Not Much Suspense Left in League Softball Races

There are nearly two weeks left in the Southern Section softball season, but most league races have either been decided or will be in the next two days.

A look at the league races and upcoming key games (records entering games Tuesday):

Alpha--Paraclete (11-8, 3-0 in league play) can clinch its 22nd consecutive league championship with a victory over second-place Village Christian (14-5, 3-1) on Thursday.

Foothill--Hart (18-3, 6-0) entered the week with a three-game lead over Saugus (14-9, 3-3), Canyon (13-8, 3-3) and Valencia (12-8, 3-3). Hart beat Burbank, 2-0, Tuesday to clinch a tie for the title and a victory Thursday against Saugus would give the Indians their third consecutive championship.

Frontier--Calabasas (15-5, 10-0) beat Santa Paula, 6-0, Tuesday to clinch its third consecutive outright league title.

Golden--Quartz Hill (14-6, 5-1), Highland (13-6, 5-1) and Lancaster (13-9, 5-1) are tied for first. Highland plays at Lancaster on Thursday and hosts four-time defending champion Quartz Hill Tuesday. Quartz Hill hosts Lancaster on May 11 in a league finale.

Marmonte--Thousand Oaks (19-4-1, 10-0) has clinched its second consecutive league championship.

Mission--Chaminade (9-10, 4-1) hosts Harvard-Westlake (15-4, 5-0) today for first place. A victory would give Harvard-Westlake a two-game lead with four to play. Chaminade needs a victory to stay in contention for a share of its third consecutive league title.

Pacific--Crescenta Valley (22-1, 6-0) entered the week with a two-game lead over Glendale (9-8, 4-2) and Arcadia (9-11-1, 4-2) with four left. Victories over Hoover on Tuesday and Arcadia on Thursday would clinch a share of the Falcons’ third consecutive championship.

Pacific View--Camarillo (16-7, 8-1) has a one-game lead over Rio Mesa (13-7-1, 7-2) with three to play. Camarillo can clinch a share of its third consecutive league title with a victory today at home against Rio Mesa. The teams have split two games. A Rio Mesa victory could force a tie and send the Spartans to the playoffs as the league’s No. 1-seeded team by virtue of their 2-1 record against Camarillo.

Rio Hondo--La Canada (11-8, 9-0) has won 15 consecutive league games and clinched a share of the championship. The Spartans can seal the title with a victory today at South Pasadena.

Tri-Valley--La Reina (13-4, 6-0) leads Oak Park (10-7, 5-1) by a game with four left. They meet in a season finale May 11 at Oak Park.

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The Kohlmeier family feud resumes on Thursday, when Hoover, coached by Kirt Kohlmeier, travels to Glendale, coached by Kirt’s brother Kris.

Glendale defeated Hoover, 4-2, in an eight-inning Hoover tournament game on April 17. Hoover defeated the Dynamiters, 4-3, in an 11-inning Pacific League game on April 18.

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Paraclete plays Notre Dame and La Reina meets Alemany on Saturday in the semifinals of the Desert Diamond Classic at Lancaster City Park.

Paraclete and La Reina, longtime lower-division powers, have met several times in recent Southern Section playoffs and have combined to win all five Desert Diamond championships.

Paraclete, defending champion, has won the tournament three times.

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Sarah Wheeler of Village Christian has been named the student-athlete of the week by the Los Angeles edition of Schoolsports.com, an online prep sports news service.

Wheeler, who is batting .375 with five doubles and 16 runs batted in, was recognized for her performance on the field and in the classroom.

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Few players mean as much to their team as Jillian Rice of L.A. Baptist.

Rice, who is batting .514, has been directly involved in 32% of the Knights’ runs.

She has scored 13 times and driven in 14 runs. L.A. Baptist has 86 runs through 13 games.