Locals display value at next level
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Nick Gentili (St. Francis High, 2009) junior, Pomona-Pitzer baseball: Saturday was a big day for Gentili, but the 2012 season has been filled with those for the former Golden Knight, who is leading the Panthers in batting average this season with a .410 mark (57 for 139).
The outfielder flashed the power he’s become known for in Saturday’s 16-1 win over Caltech, as he tripled, homered and drove in four runs in the game.
Gentili is also maintaining slugging and on-base percentages of .712 and .523, respectively, this year with a team-high 16 doubles, 51 runs scored, four triples, six home runs and 39 runs batted in.
Pomona-Pitzer has been faring just as well as the junior this year with a 23-12-1, 17-9 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record.
Hope is still alive for the Panthers to win a conference title this season after defeating conference-leading La Verne, 8-2, on Friday. Pomona-Pitzer has to win out in its final two games and hope the Leopards drop one of their remaining games to capture the conference title.
Anton Arboleda (La Cañada High, 2010) sophomore, UCLA golf: Improvement has been the name of the game in Arboleda’s second season, as he’s emerged as one of the team’s five low scorers.
The former Spartan has three top-10 and five top-12 finishes, along with seven rounds under par, which are both already two more each than he had last season.
Most recently, Arboleda tied for 14th place in the Western Intercollegiate with a three-round score of 215, which was five-over par and a one-over par final-round score of 71 at the Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz on April 15.
The Bruins, which are tied for the fourth ranking in the NCAA, finished third in the tournament with a team score of 1,067, which put them behind Stanford (1,064) and Texas (1,060).
Arboleda’s best finish of the season was a top-eight three-round score of 211 at the U.S. Intercollegiate at the Stanford Golf Course on April 1. He shot an even-par 70 in his final round and carded a two-under-par 68 in the first round. UCLA finished fourth in the tournament with a team score of 852, which was 11 strokes behind Oregon (841).
Arboleda’s scoring average sits at 72.6 so far this season, which is 1.3 strokes better than last year.
Anna Edwards (La Cañada High, 2011) freshman, Northwestern University softball: Edwards has stepped right in and taken on a starting role with the Wildcats, as she’s started 42 of 43 games this season.
The numbers haven’t quite come around for the freshman second baseman, who is batting .220 (25 for 109) so far this year. Her slugging percentage sits at .330 with three doubles, three home runs, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored to her credit.
Edwards has been on a bit of a roll as late, reaching base four games straight, collecting hits in three of those contests. Her best game in that span came against Indiana Sunday when she went two for two with a two-run home run, three RBI and three runs scored.
The Wildcats have been struggling a bit as well this season, as they’ve lost four of their last five games to fall to 18-25, 6-9 in the Big Ten Conference this year.