Carson Bounces Back

Carson and San Pedro, City Section softball finalists for the last four years, played a memorable Marine League game Thursday, with five-time runner-up Carson scoring a 3-2 victory in eight innings.

Backup first baseman Monica Walter tripled to lead off the bottom of the eighth and pinch-runner Rachel Ramirez scored on a grounder to third when San Pedro’s Joi Allen tried to pump-fake a throw to first base, only to have the ball slip from her hand and dribble toward second base.

Walter was in the game because of unusual circumstances. Starter Veronica Ramos tripled to lead off the second inning and Ramirez pinch-ran. Ramirez eventually scored, but Coach Joe Sponsler never re-entered Ramos, necessitating the change in the lineup after San Pedro caught the mistake.

It was an important victory for Carson (18-5, 4-1), which was upset, 2-1, on Tuesday by Wilmington Banning.

San Pedro (15-3, 4-1) took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Stephanie Tam homered, and Nicole Castagnola followed with a triple and scored on a throwing error by left fielder Leilanie Pallen.

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The Thousand Oaks tournament is two weeks away, but San Bernardino Cajon served notice that it won’t be out of place in the top-caliber field. The Cowboys (12-4) defeated No. 10 Diamond Bar, 2-1, to win the Santa Maria Righetti tournament on Wednesday.

Sophomore shortstop Nicole Kajitani was the most valuable player after batting .389 and scoring four runs. Among the most impressive performances was freshman pitcher Bekki Saldecke, who went 3-0, struck out 27 in 21 innings and gave up only one run.

Cajon, which is unranked, has a chance to make a big run. It plays No. 25 Westlake Village Westlake in the first round of the Thousand Oaks tournament on May 1.

Martin Henderson

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Track and Field

The boys’ and girls’ 5,000 meters and four-mile relays will kick off the high school portion of the 46th Mt. San Antonio College Relays when the meet begins its final three days this afternoon. The remainder of the high school events will be held Saturday.

The meet, which included competition for junior college, middle school and elementary school athletes earlier this month, will start at 3:40 p.m. today.

The boys’ and girls’ 5,000, which replace the 3,000, and four-mile relays will be held in conjunction with the invitational distance carnival that features world- and national-class runners in races ranging from the 3,000 steeplechase to the 10,000.

Long Beach Poly and Long Beach Wilson, the top two girls’ teams in the state championships last year, are expected to battle one another in numerous events Saturday, including the 400 and 1,600 relays.

John Ortega

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Boys’ Tennis

One winning streak will end today when North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake visits Santa Barbara in a 3 p.m. nonleague match. The No. 3 Wolverines (10-0) and No. 2 Santa Barbara (12-0) have gone undefeated since Southern Section playoff losses last spring.

Last season, Santa Barbara was without No. 1 singles player Blake Muller in its 13-5 loss to Harvard-Westlake. He fractured a vertebra in his back the week before the match. Muller (16-1) should be available today, but Santa Barbara might again be shorthanded -- No. 2 singles player Taylor Chavez-Goggin has an ailing back and No. 3 singles A.J. Stein underwent wrist surgery in February and has not played at full strength.

Elia Powers

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Swimming

La Verne Damien butterfly and backstroke swimmer Michael Carter and Upland backstroker Jenna Schuster will help their teams try to defend the boys’ and girls’ titles, respectively, when the Walnut Invitational begins with preliminaries today at Mt. San Antonio College.

-- Lauren Peterson