ROUNDUP : Pierce’s Xanthos Leaves Hospital to Help Tennis Team Win 25th in Row

Pierce College tennis Coach Paul Xanthos’ recent heart problems are preventing him from accompanying some of his players to Hawaii today for a vacation, but the Brahmas’ match against Santa Monica on Thursday was one appointment Xanthos could keep, so he did--driving directly to Pierce from the hospital.

Xanthos, 72, had been hospitalized for eight days with a heart fibrillation and was released from Northridge Hospital Medical Center at noon. He was at Pierce an hour later for the start of the match.

“We had played them before and beat them, 8-1,” Xanthos said. “If you’ve been at the game, you can tell if you’re going to win, but being me, I’m nervous until I see five points up on the board.”

The Brahmas, the top-ranked team in the state, defeated Santa Monica, 6-3, in the Western State Conference match.

Xanthos said he would know today whether he needed to return to the hospital or could stay at home and recuperate. He said doctors were in the process of deciding on a long-term treatment, which could include having a pacemaker surgically implanted.

The win was the Brahmas’ 25th in a row dating to last season. Pierce (15-0, 10-0 in conference play) already has clinched its second straight conference championship.

Freshmen Al Martinez and John Rom each are 15-0 and are among the top five singles players in the state.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

The Master’s 6, Christ College 3--Chris Beck allowed six hits--all singles--in a complete-game victory in an NAIA District 3 game.

Beck (6-2) had 11 strikeouts and walked three. Jeff Tomlinson had two hits.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

St. Bernard 5, Crespi 4--The Celts fell in the first round of the St. Paul tournament when sophomore outfielder Dion Battee hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot with none out in the bottom of the seventh.

Crespi (10-2), which had won six in a row, built a 4-1 lead on two home runs by Jeff Suppan and one by Brad Wright.

Royal 8, Channel Islands 5--Channel Islands outhit Royal, 8-5, and had two fewer errors but Royal stole 10 bases and took advantage of every scoring opportunity in the Marmonte League game. David Brown had four stolen bases, and Joel Mellanger had two hits and three stolen bases, scoring three times.

Hueneme 8, Loyola 4--Robert Ralston had a three-run double in the first and two-run triple in the seventh to lead Hueneme in the nonleague game. Raudel Flores had three hits, and Ricardo Garcia and Julian Barrajas each had two.

Rio Mesa 11, Santa Maria 1--Charlie Boch hit a two-run home run to lead an 11-hit attack in a nonleague game at Rio Mesa (8-5). Boch was two for two with two runs batted in. Greg Spink (4-1) pitched six innings and gave up three hits.

Highland 12, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 0--Tom King hit a two-run home run for Highland (3-5) in the first-round of the Bishop Gorman tournament in Las Vegas.

Chaminade 20, St. Genevieve 0--The Eagles (5-8) scored 17 runs in the first inning, then four of their pitchers combined on a one-hitter.

Brian Powers was four for five and Jason McLean, Joel Orme and Jason Giovannettone each had two hits.

Kennedy 6, Tucson Sunnyside 1--Tommy Manning pitched his fourth complete game and had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings for the Golden Cougars (10-2) in the first round of the Las Vegas Gael tournament. Rick Nadeau hit a single and his fifth home run. Johnny Tovan and David Bourne each had two hits.

Calabasas 2, Santa Clara 1--Bhret Hessig’s squeeze in the top of the seventh inning drove in Colin Fields with the winning run in the Coyotes’ Frontier League victory. Todd Cignarelli (2-0) pitched a four-hitter and Josh Morton earned his second save.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

Calabasas 16, Santa Clara 0--Kelli Tomack went four for five and Melissa Krolik threw a one-hitter for the Coyotes (8-2, 3-2) in a Frontier League game.

BOYS’ TRACK

Agoura 78, Camarillo 59, Channel Islands 33--Jeremy Fischer cleared 7 feet in the high jump--the third time he has cleared at least 7-0 this season--and won the long jump for host Camarillo, but Agoura’s superior depth won out in the Marmonte League meet.

The Chargers (6-0, 6-0) won eight of the 16 events, topped by Ryan Wilson in the 800 (season best of 1 minute 58.0 seconds). Fischer, who has a personal best of 7-1 in the high jump, spanned 21-2 1/2 in the long jump.