Sailors put two in semis

Defending Sea View League boys singles champion Robert Khoury and

Newport Harbor High teammate Jake Fleming both advanced to today’s

semifinals at the first day of the league tennis championships

Wednesday at Heritage Park in Irvine.

Khoury, the No. 3 seed, defeated Kasra Menhaji of Aliso Niguel,

6-1, 6-0, in the Round of 16, then topped a Foothill competitor, 6-1,

6-2, in the quarterfinals. Khoury will meet No. 2-seeded Shimpei

Suzuki today at 1 p.m. at the same site.

Fleming, the No. 4 seed, will face top-seeded Michael McClune from

Woodbridge in another 1 p.m. semifinal. Fleming handled a Foothill

rival, 6-0, 6-0, then dispatched Barend Mitton, 6-2, 6-2, in a

quarterfinal.

The singles final will follow today’s semifinals, at approximately

3 p.m.

Newport Harbor’s Charlie Farmer defeated Eric Le from Irvine, 6-1,

6-0, in the Round of 16, before losing to McClune, 6-0, 6-4, in a

quarterfinals.

Newport’s Tyler Deck defeated Danny Desatnik from Woodbridge, 6-4,

6-4, in the Round of 16, before falling to Suzuki, 6-4, 6-3, in a

quarterfinal.

The Sailors’ doubles teams all lost in the Round of 16 Wednesday.

CdM’s Tilsen advances

* GOLF: Corona del Mar High junior Ben Tilsen shot 1-over-par 73

Wednesday to finish tied for fifth in the 36-hole Pacific Coast

League boys golf championships at El Prado Golf Course in Chino.

Tilsen, who shot 79 in Monday’s first round, advances to the CIF

Southern individual finals, scheduled May 17 at SeaCliff Country Club

in Huntington Beach.

Tilsen made four birdies in Wednesday’s round to earn his first

trip to the CIF individuals.

“I’m very proud of him, because he works really hard,” CdM Coach

Mike Starkweather said.

Sailors handle Hawks

* BASEBALL: The Newport Harbor High baseball team rallied from a

3-2 deficit with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to

claim a 6-4 Sea View League victory over visiting Laguna Hills

Wednesday.

The win keeps the Sailors (12-10, 6-6 in league), who entered the

week one game behind third-place Woodbridge, in position to earn

their first CIF Southern Section playoff berth since 1990.

Woodbridge played the first of its two games against

league-leading Foothill Wednesday. Newport finishes its week Friday

at Laguna Hills, before playing Woodbridge twice next week, at

Windrow Park on Tuesday and at home Thursday.

Wednesday, senior Brandon Jasper’s ground-rule double plated the

first run of the fifth for the Sailors, who scored again on a

sacrifice fly by Taylor Young.

Leading, 4-3, the Tars added valuable insurance in the sixth.

Senior right fielder Andre Pinesett, who was 2 for 3 with two runs

and one RBI, sparked the rally with a triple. He scored on an errant

pickoff throw to third.

Junior Matt Erickson walked and stole second, and, with some

daring baserunning, scored from there when a groundball to shortstop

by senior Mike McLain produced a throwing error.

Jasper worked a scoreless seventh for his second save of the

season, as senior Joey Cantarella earned the win to improve to 6-3.

Jasper, as well as junior Sean Rowe, had RBIs for the winners.

*--*

Sea View League

Newport Harbor 6, Laguna Hills 4

Score by Innings

LH 000 030 1 -- 4 5 2

NH 020 022 x - 6 7 1

Easton and Schroeder; Cantarella, Keehan

(6), Jasper (7) and Sanchez. W --

Cantarella, 6-3. L -- Easton. Sv - Jasper

(2). 2B -- Jasper, Pinesett, Rowe. 3B --

Pinesett (NH).

*--*

Mesa blanks Panthers

* SOFTBALL: The Costa Mesa High softball team is still clinging to

remote hopes of cracking the top three in the Golden West League

after a 1-0 league win over visiting Orange Wednesday.

The Mustangs, forced to forfeit three league victories (over

Orange April 2, Estancia April 14 and Westminster April 19) improved

to 7-15, 3-6 in league.

Mesa has three league games remaining and with wins in all three,

along with a string of losses by the loser of Wednesday’s Ocean

View-Santa Ana contest, may still wind up at least tied for the

league’s third guaranteed CIF Southern Section playoff berth.

Jackie Butler led the way Wednesday for Mesa, yielding just two

hits and striking out 10, one off her career high, in a complete-game

shutout. She walked four, but did not encounter any trouble after the

Mustangs broke a scoreless tie in the fifth.

Freshman Danielle Morton and senior Uyen Mai began the rally with

singles then, with one out, sophomore Janae Rivera was hit by a pitch

to load the bases.

A fly out to left field was too shallow to score from third, but

freshman Christy Gregory walked to drive in the game-winning run.

Morton and Mai were both 2 for 3 to pace the Mustangs’ five-hit

attack.

Mesa finishes up with Estancia Friday, Westminster Monday and

Santa Ana Wednesday.

*--*

Golden West League

Costa Mesa 1, Orange 0

Score by Innings

Orange 000 000 0 -- 0 2 1

Mesa 000 010 x -- 1 5 1

Shule and Coan; Butler and Miller. W --

Butler, 6-8. L -- Shule.

*--*

Sage’s Cordier runner-up

* TENNIS: Sage Hill School junior Tristan Cordier, the No. 2 seed,

reached the Academy League boys singles final, but top-seeded John

Bowman from Brethren Christian proved too much in a 6-1, 6-1 victory

Wednesday at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

Cordier defeated Adrian Ang (Oxford Academy), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4)

in the semifinals to qualify for the CIF Southern Section individual

tournament later this month.

Sage’s Nos. 1 and 2 doubles teams played for third place, with Ian

Livingston and Dan Chin defeating Michael Cassel and Michael

Garrison, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Sage’s No. 3 team of Conrad Whitaker and Tyler Ross fell to

Whitney’s Jason Liu and Tang Parkh, the top seed and eventual doubles

champion, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.

Sage Hill (12-8, 6-2 in league), ranked second in CIF Division V,

begins the playoffs May 18.

Vanguard seeks titles

* TENNIS: The Vanguard University men’s and women’s tennis teams

will compete for Region II titles beginning today in Santa Barbara

The women’s team, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA and boasting a 21-1

record, is the top seed.

The men’s team, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA with an 18-4 record, is

seeded second in the four-team tournament.

The men’s and women’s teams will open play today at the city

municipal courts.

The Vanguard men open the Region II tournament with a 9 a.m.

first-round match against No. 3-seeded Point Loma Nazarene for the

second straight year. VU defeated the No. 12-ranked Sea Lions, 8-1,

in both Golden State Athletic Conference matches this season.

A Vanguard win would set up a possible rematch with No. 1-ranked

Azusa Pacific, which defeated the Lions in the Region II final in

2003.

The women’s team faces No. 4-seeded Westmont in the first round at

1 p.m.

VU has shut out the No. 20-ranked Warriors twice this season and

hopes to advance to the Region II title match Friday.

Saints hold off Eagles

* BASEBALL: Estancia High rallied for four runs in the final two

innings, but it wasn’t enough as host Santa Ana earned a 7-4 Golden

West League baseball victory Wednesday.

Estancia senior Eric Scheafer had three hits, while Brad Young and

Cullen Crom both went 2 for 3 for the Eagles (3-17, 0-10 in league).

It was Crom’s first action in two weeks, since he dislocated a

shoulder running the bases against Ocean View.

Mike McDaniels had two RBIs for the Eagles, who play crosstown

rival Costa Mesa Friday on the Mustangs’ diamond. Mesa defeated

Estancia, 5-2, in their first meeting. The annual Costa Mesa-Estancia

series winner receives the perpetual Paul Troxel Trophy, named for a

former coach for both programs who died in 1999.

*--*

Golden West League

Santa Ana 7, Estancia 4

Score by Innings

Est. 000 002 2 -- 4 8 2

SA 203 101 x -- 7 11 0

Hauser, Crom (3), McClanahan (6) and

Morley, Hauser (3); Contreras and DeLeon,

W -- Contreras. L -- Hauser, 1-4. 2B --

Scheafer (E), Crom E(), DeLeon (SA),

Mendoza (SA), Ramirez (SA).

*--*