Injury Takes Pitching Toll on Palmdale

No baseball team this season has scored runs like Palmdale High, but even Coach Randy Lintemoot feels the Falcons’ playoff ride may be short-lived.

“We just don’t have the pitching,� Lintemoot said.

Palmdale has received a boost from freshman Matt Harrington, who has 41 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. But the big blow came a month ago, when ace Sean Zortman felt pain in his pitching shoulder and hasn’t played since. Zortman was 2-0 with a 1.77 earned-run average.

Lintemoot has had to make do with Brian Stien and Cory Briggs, players better known for hitting than pitching.

So far, Palmdale has survived and is in second place in the Golden League with two games remaining.

Stunt men: Forget pass, set, spike.

Some members of the Grant High boys’ volleyball team, which plays top-seeded Eagle Rock in the City Section 3-A Division semifinals Wednesday night, get ready for matches by doing skateboard stunts. It’s a form of relaxation, said senior outside hitter Eric Gallarza.

“For me it’s better than sitting there and tensing up,� Gallarza said. “Everybody has different ways of warming up for the game.�

Gallarza and sophomore middle blocker Nathan Beck, a competitive snowboarder, sometimes quicken the pulse of Coach Howard Cahn, who has guided the fourth-seeded Lancers to a 10-2 record in his second season.

“I don’t want to know about it,� said Cahn, who had this advice for his players following a recent practice the day before a match: “No new stunts tomorrow.�

King for a day: Perhaps Tony Chavez of Reseda High should stick to playing only on Thursday.

Chavez, a senior outfielder, was five for five, including two home runs, and drove in six runs Thursday in a 13-11 Valley Pac-8 Conference loss to Monroe.

The past two Thursdays, Chavez is eight for 10 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. Conversely, Chavez is hitless in his past two at-bats on Tuesday and missed another Tuesday game because of a suspension levied by Coach Mike Stone.

Film buff: It’s been months since St. Bonaventure won the Southern Section Division X football title, but Seraph fans can continue to revel in their glory with the aid of Rory O’Donnell.

A junior at the school, O’Donnell has put together an impressive 60-minute highlight film of St. Bonaventure’s season.

The tapes, shrink-wrapped and with a professional label, contain footage of games shot by O’Donnell from the sidelines.

St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack played the tape at a recent coaching convention in Atlantic City, N.J., where its seamless editing, good camera work and player interviews wowed the crowd.

O’Donnell, who hopes to attend USC film school, was recruited to chronicle the season after several players worked with him on a class video project.