Strong starts for Spartans
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Lauren O’Leary (La Cañada High, 2011) freshman, Georgetown University softball: The Hoyas are in the midst of a skid, dropping six of their last seven, but O’Leary is having a strong debut season.
The ace in the Spartans’ run to a CIF Southern Section Division V championship last year has emerged as Georgetown’s primary starter as she’s appeared in a team-high 23 games and started a team-high 14 of 38 games.
O’Leary has a 7-10 record, 3.10 earned-run average and .232 opposing batting average in the circle in which she’s posted team-highs in complete games (11), shutouts (four) and strikeouts (87).
The freshman is looking to bounce back after losing her last start against DePaul, which completed a three-game sweep over Georgetown, on Friday, 4-0. She allowed six hits, four runs, three walks and recorded three strikeouts in the complete seven-inning game.
The Hoyas have struggled on offense and defense this season with a 15-23, 0-6 in the Big East Conference record. They’ve committed 45 errors this season and have been shut out 13 times this year.
Georgetown was looking to pick up its first conference victory in a double-header at the University of Pittsburgh Wednesday.
Christian Renfro (La Cañada High, 2011) freshman, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo swimming: Renfro has also made himself a key contributor to the Mustangs in his inaugural season.
The season came to a close at the PAC-12Championships at East Los Angeles College on March 3 as Renfro helped guide four Cal Poly relay teams to eighth-place finishes in conference.
Cal Poly placed eighth in the conference with 120 points as Stanford claimed its 31st straight conference title with 939.5 points.
The freshman joined teammates Omar Dwidar, Mackey Hopen and Drew Casier for an eighth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of three minutes 04.55 seconds. The same group took eighth in the conference in the 200-free relay (1:23.78).
Renfro also led the Mustangs to two more eighth-place conference finishes in the 400-yard medley relay (Joseph Wasko, Jimmy Deiparine and Jesse McWhirk) and 800-free relay (Konrad Antoniuk, Eddie Huang and Adrian Brynnel).
Renfro’s 200-yard freestyle time of 1:38.21 in the PAC-12 Finals was good for 18th overall in the conference.
A.J. Kim (La Cañada High, 2009) junior, Vassar College baseball: The Brewers are coming off three wins in a four-game series with the Rochester Institute of Technology after a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.
Kim did his part, going five for 15 with five runs scored and four runs batted in the series, in which Vassar picked up 6-2, 14-0 and 23-2 wins.
The junior catcher was three for 10 with four RBI and three runs scored in Saturday’s doubleheader after a two-for-five, three-RBI game in the day’s opening 14-0 win
Kim has provided the Brewers with some offense from the catching position all year, as he’s batting .288 (19 for 66) with 13 runs scored, 11 RBI and a .348 slugging percentage with a home run to his credit. He’s also been solid behind the plate with a .966 fielding percentage, while also throwing out eight runners attempting to steal on 17 attempts.
Vassar (8-12, 6-6 in Liberty League) was looking to build some momentum when it headed to take on New Paltz Wednesday.
Alexandra Antonoplis (La Cañada High, 2010) sophomore Pomona-Pitzer tennis: The Sagehens have proved a formidable foe in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference so far this season.
Pomona-Pitzer has been busy flexing its might in the conference with commanding 9-0 victories in its previous two matches against Occidental on March 31 and La Verne on Saturday.
Antonoplis helped her squad attain the perfect marks by defeating the Tigers’ Amber Gadsden (6-3, 6-0) and the Leopards’ Valerie Lezin (6-2, 6-3) in No. 6 singles.
The Sagehens are 9-5, 4-0 in conference this season and are currently ranked 15th in conference. They will look to stay perfect in a conference match at Caltech Friday at 2 p.m.
Garrett Salzman (St. Francis High, 2008) senior, Macalester College baseball: Salzman went two for three with a home run and two RBI to help the Scots open a doubleheader on Tuesday with a 6-5 win over Bethel before returning to go two for three with a run and an RBI in the nightcap, a 5-4 win.