Sports
Unexpected upsets usher in tense final day for EBAL boys’ volleyball regular season
The Foothill volleyball team lost twice last week and need to rally against Amador Valley this week. (Photo by Steven Mitzenmacher) Just last week I wrote about how deep and talented the boys’ volleyball league is this season — and then the teams went out and proved it, throwing the league into some chaos heading […]


Just last week I wrote about how deep and talented the boys’ volleyball league is this season — and then the teams went out and proved it, throwing the league into some chaos heading into Tuesday night’s final match of the regular season.
De La Salle and Foothill were tied with the best record in East Bay Athletic League play at 8-2. Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley both sat at 7-3, with Dublin looming at 6-4.
Everything pointed to the Falcons winning a pair and going into the regular season finale at 10-2, with Amador Valley at 9-3. De La Salle appeared headed to the finale also at 10-2.
But this is why they play the games.
Foothill lost not once but twice, falling 3-1 to Livermore and then 3-2 to California, leaving the Falcons at 8-4 in the league. Livermore and California came into last week at 3-7 in league.
“The boys got a lesson in how tough and deep the EBAL is,” Foothill coach Dusty Collins said. “There’s not a team in the league that can’t beat any other team.”
Need any further proof?
Monte Vista entered last week 1-9, then fell to 1-10 after losing to Amador Valley. The Mustangs then had to face De La Salle.
No problem.
Monte Vista went out and beat 9-2 De La Salle to give the Spartans their third loss of the season.
While it appears the crazy week threw the league into chaos, the reality is nothing major has changed heading into Tuesday’s final league games.
The top two teams each, in the Valley and the Mountain divisions, meet in the EBAL playoffs, with the semifinals taking place Thursday and the two winners meeting Saturday in the EBAL playoff title in the balance.
In the Valley, Amador Valley and Foothill have the top two spots secured so Tuesday’s regular season finale will determine the top seed and who gets a home playoff game on Thursday. The Dons win and they host No. 2 from the Mountain, or if the Falcons win, they host.
In the Mountain Division, De La Salle and San Ramon Valley have the top two spots. The Spartans close against the same California team that just dropped Foothill, with San Ramon Valley finishing a Monte Vista team fresh off a win over De La Salle.
It’s no gimme for anyone! The league is so deep this year that there should be seven of the 10 teams in the EBAL that will make the North Coast Section playoffs.
Baseball
With two weeks to go in the regular season, the strength of the league lies in the Valley as three of the top four records reside in the Valley, with the Mountain having the bottom three teams in terms of win-loss record.
Granada was close to running off and hiding with another Valley title, but Foothill hung the first EBAL loss on Granada. The Mats did rally for a 1-0 win over Foothill later in the week.
Granada is 16-4 overall and 8-1 in league play. Livermore is 5-3 in the Valley and does control its own destiny with a game with De La Salle, and a pair of two-game sets with Foothill and Granada left in the season.
And on the flip side, those are five games with teams that are 16-4, 15-3 and 15-5, respectively. There is no question the Cowboys will be battle-tested by the time the postseason rolls around.
De La Salle has a three-game lead over California in the Mountain, but the Spartans have six games to play over the last two weeks, meaning DLS will need to find pitching depth during that span.
Softball
There is a lot of softball to be played still with California and Carondelet sporting the best EBAL records at 7-2, with San Ramon Valley and Foothill at 6-3, and Granada and Livermore sitting at 5-4.
Carondelet, as mentioned last week, is the toughest to figure out with the 7-2 league record and 9-11 overall mark. The Cougars close out the regular season with a game with California and that may very well determine the Mountain winner.
Foothill is on top of the Valley but has games with Livermore, Granada and Amador Valley — the three teams chasing them — so it is still a wide-open race!
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation.
Sports
Lake Central boys volleyball advances to state
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Sports
Oregon boys volleyball’s growth on display with Parkrose and Franklin success
Oregon boys volleyball’s growth on display with Parkrose and Franklin success Published 10:35 pm Saturday, May 24, 2025 1 of 8 The Parkrose boys volleyball team celebrates a point scored in the 5A state boys volleyball quarterfinals against Hood River Valley on May 24 at Olympus Sports Center in Hillsboro. (Austin White/Portland Tribune) The Franklin/McDaniel […]

Oregon boys volleyball’s growth on display with Parkrose and Franklin success
Published 10:35 pm Saturday, May 24, 2025
1 of 8
Surrounded by fellow boys volleyball squads at the 2025 state tournament Saturday, May 24 at Olympus Sports Center in Hillsboro, the Parkrose High School squad kept things light.
Big points against quarterfinals opponent Hood River Valley were met with a little dance move as the team came together for a huddle, smiles on all six players faces.
Playing loose is where the Broncos are at their best according to head coach Joseph Porche, and they’ve been that way for most of the season with a now 19-2 record. Those losses both came against 6A opponents.The No. 1 seed in the 5A tournament, Parkrose swept HRV 25-17, 25-12, 25-14 and followed it up with a 3-1 win (18-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-20) over Silverton in the semifinals.
Now they’ll have a chance to keep the party going for the whole summer when the Broncos matchup against Summit in the 5A state title game set for 6 p.m. Sunday, May 25 in Hillsboro.
“We’re a very emotionally driven team, we’re playing around, having fun, serious but not too serious,” Porche said. “We’re engaged but we’re light about it, and it helps make it easier for the kids.”
Most of the Broncos, like every club at the state tournament, are still relatively new to the sport as its growth in Oregon and the whole country continues to boom.
The OSAA approved boys volleyball to be an emerging activity back in October of 2023, providing a little more structure for the sport to operate within schools but still missing the full backing from the association and member schools.
Now finishing up its second season as an emerging activity, the sport has completed its two-year provisional period and could be sanctioned by the OSAA next fall.
Boys volleyball had 68 teams participate this season with teams from up and down Interstate 5, central Oregon and out to the coast.
They all came together for the state tournament, creating an environment for the sport in Oregon that hasn’t been matched.
“When I grew up, there were literally four club teams,” Parkrose senior captain Finn Sathrum said. “To see all these boys come out and a lot of athletes, it’s amazing, I can’t express it enough.”
Sathrum is the boys volleyball veteran of his Broncos crew, using his dominant serve game to help win points, diving for spiked balls and putting away a few kills.
But most importantly, him and fellow senior captain Jonas Ankrum are the two who the team plays through emotionally.
“Those two, we go where they go,” Porche said of Sathrum and Ankrum. “If they’re loud, having fun, being loose, our team feeds off that energy. … (Sathrum) has been playing ball a long time, so he’s able to lock in and also regulate his emotions pretty well.
“(Ankrum) has come a long way. It was instilling confidence in him to be himself as well.”
The rest of the squad is made up of Korey McKeaver, Alex Shichalin, Truman Martino, Zander Huhnholz, Masi Lolo, Noah Tancuan, King Ozier and Juni Napaa.
This group has provided plenty of pride for The Rose this year as athletics has been a bit of a tough lane to find success in recent years.
Being on the state stage to rep the Broncos is another source of pride and a reason why the sport has become so important for the Northeast Portland community.
“I think that my school is often underrepresented,” Sathrum said. “To come out here and be the No. 1 seed, it feels great to represent my school and have some Bronco pride.”
They’re not alone in that vein as the co-op Franklin/McDaniel team has been another Portland standout, grabbing the No. 4 seed in the 6A state tournament.
The Lightning had a slow start but shook it off to sweep No. 5 South Salem in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 25-22, 25-23, 25-22. They took on No. 1 Central Catholic in the semifinals and pushed the Rams to the limit, dropping the match 3-2 (20-25, 25-11, 25-17, 26-28, 15-8).
Still, the 2025 season has been an excellent coming out party and the fun isn’t over as they’ll take on Nelson at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 25 for third place.
“It’s been really fun, it’s a great group of guys and I have my setter Archer (Mist), he plays on my club team so we already had that chemistry,” junior outside hitter Given Unwin, who is a student at McDaniel but plays for Franklin, said. “We went 16-0 in the regular season, so that’s pretty cool and it was really fun.”
Unwin is another player with some experience coming into high school, and his love for the sport has grown to the rest of his teammates who continue to grow, despite most of them being at another school.
“(Unwin) is definitely the breadwinner of the team in terms of scoring and he does a great job of getting the attention away from our other hitters,” Franklin head coach Mykel Caruso said. “It’s not just on the court that he’s performing. Off the court and as a leader he’s doing really well.”
At the heart of it, that’s what high school sports is all about: Having fun and building characteristics in student-athletes that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.
If the OSAA needed any more proof on what the sport is doing for high schoolers, whether they come from an athletic powerhouse school or not, the state boys volleyball tournament provides an excellent example.
Whether or not Parkrose or Franklin win on Sunday doesn’t really matter. They’ve displayed what the sport can do for any student looking to get active in a new experience or help keep them active when their other sports aren’t in season.
Sunday will be the culminating moment of 2025, but it could also be the launchpad for years of boys volleyball to come as a possible sanctioned sport in Oregon.
“There were 68 teams this year, that’s really cool, it’s by far the fastest growing sport in the U.S.,” Unwin said. “I think that, especially if the club players come back and keep showing them what’s up, it’ll just keep growing. People will be more interested and I think it’s just going to keep growing exponentially.”
Sports
Ambridge falls to Shaler in title game
Bill Allmann | Special to the Times, USA Today Network PETERS TOWNSHIP – In many ways, the WPIAL Class 2A boys’ volleyball championship could have been considered a clash of the Titans. Both teams entered the finals, held at Peters Township’s AHN Arena, with a 15-1 record. Top-seeded Shaler was the two-time defending champion […]
PETERS TOWNSHIP – In many ways, the WPIAL Class 2A boys’ volleyball championship could have been considered a clash of the Titans. Both teams entered the finals, held at Peters Township’s AHN Arena, with a 15-1 record.
Top-seeded Shaler was the two-time defending champion in Class 3A before dropping in classification this year. Second-seeded Ambridge had already won 10 WPIAL Class AA titles – including nine of the last 16.
However, Shaler already has the nickname of the Titans and made it pay off in a 3-0 win (25-18, 25-18, and 25-16) and a gold medal.
“We didn’t play particularly well,” said Ambridge coach Glenn Freed. “But Shaler did, and they pushed us hard.”
Although the teams play in the same class now, there were some obvious differences in depth. Shaler practically ran a two-platoon system, shuffling players in constantly to serve and, although the Titans never put together any long scoring runs, they stayed fresher than the Bridgers. In the first two games, Ambridge never led but made every game and every point a battle.
Freed offset that some by judicious use of timeouts but, it wasn’t enough.
“Shaler is solid all the way around,” Freed said. “A lot of teams have areas we can take advantage of, but they have no weaknesses.
“In the third game, we knew we had our backs to the wall (the Bridgers’ biggest lead was two at 7-5) and played hard but it was still a good year. Our goals are always to win the section, reach the WPIAL Championship, and go as far as we can in states. That’s where we are now.
“We’re looking forward to states.”
Freed isn’t the only one looking forward to states, which start a week from Tuesday at the City League champion.
“It’s still been a good year,” said senior captain Karson Merlina. “It’s been the best time I’ve had with these guys – it’s a great group of guys, and we’re like family.
“We’re looking forward to the states and knowing we can play together a little longer.”
Sports
Mira Costa High claims So Cal Boys Volleyball title, on way to inaugural State championship
by Kevin Cody Mira Costa High defeated Huntington Beach High at Mira Costa Saturday night to win the CIF Division 1 Southern California Regional Volleyball Championships. Next Saturday, Costa will compete against Archbishop Mitty, of San Jose, for the first ever, CIF State Boys Volleyball title at Fresno City College. Mira Costa previously defeated Huntington, […]

by Kevin Cody
Mira Costa High defeated Huntington Beach High at Mira Costa Saturday night to win the CIF Division 1 Southern California Regional Volleyball Championships.
Next Saturday, Costa will compete against Archbishop Mitty, of San Jose, for the first ever, CIF State Boys Volleyball title at Fresno City College.
Mira Costa previously defeated Huntington, just a week ago, in a hard fought, five-set match to claim the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title.
At home this past Saturday, Mira Costa swept Huntington 3-0, but the win was more difficult than the score suggests.

In the first set, Huntington jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Mira Costa Coach Greg Snyder called a time out when Huntington extended its lead to 9-4. But Huntington continued to control the game by containing Costa outside hitter Cooper Keane.

Coach Snyder’s second time out, when the set appeared lost, at 17-8, produced better results. Costa spread around its offense, and outscored Huntington 13 to 4 to finally catch Huntington, at 21-21. A dink by Costa setter Andrew Chapin gave his team its first lead, prompting Huntington coach Craig Pazanti to call a time out. But that opened the door for Costa to deploy its home court advantage. Fans began singing along to Queen’s “We will rock you,” blasting over the sound system. Costa had 28 consecutive home court victories coming into Saturday night.
After the time out, Huntington tied the score at 24-24. But a kill by Keane, and a block by Alex Heins completed Costa’s surge, 26-24.
Despite Huntington’s first set collapse, the second set was similarly close, though the early scoring was reversed. Huntington trailed until tying the score 14-14, and then taking the lead after chasing down a ball deflected past the back of the court. Huntington held on to the lead until 20-19, when it served into the net. Huntington didn’t score again.
Costa retook the lead by chasing down an errant pass, and then scoring the next five points.
Huntington continued to be competitive in the third set, causing eight lead changes before Mira Costa took the lead permanently, at 8-7. From there Costa’s Keane, Grayson Bradford and Heins scored seemingly at will. Costa won the decisive match 25-16.
Keane finished with 16 kills and Bradford with seven kills and 5 blocks. ER
Sports
Gamertag Nostalgia Hits Hard at DreamHack Dallas as Navy Offers Free Swag
This past weekend, DreamHack Dallas was the ultimate nostalgia trip, thanks to a viral tweet asking gamers for their first-ever gamertags. The responses ranged from cringe-worthy to very creative to downright uncensored er**middle-school-ish!** The official @Dexerto account got the ball rolling with *”What was your first gamertag and why?”* while also hyping up the @AmericasNavy […]

This past weekend, DreamHack Dallas was the ultimate nostalgia trip, thanks to a viral tweet asking gamers for their first-ever gamertags. The responses ranged from cringe-worthy to very creative to downright uncensored er**middle-school-ish!** The official @Dexerto account got the ball rolling with *”What was your first gamertag and why?”* while also hyping up the @AmericasNavy booth at the event, where they were giving away freeifying personalized gamertag bags and merch.
No bonding really happens faster among gamers than the sharing of memories about their first and utterly embarrassing user IDs. And the replies? Pure gold! From *”Osama Bin Laggin”* (I swear it’s true) to *”MonkeyChunk13″* (“I was 13 and retarded,” in the words of the contributor), the thread turned into a time capsule of immensely questionable choices! And then we had jewels like *”xX_ShadowSlayer_Xx”* (twelve-year-old edgelord spirits), *”THA CARTER 712″* (shoutout to fans of Lil Wayne), and *”Russian rock sloth”* (I honestly do not want to explain).
Bragging worthy names came into this thread too. For example, *”Waterdragon”* needs no more explanation other than to define a Socom 2 player who has a passion for water polo and dragons—what a legendary combo! *”defaultking,”* on the other hand, was a Halo player who proudly used the default settings. Then we have someone going by *”xxSn1p3rJesusxx”* who duly confessed, *”12-year-old me thought headshots were holy.”* Fair enough.
Of course, not everybody was bold enough to spill the beans. *”Yea… not gonna self-report,”* one user said, while another made the joke, *”If you didn’t have either ‘xX Xx’ or the word sniper in it, what was the point?”* Tru.
Meanwhile, @AmericasNavy’s booth at DreamHack Dallas was ready for the sudden formation of a gathering spot for the gamertag history spillers and for those seeking free swag. The promo set a witty military-themes gamertag, with one particular user giving kudos to *”Thalassic”* for sounding like *”a sea monster you’d fight in an RPG.”* Very appropriate, given that the Navy, after all, is involved.
However, not every response was all-fun-and-games. Some skeptics dismissed the tweet as *”self-doxxing”* or *”propaganda,”* while others just went right ahead and slipped into the lists with no explanation (*”BadAssNath”*—we see you). Then came the youthful chaos of *”NoobMaster3000,”* a name that, as the user admitted, *”peaked in middle school.”* So relatable.
DreamHack Dallas will be there all weekend. If you do find yourself there, Navy’s booth might well be worth a visit just to have your gamertag and a free bag immortalized. For those that will decide to stay on the sidelines, this big-time thread is a reminder: your first gamertag will haunt you forever, no matter how cool you think you are.
So, what was it? (No judgment…okay, maybe a little.)
Sports
Orioles minor league recap 5/25
Just as the Orioles played a doubleheader, so did most of their farm teams. The Norfolk Tides, Chesapeake Baysox, and Aberdeen IronBirds all played two. And like their big brothers in the majors, all three minor league doubleheaders ended in a split. Minor league doubleheaders are just seven innings. Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 12, St. Paul […]


Just as the Orioles played a doubleheader, so did most of their farm teams. The Norfolk Tides, Chesapeake Baysox, and Aberdeen IronBirds all played two. And like their big brothers in the majors, all three minor league doubleheaders ended in a split.
Minor league doubleheaders are just seven innings.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 12, St. Paul Saints (MIN) 1 – Game 1
Offense was the star of this one as the Tides scored 12 runs on just eight hits. They took nine walks in the game, which helps.
The first two Tides’ runs scored on bases-loaded walks by Jordyn Adams and Hudson Haskin. Haskin had three walks in the game; two came with the bases loaded! Vimael Machín picked a more exciting way to knock in runs. His only hit was a three-run homer. Francisco Peguero knocked in four with a single and a bases-loaded double. Coby Mayo had two hits, including an RBI single. Samuel Basallo took an 0-for-5.
Cameron Weston pitched six one-run innings, which is very good. He allowed five hits and walked four, which is not ideal. The Saints had a ton of traffic on the bases as Weston had just one 1-2-3 inning. But the only run he allowed came on a home run by Mike Ford.
Triple-A: Saints 6, Tides 4 – Game 2
It was a back-and-forth game, as it seemed for every run the Tides scored, the Saints came back and tied. But two runs in the bottom of the fourth gave the Saints the lead for good. It was a bullpen game for the Tides, and all three pitchers allowed at least one run. Peter Van Loon, who gave up three runs on two homers, took the loss.
The Tides got on the board first with a Jud Fabian triple followed by a TT Bowens double. Chadwick Tromp provided all of the rest of the offense. He hit a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo shot in the fourth.
Fabian had two hits in the game; his OPS is up to .811. Coby Mayo was 1-for-3.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 3, Harrisburg Senators (WAS) 1 – Game 1
Levi Wells allowed one run on four hits in his four-inning start. He struck out six and walked two. The run scored in the second inning on a double and a single. Wells’s relief, Nate Webb and Gerald Ogando, put up zeroes to close things out.
The Baysox got on the board in the first inning. Jeremiah Jackson doubled with one out, then Silas Ardoin brought him home with a single. They added two more in the sixth inning. One came on a Frederick Bencosme double with a runner on, then Bencosme later came in to score on a fielding error.
Jackson and Bencosme both had two-hit dates, with both of Jackson’s being doubles. Enrique Bradfield, Jr. went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Double-A: Senators 7, Baysox 1 – Game 2
The Baysox took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but it was all downhill after that. Douglas Hodo III started the game by being hit by a pitch, then came in on a Creed Willems single. They managed just five hits in the game, two of which came from number nine hitter Luis Valdez. Bradfield again went hitless.
Nestor German got roughed up in his five-plus innings of work. German had three separate two-run innings, though one of those runs scored on a Bencosme error. Bencosme made two errors in the game. German struck out seven, which is nice, but couldn’t keep runners off base with six hits and two walks.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks (WAS) 3 – Game 1
The IronBirds went into the bottom of the ninth inning down by a score of 3-0. Blue Rocks’ new pitcher Anthony Arguelles walked Leandro Arias and Reed Trimble, but then got the next two batters out. The game was all but over until Aneudis Mordán took a pitch over the wall for the three-run homer. Jalen Vasquez followed with a double, which set up Griff O’Ferrall to get the walk-off hit.
Eccel Correa pitched 5.2 innings with two runs and looked like he’d be the hard luck loser until the comeback. Correa limited the Blue Rocks to four hits and both runs scored on sacrifice flies. Zane Barnhart followed with 1.2 innings and one run allowed.
High-A: Blue Rocks 6, IronBirds 4 – Game 2
Cohen Achen started the second game for the IronBirds and while he struck out five in 2.2 innings, he also allowed five runs. Two came on a home run and the other three scored in an error-filled third inning.
Mordán, hero of game one, made two errors in the inning, the second of which led to two unearned runs. Achen wasn’t without blame, though; he gave up three hits and walk in the inning as well.
The IronBirds were kept off the board until the fifth inning, when Mordán walked and came in to score on a single by Austin Overn. Leandro Arias picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. Arias had two more RBI in the seventh inning with a run scoring double. Arias had two of the team’s four hits in the game.
Low-A: Salem Red Sox 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 3
The only team without a doubleheader! Starting pitcher Yeiber Cartaya allowed three runs in 4.1 innings. He walked three and struck out three.
The Shorebirds took a 2-0 lead in the third inning courtesy of a Red Sox throwing error and a triple from Edwin Amparo. Down 3-2 in the sixth, they tied the game again, thanks in part to Amparo. He doubled, moved to third on a single, and scored on a sac bunt. The tie didn’t last long, as relief pitcher Kenny Leiner allowed the Red Sox go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.
Today’s Schedule
- Norfolk @ St. Paul, 6:07. Starter: Chayce McDermott
- Chesapeake @ Harrisburg, 6:30. Starter: Braxton Bragg
- Aberdeen vs Wilmington, 2:05. Starter: Trey Gibson
- Delmarva @ Salem, 1:05. Starter: Luis De León
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