For JetHawks, Day Off Is Merely the Calm Before the Storm

The Lancaster JetHawks enjoyed their day off Monday, but wait until they pay the price May 13.

Monday originally was scheduled to be the first of a four-game series against the Lake Elsinore Storm, but the Storm’s parent club, the Angels, wanted a day off early in the season, so they had Monday’s game moved to May 13, a scheduled day off for both teams.

Here’s what that creates for the JetHawks: A home game May 12, a game 100 miles south in Lake Elsinore on the 13th, then a game 400 miles north in Stockton on the 14th.

Happy motoring.

JetHawk Manager Dave Brundage said the club has sought schedule changes twice this season, once for the Lake Elsinore situation and once for a game at High Desert on April 13, which was a day game the day after a night game in San Jose.

The JetHawks are complaining but, Brundage said, “It doesn’t seem like anybody is listening.”

Add JetHawks: In case there’s any question whether owner Mike Ellis did the right thing when he moved his minor league baseball team from Riverside to Lancaster, consider this:

The JetHawks are on pace to surpass last season’s attendance at Riverside on May 1, the 12th of 70 home dates.

Through six dates, the JetHawks averaged 4,939. Riverside averaged 820 a game over the season.

* Mental conditioning: Instead of continuing their gradual retreat in the Mission League standings, members of the Crespi High boys’ volleyball team tried something different: They went on a real retreat.

The location: The Piute Mountains, 40 miles northeast of Bakersfield.

The reason: First-year Coach Alvin Lamarre went on annual retreats during spring break with his teams when he coached at Brentwood. It worked, so he brought the concept to Crespi.

The activities: Blind obstacle courses and “Electric Barrier,” a game in which participants must lift one another up and over a high wall.

The result: So far, so good.

Crespi upset Alemany in a Mission League match Tuesday and kept its playoff chances alive.

“It was a chance for the team to discuss a lot of things,” said Lamarre, who holds a master’s degree in sports psychology. “We basically were completely isolated. We didn’t even bring a volleyball.”

Stats

UCLA’s Tom Stillwell and Brigham Young’s Ryan Millar finished the regular season as the country’s top two middle blockers. Stillwell, a graduate of Notre Dame High, was No. 1 with an average of two blocks a game and Millar, a Highland graduate, was second with an average of 1.80.

At a time when most college pitchers are watching their numbers balloon because of fatigue, Cal State Northridge left-hander Nathan Rice is hitting his stride.

On March 29 he was 0-1 with a 5.89 earned-run average, but since then the 6-foot-5 junior has won five consecutive decisions--four as a starter and one in relief--posting an 0.87 ERA. Overall, he is 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA.

Quotebook

“It was a confidence booster for our kids. They were upset they didn’t win, but they were proud.”

--Palmdale High volleyball Coach Matt Tassinari, after his team lost in five games to Highland, the No. 2-ranked boys’ volleyball team in Southern Section Division II. Highland previously had not lost a game this season.

“It’s been a very good season, but I can’t take anything for granted.”

--Canoga Park High volleyball Coach Joey Nakasone, whose team takes a 9-1 record into a key match against traditional Valley Pac-8 Conference power Van Nuys next Wednesday.

Honors

Jason Dubrovo and David Richardson of Cal Lutheran have been selected to the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference golf team.

The Kingsmen were 7-0 in head-to-head SCIAC play, won two conference tournaments and finished second in another. Based on a weighted points system, those performances earned them the conference championship.

Dylan Herrick of Campbell Hall was honored as the most valuable player in the Palisades tournament, which his team won in come-from-behind fashion against El Toro.

Things to Do

Ventura College is hosting the Western State Conference swimming championships today and Saturday, starting at 9 each morning.

Notre Dame High will host Alemany in a key Mission League boys’ volleyball match tonight at 7. Harvard-Westlake (9-0) is in first place, Loyola (7-2) is in second, followed by Alemany (5-4). Notre Dame and Crespi are both 4-5 in league play. The top three teams advance to the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

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Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Fernando Dominguez, Jeff Fletcher, Irene Garcia, Peter Yoon.