NOTEBOOK / ROB FERNAS : Soccer Team’s Quest for Title Falls Short

A South Bay team’s dream of winning a national championship in its last game together came up short Sunday as the Torrance United Waves lost to the Greater Boston Bolts, 6-2, in the 19-and-under girls’ final of the U.S. Youth Soccer tournament in Blaine, Minn.

The defeat ended a successful eight-year run for the Waves, an all-star club team that formed in 1987 and finished with a 399-33-25 record. The team is disbanding because most of the girls are approaching the age limit for youth play and will begin college in the fall.

Torrance reached the final with a 3-0 victory Friday over a team from Texas.

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A stellar pitching performance helped West Torrance’s Babe Ruth baseball team win the Southern California title and qualify for the Pacific Southwest Regional tournament starting today in Taylorsville, Utah.

Right-hander Brandon Marks, a sophomore at West High, combined with Mike Cotter on a five-hitter Friday in an 8-0 victory over La Crescenta in the Southern California championship game at Loyola Marymount.

Marks pitched six innings and improved to 4-0, continuing an impressive summer that has caught the attention of West High coaches.

“He’s got a shot at being a starter (next season),” West assistant Mike Jenkins said.

That’s saying a lot. West returns two All-Southern Section pitchers in Kirk Bolling and David Delgado, who combined for 19 victories and helped West reach the Division III final last season as juniors. Bolling, who also played third base, was The Times’ 1994 South Bay Player of the Year.

Jenkins said Marks and junior George Delgadillo, who pitched well this summer on West Torrance’s American Legion team, both have a chance to crack the starting rotation in 1995.

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The El Segundo American Legion baseball team, district champion for the third time in four years, will play Chino at 7 tonight in the first round of the Southern California tournament at Upland Memorial Park.

Upland meets Arcadia in the first game at 4 p.m. The double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday, with a game Sunday, if needed.

El Segundo (26-9) won the District 19/Area 4 title by beating Gahr, 8-4, July 28 at Blair Field in Long Beach. El Segundo pounded out 15 hits, including a home run by Morgan Ensberg, and pitchers Dan Croxall and David Reed combined on a seven-hitter. Croxall improved to 6-1.

The Southern California champion advances to the Eighth Region tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., on Aug. 19-23.

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Sophomore guard Jimmy Harris has left Loyola Marymount and has transferred to Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, where he intends to continue playing basketball, Lion Coach John Olive said.

Harris, a graduate of Ocean View High in Huntington Beach, was a backup point guard for Loyola last season after losing the starting job to another freshman, former South Torrance standout Jim Williamson. Harris averaged 2.8 points and ranked second on the team in assists.

Rancho Santiago, one of the state’s most successful community college programs, is coached by former El Segundo and USC guard Dana Pagett.

Notes

Three South Bay girls were part of two beach volleyball teams that won state and national junior titles last weekend at San Juan Capistrano. Teri Zartman of Hermosa Beach and Kristin Sigel of Manhattan Beach won the 10th-grade-and-under division title Saturday and the 12th grade-and-under title Sunday, beating teams from Orange County in both finals. Saturday, Chrissie Zartman, Teri’s sister, and Tracey Lindquist of Fountain Valley won the eighth-grade-and-under title with a victory over an Orange County team. It was a combined event for the California Beach Volleyball Assn. and U.S. Junior Olympic championships.

A team of Southern California boys, most from the South Bay, recently won the 12-and-under national title at the Youth Basketball of America tournament in Winterhaven, Fla. The 4D Stars, coached by Reinaldo Henry of Torrance, beat a team from Alabama, 64-43, in the final July 23 to finish the tournament 8-0. Andrew Zahn of Hermosa Beach led the 4D Stars in the title game with 16 points and was named to the all-tournament team, as were teammates John Mosley of Inglewood and Stephen Moss of Torrance. Ryan Mollins of Rancho Palos Verdes won the hot shot contest, making six three-point baskets in a row.

The Redondo Beach Hot Shots, a 10-and-under girls’ soccer team, won the division title at the Disney Cup, the largest youth soccer tournament in the world. Redondo Beach edged Chino Hills, 3-2, on penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless tie in the championship game July 23 at the Rose Bowl. Kendall Brower scored the decisive penalty kick. The Hot Shots, representing American Youth Soccer Organization Region 34, rebounded from an 0-2 start in the tournament to win their last five games by shutout. Goalkeeper Danielle Seibel, daughter of Coach Larry Seibel, had 28 saves in the semifinal and final. Candace Stalder was the team’s high scorer. The tournament attracted more than 6,000 players from the United States and abroad.