~ May Issue ~
 

Baseball Wins First Round of CIF
By Dylan Coplin, Sports Editor

The baseball team had an unexpectedly great season. They were expected to do well, but not this well at all. Even with a few injuries throughout the season, the team finished the Pioneer league 8-2. Now with CIF playoffs underway, the team will hopefully dominate until they reach the finals once more during Coach Stevenson’s brilliant career.

            The first game against North Torrance on May 2^nd turned out well for our Eagles. Sophomore Joey Schaffhauser pitched a great game, allowing no hits and having five strikeouts. Freshman Justin McCullough also had a phenomenal batting game, hitting 67% and scoring one run during the game. The game was dominated throughout by El Segundo and they came out on top 3-0. The next game against North, two days later, was another great game for the Eagles. The team had a good pitching game and even better hitting game. Senior Jeff Dorman started the game pitching well, only allowing 1 run in two innings but was pulled. Afterwards, senior Bobby Dugan finished the game strong. He allowed 2 runs, but also had 8 strikeouts during the last five innings. Junior Jonathan Aceves’ batting was greatly appreciated as well. He hit 3/3 times, 100% and scored 1 run to assist the Eagles in a 11-3 victory.

            Now on a small winning-streak, the Eagles tried their luck against the other Torrance, South. The Eagles flew out into the lead in the first inning with 4 runs total. The game was completely dominated by El Segundo during the whole game. Senior Tyler Moon had a good batting game, hitting 100% and scoring once. Senior Michael Quinones had a good pitching game; he only allowed 1 run, and had 6 strikeouts in 6 innings. The Eagles received the win, 9-1. The next game against South was a very hard fought game by both teams. They were tied throughout the game until the 6^th inning. During the 6^th inning, the Eagles scored only once to gain a 3-2 lead. South came out and scored 3 runs to gain a promising lead, 5-3. South held onto the minute lead for one inning, to win the game 3-5.

            The first CIF game against Cabrillo was a success even though Cabrillo’s strong pitching during the season. The highlight of the game was when Dorman got the game winning RBI, batting in Moon giving El Segundo a 2-1 lead. The Eagles won the game 3-1 with Quinones pitching.

            Now in CIF, the Eagles have a chance to reclaim the championship they lost last year.