SanLuisObispo.com: Sports

Summer Collegiate Baseball: San Luis Obispo Blues rout San Diego Mavericks

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:57 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo Blues summer collegiate baseball team routed the San Diego Mavericks 15-3 on Saturday night at SLO Stadium, taking a 2-0 series lead.

San Luis Obispo (28-7) had 17 hits and benefited from seven San Diego errors.

R.J. Etchebarren and Jason King each had a team-high four hits and three runs apiece for the Blues, who posted all of their runs in the first four innings.

Track & Field: Vessey continues ascent with 800 win

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:49 PDT

By Tribune staff, wire reports -- Former Cal Poly All-American Maggie Vessey won the women�s 800 meters Friday at the Golden Gala track and field meet in Rome.

Vessey won in a personal-record time of 2 minutes, 0.13 seconds, beating her PR of 2:00.18 set last month while winning the Prefontaine Classic at Eugene, Ore.

Vessey finished one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Italy�s Elisa Cusma Piccione. Matye Martinez of Spain finished seven-hundredths of a second behind Vessey in third place. Hazel Clark, the U.S. champion, finished seventh in 2:01.41.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Yoder helps San Luis Obispo Blues win opener

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:46 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- To Central Coast baseball fans, Luke Yoder�s name has been more synonymous with power than finesse.

As a designated hitter entering his senior year at Cal Poly, Yoder has finished second on the Mustangs in home runs in each of the past two seasons, with 17 combined.

And his 4-for-4 performance Wednesday for the San Luis Obispo Blues summer collegiate baseball team included a homer (the Blues� first this summer), a triple and a walk.

Baseball: Royals trade former Poly pitcher Saito to Mariners

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:42 PDT

By Associated Press -- Former Cal Poly pitcher Derrick Saito and another minor leaguer were traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Seattle Mariners on Friday for shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt.

The Royals needed help at shortstop after Mike Aviles, who hit .325 as a rookie last year, went on the disabled list May 23 after batting .183 in 36 games. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is expected to be out nine to 12 months.

The 27-year-old Betancourt is batting .250 with two homers and 22 RBI in 63 games this season. He�s been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma after straining his left hamstring, and will continue rehabbing at Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Rattlers fall to Packers in tourney

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:41 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo Rattlers fell behind early to the Santa Maria Valley Packers and couldn�t catch them in a summer collegiate baseball game Friday.

The Rattlers trailed 4-0 after three innings and went on to lose to the Packers 7-4 on Friday at the Rawlings California Cup hosted by the Santa Barbara Foresters.

Rattlers starting pitcher Richie Mirowski took the loss after lasting only four innings and allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk. It didn�t get much better for the Rattlers bullpen, which issued the remainder of the runs on nine hits.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: SLO Blues ground Pilots

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:25 PDT

By Erick D. Smith -- The San Luis Obispo Blues found the answer they were looking for � break into the Santa Maria Pilots bullpen.

After being shut down by Pilots starting pitcher Jacob Valenzuela, the Blues didn�t waste much time once he came out after the sixth inning.

San Luis Obispo scored three times during the seventh en route to a 4-0 summer collegiate baseball win at SLO Stadium on Thursday night.

College Volleyball: NCAA Tournament teams highlight Poly's nonconference schedule

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:23 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- Cal Poly�s volleyball schedule, released Thursday by fifth-year coach Jon Stevenson, includes a total of eight matches against NCAA Tournament teams. The marquee home matches, however � like the Mustangs hosted last year � are absent for a team that returns just two starters.

Seven players return from a team that took on national powers Nebraska and Stanford in Mott Gym last season. They will be paired with a big freshman class, albeit a highly touted one.

Six of the incoming players are ranked among PrepVolleyball.com�s 150 senior aces. That considered, that lack of a huge name on the schedule hasn�t tempered Stevenson�s enthusiasm.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Yoder leads San Luis Obispo Blues to win

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:26 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo Blues keep on rolling.

The Blues are winners of four straight summer collegiate baseball games after beating the Santa Maria Valley Packers 11-1 at SLO Stadium on Wednesday night. The Blues were carried by Luke Yoder and R.J. Etchebarren.

Yoder, a standout at Cal Poly, hit a two-run homer, which was the first Blues home run of the summer. He finished 4 for 4 with a triple, walk, three RBI and four runs scored.

Fishing Report: Large catfish reeled in at Santa Margarita Lake

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:21 PDT

By Wayne Shaw -- �It�s not often you�ll find fishermen scared to put their hand into the mouth of a fish,� admitted Mark Rodriguez of Paso Robles. It happened to him July 2 at Santa Margarita Lake while he was fishing with Jason Buchanan of Paso Robles.

�We were flipping bass tackle at the mouth of the Salinas River when we connected with a gigantic catfish,� Rodriguez said. �It took us about 10 minutes to get it up to the boat.

�We didn�t have a net. Besides, no net I own would have handled this fish. Jason and I estimated it weighed between 30 and 40 pounds. It was huge. Neither of us wanted to put a hand in that fish�s mouth. We took pictures and let it go.�

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Fick pitches San Luis Obispo Blues to win over Santa Maria Packers

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:18 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- Kelley Fick pitched five shutout innings and struck out three batters Tuesday night to lead the San Luis Obispo Blues summer collegiate baseball team past the Santa Maria Packers 5-1 at SLO Stadium.

The Blues (24-7) posted the first run on an RBI triple by Jason King in the first inning before a Jason Brooks three-run double in the fourth provided a 4-0 advantage.

Brooks was 2 for 3 for the game. Jake Atwell and Cal Poly�s David Van Ostrand also contributed two hits apiece in the win. Fick (4-0) has 28 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

1 Dream Foundation growing in third year

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:41 PDT

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- This summer, the 1 Dream Foundation has welcomed 10 international student athletes from five countries around the world into its summer placement program.

The size of the roster represents growth to the San Luis Obispo-based non-profit organization aimed at giving underprivileged student athletes from outside the 50 states educational opportunities at U.S. high schools.

It started with one, Francisco Luano, in 2007. Last summer, the foundation brought in nine kids.

Summer collegiate baseball: Rattlers finish sweep of Barons

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:39 PDT

Joe Weik had a two-run double, Jake Domingos hit an RBI triple, and Adam Clerici worked for the four-out save to help Richie Mirowski pick up his fifth win of the summer as the San Luis Obispo Rattlers topped the Urban Academy Barons 5-3 to finish off a three-game California Collegiate League sweep at SLO Stadium on Sunday.

Mirowski (5-1) was charged with one run and struck out six in six innings of work while the Rattlers (20-8, 11-7 CCL) moved out to a 5-1 lead. The Barons (7-13, 7-9 CCL) were able to rally for two more runs in the eighth inning before Clerici got a one-pitch groundout to end the threat and pitched a perfect ninth.

Rattlers outfielder Haniger named to CalHiSports.com All-State Team Cal Poly baseball recruit Mitch Haniger was named to CalHiSports.com All-State First Team.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Blues win in Santa Maria but don�t advance past pool play

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:10 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo Blues finished 2-1 in the Santa Maria Valley Packers Tournament on Saturday with an 8-5 win over the Conejo Oaks in a summer collegiate baseball game at Allan Hancock College.

The Blues (23-7) went 2-1 in pool play but did not advance to the championship bracket because of the runs allowed tiebreaker. The Blues allowed 14 runs in their three games compared to 11 for the Oaks and 10 for the Santa Maria Pilots.

San Luis Obispo never trailed in Saturday�s game, opening the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and building the lead to 4-0 before the Oaks scored a single run in the fifth inning.

John Madden Series: Coaching was in Madden�s blood

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:37 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- John Madden got his first chance roaming the sidelines in the spring of 1960 as an interim head coach at San Luis Obispo High, where he was student teaching.

�You could tell that�s what John wanted to do,� says former Cal Poly quarterback Bobby Beathard, who played with Madden, a two-way Mustangs lineman, in 1957 and 1958. �Some guys want to be a head coach but have that one thing missing � leadership. You either have it or you don�t.�

Early in 1958, Tom Klosterman, then a junior quarterback, got a glimpse of Madden�s future when he had to replace an injured Beathard.

John Madden Series: One possible Poly future: FBS football

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:34 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- If Cal Poly were to move its football program from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A), the Western Athletic Conference would seem like the most fitting league for the Mustangs to call home.

At new Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh�s introductory news conference Jan. 9, university president Warren Baker commented that Walsh �has had success winning on the road against WAC teams, as well, and (the hiring committee) noted that.

�Tim has had experience in moving and developing programs,� Baker added, alluding to when Walsh was the head coach at Portland State during its transition from Division II to the FCS in 1996. �That experience was very important to us because, as we look at the future, we need to put together a team that�s going to get us where we want to be.�

Tour de France: SLO�s French Connection

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:31 PDT

By Tad Weber -- Lance Armstrong and the powerful Astana team may receive the lion�s share of attention as the 2009 Tour de France gets under way today.

But the squad with the most victories in professional cycling so far this year is Team Columbia-HTC, which is headquartered in San Luis Obispo. Owned by Bob Stapleton, Team Columbia has captured 49 wins.

Leading the team is one of cycling�s top sprinters, Mark Cavendish of Great Britain. Local cycling fans will recall that he won the Tour of California stage that finished in downtown Paso Robles in February. He captured four stages in the Tour de France last year.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: Cron leads San Luis Obispo Blues to win

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:28 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo Blues summer collegiate baseball team defeated the Oakland Expos 6-3 Friday at Allan Hancock College at the Santa Maria Valley Packers Invitational.

C.J. Cron had a game-high four hits and two runs scored for the Blues (22-7), who got two hits apiece from both R.J. Etchebarren and Jake Atwell.

Jarret Dunnam (5-0) scattered six hits and yielded one earned run in six innings while earning the win. He had six strikeouts and didn�t walk any batters.

Tribune exclusive report: John Madden series � For Madden, it all started at Poly

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:32 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- John Madden was hitching a ride down California�s coast, looking for a place to play football.

About a half-hour north of Cal Poly, though, the Bay Area native almost convinced his friend driving the car to turn around and go right back up Highway 101.

�We got to Paso Robles, and it was about 105 degrees,� Madden says. �I said, �This is way too hot! I can�t go here!� And then the guy with me said, �Come on, we came this far. All we have to do is go down the hill.� �Then, the 105 degrees turned into 90, then 80, then 75,� he continues. �We got down to San Luis Obispo, and it was beautiful. But we damn near turned around. Talk about a fork in the road.�

Prep Football: Crow lands coaching job at Atascadero

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:19 PDT

By Erick D. Smith -- Don Crow was a hot coaching commodity.

Soon after losing his position in late May as the head football coach at Templeton High, Crow was fielding calls from coaches around San Luis Obispo County. His 25 years of coaching diversity was in demand, leaving him with plenty of options to choose from.

His leading suitors, Atascadero and Morro Bay, were both logical landing spots. Ultimately the choice came down to which made for the perfect fit.

Summer Collegiate Baseball: San Luis Obispo Blues fall to Santa Maria Pilot

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:17 PDT

By Tribune staff report -- The Santa Maria Pilots scored five unanswered runs in the final two innings to beat the San Luis Obispo Blues 6-5 in a summer collegiate baseball game at SLO Stadium on Thursday.

Blues reliever Ryan Clubb (0-2) failed to record an out in the ninth inning and was tagged for four runs on two hits and one walk. He was relieved by Ross Stripling, who closed out the inning but allowed all three of his inherited runners to score.

Early on, the Blues led 3-1 after a third inning that saw Atwell, Ryan Aguayo and David Van Ostrand all drive in a run. The Blues scored twice more in the fourth but would only have three more baserunners the remainder of the game.