With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Malibu High’s spring sports programs are buckling down in the hopes of qualifying for postseason berths.
Meanwhile, the Malibu High surf team ended its season with an impressive performance in the Scholastic Surf Series (SSS) High School State Championships in Oceanside, Calif.
Surfing
The SSS completed its season with the State Championships held at South Jetty, Oceanside from April 5-7, where the Sharks placed fifth in men’s shortboard and fifth in men’s longboard.
“We made a strong showing. I was very happy,” Malibu coach Michael Moss said.
On the women’s side, Malibu advanced to the semifinals in shortboard led by Frankie Seely. The Sharks placed third after being ousted by Santa Cruz High School. In women’s longboard and coed bodyboard, MHS finished in fifth place, respectively. “Overall, it was a good year for us,” said Moss.
Nearly 50 schools from areas like San Diego, Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay participated in the three-day extravaganza.
Malibu competed in five events in the Coastal Division: men’s and women’s shortboard and longboard, and co-ed bodyboard. In a hotly contested battle, the Sharks lost by one point, 32-31, to San Dieguito Academy in the quarterfinals of men’s shortboard.
Baseball
Malibu’s baseball team has been on a roller coaster ride this year with a season of highs and lows.
After beginning the season 5-0 and winning the Southern California Invitational for the third consecutive year, the Sharks fell in seven straight games.
But the Sharks have rebounded in the last few weeks.
Behind the inspiring return of Chase Lambert at second base, MHS blew out Santa Paula, 18-0. Bronson Bard went 4-4 with two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored. Dylan Ross went 3-4 and Ezra Allen went 3-5 with three doubles. Andre Simoneau pitched five innings for the win and Allen threw two scoreless innings in relief to preserve the shutout.
The victory against the Cardinals propelled Malibu on a high note into the San Diego Lions Tournament during spring break. It was just what the doctor ordered.
The Sharks won their first three games defeating the Bishop’s School (4-2), Clairemont (5-0) and Imperial (1-0) before falling to El Dorado, 5-1, in the championship game. In an impressive display of pitching, three different Shark pitchers went the distance in each win.
Against Bishop’s School, Noah Simon finally earned his first win of the year after throwing a complete game, striking out seven and allowing five hits. He gave up zero earned runs and lowered his season ERA to a mere 1.10. Bard had two hits and an RBI. Lambert added two hits and scored two runs.
Freshman Declan Sheridan threw a complete game shutout versus Clairemont, striking out seven and giving up just four hits. Lambert added two more hits, scored a run and had two RBIs. Freshman Cade McMillin contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Allen also had two hits and an RBI.
Simoneau pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout with four strikeouts in the 1-0 win over Imperial. Bard singled home Lambert with the game’s only run in the first inning and Simoneau made it stand up.
Upon returning from San Diego, Malibu defeated league-foe Santa Clara, 5-4, to improve to 10-10 overall and 2-2 in the Frontier League. Simon earned his second straight complete game victory for the Sharks. Chris Falk had the decisive blow, a two-run single that gave Malibu the lead for good.
Softball
After defeating Cate, 26-4, the Lady Sharks have suffered five consecutive losses. Their record currently stands at 3-8 overall and 0-4 in the Frontier League.
Despite the struggles, Malibu has vastly improved with a team composed of eight sophomores and one freshman, Cristina Batres. The team batting average is .281 with Rachel McConnell leading the way at a blistering .467 clip, including a team-best two home runs and 13 RBIs.
Batres is batting .464 with 13 stolen bases and has evolved into the ace of the pitching staff. Xena Amirani (.393), Molly Gallagher (.333, team-high 21 runs) and Hali Norris (.333) have had a productive season.
Boys Tennis
The Sharks defeated Carpinteria, 13-5, and Nordhoff, 18-0, last week to improve to 4-4 in the Tri-Valley League. The TVL singles and doubles championships will be held on May 1 at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.
