Loyola, Mira Costa Clash in Volleyball

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa and Los Angeles Loyola will meet in a nonleague boys’ volleyball match Saturday night at 7 at Loyola Marymount.

The teams, which have one of the longest-running and fiercest rivalries in the Southland, are expected to be among the region’s best again this season.

Loyola, the defending Southern Section Division I champion, was ranked No. 1 in the section’s Division I preseason poll, while Mira Costa, which lost in the second round of the Division I playoffs last season, was ranked No. 3.

Each has returning players who participated in last year’s spirited match, which saw Loyola end a six-match losing streak to the Mustangs with a four-game victory.

Loyola Coach Michael Boehle said the match was moved to Loyola Marymount to address overcrowding issues. Last season’s contest was before a standing-room-only crowd at Mira Costa’s gym.

Paul McLeod

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Baseball

Two consecutive upsets over ranked teams has some talking about Irvine Northwood, which plays today in the Costa Mesa/Foothill tournament championship game.

In a pool-play game last Friday, the Timberwolves lost, 6-2, to Riverside Arlington, ranked No. 11 in the Southland by The Times. They then defeated No. 3 Valencia, 2-1, on Monday, dropping the Vikings’ record to 0-3.

In a semifinal, Northwood rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 9 Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, 8-4.

“We’ve raised some eyebrows,” Northwood Coach Rob Stuart said. “When you string together a couple of wins like that, people begin to take notice.”

Northwood will attempt to beat another ranked opponent today when it plays No. 15 Santa Ana Foothill in the title game at 3 p.m. at Foothill. Stuart said he plans to start senior Eric Bosshart (1-0), who gave up three hits and struck out six in six innings against Valencia.

Dan Arritt

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Softball

Corona Santiago, ranked No. 2 in the Southland by The Times, plays No. 3 Norco at 7 tonight at Butterfield Park in a battle between Mountain View League rivals for the Corona tournament title.

The game features two of the area’s top pitchers. Santiago’s Taryne Mowatt had 21 strikeouts in eight innings Tuesday in a 1-0 win over No. 7 Riverside Poly, and Daniela Urincho pitched Norco to a 1-0, eight-inning victory over No. 9 Corona.

The third-place game involving Riverside Poly and Corona also takes place at 7 p.m.

Many nationally ranked teams will gather this weekend in Arizona for the Bullhead City Tournament of Champions. Southland schools competing include Garden Grove Pacifica, ranked No. 1 in the Southland, No. 4 Santa Ana Mater Dei, No. 10 Santa Ana Foothill, No. 11 Anaheim Canyon, No. 12 Irvine Woodbridge, No. 17 Lake Forest El Toro and No. 24 Los Alamitos.

Martin Henderson

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Miscellany

Robert Radnoti, the cross-country and track and field coach at Thousand Oaks, has been suspended from coaching duties for one calendar year for holding off-season workouts in violation of Southern Section rules, school officials reported.

Radnoti has coached at Thousand Oaks since 1998. Former teacher and coach Jerry Sawitz will join assistants Jermaine Dixon and Sarah Burns in running the program.

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The fifth U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Assn. Southern California Championships will take place Saturday at Rialto Eisenhower. The meet is open to all female wrestlers ages 5-18. Weigh-in and registration is from 7 to 9 a.m. and competition begins at 10 a.m.

Information: (248) 224-5068 or (248) 627-8066.

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At its regularly scheduled meeting in Long Beach, the Southern Section voted Thursday to deny a proposal that would allow batting practice before baseball playoff games.

-- Bob Rohwer