SportsScope : Bantam Champ Richard Sandoval to Fight for Charity at Cal Poly Pomona

Richard Sandoval of Pomona, undefeated World Boxing Assn. bantamweight champion, will fight for charity against Hector Cortez of Ecuador in a 10-round non-title bout at 8 p.m. Friday at Cal Poly Pomona’s Kellogg Gym.

Proceeds will benefit the Mexican American Student Assn. scholarship programs at Ganesha and Garey high schools and Cal Poly Pomona.

Sandoval is 28-0 with 18 knockouts and Cortez is 34-7-2. Sandoval will use the bout as a tuneup for his title defense against Gaby Canizales on March 10 in Las Vegas.

“I want to help youth to further their education,” said Sandoval, a graduate of Garey. “I hope we can do more things like this because our abilities that God gave us should be shared with the rest of the community.”

The card has four preliminary bouts headed by an eight-rounder between undefeated Zach Padilla (7-0) of Azusa and Raul Salazar (10-4) of Mexico.

Unbeaten Paul Banke (4-0) of Azusa faces Antonio Lozado (6-3) of Mexico and undefeated Francisco Segura (8-0) of Coachella takes on Everardo Rico (5-2) of Mexico in six-rounders, and Steve Cesena of Pomona makes his professional debut in a four-round bout against Guadalupe Martinez (2-1) of Mexico. All of Banke’s wins are by knockout and five of Segura’s wins are by KOs.

Tickets are $10 for arena seating and $20 for ringside. The student association is hoping to raise $15,000 from the event. Tickets are with Sandoval’s headquarters at (714) 865-7446 and at the event.

After two heartbreaking conference defeats last week, the Cal State Los Angeles men’s basketball team will try to get back on the winning track at home against Chapman and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. this weekend.

Cal State L. A., 11-5 overall and 5-2 in the CCAA, plays Chapman at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Dominguez Hills at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Chapman is struggling at 1-6 in the CCAA and Dominguez Hills is 2-5.

Cal State L. A. entered last week ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Division II at 11-3, but the Golden Eagles lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (73-72) and Cal State Bakersfield (69-68). Now they trail first-place UC Riverside and San Luis Obispo (both 6-1).

“We got complacent,” Coach Jim Newman said. “We got caught up with the unfamiliar press and attention and got caught up being in the national rankings. All that just draws the attention of the opponents and makes them go after you a little harder, and we didn’t go a little harder.

“We’ll just have to go on from here and not get any more losses.”

Cal State L. A., which saw an 11-game winning streak end, is expected to start another against Dominguez Hills and Chapman, which has won only two of its last 13 games and is 5-14 overall. Dominguez Hills is not much better at 7-13.

The Golden Eagles have been led by senior guards Sam Veal and Shawn Holiday and senior center Tony Brown. Veal is leading the team in scoring with a 19.3 average, Brown is averaging 14.2 points and 11.3 rebounds and Holiday 11.8 points and 5 assists.

Ranked No. 1 in the nation in a preseason poll, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team opens its season with a double-header against U.S. International University at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Pomona.

The Broncos, who finished fourth in NCAA Division I last year, are bolstered by the return of two-time All-American pitcher Rhonda Wheatley. The junior from Valinda has won 73 games in her two seasons for Pomona, including an NCAA record mark of 48-16 with an 0.27 earned-run average last year.

Pomona is led on offense by second baseman Alison Stowell, a sophomore from Walnut High who was an outfielder last season and batted .269 with 18 runs batted in. Other standouts are senior third baseman Lyn Callahan, senior outfielder Jamie McCandlish and junior shortstop Jenny Moore.

One top player who is missing from last year’s 52-18 squad is All-American first baseman Kandi Burke, who will miss the season because of a knee injury.

The absence of Burke is one reason Coach Carol Spanks is surprised to see her team listed at the top of the rankings. “I was quite floored when I heard about us being No. 1 in the nation. It’s a nice honor to be considered by the people who are doing the voting. It’s nice recognition for our program and our school.

“If we can finish where we start, we will be right where we want to be.”

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, will try to stay undefeated in conference play when it visits Chapman for a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game at 7:30 tonight.