It was fitting that a Davis High boys lacrosse team that was already undermanned due to injuries did some of its best work on Tuesday in man-down situations.

The Blue Devils survived four of five such moments and used a five-goal second-period outburst to take down Berkeley, 7-6, on the road.

With its first Bay Shore Athletic League win of the season, DHS improved to 8-0 overall.

Even with Davis goalie Will McPherson making three nice saves, the Yellowjackets took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. But an eight-minute stretch of the second period changed the game for the Devils.

First it was Kelly Spore finding Carson Stone for a drive during which he dodged several defenders before scoring. Hawkins followed with one of his signature goals from around the back of the net. Stone then found Kevin Klenzendorf, who gave DHS a 3-2 lead.

By the time Kian Reno set up Kevin Willefert and scored himself off a takeaway, the Blue Devils were ahead 5-3 at the half.

The only third-period score came from Berkeley, but Reno’s goal made it 6-4 Davis with 5:51 to play. The Yellowjackets, however, roared back with a pair of tallies, tying the game with 1:11 remaining.

That’s when the Devil man-down squad of Connal Hart, Stone, Peter Spitzer, Tim McIntyre and either Spore or Rudy Buhlman killed the biggest power play of the contest. That set up Hawkins for the game-winner, which came with just 42 seconds left.

“The team gave a great effort all the way around,” coach Nick Juri said after DHS beat Berkeley for the first time ever. “Defense put on a clinic (Tuesday) and man-down was rock solid.

“Willie Hawkins stepping up big time. Need a goal? Give the ball to Willie.”

DHS girls swimming

There’s depth, and then there is talented depth. The Blue Devils proved they have the latter on Tuesday when fellow section powerhouse Granite Bay came to Arroyo Pool.

Even with five of its top swimmers off participating in Junior Nationals, and the Grizzlies featuring two of the section’s best individuals, DHS pulled out a 94-76 victory.

The Devils were paced by two pairs of sisters in Marissa and Alex LaFreniere and Rachel and Heather Johnson.

Despite Rachel Johnson’s extremely fast time in the 200 freestyle — she took second behind GBHS standout Hannah Calton, 1:56.39-1:56.89 — Davis was trailing 29-17 after the first three events. But behind the LaFreniere sisters’ 1-2 finish in the 50 free, along with a fourth-place swim by sophomore Emma Meads, the Devil turnaround was under way.

Marissa LaFreniere edged her sister Alex, 25.47 to 25.90 with Meads posting a 26.15.

Two events later, Rachel Johnson blazed home with a 55:05 to beat Calton and win the 100 free. With support from Marissa LaFreniere (third in 55.34) and Meads (fourth, 58.53), DHS took a lead it would not relinquish.

Wins by Heather Johnson in the 100 back, a 1-2-3 Blue Devil finish in the 500 free and taking both freestyle relays clinched the victory for Davis. Kim Zhu won the 500 in 5:27.45 and was followed by Heather Johnson and Alyssa Alvarez.

In the meet-ending 400 free relay, Rachel Johnson’s final split of 53.6 was the last straw that had Devil coach Doug Wright calling his senior “the swimmer of the meet for sure.”

DHS boys swimming

In a meet that was neck-and-neck through the final race, the Blue Devils couldn’t hold off a late charge by Granite Bay and fell, 86-84.

Though it could have picked up the two points in any number of other ways throughout the day, DHS took second by less than three seconds in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay.

With the score so close between two schools expected to compete for the Sac-Joaquin Section title, winning and losing the meet was less important than some of the strong individual performances. For the Devils, there were several.

In the 200 free, Griffin Molotky touched the wall in 1:50.74, just ahead of teammate Adam Raabe (1:50.95), who returned the favor in the 500 free, edging Molotky 4:53.80-4:59.83 in the top two spots.

Graham Fullerton sped past the competition to win the 50 free in 21:09, while Andrew Block (1:03.86) beat everyone in the 100 breaststroke.

DHS softball

Blue Devils coach Art Guerra couldn’t have worked it out better if he had planned it.

After a long layoff due to the rain, DHS finally got back to competition on Tuesday, but wasn’t challenged in a 19-0 victory over Florin.

The Devils were walked or hit by pitches 17 times, and reached base on errors in three other instances, while local hurlers Alex Barbaria and Mickie Cox combined on a four-inning no-hitter. Barbaria went four, striking out five, while Cox had two punchouts in the final frame.

“This was awesome because we got everyone into the game for a couple of at-bats and it was a good game to get back into the swing of things after not getting to play last week,” Guerra said. “Now we have two tough games coming up (Wednesday) and Friday against Yuba City and Pioneer.”

Guerra, the former Natomas mentor who is in his first season at the DHS helm, knows those two squads well after coaching in the same league as them last year. Both road matchups begin at 4:15 p.m.

In between walks on Tuesday, the Blue Devils picked up six hits including Daisy McKim’s two-run homer. Sydney Rosenblum added a pair of hits for Davis, while Haley Cameron, Rita Allen-Sutter and Stephanie Cello each had two RBIs.

DHS boys tennis

The Blue Devils put their best lineup on the court on Tuesday, and it was way too much for host Franklin in a 9-0 Delta Valley Conference victory.

DHS won all nine matches in straight sets, dropping just 12 games total in singles and only three games in a dominant doubles performance.

Perfect 6-0, 6-0 victories were posted by the Devils’ No 2 duo of Matt Buckley and Sam Theg, as well as No. 5 singles player Russ Richardson. Ben Alpers and Manraj Gill won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 doubles, while Isaac Zhang and Sean Mishra won their match, 6-0, 6-2 at No.1 doubles.

In singles, Glenn Hull and Andrew Dumit took 6-1, 6-1 victories at the top two matches. No. 3 Garrett Hosley and No. 4 Paul Klavins also won, and Isaac Yee defeated Cameron Fong, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6.

UCD women’s gymnastics

Aggie junior Michelle Ho was selected as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in her career. It’s the eighth time the weekly honor has gone to a UCD gymnast in 2012.

Ho, who prepped at Mountain View High, enjoyed a strong three-event performance in Friday’s triangular meet at San Jose State. She placed fourth on floor exercise with a 9.825, added a 9.725 on uneven bars, then finished her evening with a career-high 9.800 on balance beam. Her beam score helped the Aggies post a 48.775, the No. 2 total in school history.

UCD will close out its season by hosting the MPSF Championships on Saturday. Meet time is 6 p.m. at The Pavilion.

Hoops camp

The Davis Hoops Wildcats will present a Fast Break Camp next month for boys and girls in grades two through eight.

The camp, which is run by director Jean Gelpi, goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 10-12 at Davis High School, 315 W. 14th St.

The cost is $110 for families who register online by April 6, or $125 at the door. To sign up, visit www.davishoops.com and click “Register Online.”

For more information, contact Karen Ward (530) 219-8873 or [email protected]

Field hockey camp

A 15-session field hockey camp will be conducted by DHS varsity girls coach Sandie Marotti-Huckins from June 25 to July 27.

The three-times-a-week workouts are for players of all skill levels and are open to girls and boys ages 10 to 18.

Each session runs from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium at Davis High School, and the $350 registration fee includes camp jersey, field hockey ball, resistance band for strength and conditioning and individual evaluation at summer’s end.

Forms will be circulated at Davis schools in April, but interested youths can contact Marotti-Huckins at [email protected]

Community track

The Davis Community Track and Field Club is now registering youth athletes for its popular summer program.

The club will meet Mondays through Thursdays, June 11-July 26, but participants can choose from among five different session options.

Athletes from fourth grade through high school are invited to come out to Ron & Mary Brown Stadium to learn from a group of coaches including DHS mentors Spencer Elliott and Bill Gregg, along with former Blue Devil standouts.

Participants will have the option to compete in two summer meets: The second annual Freedom from Hunger all-comers outing on June 16, and an Olympic-style all-comers affair on July 21.

For more information, visit www.dctfc.com or email [email protected]

City batting cages

The city-operated batting cages at Playfields Park are now open from Mondays through Fridays from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The cages are also available for private rental. For more information, contact Lori Conrad at (530) 753-7731 or [email protected], or visit http://cityofdavis.org/cs/facility/battingcages.cfm.

0321boyslaxW

DHS’ Max Guida (9) competes for position with an opponent from Berkeley during the Blue Devils’ 7-6 win over the Yellowjackets. Theresa Ratermann/Courtesy photo

Comments

comments