Villa Park Wins in Badminton

It didn’t occur to Alan Yoshioka what he was about to accomplish until the final few points played out in his singles match during the Southern Section badminton team championship Tuesday at the Orange County Badminton Club.

When Yoshioka, a senior at Villa Park, upset Brian Pham of Alhambra Keppel, 15-12, 15-10, it gave the top-seeded Spartans an insurmountable lead en route to their fourth consecutive section title, and they won, 12-7.

Villa Park (16-1) had forged a 7-5 lead shortly after Yoshioka and Pham began play on one of the four courts used during the finals. Victories by Brendan Taft in singles and Eva Lee and Betty Ho in doubles followed to put the Spartans within one point of the 10 needed for victory.

Yoshioka lifted several birdies in succession, and Pham eventually made a series of unforced errors to close the match.

“It felt good to contribute points to our victory,” Yoshioka said.

Keppel (13-4) was vying for its ninth section title but finished runner-up for the third year in a row.

The second-seeded Aztecs led, 2-1, after the first round of mixed doubles, but Villa Park took three of four singles matches in the second round and never looked back.

-- Paul McLeod

Softball

Lindsey Ubrun and Shauna Rainwater hit consecutive doubles, and Morgan Stuart followed with a line single to lift Riverside Poly past fourth-seeded Santa Ana Mater Dei, 3-0, at Thornton Park in a Division I semifinal.

Ubrun’s decisive but controversial hit -- her first of the playoffs -- came after Mindi Cowles reached base on an error leading off the eighth inning. It came on a hit-and-run play in which the first base umpire, David Yamakawa, raised his hands to signal dead ball and call Cowles out for leaving early. However, he didn’t make a verbal commitment to the dead ball call, which brought in Monarch right fielder Ashley Weber to argue, because the ball was hit between her and the center fielder.

Umpires conferred twice after hearing from Weber and Mater Dei Coach Doug Myers, but home plate umpire Dan Brown refused to explain the decision or interpretation afterward.

Cowles (17-4) gave up seven hits and struck out nine against Mater Dei (26-5-2).

Poly will play Los Alamitos (22-8-2), a 3-0 winner over Camarillo (23-8), for the title this weekend at Barber Park in Irvine.

-- Martin Henderson

Brittney Bargar (22-8) had a three-hitter with eight strikeouts to lead host Corona to a 5-1 upset of third-seeded and Mountain View League rival Norco (25-5) in a Division II semifinal.

Brooke LeSage hit a two-run home run, and Sabrina Hernandez had three hits and one run batted in for Corona (23-8), which collected a season-high 13 hits against Norco ace Daniela Urincho (23-5).

Corona advances to meet another league foe, Corona Santiago, in the final. The top-ranked Sharks (27-3) defeated visiting Orange El Modena, 9-0, in a semifinal, and have beaten Corona in two of three league games this season.

-- Ben Dimapindan

Track and Field

Senior Kurt Boehm of Lancaster Paraclete, who won his second consecutive title in the boys’ pole vault in the Southern Section Masters Meet, has withdrawn from this weekend’s state championships in Sacramento.

Boehm cleared a career-best 15 feet 8 inches in the Masters Meet, but state meet director Hal Harkness said he received an e-mail from Paraclete Coach Rick McGuire on Tuesday afternoon that said Boehm would “not be competing this weekend.” No reason was given.

In other news regarding scratches for the state championships:

* Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills has withdrawn from the boys’ 1,600-meter relay because two of its team members are going to attend the school prom Saturday night.

* Sophomore Anne St. Geme of Corona del Mar has pulled out of the 800 to focus on the 1,600.

* Senior Monika Rothenburger of Dana Point Dana Hills has dropped out of the girls’ 1,600 to focus on the 3,200.

* Freshman Ebony Collins of Long Beach Wilson has withdrawn from the girls’ 100 high hurdles but will compete in the 100, 300 low hurdles and 1,600 relay.

-- John Ortega