AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

Glendale College moved closer to the Western State Conference Southern Division baseball title with two victories over Pierce last week.

The Vaqueros lead the division with a 16-4 record, ahead of second-place Citrus (13-6) and third-place Pierce (13-7), but Coach Jon Strauss remains cautious.

“Nothing’s over yet,” Strauss said.

Glendale defeated Pierce, 18-5, on Thursday and 12-11 on Saturday, dropping the Brahmas three games out of first place with six to play. The Vaqueros rallied from an 8-3 deficit after 2 1/2 innings.

“Saturday’s game was our best of the season as far as toughness,” Strauss said. “We were up against [Kurt] Birkins, one of the best pitchers in college.

“We had a great attitude. Every blow we took we came back with a blow.”

The Vaqueros play Canyons, 11-9 in conference play, today at home and Thursday in Valencia.

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The softball race in the WSC Northern Division is coming down to today’s game between Cuesta and host Ventura.

Ventura leads the division with an 18-2 record, with Cuesta one game behind at 17-3.

Cuesta defeated Ventura, 6-1, on April 5 at San Luis Obispo.