Reseda Makes a Beeline When Field Catches Buzz

Baseball games routinely get changed because of wet grounds, but Reseda High experienced a first Thursday.

The Regents’ game was moved to Sylmar because of angry bees.

A bee hive was forming on the Reseda physical education building along the first-base line. Some students threw rocks at the bees, causing them to scatter.

“They got real nasty and started buzzing,” Coach Marco Contreras said.

By Thursday afternoon, Contreras decided to change the site of the game because of safety concerns.

The school district later got rid of the bees.

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Imagine having a son and daughter pitching in games simultaneously? That was the dilemma last season faced by Gene Brown, whose son Jeff and daughter Nikki are pitchers for Grant.

“I had one dream day where they were both pitching within 100 yards of each other,” Gene said.

This season, Jeff is 1-1 for the baseball team and Nikki is 4-2 for the softball team. Since they play on different days, the family no longer has to choose which game to attend.

Jeff, a junior, and Nikki, a senior, have maintained a positive sibling rivalry. Both are A students, though Jeff’s grade-point average is slightly higher. Nikki is editor of the school newspaper, a top tennis player and is considered a better hitter than her brother.

“That’s what I hold over him,” she said. “I have the power of the press and the power of the bat.”

Brother and sister are in the same advanced-placement math class, and Jeff feels he can doze off occasionally because Nikki takes good notes.

Jeff also depends on his sister in other areas. He’s hoping she will get him a date with the most “gorgeous” girl in school.

Said Nikki: “He has a very special taste. The girl has to be perfect in every way.”

In other words, Jeff should continue to have plenty of time to work on his pitching.

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It’s rivalry time again.

Last week, Westlake and Thousand Oaks engaged in a terrific Marmonte League showdown. Today, Crespi (7-0-1, 3-0-1 in league play) meets Notre Dame (6-3, 4-0) in a battle for first place in the Mission League at Valley College.

“Anything goes,” Muckey said. “We haven’t had a predictable Notre Dame-Crespi game since I’ve been here. I don’t think the kids from either team need to be told anything. They probably need to calm down.”

The schools shared the league title last season after splitting two games. The outcome figures to come down to whether Crespi pitchers Marshall Plouffe and Clint Kofmehl are effective against Notre Dame’s powerful hitting attack.