(East Los Angeles, CA.)—We bring all of our great fans and loyal followers our second Newsletter that gives everyone a quick “snapshot” of our Los Angeles and Southern California-based teams at various levels of competition. We hope you enjoy our format, and whenever time permits, that you will like, share, and perhaps send us a comment on our efforts. Thanks in advance to all for taking the time to support our production efforts here at East L.A. Sports Scene. Editor’s Note: If you have any details about forthcoming community sporting events that may impact our community, then please don’t hesitate to inform us by E-mail or by phone at (323) 723-2830.

*PROFESSIONAL TEAMS:

Dodgers Hold 9.5 Game Lead In National League’s Western Division With (48-24) Record.** (As of this writing)

Lots of great credit automatically goes to Dave Roberts, now in his fourth season as the team’s outstanding manager. His full squad manages to stay pumped up and ready for battle as the season slowly, but surely nears its halfway mark. With their current winning record, the Dodgers  returned for a very long homestead, opening a four game set with the Chicago Cubs, (going 3-1), to be followed by another four game series with their dreaded California arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, starting Monday, 6/17. They end their longest home-stand of the season–(11 games), with the final three against the Colorado Rockies, beginning Friday, 6/21. Glad to see that Kiké Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, are getting much playing time and delivering their contributions to big wins. The Dodgers’ young guns are led by Cody Bellinger who will certainly make the All-Star team due to his phenomenal hitting, defensive play, and overall batting average. Go to ladodgers.com to follow the team all season long.

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Sparks Off To Winning Record Under New Rookie Head Coach, Derek Fisher, Former Laker Star & World Champion

For WNBA everywhere, it’s very hard to imagine that the L.A. Sparks (4-3), have played their first seven games of the season without two “key” starters, Candace Parker and Alana Beard. Both are still out of the line-up due to injuries. Then, include Center, Maria Vadeeva, who is unavailable due to her commitment to play in her country’s currently scheduled FIBA competition. In spite of this, they have found creative and consistent winning ways to only trail by a 1/2 game, the Conference’s leader, the Seattle Storm at (5-3). Leading the team in scoring is point guard Chelsea Gray with an average of 16.5 ppg. She’s been helped of course by the Ogwumike sisters Nneka and Chiney respectively, in their scoring, rebounding, and defensive categories. The Sparks play the Washington Mystics at Staples Center on Tuesday, 6/19. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm. Follow the Sparks all-season long at lasparks.com

*COLLEGE TEAMS:

Bruins Win 13th NCAA D-1 National Softball Championship

The UCLA Softball team won the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City, OK earlier this month defeating the #1 ranked, Oklahoma Sooners. Suffice it to say that the Bruins reached this newest milestone in school history as they brought home the University’s 118th overall NCAA sports title. Much of this year’s team’s success must be spread out from Head Coach, Kelly Inouye-Perez, and Pitching Coach, the UCLA Living Legend, Lisa Fernandez, to all the rostered players who performed well all season long. The Bruins racked up a whopping (56-6) overall record, and a (20-4) record while earning Co-Champions of the PAC-12 with the Washington Huskies.

Leading the team in individual honors was red-shirt Junior, and starting Pitcher-1B, #00 Rachel Garcia, who became just the fourth player to earn  “Back-to-Back” USA’s Softball Collegiate“Player of the Year.“ Garcia not only pitched the Bruins to the National Championship, she hit for an astonishing .344 average while accruing numerous, timely, and winning home runs. The next major challenge for Garcia will be competing during this summer’s tour with Team USA for a chance to play on the 2020 Women’s National Team in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Click here to access the Bruins website. (Photos Courtesy of UCLABruins.Com)

Two East L.A. College Womens Basketball Team Student-Athletes Receive Scholarships From Cal State L.A.

Continuing on in the proud tradition of assisting his graduating players to further their college education as well as their  basketball skills, ELAC Huskies, Head Coach, Bruce Turner can now add the names of his former standout guards, JaeLynn Curley (Ganado, AZ/Ganado HS/Above) and Jennifer Pool (Los Angeles, CA/Legacy HS/South Gate/Below) to his growing list of distinctive alumnae who have earned themselves academic and athletic scholarships. On this 2019 graduation ceremony, both players capped off a huge day in their young lives by signing a National Letter of Intent to play two seasons for Cal State L.A.’s new Head Coach, Torino Johnson. This marks a significant moment in time that multiple players were recruited and signed from ELAC by a head coach. Big-time Congrats to both Student-Athletes, Head Coach Turner, and East L.A. College!! We wish the players nothing but success at the NCAA Division II level.

*HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS:

Roosevelt “Lady Rough Riders” Rise-Up To Reach Division-1 Final

Huge Congrats to the Softball varsity team for another successful season as they compiled a (17-4) overall record, winning their third Eastern League title in the process and ending their league play with an (11-1) record. Head Coach, Javier Carbajal consistently puts an excellent and competitive team together each year. His last three seasonal records are quite impressive as he’s compiled an overall record of (57-11) and an Eastern League record of (35-2). Add on the 2018 D-2 and this year’s D-1 playoff appearances and there you have it. The Lady Riders have been highly recognized and commended for their 2019 season goal of reaching the CIF/L.A. City Section’s D-1 post-season tournament as the #7 seed, and working their way to the Final game, before losing to the #1 seed, San Fernando Valley’s, Cesar Chavez “Lady Eagles” by the score of (3-0). Coach Carbajal is a big believer in the T.E.A.M. concept….Together Everyone Achieves More. Top-tier Congrats to the Roosevelt Lady Riders and their Coaches for another job well-done!!

Riders Rebounded From Poor Season Start to Capture 4th Consecutive Eastern League Crown And Earn “Open” Div. Playoff Berth

The CIF/L.A. City Section’s #10 seeded team in the Open Division, coached by veteran skipper, Ray Ruiz, made it to the playoffs, where they lost a heart-breaking first round game to the #7 seeded home team, Kennedy HS/Granada Hills, representing the Valley Mission League, by the final score of (7-6). The Riders captured their fourth consecutive L.A. City Section Eastern League crown by going undefeated at (12-0). They ended the season with an overall record of (18-13). Of significant note for their season, the Riders competed against a number of ranked San Fernando Valley and CIF Southern Section schools such as Culver City, Loyola, Alhambra, and Warren. They also participated in the April Lions Tournament in Escondido, CA. Head Coach Ruiz is one of the most dedicated, hardest working, and respected high school coaches in the L.A. City Section and Southern California. His players are the true beneficiaries of his pride, love, teaching, and mentorship of the game. Congrats to the 2019 Rough Rider team and all of its coaches.

Roosevelt All City Players: Open Division-1st Team/Christian Navarro/Pitcher-Catcher-Infielder/Junior; and Edgar Topete/Pitcher-Shortstop/Junior.