in the College of the Sequoias tournament.

The Seahawks’ 24-game winning streak was snapped by seventh-ranked Fresno City College, 10-7. Harbor beat unranked Canada, 8-1, then lost to 18th-ranked Diablo Valley, 6-4.

“I was naturally disappointed with the results, but I wasn’t surprised,” Harbor Coach Jim O’Brien said. “I thought we were getting a little bit overconfident.”

But the Seahawks clinched the Southern California Athletic Conference title Thursday with a win over Mission College and should receive a high seeding in the state tournament, which begins on May 12.

Harbor is 37-5 and 16-0 in the six-member SCAC. Tuesday’s 11-1 victory over East Los Angeles broke a school record for most single-season wins. The previous record was set in 1987.

Two Harbor baseball players signed with Division I schools over the weekend and four others are expected to sign by the end of the month. First baseman Ryan Karp will attend the University of Miami and pitcher Pat Ahearne will attend Pepperdine.

Karp, who is 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, is batting .316. The left-hander from Beverly Hills High, who also pitches, was an All-American center fielder for the Seahawks last season.

“He’s just a great all-around athlete,” O’Brien said. “He’d be pitching more if we didn’t have so much depth in that area. We expect to use him as a pitcher in the playoffs.”

Ahearne, who is 6-3 and 190 pounds, has been a standout for the past two seasons. Last season the right-hander from St. Bernard High was 11-5. This season he is 9-1.

“He’s our top pitcher all the way,” O’Brien said. “He’s got a great sinker ball, a good sinking fastball. He just knows how to pitch.”

O’Brien also said right fielder Matt Nuez, pitcher Sky Lasowitz and catcher Gus Mungary are expected to sign with Pepperdine. Second baseman Jonathan Lopez is headed for Brigham Young University.

El Camino sophomore Sharette Garcia, who is from Belize, turned in an impressive quadruple at the Fresno Relays on April 7.

Besides setting a school record (4:31.77) in the 1,500 meters, Garcia was strong in three different relays. She ran a 5:20 mile in the distance medley, a 2:12, 800-meter leg in the 4x800 and a 53.7, 400-meter leg in the mile relay.

Teammate Diana Tracy broke a school record in the 3,000 meters at last weekend’s twilight meet at USC. The 37-year-old freshman, who placed third at the state cross-country meet in November, finished in 9:51.86. That mark is also top in the state.

El Camino’s baseball team continues to struggle in South Coast Conference play.

Defending state champion Cerritos College, 15-0 in the SCC, clinched the title last week, leaving Long Beach City College and Mt. San Antonio College to battle for second place. Cerritos is 24-4 after losing to Cypress College at the Allan Hancock tournament last weekend.

El Camino is 12-16 and 4-9-1 in the five-member SCC after Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to L.A. Valley College.

El Camino’s play has been inconsistent. The Warriors defeated second-place Long Beach, 15-5, on April 5 and lost, 10-4, to Pasadena, the league’s last-place team, two days later.