Interest in Lacrosse Growing in County

Though the California Interscholastic Federation does not sanction or fund a lacrosse championship in the sport, the sport is gaining recognition in San Diego County high schools.

A dozen local schools offer lacrosse as a club sport and those results are being called in to newspapers regularly.

It’s all part of an effort to “get the word out,” said Serra Coach Jay Holguin, who is sort of a spokesman for the 10-year-old San Diego County Lacrosse Assn.

“We’re trying to get people interested, let them know there is lacrosse being played out here in the high schools,” said Holguin. “A lot of people out here think lacrosse is strictly an East Coast sport.”

Patrick Henry, 6-0 in the City League, appears to be the dominant team this season with Serra (6-1, City), Poway (3-1, Mountain League), Torrey Pines (4-2, Coast League) and Coronado (4-2, Coast) close behind.

Poway won the unofficial state lacrosse title last year and had a 35-match winning streak going until Coronado edged the Titans, 8-7, on Friday.

“The more people that find out, the more we’re getting people out to coach, referee and help out,” Holguin said.

Date set: Torrey Pines, hoping to delay or block a move to Class 2-A next year, will have its case heard by the CIF Appeals Committee on April 21 at the TraveLodge on Harbor Island.

A big 0-fer: Rancho Bernardo baseball player Brent Sausen went 0 for 0 Friday, but it was a memorable day as he helped his team to an 8-7 victory over Carlsbad.

Sausen drove in three runs with sacrifice flies to deep left, deep center and deep right.

When he came to bat with runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh and Carlsbad protecting a one-run lead, he was intentionally walked.

Two for one: Heads-up base running by Oceanside’s Paul Edwards, who started on second in a bases-loaded situation Friday against El Camino, enabled Brain Hull to collect two RBIs on an infield single.

An upsetting day: Grossmont’s 7-3 loss to El Capitan on Wednesday was the Foothillers’ first in 29 games over 370 days, and it was also their worst defeat since the 1988 season.

But what really had to hurt, was that Grossmont scored only one run during an inning El Capitan committed six errors and walked two batters.

Grossmont’s Wynter Phoenix reached first on a fielding error by El Capitan’s first baseman and advanced to second when the ball got by the right fielder. El Capitan pitcher Matt LaChappa then tried a pick off at second, but his throw sailed into center, and Phoenix scored when the ball got past the center fielder.

Said El Capitan Coach Steve Vickery: “I think that’s called a Little League home run.”

When you are king . . .: By winning four consecutive previous games, El Capitan had already clinched a spot in the first Grossmont Conference Tournament championship when it played Grossmont in the otherwise meaningless round-robin game Wednesday. Because of that, Vickery could have saved LaChappa, his ace left-hander, for Friday’s title game.

LaChappa beat Grossmont, and El Capitan lost to Helix, 5-3, in the championship.

Hit and run: Few, if any, athletes have ever led the county in both rushing yards in football and batting average in baseball in the same school year.

Jason Eskridge of Grossmont has a shot. He led the county during the fall regular football season with more than 1,800 rushing yards, and he is batting near .500 this spring.

Oh yes, he’s also 4-0 as a pitcher.

Despite all that, Eskridge has still not received a solid scholarship offer from any Division I college for either sport.

Tough crowd: With a mark of 21-feet-1, Darranzol Sheppard of University City thought he had a good chance of winning the long jump in Thursday’s dual meet against USDHS.

His teammates Greg Russell, Maurice Taylor and Sherman Clophus, however, had jumps of 21-10 1/2, 21-6 and 21-4, respectively.

Those were the top three marks in the county on Thursday; Sheppard’s was sixth.

6,600 yards later: Capping a long day at the track Thursday against Clairemont, Christian’s Josh Cox made up about 50 yards on the final leg of the mile relay and was the first to cross the finish line.

Earlier, he had won the half-mile, the mile and the two-mile.

“It was just a remarkable day,” Clairemont Coach Gary Blume said. “I’ve never seen anyone quadruple in distances like that.”