Old Rivalry Gets Brotherly Boost
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Glendale and Hoover highs, take your places. It’s time to start . . . the Family Feud.
The region’s oldest cross-town rivalry became a sibling rivalry this season, when Kris Kohlmeier took over Glendale’s softball program.
Kirt Kohlmeier, Kris’ older brother, is a longtime coach at Hoover.
The first brother-against-brother battle took place on March 17 in the third-place game of the Hoover tournament.
That one went to Kris and Glendale, 4-2.
“It’s certainly a unique situation,” Kirt said. “But I don’t like to focus on the brother versus brother aspect. It’s the teams.”
The teams meet again in Pacific League games on April 18 at Hoover and May 4 at Glendale.
The Kohlmeiers are an institution at Hoover.
Kirt and Kris graduated from the school, and father Dee worked there for 37 years. Mother Barbara was an elementary school teacher in the Glendale Unified School District.
Neither parent chose sides during the March 17 game, sitting directly behind home plate while wearing Hoover caps and Glendale sweatshirts.
“After all those years at Hoover, just getting him to wear something black and red was a victory for me,” said Kris, who was an assistant at Glendale for seven seasons. “This is definitely a Hoover family, and I guess I’m the lost sheep.”
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Sibling rivalries in the region aren’t restricted to the Kohlmeiers.
Sisters Malia Sullivan (6-2) of Burroughs and Kalani Sullivan (1-1) of Alemany pitched against each other last weekend at the High Desert Classic in Lancaster.
Malia, a senior right-hander, came back earlier than expected from an ankle injury so she could face her freshman sister.
“She didn’t want to miss that kind of opportunity,” said Coach Pat Lynch of Burroughs, which won, 4-1.
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Sherman Oaks CES doesn’t have a lot of experience celebrating victories. That was obvious after a recent game, when players had difficulty dumping a water bucket on Coach Bryant Ching.
Ching walked away with a scratch on his forehead.
“They just weren’t ready,” Ching said of the postgame ritual. “We had to work on their technique the next day at practice.”
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Pitcher Kelly Kalish of La Canada opened Rio Hondo League play with a bang last week.
The sophomore right-hander hurled one-hit shutouts against South Pasadena, Monrovia and San Marino as the Spartans (4-5, 3-0 in league play) moved into first place.
Kalish struck out 33 and walked one last week while extending her scoreless-innings streak to 22.
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Quartz Hill and Burbank will receive new uniforms for winning their respective divisions at the High Desert Classic on Monday night.
The title, and prize, were unexpected for Burbank (10-2), which won only eight games last season.
“I just ordered new uniforms,” Coach Debby Day said. “Now I wish I hadn’t.”
The new outfits will be most welcome at Quartz Hill (9-4), which is expected to change its colors from royal blue and gold to Columbia blue and gold by next school year.
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