Baseball Proposal Lacks Support

A proposal that would allow batting practice before baseball playoff games will not have the support of the Southern Section Executive Committee when it comes before the section council for a vote Thursday during its regularly scheduled meeting in Long Beach.

The proposal would allow 30 minutes of batting practice for each team, if both coaches agreed.

Members of the executive committee, siding with an advisory committee, said the proposal was too broad and confusing and did not sufficiently define the differences between a game of “pepper” and batting practice.

They also questioned why baseball should change its rules when softball specifically prohibits batting practice.

Current rules allow pregame hitting from a batting tee and soft-toss games such as pepper, but no drills that involve overhand throwing.

Last spring, Lakewood’s baseball team was removed from the playoffs because it held batting practice before a second-round Division I game against Moreno Valley Valley View.

Lakewood Coach Spud O’Neil sits on the baseball advisory committee that turned down the proposal, which was made by the Pac-5 League.

Paul McLeod

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Boys’ Soccer

It’s not uncommon for soccer coaches to get conservative when they find their teams deadlocked in the second half of a title game.

Some coaches would rather settle for a tie and a share of the glory than have their teams push forward and expose themselves to a goal on a counterattack.

But that was not the case for Thousand Oaks Coach Mark Tietjen and assistant Josh Parker in the Southern Section Division II boys’ title game Saturday.

Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles Loyola were tied, 0-0, midway through the second half when Tietjen and Parker decided to have midfielder Diego Barrera become a third forward for the Lancers.

The move paid off in the 74th minute when sophomore midfielder Jonathan Wessely scored off an assist from forward Miguel Morales to help Thousand Oaks win its first section title.

“We weren’t going for a tie,” Tietjen said. “We were going for a win.”

John Ortega

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Miscellany

Nike has begun a series of free training camps to help athletes increase speed and improve performance.

Each Tuesday at L.A. Harbor College from 4 to 6 p.m. and each Wednesday at East Los Angeles College from 4 to 6 p.m., any high school or junior college athlete is eligible. There is no advance registration. Officials suggest athletes arrive early to fill out enrollment forms.

Coaches and trainers who work with professional athletes will run the speed camps, which will feature different training routines during the sessions, which run through March 31.

-- Dan Loumena