Spring Sports Kickoff at Crescenta Valley

This past weekend, Crescenta Valley sports teams were all over Los Angeles, participating in various preseason tournaments before going into Pacific League play. Here’s take a look at the results:

Baseball

The baseball team had a much quieter weekend then their spring sports counterparts. The Falcons had just one game this weekend, a 3-2 loss to Claremont at the Glendora Tournament. The Falcons rebounded with a stellar 7-0 win over Charter Oak on Tuesday.

“We pitched well in both games,” Crescenta Valley coach Phil Torres said. “In the Claremont game Kyle Murray went 5 innings and pitched well. Against Charter Oak Elliot Surrey pitched lights on.”

The Falcons will take on La Serna on Thursday at 7 p.m. They will then end tournament play on Saturday. Torres says he wants to work on two things heading into league play.

“We are trying to shore up defense at the moment,” he said. “Hitting is also a concern but that comes along as the season goes on. We didn’t’ score many runs in the first game but we were up against some tough pitchers.”

Softball

The CVHS softball team began its season with three wins in the Duarte Tournament. In the Falcons’ first match against Covina, they scored a run in the first inning and then matched Covina run for run from there en route to a 9-8 victory. Crescenta Valley then cruised to a 15-4 win over Arcadia and an 11-0 shutout of South Pasadena.

Crescenta Valley coach Dan Berry said the reason for his team’s hitting success is simple.

“It’s all of our hard work,” he said via email. “It’s the hours spent on drills, in the batting cage, all that stuff. Also our pitching has been great.”

One of the leaders of the team is co-captain Erin Ashby, who leads the team with seven RBIs this year. Seeing her play well is nothing new for Berry.

“She is one of the top hitters in the whole area,” Berry said. “It’s because of her work ethic that she is all-state, all-CIF, league MVP, and team captain.”

The team has a break until this weekend, when the Falcons take on Temple City at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the championship of the Duarte Tournament.

Boys volleyball

The volleyball team has been plenty busy this month. The Falcons are 3-5 on the year, with all games being on the road or at a neutral location. This past weekend, they traveled down to Redondo Beach, where they went 2-4. They lost to Downey, Redondo Union, Warren and Golden Valley, while scoring wins over Van Nuys and South Pasadena. The Falcons will finally be at home on Wednesday when they host San Marino.