Quick Take:
In this week's look at high school sports action around Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz High School boys volleyball is 18-0 after a win over Valley Christian, a packed baseball and softball slate, plus more on tennis, golf and the lineup for the Reggie Stephens Foundation Central Coast All Star Basketball Games.
Welcome to Lookout’s high school sports coverage. Thomas Frey, an alum of Cabrillo College who has covered high school sports locally, leads our coverage. His column appears weekly. We welcome your tips and stories — email thomas@lookoutlocal.com and news@lookoutlocal.com (with high school sports in the subject line).
Santa Cruz High School boys volleyball is now 18-0 on the season after a big win against Valley Christian School of San Jose.
It was a battle between two of the top teams in Northern California as well as a rematch of the Central Coast Section playoffs, which was narrowly won by Valley Christian.
This year it was Santa Cruz getting the narrow 3-2 victory.
Valley Christian won two of the first three sets before Santa Cruz narrowly won set four 25-22 and set five 15-8.
Captain Julien Pally had 16 kills and three blocks. Setter Maverick Manor had one ace and one setter dump. Leo Sapunor came up big in the middle by recording three kills and blocking four shots.
Opposite hitter Tim Pohlmann had eight kills and two blocks while outside hitter Gammon Nilssen had 16 kills and three blocks.
The win comes less than a week after the Cardinals won the Harbor Surf City Invitational by defeating Carmel High School, Bullard High School, Wilcox High School, Leigh High School, Archbishop Mitty School and Saint Joseph High School.
The Cardinals will have another non-league match against Monterey High School before wrapping up Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play with five games.
Baseball
Aptos High School sits at the top of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with a 4-1 record after defeating Harbor High School 10-6 and Santa Cruz High School 4-2.
Freshman Cole McGillicuddy struck out six in the Mariners’ win over Harbor. He also helped himself by recording three hits. Samuel Garcia and Ed Peters also had multiple hits for Aptos.
The game against Santa Cruz was a battle for first place and senior Jorden Espinoza pitched a masterpiece on the mound for Aptos. In 6.2 innings he struck out 11 Santa Cruz hitters and didn’t allow an earned run.
Offensively, it was McGillicuddy coming up big again with two hits. Peters drove in a pair of RBI.
Junior Nativo Gonzales on the mound for Soquel High against visiting Scotts Valley High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Scotts Valley High’s Blake LaRiviere delivers in a road game against Soquel High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Dane Morrison (17) warming up in the Soquel High bullpen before taking the mound in the Knights’ victory over Scotts Valley High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Soquel High’s Enzo Goff (right) tags out Scotts Valley High’s Jack Sanders during Tuesday’s game. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz
Soquel High School had a 15-3 win over Scotts Valley High School 15-3 on Tuesday. Sophomore Conner Corlett recorded four innings without allowing an earned run. Senior C.J. Claydon had three RBI and junior Enzo Goff knocked in two runs.
Two days later Harbor topped Soquel 2-0. Junior Cole McCombs threw the complete game shutout for the Pirates and struck out nine batters in the process. Senior Ferris Vitali had multiple hits for Harbor while McCombs and senior Jacob Fiorenza drove in runs.
St. Francis defeated Monte Vista Christian School twice this week in Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan play. The Sharks are two games back of league leader Carmel.
In the first game, a 9-5 win, senior Adrian Leon pitched five innings and struck out four to earn the win for the Sharks. Junior Nash Horton had an epic day at the plate, getting a hit in all four of his at-bats, including a home run. Seniors Junior Ibarra and Micah Cervantes along with junior Javier DaRosa-Fonseca all had multiple hits.
Freshman Aidan Miller had three hits for the Mustangs. Juniors Nate Collins and Carter Wright each hit home runs.
St. Francis won the second game on Wednesday 4-1 after senior Trey Silva earned the win on the mound. He struck out four batters. Ibarra, Horton, DaRosa-Fonseca and freshman Nicholas Fantl drove in runs. Junior Dante Darnell had the RBI for Monte Vista Christian.
Softball
Aptos High School remains undefeated and leads the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League. The bats were on fire Tuesday in the Mariners’ 15-1 win over Harbor High School. Not only was senior Mileena Carbajal dominant as a pitcher, but also on the base path, where she scored a pair of runs. Junior Bailey Fulton, sophomore Cara Allshouse and freshman Emma Burgueno each had two hits. Allshouse also drove in four runs.
Monte Vista Christian School won against Marina High School on Tuesday 16-5. Senior Mae Martin got the win after the Mustangs jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the second inning. Offensively senior Giselle Rocha, junior Kayla Fullalove-Silviera and freshman Ava Alvarado each had multiple hits.
Soquel High’s Emma Niizawa on the mound against Scotts Valley. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Soquel High starting pitcher Emma Niizawa winds up during Tuesday’s game against visiting Scotts Valley High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Scotts Valley High’s Jazzy Doubek (8) makes contact during a game against Soquel High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz 
Scotts Valley High softball players huddle up during a game at Soquel High. Credit: John P. Hefti / Lookout Santa Cruz
San Lorenzo Valley High School defeated Santa Cruz High School 4-1 on Tuesday in a tight game that was 1-1 until the fifth inning. Junior Abigale Krepelka picked up the win for San Lorenzo Valley while striking out eight batters in seven frames. Junior Cheyenne Owen, sophomore Raymond Alvarez and freshman Grace Purtscher each drove in runs for the Cougars.
Santa Cruz saw freshman Rona Lewis also pitch a gem. The first-year had five strikeouts and allowed two earned runs in six innings of work. Another freshman, Izzy Fetke, had a career game at the plate by getting a hit in all three at-bats.
Scotts Valley High School won at Soquel High School 10-0 on Tuesday. Junior Sofia Seese had nine strikeouts in the six-inning victory. She did not even allow a single hit. The Falcons led 4-0 until the sixth, when they scored six runs. Senior Ava Eagle, junior Gracie Delgado and freshman Chloe Kent combined for seven hits.
Girls beach volleyball
Harbor High School is still undefeated after beating Santa Cruz High School on Wednesday at Main Beach.
Gwen Grisby, Isla Johnson, Maren O’Farrell, Sabine Kemos, Dylan Schutz, Liberty Nissen, Dakotah Johnson and Sandy Enriquez picked up the wins for the Pirates. Kaiana Harding and Lily Pederson won for Santa Cruz.
Harbor’s next game is April 12 against San Lorenzo Valley High School.
Boys volleyball
Mount Madonna School defeated Scotts Valley High School 3-2 on Tuesday. Nikowa D’Costa-Hemp had 20 kills, 18 digs and seven aces. Nash Wilson had eight kills and Solomon Coleman had 37 assists.
Soquel High School defeated Harbor High School 3-0 on Tuesday. Junior Nathan McCarthy paced the Knights with 11 kills. Senior Tucker Graessie had 40 digs and senior Dominic Garcia came up big at the net, blocking two shots.
Boys tennis
Scotts Valley High School sits atop the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League after wins against San Lorenzo Valley High School and Harbor High School.
In the Falcons’ 6-1 win over San Lorenzo Valley on Tuesday seniors Henry Spitzer and Jules Dudek, junior Elijah Diamond and sophomore Aditya Hannon all picked up wins. George Little and Andrew Solberg nabbed the win for the Cougars.
On Thursday, Scotts Valley swept Harbor 7-0. Diamond, Dudek and Hannon all picked up wins again. Picking up their first victory of the week was a trio of seniors in Wesley Theisen, Hunter Young and Evan Anderson.
Aptos is second in the league and also had a big week, picking up a 6-1 win over Santa Cruz High School on Tuesday and a 7-0 victory against San Lorenzo Valley on Thursday.
In the win over Santa Cruz Koosha Safari, Ben Zaretsky, John McGowan, Jack Eldridge, Sean Spencer, Jack Taylor, Nick Hambright and Adam Allen got the result they wanted. The Cardinals got on the board with a doubles victory from Aldon Fairchild and Cal Pena.
In the win over San Lorenzo Valley McGowan, Eldridge, Spencer, Hambright and Allen continued their winning ways. Samar Awad and Owen McGinty also picked up victories.
Boys golf
Santa Cruz High School won against Harbor High School on Tuesday. Sam Wickens was the medalist for Santa Cruz with a 41. Teammates Bodie Wield, Cliff Chestnut, Tobin Ortiz and Braden Brooks were a part of the victory. Kaden Dunton led the way for Harbor.
Reggie Stephens Foundation Central Coast All Star Basketball Games
The rosters for the Reggie Stephens Foundation Central Coast All Star Basketball Games have been announced with the three games tipping off this Sunday at Scotts Valley High School. Now in its 11th year and featuring many future Division I basketball players, the teams are compiled with the best players from the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas.
The eighth grade boys game will tip off at 12 p.m.
At 2 p.m. the 12th grade girls game will begin. The final game will start at 4 p.m. between the 12th grade boys. Many of these players have played against each other in the high school basketball season, including Ben Dotten and Demeke Smith of Santa Cruz High School and Ryan Roth and Suhieb Ibrahim of Monterey High School. The duos squared off in the Central Coast Section semifinals and now they will square off one final time. The coaches — Greg Daniels Jr. of Monterey High School and Lawan Milhouse of Santa Cruz High School — will also be coaching on opposing sidelines.
Rosters
Senior Boys – Santa Cruz County
Coaches: Rob Shipstead and Lawan Milhouse
0 Braylon Noble – Soquel High School
4 Lawrence Ingram IV – Aptos High School
4 Jack Ryan – Monte Vista Christian High School
10 Joseph Rose – St. Francis High School
10 Johnny Cornejo – Aptos High School
12 Sam Braun – St. Francis High School
21 Michael Bogaard – Santa Cruz High School
22 Ben Dotten – Santa Cruz High School
34 Demeke Smith – Santa Cruz High School
50 Cade Petersen – Soquel High School
Senior Boys – Monterey County
Coaches: July Barredo & Greg Daniels Jr
2 Ryan Roth – Monterey High School
2 Adrian Cardenas – Alisal High School
3 Julius Robinson – Marina High School
3 Julian Johnson – Monterey High School
5 Mason Faatuai – Seaside High School
5 Nick Duque – Monterey High School
13 Suhieb Ibrahim – Monterey High School
15 Jordan Webb – Marina High School
20 Khalik Kennedy – Marina High School
34 Messiah Johnson – Alvarez High School
Senior Girls – Santa Cruz County
Coaches: Kenedi Walters and Zachary Cook
0 Guin Lines – Aptos High School
1 Rhazelle Gonzales – Monte Vista Christian High School
2 Bella Love – Watsonville High School
2 Aaliysah Gomez – St. Francis High School
10 Ava Lord – Santa Cruz High School
10 Amelie Stotland – Soquel High School
10 Emily Raich – St. Francis High School
20 Laurel Southall – Aptos High School
21 Hannah Morley – San Lorenzo High School
23 Natalia Espinosa – Santa Cruz High School
33 Maiya Armstrong – Pacific Collegiate High School
Senior Girls – Monterey County
Coaches: Mark Kirkland and Sergio Dizon
1 Dalilah Ruano – North Salinas High School
2 Haley Altemeyer – Monterey High School
3 Amelia Miller – Monterey High School
5 Emma Hall – Robert Lewis Stevenson High School
10 Lesly Rodriquez – Alisal High School
11 Bailey Cotter – Hollister High School
11 Sherrice Rogers – Alvarez High School
22 Nena Hernandez – Alisal High School
42 Yulissa Alveraz – Alisal High School
8th Grade Boys – Santa Cruz County
Coaches: Nate Swearengin and Stan White II
Hudson Bare – Shoreline Middle School
Caleb Cox – San Lorenzo Valley Middle School
Dane Loosbrock – Shoreline Middle School
Jack Tovani – Aptos Junior High School
James Tipton – Monte Vista Christian Middle School
Liam McLaughlin – Scotts Valley Middle School
Patrick Aust – New Brighton Middle School
Gabe Castillo – Aptos Junior High School
Noah King – Mission Hill Middle School
Simon Davis – Mission Hill Middle School
Ojani Calderon – New Brighton Middle School
8th Grade Boys – Monterey County
Coaches: Justin Stokes and Mario Grau
Geion Webb – Seaside Middle School
Lebron Allen – Los Arboles Middle School
Kenny Sanchez – Carmel Middle School
Austin Jue – San Carlos Middle School
Markell Aquino – International School of Monterey
Daniel Pena – Buena Vista Middle School
Ashton Marshall – Home School
Jacob Dizon – Monterey Bay Charter
Mikkah Claspell – Buena Vista Middle School
Noah Berg – Buena Vista Middle School
Alumni
Luke Keaschall, a second round pick out of Arizona State and Aptos High School, is set to begin his second minor league season. He hit .288 last year and is a top 10 prospect in the Minnesota Twins system. According to MILB.com, Keaschall is on the roster of the Cedar Rapid Kernels, the High-A affiliate.
This week in history
On April 3, 2002 Adam Carr of San Lorenzo Valley High School hit three home runs in a 10-1 win over Pacific Grove. He also pitched and got the win. Carr went on to play at Oklahoma State and was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2006 MLB Draft. The right-hander pitched in the minor leagues from 2006-12 and won 22 career games on the mound.