Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. There’s two weeks left in the high school baseball season, which means pitching depth is about to be critical for the playoffs. Let’s take a look at the real ace pitchers this season.
Ace pitchers
UC Santa Barbara commit Caleb Trugman of Ayala is ready for the Division 1 playoffs. He’s 8-1 with an 0.70 ERA for 20-2 Ayala.
Yale junior commit Justin Kirchner of Harvard-Westlake keeps improving with each game. He’s 8-0 with an 0.57 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 49 innings. Teammate Evan Alexander has come on strong with a 7-1 record, 2.21 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.
Norco left-hander Landon Hovermale is 8-0 with an 0.86 ERA. Jordan Ayala is beginning to reach playoff form at 7-0 with an 0.36 ERA.
Carlos Acuna, only a sophomore at Birmingham, is 7-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 60 innings. Someone will have to beat him in the City playoffs to advance.
Senior Jayden Rojas of Bell has regained his form from his sophomore season when he was City player of the year. He’s 7-0 with a 1.07 ERA. He has 70 strikeouts in 46 innings.
Tyler Belfani and Drew Slevecove, the one-two punch for surging Cypress, are 7-1 and 5-0, respectively. Armando Solorio has become a reliable ace for Sierra Canyon. Striker Pence of Corona Santiago is ready to go the distance once the playoffs begin. Ditto for Huntington Beach’s Jared Grindlinger.
Villa Park has a consistent duo in Jack McGuire (6-1, 1.10 ERA) and Logan Hoppie (8-1, 1.52). Orange Lutheran has three pitchers to watch in Gary Morse, Cooper Sides and Marcus Geis. Julian Garcia of St. John Bosco is 6-1 with an 0.83 ERA.
Anyone who scores off Ganesha left-hander Logan Schmidt in the playoffs deserves a salute. He’s been that dominant. Royal’s Dustin Dunwoody is 9-1 with an 0.13 ERA. James Quensenbery of Monrovia is 9-0. Jake Brande of Rancho Christian is 7-0 with an 0.50 ERA. Joe Bell is 9-2 with a 1.49 ERA for La Canada.
All these pitchers and more will present obstacles for the playoffs next month.
Baseball
Trey Ebel of Corona had 10 RBIs in game against Eastvale Roosevelt.
(Nick Koza)
Shortstop Trey Ebel of Corona hit two home runs and had 10 RBIs in a win over Eastvale Roosevelt.
Sophomore Dylan Lee of Westlake hit two home runs and had seven RBIs in win over Thousand Oaks. Junior Jaxson Neckien has hit six home runs in his last seven games.
Santa Margarita helped its cause for an at-large playoff berth with a 10-9 win over Orange Lutheran. Here’s the report.
Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame are locked in a fight for second place in the Mission League. Harvard-Westlake has been surging in first place.
Cypress has won eight of its last nine games going into a showdown series this week with Villa Park.
The battle for supremacy in the Big VIII League happens this week with Norco and Corona facing off in a three-game series. Can Norco end Corona’s hold on first place?
Huntington Beach suffered its first Sunset League defeat to Los Alamitos and faces second-place Newport Harbor in a series this week. Mira Costa and Redondo Union renew their rivalry in the Bay League.
El Camino Real and Birmingham begin their annual two-game series to decide the West Valley League championship Wednesday at ECR and Friday at Birmingham.
Garfield and South Gate are tied for first place in the Eastern League with Bell one game behind. Garfield and South Gate end the regular season next week with a two-game series.
Alex Martinez of Sylmar pitched his team past Poly on Thursday.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Sylmar is running away with the Valley Mission League title. Here’s the report.
Birmingham closer Aidan Martinez, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, is throwing 92-mph fastballs. Here’s the report.
Here’s the top 25 rankings by The Times.
The Koufax factor
Pitcher Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Pitcher Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly used to go to Dodger Stadium with his parents and always saw No. 32 as a retired number. He decided to learn about Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. Now he wears No. 32 and copied part of Koufax’s windup.
Here’s a look at 17-year-old appreciating baseball history.
Softball
Vista Murrieta sophomore pitcher Kaylynn Lowman shook off two home runs in the first inning to throw a complete game win over Murrieta Mesa.
(Vista Murrieta HS)
Vista Murrieta pulled off the shocker of the week, handing unbeaten Murrieta Mesa its first defeat 10-5. Here’s the report. Murrieta Mesa (21-1) came back to defeat Vista Murrieta 11-2.
Orange Lutheran suffered its first Trinity League loss to JSerra but still has a two-game lead over Santa Margarita after an 8-0 win over the Eagles.
Norco is 21-2 and has a two-game lead over King in its league standings.
Here’s the Southern Section power rankings.
Coach is prolific author
Newest book from former Santa Margarita coach Martin Dugard.
(Martin Dugard)
Another year, another book from Santa Margarita assistant cross-country coach Martin Dugard.
Talk about prolific authors. He’s got more books than some people have hits on a baseball team.
His latest is The Long Run, discussing the rise of marathons in the 1970s and the runners who helped motivate it.
Here’s a report.
Track
Oak Hills junior Quran Clayton Jr. of Oak Hills unleashed a state-leading 100 meters time of 10.12 (wind aided) at the Mojave River League finals.
Most league finals will be held this week, including the Mission League on Thursday at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The 100 meters should be the highlight for boys with numerous runners who have times below 11.00.
Volleyball
Redondo Union’s Carter Mirabal, left, tries to hit over Mira Costa’s Enzo Barker at the net in the first set on April 20, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Mira Costa earned the No. 1 seed for the Southern Section playoffs. Here are the pairings.
Mira Costa’s big win in league play happened last week over Redondo Union. Here’s the report.
The Southern Section girls beach volleyball semifinals are Wednesday. The matchups in Division 1 are Mira Costa at San Marcos and JSerra at Redondo Union.
NFL draft
Mater Dei linebacker David Bailey (31) in 2021. He was the No. 2 player taken in last week’s NFL draft.
(Jerome Miron/Jerome Miron)
The No. 2 player selected in last week’s NFL draft was defensive lineman and pass rusher David Bailey by the New York Jets. Bailey signed with Stanford out of Mater Dei, played for the Cardinal, then transferred to Texas Tech.
Former Los Alamitos and USC receiver Makai Lemon went in the first round to the Eagles. King/Drew graduate Max Iheanachor was taken in the first round by the Steelers. He played basketball in high school, went to East L.A. College and Arizona State as an offensive lineman. The Dolphins took former Eastvale Roosevelt cornerback Chris Johnson.
In the fourth round, former Bishop Alemany cornerback Ephesians Prysock went to the 49ers. The first pick of the fifth round was former Sierra Canyon defensive back Kamari Ramsey. Former Mater Dei defensive back Domani Jackson went to the Packers in the sixth round.
Notes . . .
Joshua Aguilera is the new basketball coach at Bosco Tech….
Jay Werner, who won a City title when he was coaching boys’ basketball at Sun Valley Poly, has been named girls basketball coach at Calabasas….
Will Burr, who was the girls’ basketball coach at Harvard-Westlake until leaving at the end of the season in his first year, is the new girls coach at Chaminade….
Randy Wright and Darin Blizzard have been hired to coach boy and girls water polo at Los Alamitos….
Former Hamilton High, USC and Raiders linebacker Rod Martin has died. He was 72. Here’s a story from 2021 when he was inducted into the City Section Hall of Fame….
Nolan Newman-Gomez, a 6-foot-8 basketball player at Hesperia and valedictorian, has committed to Idaho….
The CIF has announced its winners of the Model Coach Award. Here’s the link….
Gary Payton Jr. is the new girls basketball coach at Pasadena Poly….
Last month, Santa Margarita’s 6-9 Drew Anderson committed to Stanford. Kyle Evans, who graduated from Santa Margarita and competed for UC Irvine, has transferred to North Carolina State….
Tustin safety Khalil Terry has committed to UCLA after previously being committed to Notre Dame….
Irvine University won its 20th consecutive Pacific Coast League title in boys tennis….
Autumn Santiago is the new girls basketball coach at Newbury Park….
Quarterback Jaden Jefferson of Corona Centennial has committed to Hawaii….
Bill Sumner is retiring after 43 years coaching track and cross country at Corona del Mar. Here’s the report….
Pitcher Lachlan Clark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to Long Beach State….
The leading candidate to be the next boys basketball coach at Golden Valley is 24-year-old Miguel Mayorga, who coached the JV team last season….
Defensive back Gage Santos of Loyola has committed to Princeton….
The spring championship schedules are set. Here’s the link. …
San Clemente has begun construction for a new gymnasium…
Matteo Huarte became Mater Dei’s first Ojai CIF singles champion at Libbey Park on April 25, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Mater Dei’s Matteo Huarte won the high school singles tennis competition at Ojai. Here’s the report.
Lacrosse
Junior Tripp King from Loyola might be the best lacrosse player in the state.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Loyola’s Tripp King, only a junior, could be the trendsetter for West Coast lacrosse. He’s committed to North Carolina. A look at the premier prospect.
Loyola is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section Division 1 boys lacrosse playoffs. Here’s the link.
Santa Margarita is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section girls playoffs. Here’s the link.
From the archives: Ralphy Velazquez
First baseman Ralphy Velazquez during his Huntington Beach days.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
A first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Guardians in 2023, former Huntington Beach standout Ralphy Velazquez continues to climb in the organization with his hitting skills.
He entered this past week with 37 career home runs in the minor leagues.
This season he’s playing in double-A Arkansas. He impressed the Guardians during a spring invite to big-league camp.
Here’s a column from 2023 looking at Velazquez as a power hitter.
Recommendations
From Coast News Group, a story on Cathedral Catholic hiring Wolfgang Wood as its basketball coach.
From on3.com, a story on a high school football player from San Diego who has returned after a battle with leukemia.
From ABC15 in Arizona, a story on a district retrofitting its school football helmets to try to prevent concussions.
Tweets you might have missed
Until next time….
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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