The Los Angeles City Section championships are this week, which forces the state tournament to start after Memorial Day.

Because of the two-week delay, many teams that qualify for the state playoffs wind up opting out, particularly in softball, where travel tournaments for club softball teams start to take precedent over some high school teams once the CIF-SS finals are finished.

Because some teams opted out, the La Mirada and Cal softball teams were extended invitations to the state playoffs and both accepted, much to the delight of its players, who though its season was over.

Particularly La Mirada, who lost in the first-round of the Division 1 playoffs to eventual champion Pacifica of Garden Grove, 6-5, on May 4.

La Mirada coach Brent Tuttle was told that Division 1 finalists Pacifica and Norco opted out of the state tournament, and he believes one or two others may have opted out too. And because they were one of the top eight seeds, they were extended an invite.

“When they offered it I got our girls on a group chat and asked if they wanted to do this, and our group chat was buzzing,” Tuttle said. “I don’t think they wanted to go out they way they did, so this is another chance to prove ourselves.”

La Mirada (18-8) has been eliminated by the eventual Division 1 champion the past two years.

“Losing to Pacifica the way we did, and how it ended the past two years, I just think we welcome another opportunity.”

California’s (21-8-2) softball team was also extended a state playoff invite and accepted, according to coach Jason Ramirez.

California advanced to the Division 2 quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Great Oak, which was an emotional loss for the Condors softball team, who have dedicated their season to coach Jason Ramirez, who in recent months was diagnosed with ALS.

Just as they had in every regular-season game and playoff run, players wore bracelets for their coach and there were Play4Jay posters around the field during their 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Great Oak on May 11.

“It is an honor to go to state, and a real surprise,” Ramirez said. “We thought the season was over, we get the call and now we can get back up and there are more games to play. The girls were like, ‘how does this happen?’ But they’re excited to have an opportunity to do something that has never been done at the school.”

For Ramirez, the opportunity to continue was a blessing.

“Yeah, I wasn’t ready for the season to be over,” Ramirez said. “I felt like the last game with Great Oak was one pitch. I felt like we were the better team and you saw them win it all and we felt like, that could have been us. Now I get another opportunity with the girls, so it’s special.”

The Ganesha baseball and softball teams won CIF-SS Division 7 championships and both applied and are expected to be in the state playoffs next week, according to athletic director Donald Cayer.

South Hills’ baseball team lost a heartbreaker to Crespi, 6-5, in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship games, surrendering four runs in the seventh inning to end the Huskies’ chance of hanging their seventh championship banner.

South Hills has qualified for the state playoffs, but coach Darren Murphy said on Monday they have not decided whether they will participate or not, and are expected to make a decision by the end of the day.

But that was one of the few balls the Ontario softball team managed to square up Saturday morning.

Lemus did not allow another hit and finished the game with nine strikeouts as Ganesha cruised to a 5-0 win over the top-seeded Jaguars in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship game at Barber Park.

It is the first section championship for the Ganesha softball program, which displayed dominance from the very start of the season. The No. 2-seeded Giants (16-0) have outscored the opposition 219-6 this year.

“It has been a really great season, and these girls came together and played well,” Ganesha coach Trish Joines said, “Everyone contributed to this championship and had their big moments this season.”

This was a team filled with new faces, including nine transfers and two freshmen. Joines said it took a couple of weeks for the chemistry to take hold. Once it did, however, the Giants rolled.

“We all had the same goals, and that made it easier for us to come together,” Lemus said. “We’re doing what we set out to do. We won league and CIF. Now we’l try to win (the) state (regional).”

Ontario (16-9) had a positive start against Lemus, as Laylonie Martinez ripped a single through the circle. Lemus got out of the inning unscathed and set down 11 of 12 batters during one strecth.

Ganesha grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an inside-the-park home run by freshman first baseman Savanah Duncan. Ontario right fielder Alaiza Lopez tried to make a diving catch. The ball rolled to the fence, and Duncan sped around the bases.

“That felt great, especially since I didn’t have the best performance last game,” Duncan said, referring to a 1-for-5 effort in the semifinals against Tahquitz. “I just ran as fast as I could.”

Ganesha tacked on three more runs in the third inning. Mikaylah Martinez roped a double into the gap in left-center field to drive in a pair of runs, and Jayden Tomura singled home Martinez.

“We were trying to figure out the pitcher that first time through the order,” Joines said. “The girls were communicating with each other about what to expect. They just work so well together.”

A pair of errors by Ganesha during the fifth inning gave Ontario its best chance to break through. Lemus wasn’t fazed, however, as she retired three straight batters to strand runners at second and third.

Lemus only had three three-ball counts in the game. Two of those came in the sixth inning, when she walked back-to-back hitters with two outs. She retired the final four batters to complete the one-hitter.

“I think it was a little bit of excitement, and a little bit of fear,” Lemus said of that brief control issue. “I just had to calm down. I have to credit my teammates with helping me do that.”

Anabelle Gonzalez tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning for Ganesha’s final run.

Ontario had a couple of defensive gems during the game. Shortstop Sofia Femath made a great stab up the middle for a double play in the fifth inning. Emily Moreno made a running catch in left field to take away extra bases in the sixth.

Undefeated Ganesha baseball team wins first CIF-SS championship

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It is the school’s first CIF-SS baseball title.

The Giants’ Gabe Smith punctuated a five-run fourth inning with a bases-clearing triple that gave them a 5-0 lead. The pitching of Gavin Moran, Brandon Gutierrez and Jorge Solares did the rest, limiting the Flashes (17-15) to just two hits.

Ganesha won its last four playoff games by shutout.

“It always starts with pitching for us,” Ganesha coach Tony Green said. “Our pitching has been good all year and they were good today. We always go by committee and all three of them did a real good job. And then we put together our offense by staying under control. Sometimes it isn’t always great, but we wait until it starts clicking, and go from there.”

That’s it, Ganesha beats Fillmore 7-0 to win the CIF-SS Division 7 championship, completing an undefeated season and first title in school history pic.twitter.com/hNYSf8pz3A

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

Smith, who finished with three hits, four RBIs and scored twice, said the Giants were patient and pounced when the opportunity came.

“It’s amazing, you dream of this,” Smith said. “We’ve got an amazing team. We just wanted to be ourselves and not do too much, and it paid off.”

Ganesha improved to 18-0 and will continue its season in the CIF State Southern California Regional playoffs that begin May 30. The pairings will be released May 28.

Giants senior Adrian Lopez, a Long Beach State signee, finished with a double, two hits and two RBIs. Catcher Isaiah Ibarra, a USC commit, was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and Thomas Giandomenico was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

The Giants’ run production was amazing all season. They scored 253 runs in all, and 55 runs in five playoff games.

Still, they had to remain patient Friday before breaking it opens with five runs in the fourth inning.

“Once we get one, all of them start rolling in,” Ibarra said. “That’s the goal when we’re out there playing and we got the win. There’s no feeling like it (winning a championship), and to win with these guys means a lot.”

Lopez got to win on the title on the field he will play on next season for Long Beach State. He said the Giants’ dominant offense shouldn’t overshadow the contributions made by team’s pitchers.

The Giants allowed only 14 runs in 18 games.

“Our pitching staff has been great all season, we all knew that,” Lopez said. “They’ve been grinding it out, inning after inning, competing, and keeping us in ball games. Without a doubt we have confidence in those guys.”

This season was a remarkable turnaround for the Giants, who were 10-12 a year ago.

The Giants got a boost this season from an influx of transfers, a situation that brought a lot of attention to the school’s online-school program. Ganesha’s roster this season included 26 new players with roughly 20 transfers, with most of them enrolled in the online program that requires them to be on the school’s campus only for testing.

For Green, in his 10th season at the helm, winning the first CIF-SS trophy was special.

“That’s an awesome feeling, that’s always going to be a great feeling,” Green said. “I waited a long time for it, but it has nothing to do with me. The guys worked hard every single day and they earned it on the field.”

Ganesha had just one hit through two innings. Smith smacked a one-out single and later scored on Lopez’s fly out for a 1-0 lead in the third inning.

The Giants’ big rally came in the fourth.

After Adrian Cedeno earned a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0, Smith followed with a triple to left-center to clear the bases and make it 5-0.

Smith drove in his fourth run in the seventh with a single to left that scored Ibarra for a 7-0 lead.

Ganesha’s Gabe Smith finished with a triple, three hits and four RBIs in the Giants’ 7-0 win over Fillmore for the D7 title pic.twitter.com/0UCAp7iWwl

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

Ganesha catcher Isaiah Ibarra, a USC commit, was 3 for 4 with a double in the Giants 7-0 title win over Fillmore. pic.twitter.com/cIC1BHGBYe

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

Ganesha’s Adrian Lopez, a Long Beach State commit, talked about winning the championship at Blair Field, where he will be a freshman next fall. pic.twitter.com/9hnDVTNRxQ

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

Ganesha baseball coach Tony Green wins his first title after 10 years at the school, he talks about the Giants’ undefeated season after beating Fillmore 7-0 for the D7 title. pic.twitter.com/ckDxfOx9iC

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

What champions look like, the Ganesha Giants get their trophy. pic.twitter.com/HrpevNduKB

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 19, 2023

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Ganesha’s baseball and softball programs are both undefeated and have dominated at times like a Goliath during the regular season and in the playoffs.

On paper, Ganesha’s baseball and softball turnarounds looks like the stuff of legend, an ascension that would seem improbable, except the backstory is just as fascinating, and some now fear it could be the start of something that ruins the traditional high school experience.

But first the facts.

Ganesha’s baseball team, which has to play its home games at Garey High and practice offsite because its campus field is riddled with gopher holes, is 17-0 and will face Fillmore in the CIF-SS Division 7 championship at Blair Field in Long Beach on Friday at 1 p.m., looking for the school’s first title. The team has outscored its opponents this season 246-14, and outscored them in the playoffs 50-4.

The roster lists 26 players on MaxPreps that were not on the team that finished 10-12 a year ago, with only four players from last year’s team back. The Giants are believed to have multiple players with Division I college offers.

One of the players is senior Adrian Lopez, who is a Long Beach State commit.

CIF SS D 7 Baseball
Quarter Final
Ganesha 21, Fontana 0@SGVNSports @IESportsNet @PEcom_preps @IEPreps @James_Escarcega @LAVarsity pic.twitter.com/f3lL0QoLa6

— Carlos A Páez (@carlospusd) May 13, 2023

Ganesha’s softball team is 15-0 and will play Ontario in the Division 7 championship Saturday at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine at 9:30 a.m., looking for the school’s first softball championship.

The softball team has outscored its opponents this season 221-6, and has outscored them 45-3 in the playoffs.

This comes one year after the Giants were 8-12.

CIF SS D7 Game Day
Softball Semi Final
Ganesha vs Tahquitz
At 11 AM @GaneshaHighPUSD @SGVNSports @James_Escarcega @IESportsNet @SGVTribune @LAVarsity @PEcom_preps @MaxPreps @PrepsRiver46513 pic.twitter.com/kKFEqtMsN9

— Carlos A Páez (@carlospusd) May 13, 2023

There has been a lot of people asking how a school not known for its baseball or softball programs could become this good seemingly overnight.

There’s a very simple answer.

The school has an online-schooling program that has attracted numerous transfers, and that includes many of the newcomers this year to the baseball and softball teams, explains Ganesha athletic director and football coach Don Cayer, who also served as the school’s baseball coach for more than a decade.

Nearly all of Ganesha’s baseball players and many of its softball players are taking part in the online program that allows the players to essentially be home-schooled, with the exception of being on campus for testing.

The majority of the players on Ganesha’s baseball team train at EM Speed and Power in Rancho Cucamonga, multiple sources have confirmed for the Southern California News Group, and are enrolled in Ganesha’s online program so they can play high school baseball while taking classes online.

Cayer wouldn’t go into specifics about where the players on the baseball or softball team train when they’re not at Ganesha, or what steered them to the school.

On the CIF Southern Section transfer portal, Ganesha fills up multiple pages of transfer requests, far more than most schools. Most of its transfers were home-schooled previously, which allowed them to be granted immediate eligibility through “non-participation” the previous year.

For Cayer, what’s important to understand is that all of the new players on the baseball and softball teams have been approved through the CIF Southern Section.

“We didn’t break any rules,” Cayer said. “These are students that are enrolled at Ganesha High School (through its online program), and a lot of them previously were home-schooled or at elite charter schools and they got a taste of the online stuff and liked it. They (parents) didn’t want their kids in (traditional) high school settings.”

CIF-SS assistant commissioner Thom Simmons was asked this week if the Ganesha situation is something that has caught the eye of CIF-SS officials, and if there is a concern.

“Yes, we are aware of the number of baseball players that are part of this (online) program,” is all Simmons would say.

Some students are enrolled primarily in online courses and are only required at school for testing. Some are on campus and also participate in some form of online classes.

Cayer says the online program is beneficial to Ganesha’s enrollment numbers.

“We have about 1,000 kids, and I would say about 750 of them are online in some way or another, and for a school like ours, enrollment is down and this helps our enrollment.”

Ganesha isn’t the only school to have student-athletes in online programs, but few have used it to make an impact like the Giants’ baseball and softball teams.

Cayer argues that schools have been taking advantage of loopholes for decades to transform their programs, and for many years Ganehsa’s sports teams were on the opposite side of lopsided beatings because of it.

He acknowledges that Ganehsa may have taken the online program to a different level in terms of how it impacts a high school’s teams, and he understands why people are talking about it.

“This is the wave of the future,” Cayer said. “Not sure how else to explain it. We’re working with the rules that exist.”

La Salle baseball coach Andy Nieto, who also has coached at Damien and previously won four CIF-SS championships at Bishop Amat, raved about Ganesha’s baseball team and shared other thoughts.

“They could compete in Division 1, we played them in the fall,” Nieto said.

The San Gabriel Valley boasts several teams that play in Division 1: Bishop Amat, San Dimas, Bonita, Maranatha, La Mirada and Damien. Ganesha’s baseball team is competing this year in Division 7, the lowest division in the Southern Section.

“In terms of the San Gabriel Valley, they would be in the top three (teams),” Nieto said.

There are some involved in high school sports who are concerned that having teams made up primarily of online students is not what the high school sports experience is supposed to be about.

Nieto sees both sides.

“Look, with COVID, parents got an opportunity to see what home-schooling is all about, and it became a personal preference,” Nieto said. “There is nothing illegal being done here. There are schools that get a lot of transfers, there are schools that turn their programs around other ways.

“I would personally not want to take away the full high school experience from my kids, but if some families are comfortable with it, if that’s what they want to do, it’s their choice and you have to be supportive of that. It is what it is. If they weren’t in Division 7 winning like they are, I don’t think it would be as big of a (story) as it is now.”

Jesse Mendez resigned as Pomona’s baseball coach last year and is the event coordinator of the annual San Gabriel Valley all-star softball games. Mendez says he took great pride in getting the most out of his players, and he fears the online program that he says Ganesha is exploiting is hurting kids who are on campus and need to be involved in sports.

“It’s not easy coaching in Pomona, you got to do a lot of stuff yourself, and you’re there to mentor kids that need it,” Mendez said. “What they’re doing (Ganesha) is taking kids that grow up in Pomona and want to play sports at their high school, and shoving them aside for kids that aren’t from the area, and not even on campus.

“They’re taking other kids over Pomona kids who need sports to motivate them to do their homework. You take sports away from some of these kids and who knows, they may wind up on the streets. That is not what high school sports are supposed to be about.”

Current Pomona baseball coach Jose Miranda lost to Ganesha 22-0 and 20-0 this season.

Afterward, he thought, who are these guys?

“It’s my first year here, and the first thing when I saw them, I started counting. They had almost 30 kids,” Miranda said of Ganesha. “That’s like three teams, and they were big kids, a lot over six feet. I’ve been around the sport forever, and right away you could tell this was something different. Their nine players on the field were incredible, just incredible, and nothing that we could compete with.

“I was amazed. Just like, wow.”

Ganesha’s baseball coach, Tony Green, and softball coach, Tricia Joines, did not return calls seeking comment for this story.

Cayer said none of the returning players on Ganesha’s baseball and softball teams lost their spots on the teams if they came back this season. He said they all had a chance to try out for the team.

While Cayer defended the online program and the success of the baseball and softball teams, he chose not to comment when asked if he was comfortable with the new way things are being done instead of what is considered the traditional way, where neighborhood kids grow up in an area and play at their local high school.

“I’m going to leave that one alone,” Cayer said.

South Hills lefty sophomore Joseph Moreno was sailing along with a 2-0 lead, having allowed one hit through five innings, when he gave up back-to-back walks in the sixth inning, prompting Huskies coach Darren Murphy to bring in senior Matt Moreno.

After the Coyotes’ runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch, the Huskies’ lead was suddenly cut in half after the Coyotes’ Simon Hoffman scored on a ground out to make it 2-1.

After another walk and stolen base, the Coyotes suddenly had runners on second and third with one out, threatening to tie the game or take the lead.

That’s when the moment came.

Calabasas’ Tyler Shulman flew out to Prieto in left and the Coyotes’ Desi Gonzalez tagged up and tried score to tie the game. But Prieto threw a perfect strike to freshman catcher Aiden Soto to get Gonzalez out at the plate, preserving the Huskies’ one-run lead and sending them into a wild celebration.

“That was a big turning point,” Prieto said. “If I don’t make that play who knows, we might not be in the championship right now, we could still be playing.”

The Huskies used that momentum to score three runs in the seventh to close it out.

No. 2 South Hills (24-6) will take on Crespi in the championship game Friday or Saturday at Blair Field in Long Beach. The Huskies will be trying to win their seventh title.

Calabasas coach Thomas Cassidy agreed that the inning-ending double play was the momentum changer in the sixth, especially with the Coyotes (22-10) managing only two hits in the loss.

“Absolutely, that was our shot, we had our rally going,” Cassidy said. “Our guy was running hard home and their guy made an unbelievable throw. You got to tip your cap to them. We made a couple mistakes today, but hats off to them, they beat us, they were better and they deserved it.”

What made the play so special to Murphy was not just the throw, but also the tag by his freshman catcher, Soto, who started because senior leader Malaki Pelayo was unable to go because of a shoulder injury.

“That was singlehandedly the biggest play of the game,” Murphy said. “The momentum completely sways their way if they tie the game and then they would have had a runner in scoring position, too.

“You know, Dom to Soto, I did not see it a week ago. Soto is not our starting catcher and he’s a freshman and caught a one-run game in a CIF semifinal. He’s really cool and calm and I’m really proud of him for stepping up for Malakai and taking his place for a game.”

South Hills’ Noah Malone led off the second inning with an infield single and later scored on a throwing error.

Luke Bauer’s fly out to left scored Steven Jimenez to put South Hills up 2-0.

Leading 2-1, Paul Vazquez singled home Matt Moreno and Malone singled home two more runs to take a four-run lead in the seventh inning.

For Joseph Moreno, it has been an excellent playoff run. He had lost his starting spot before the playoffs began, but he pitched five no-hit innings of relief in the second round, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in the quarterfinals, and got the start Tuesday and allowed one hit in five innings.

In 10 1/3  innings in the playoffs, Moreno has allowed just one run on two hits.

“On a team of stars and MVPs, he has been as much of an MVP in the playoffs as anyone,” Murphy said.

Joseph Moreno admitted that his confidence is sky high.

“I always tell myself, it only matters in the playoffs,” Joseph Moreno said. “I just had to do my job.”

South Hills coach Darren Murphy and sophomore lefty Joseph Moreno talk about their 5-1 win over Calabasas and trip to the CIF-SS Division 2 finals. pic.twitter.com/6UqGZ5U1ZX

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 17, 2023

South Hills left fielder Dom Prieto talks about his game altering throw out at home in the sixth inning that ignited the Huskies in a 5-1 semifinal win over Calabasas pic.twitter.com/zgsy8Ie4k5

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) May 17, 2023

Name: Devin Jackson

School: West Covina

Sport: Track and field

Year: Senior

Noteworthy: Jackson won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls shot put title at Moorpark High. Jackson set a personal best and established the third-best mark in the state this year with her toss of 43 feet, 8 inches. She also qualified for the Masters Meet at Moorpark High on Saturday. Jackson is among the favorites to win the state title. Only two girls from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame have posted better marks than her, and she has continued to improve as the season goes on.

Name: Devin Paton

School: Monrovia

Sport: Track and field

Year: Senior

Noteworthy: Paton won the boys long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 5 1/2 inches and finished second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 38.16 seconds at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 track and field finals at Moorpark High. Paton’s personal best in the long jump is 23 feet, which is the fifth-best mark in the state this year. His time in the 300 hurdles at the CIF-SS finals is the year’s eighth-best mark in California. He will compete in both events at the Masters Meet at Moorpark High Saturday and will try to advance to the state meet May 26-27.

The Huskies went on to win the CIF-SS Division 2 championship, which was the Huskies’ sixth title.

South Hills (23-6), the No. 2 seed, will get another chance to punch its ticket to a championship game when it hosts Calabasas (22-9) in the Division 2 semifinals Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.

The Huskies have advanced in the playoffs with superior pitching, led by Sterling Patick, who nearly threw a no-hitter in their 6-0 opening-round win over Great Oak and turned away a strong-hitting West Ranch squad in the quarterfinals, going six innings in the 2-1 victory.

The Huskies will likely use the combination of Daniel Camou and Joseph Moreno on the bump against Calabasas, as they did in their second-round win over Charter Oak, with Moreno providing four-no hit innings in relief to help them get the victory.

Moreno, who was previously a starter, has been key during the playoffs in relief. He pitched the seventh inning during their quarterfinal win over West Ranch, shutting them down in order to advance.

Calabasas, the Marmonte League champion, has been difficult to slow offensively. They beat Lakewood (11-4) and Vista Murrieta (8-3) before fending off Gahr 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Calabasas played two of the San Gabriel Valley’s best Division 1 programs, beating Maranatha (7-2) and losing to San Dimas (5-3).

The pick: South Hills

In other CIF-SS semifinals Tuesday:

DIVISION 6

Hesperia Christian (17-2) at San Marino (20-6), 3:15 p.m.

After winning the Rio Hondo League title, the Titans have continued to impress in the playoffs as they try to win their first championship since 1992.

The Titans’ biggest win came in the quarterfinals as they knocked off No. 2 seed Campbell Hall, 2-1. The Titans got a great performance from senior pitcher Michael Liquori, who pitched a complete game and allowed just three hits with six strikeouts.

The Titans on Tuesday will likely start sophomore pitcher Tomas Bilvado, who went all seven innings in their 7-2 second-round win over Alhambra.

They have plenty of offense with guys like Truman Koch, Coleman Morning, Tyler Giddings and Ryan Park.

Hesperia Christian knocked off No. 3 seed Norwalk 8-3 in the semifinals and has just two losses this season.

The pick: San Marino

DIVISION 7

Fillmore (16-13) at Cantwell Sacred Heart (16-10), 3:15 p.m.

Both teams reached the semifinals despite having double-digit losses on their record. Both team are also somewhat of a surprise after Cantwell Sacred Heart finished third in the Santa Fe League and Fillmore fourth in the Citrus Coast League.

Fillmore has been surprisingly dominant, opening the playoffs by knocking off No. 2 seed St. Genevieve 10-2, and then advancing easily to the semifinals by beating Animo Leadership (10-0) and Artesia (7-1).

Cantwell has been just the opposite, advancing with back-to-back one-run wins, beating Oakwood (1-0) and Banning (3-2) in the quarterfinals.

The pick: Fillmore