Jazlyn Davis Plays Like A Number One Player

If there was any doubt to why sophomore Jazlyn Davis should be the number one player in Mt. SAC, you wouldn't hear it after her performance against Compton on Feb. 22.

OK, so it was Compton--a team that is not close to a top-ranked team but as you trace back to all the games previous --- Davis was the nuclei in bringing about the team to where it is.

The Mt. SAC women's basketball team end the season having only one loss to their record--the first game of the season.

All that was wondrous of how they would do after that first game is a distant memory now.

Head coach Laura Beeman is no stranger to winning and for six of the last seven years, the team is headed to yet another journey to Fresno.

But let's set aside all the team effort, the coaching and the fact that the women's basketball team is the number one ranked team in the state.

Let's set aside the other elements that made up of a flawless Mountie season.

Let's take a look at Ms. Jaz Davis.

She's consistent, she's physically in tip-top shape and her courageous ability to dribble-drive to the basket tells much about who she is and what she's about. Her demeanor is quiet and her body language is one of, well her posture shows a relaxing way about her movement.

She's a visualizer, a product of seek and destroy. Her handles are second to none and her way about responding to adversity is almost to the point of, "I'm going for the kill so try and stop me."

There hardly is a symptom of flaw in her overall makeup. Her leadership and her unselfish ways intoxicates her teammates---if not on-court she quietly stands aside Captain Beeman laying out adjustments and ways to attack on the offensive end.

The numbers have been steady all year long.

Her supporting cast all bring a role and a helping hand when things go wrong.

But in Davis' world, not much to see in what goes wrong.

She scored 27 points against Compton in an almost-effortless manner and her intensity sometimes can be deceived as either nonchalant or vigorous.

The Mounties are headed to the post-season once more. With every season, there is always that one leader that is molded, nurtured and schooled in the ways of the Beeman way. Last year we saw the emergence of Tay Hester lead the squad to a championship.

This year, we can look forward to Davis carrying that tradition ...

a tradition to lead and to win.

Women's Softball officially 7-10 Due to Forfeiture

The following information was taken from the Mt. SAC Athletics Department:


NOTES: Mt. SAC defeated El Camino, 15-8, in a South Coast Conference game at Mt. SAC. Shelair Rowell was the winning pitcher and the top Mountie batters were Mandy Pongs (3-4, 2B), Francesca Gonzales (3-4, 2 2B), Randie Baldwin (3-3, 3 2B), and Lucia Rodriguez (2-4, HR). Mt. SAC, following the forfeiture of its first nine wins, is now 7-10 overall and 3-0 in South Coast Conference play. The Mounties will face Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m., and Cuesta at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at Bakersfield College.

Rodriguez Leads the Mounties Over El Camino In a Big Way

"Lucia! Lucia! Lu-ci-a!!"

Mountie outfielder Lucia Rodriguez, with the help of relief pitcher Diane Ortiz helped to keep El Camino away from any attempt in coming back as the Mounties beat the Warriors by a score of 15-8.

Mounties pitcher Shelair Rowell took control on the mound early against each Warrior that came up to bat for the first few innings. By striking out a number of the ladies and holding the Warriors scoreless, the Mounties lineup responded by putting on a clinic with their numerous base hits, especially in the second.

The quartet of Mandy Pongs, Francesca Gonzales, Rowell and Rodriguez instigated the first few runs of the game and took a 3-0 lead before more runs from the Mounties came about later during the next couple innings.

With Rowell taking control most of the way, left-handed pitcher Lisa Hernandez relieved Rowell midway thru the game but unfortunately had trouble with control against the first few Warrior batters. Hernandez resulted in giving up one run in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth and five in the sixth.

With two women on-base for El Camino, the next Warrior batter smashed a shallow texas-leaguer towards center field when Rodriguez made a stomach-first dive and caught what could've been a much closer end-result from a eight-run attack by El Camino.

The comeback from El Camino led to Mountie head coach Kelly Ford in bringing in Ortiz for Hernandez to help close out the Warriors once and for all.

With additional runs needed to ward off another El Camino comeback in the seventh, Ortiz came at-bat and smacked a liner to the outfield bringing in Gonzales, who hit a base-hit earlier and provided the extra insurance run.

However, Rodriguez came after another Mountie made on-base and unleashed a right-field bomber out the park for a home run thus closing the book on any chance for El Camino to comeback as the Mounties held off the Warriors with Ortiz finishing the pitching job for the win.

Thanks to Rodriguez's late-game actions and the contributions of the ladies, the Mounties are back in their winning streak since their loss to Sacramento City last weekend.

POWER RANKINGS 2: Pongs Still Tops; Davis Falls?

The following is a bi-monthly list of the top 10 current Mt. SAC athletes during the winter-spring season till Feb. 16.

With another week and-a-half gone by, three Mt. SAC athletes come into the rankings making a sudden impact to their respective programs. The surprise of the ten comes from Jazlyn Davis, who previously was ranked second the last time around—has fallen to third. Teammate Carmen Deal takes over the second spot.

Other names to note making a climb along with Deal is Kadie Baldwin up one with her recent offensive production during the past week.

RANK-NAME-LAST RANKING-SPORT-HIGH SCHOOL

10 Aiona Key (10) / M Basketball / Mesa Verde HS ---Key has a 46% field goal percentage but his talent and ability is what stands out the most about his game.

9 Versia Hodges (7) / M Basketball / Don Lugo HS---Hodges has the identical field goal percentage as Key but averages 2 turnovers a game.

8 Richie Escalera (8) / Baseball / South Hills HS---Gradually he’s beginning to pick up on the offense, but a bit too early to pinpoint where he stands at this point.

7 Corwin Kim (-) / Baseball / Arcadia HS--- Despite the 0-for-4 outing in Fullerton, Kim is batting .500 and continuing to impress with his number of runs scored.

6 Francesca Gonzales (-) / Softball / Arroyo HS---16 games in and ‘Frenchy’ is fifth in RBI’s (11), third in home runs (4), second in triples (3) currently in the state; It was a matter of time before we see her murderous longballing

5 Matt Morse (-) / Baseball / Glendora HS---Arguably one of the best pitchers in the state. His experience will only make him effective as the season goes by.

4 Kadie Baldwin (5) / Softball / Santiago HS---Top hitter in the team (.500), fourth in the state with most hits (18), eighth with most RBI’s (10), and second as the toughest to strikeout (38 at-bats), that will get it done.

3 Jazlyn Davis (2) / W Basketball / E.L. Bowsher HS---This was tough to drop ‘Jaz’ seeing that her leadership holds the team together, but production-wise I had to take the comparisons in stats and make that out as the deciding factor.

2 Carmen Deal (4) / W Basketball / Desert Pines HS---She averages 64% field goal, 16 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals a game. Her presence in the low-post is important to compliment Davis’ backcourt abilities.

1 Mandy Pongs (1) / Softball / Ayala HS---Without her 46+ innings pitched this early in the season, where would the team be? With an 8-2 record and fifth in the state with the most strikeouts (42), Pongs also ranks in the top 7 with hits and RBI’s.



WHY DAVIS FELL TO #3?

Jazlyn Davis is rightfully as better as Mandy Pongs. The fact that both sports have different assignments, tasks and circumstances that makeup of what a great/productive athlete one is, statistics play a part in defining how good an athlete is.

I know it's unfair and unjustified to not mention the intangibles and the things you don't see in stat sheets. Davis is a leader; she exhibits a professional attitude on and off the floor and has a very low-key but friendly personality and we also know that in necessary situations she comes through and produces when needed ... and while that is a significant thing to note, Pongs is equally the professional herself and is in more of a dire situation taking the role as a pitcher for many of the games the Mounties played early in this season.

Pongs has a more all-around performance that shows--hitting and pitching. Especially since she is the ace pitcher of the team, teammate Shelair Rowell is the next in the rotation to step up and since then she has pitched little in comparing to what Pongs has done.

Pongs' consistency in hitting is also another factor. Her batting behind teammate Kadie Baldwin has been one of the big strengths in the Mounties' offense. The one-two punch of Baldwin-Pongs has been a measurable part of the runs that have been produced when looking at both of their offense so far.

This discredits nobody else in the batting rotation --- but in the sense of 3-2-1 rankings, then why is Carmen Deal #2?

Deal is a sizeable low-post offensive/defensive presence that is every bit important in the lineup. Her lengthy arms and adept ability to dribble the ball down court also makes her a multi-dimensional type player. With leaping ability to block and rebound is essential to any team that has a low post player. Deal has that. When you intermix Deal and Davis side-by-side, you have the makings of two big elements important to set the tone of the scoring.

Deal's consistency (Davis does also) in her stats prove that she is far more the necessity on court however, Davis facilitates and creates looks.

Statistics alone can determine the makeup of a player but agreeably they don't make up the complete player. I'm sure Davis has the every necessary thing in considering her the MVP of the team, but both are complimentary to one another and are every bit a must in being seen with high regard - but hey, I sought them to be so equal that someone had to unfortunately take the lower slot.

Pongs in conclusion has her own and does her own thing and is moreover the top; and may be there for quite some time if this does not let off.

FRENCHY RIPPIN; MORSE SHOWING NO REMORSE; KADIE KILLIN



It was just a matter of time before we see the beast in 'Frenchy' let loose in the offensive side. I personally set myself to high of expectations in getting her to start and produce immediately, so I let that go. Gonzales is doing what she does best and that's smash the ball and rip it. As good as the first three-four names are in the batting rotation, practically the entire lineup is deadly at the plate. ORTIZ, JAVIER, RODRIGUEZ, NIETO are definitely no 'lightweights' with the aluminum for sure.

On the baseball side, Matt Morse is horsin' the ball ... and with authority. His last three outings have been damn good and if this continues to be, you can definitely stamp him as one of the easily first-team players to be heard of come end of the season.

Although I may be way premature in declaring this, his experience and composure is well, and hopefully will carry over to the rest of the pitching staff.

Lead-off hitter Kadie Baldwin has had several bad at-bats in the last week. But memories of woes and hardships soon became just that--memories when she recently came through with some serious hitting during the Sac City Tournament. Baldwin is lead hitter of the team and has the highest batting average---reports are that she has moved into third as lead hitter in the state.

If this continues, the rankings will be every bit more complicated to determine as it's been now.



CORWIN & THE HOOPSTERS

Corwin Kim is maintaining and hitting well. You can say he's the replica of Kadiee Baldwin. Both have impressive hitting since the start of the season--both have had there share of unproductive at-bats, but both are doing it despite what the other teammates have done.

Kim has had a good deal of production on-base with the number of runs scored almost on a game-to-game basis, well almost-almost. By coming into the power rankings, Kim's presence is definitely felt and is definitely one to watch.

In basketball, the one problematic thing that is obvious with the lineup is the consistency and turnovers.

Versia Hodges does commit turnovers. But so does everyone else in the team. At times when the game is late and the team is in need of a go-to guy---Hodges is the man to call.

But do not forget Aiona Key.

Both Hodges and Key are essential in keeping this team neck-to-neck with opposing teams. Both have the quickness, leaping ability and the will to lead and to takeover.

Key notably has shown so many signs of scoring in the clutch and in during necessary moments.

The problems of the team may be one particular element that distracts the chemistry of the team flow, but sometimes a hero in need is what the Mounties got to have.

Key or Versia is a good option in those situations ...

but Key has the size, the courage and the hops to make that happen.


Truth be told.

My letter to UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel and his reply of Kevin Craft!

Photo Courtesy of Mt. SAC Athletics


I sent an e-mail to UCLA football head coach Rick Neuheisel in regards to Kevin Craft. I figured he needed to know a bit more of what Kevin is about. So I decided to take my journalism hat off and put on my fan cap on and send him what I wanted to say and this is what I said:


from James Choy
to rneuheisel@*******.***
date Feb 6, 2008 9:41 AM
subject An Email Regarding KEVIN CRAFT
mailed-by gmail.com


Coach Rick Neuheisel,

First off, thanks for taking the time in reading this email.

Secondly, Congratulations on being UCLA head coach.

My name is James Choy. I was formerly the sports editor of the Mountaineer newspaper here in Mt. San Antonio College during the fall of 2007. I am currently the sports editor of a small newspaper in the city of Walnut called the Walnut Weekly.

I have spent the entire semester in the fall following Mt. SAC football and have also done 'research' of the team during their season.

At this point I want to STOP speaking as a journalist and speak to you not as a fan but more as an informer/scout.

I have talked to, hung out, spent time with Craft just to get to know him a little more. I went to practices and had casual conversations and there are certain things I can say most definitely of him.

OFF THE FIELD:
- The most down-to-earth person you'll ever know.
- Seemingly shy but extremely passionate of football from A-Z.
- He's very family-oriented and not really the outspoken, rowdy type.
- A dedicated person and very low-key.

ON THE FIELD:
- He's friendly as you can see anyone to be; he unifies with this teammates well and builds a chemistry instantly with his quiet personality. Everyone at Mt. SAC really looks up to him.
- During pressure situations when opponents were threatening to score on the Mounties with time running out, Craft is great ... he's very composed and mindful of the situation at hand. A couple of games when the Mounties were down, Craft was real efficient in the short-game pass and sometimes the 15-30 yard passes. Him and receiver Aiona Key would be a deadly go-to combo with Aiona's height and his spectacular vertical leap.
- Craft loves to pass. His first two games were so impressive, I wrote an article seeing as how bizaare he was assimilating his style of play much like Peyton Manning.
- On some games during the season, he would do a little rushing and scrambling to show some extensive abilities as QB.
- As long as the O-line is stable, Craft is good at catching his teammates and targeting his passes with accuracy--much different from other quarterbacks. I spent extensive time checking out some other quarterbacks from opposing schools at how they play their game and I just notice the difference of Craft's style a bit more.
- He makes other players better PERIOD.
The Mt. SAC unit were all 'pretty good' players but Craft did such a good job at distributing the ball to receivers and backs .... on some research, I saw in two-three weeks straight, there were about 3-4 receivers each ended the game with 70-80 yards receiving and a couple with 1 or 2 TD's in the process.

You may know most of this stuff already - but from someone else's eyes, I figured with what I reiterate to you might be something you can obtain as what to remember and note.
Kevin is a professional. He has great coaching from his father and from Coach Jastrab --- his way of life outside the gridiron is equally as great.

On my final interview with Coach Jastrab *during a home playoff game* , he pointed to both Tom and Kevin walking off the field and he told me, "Those two ... I really don't know what what we'd be without them ... I mean what can you say."

I hope this email provided some deeper insight and understanding of what Kevin's about.

He told me he's willing and ready to be nurtured under yourself and Norm Chow ...
And I'm downright proud of him ...

Thanks for taking the time in reading this.

Sincerely,


James Choy

PS - Good fortunes to you and the team!


In response to this email --- Coach Neuheisel replied to me and said:


from Rick Neuheisel
to James Choy ,
date Feb 18, 2008 7:20 PM
subject Re: An Email Regarding KEVIN CRAFT
7:20 PM (1 hour ago)


James, Thanks for your insight. We are very excited to have Kevin coming to UCLA!

Let's hope we're both right! All the best, RN



All eyes on Craft who will be headed to UCLA this spring. He has told me during a phone interview that he's ready for the quarter to begin with his classes and that, 'he was pumped up.'

Good luck Kevin ... the whole eastside is standing behind you man.

THE BAD: Men's Hoops ... THE GOOD: Women's Softball

The men's basketball team of Mt. SAC is slowly losing ground.

THE PROBLEM?
At this point, the Mounties are losing ground (9-15, 1-5) and are falling deeper in the pit. The continuous problem of turnovers and careless passing is causing opponents to fast break against the defense and force the Mounties to give up many offensive rebounding.

THE ANSWER?
Aiona Key. If there is any sense of positive outcome, it is him. His jumping ability, quickness and ability to easily move to the key and lay it up for two is becoming a regular thing and opponents require double coverage to disrupt Key's play.

The strategy of the Mountie offense must change. Much of the offensive setup in getting the open shot has continuously been disrupted by hard defense and/or careless turnovers. Mounties coach Criss Freeman has emphasized and worked very hard in getting the team to pass efficiently and to move.

So far, the flow is very raw and while several players like Keyshawn Ross, Versia Hodges and Key are showing spurts of interest, the inconsistent drive to a perfect play has not appeared for the Mounties offense.

Defensively, the Mounties are doing ok. By missing a number of low-post players to provide defense it has not been easy for Freeman to get what he needs to make this lineup flawless. Instead, he has to play the hand that's dealt to him.

Key is the one bright spot that's at all shown some light of hope for the team. His physical ability and body control is more fluid than last year's state-leading player Rishawn Norwood--only Norwood has the more consistent high-percentage shot.

Key is raising interest to many who have watched him in the past few games. What's mystifying is why he is not inserted in the starting rotation yet?

The key is Key.

He must be sought after as the first option to the team to show any signs of getting over the hump of a .500 overall record. The 1-5 record in the conference has the Mounties at the bottom and with no immediate improvement, they may just remain there.

Without the Key, there is no open door for the Mounties to go through.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MOUNTIES' SOFTBALL TOO OVERWHELMING





Last week, Mounties outfielder Kadie Baldwin was batting at a stunning .775. Against the last two teams, she has gone hitless possibly due to a problematic shoulder soreness. During her game versus Long Beach City, Baldwin went 0-for-3 but twin sister Randie has gone 3-for-3 including a double included with a Shelair Rowell's solo home run before Francesca 'Frenchy' Gonzales blasted one in left center.

As of late, Gonzales has been on a hitting spree. As more at-bats come, Gonzales is starting to get back to her old self last year when she had 20+ home runs and a hoard of runs batted in.

Pitcher Mandy Pongs has continued her pitching dominance overtaking opponents in the count, striking out batters and rely/trust on her Mountie defense to control the opponent's offensive spurt.

Other batters like Liz Javier, Lucia Rodriguez and Heather Ortiz have provided extra runs and production with runs scored and runs batted in. Their first conference win against Long Beach is only the beginning of what this fully stacked lineup will show as their 10-0 record not only astounds but amazes many.

The Mountie dominance led by head coach Kelly Ford is becoming a traditional pattern. The recruiting has become a very successful feat for the coaching staff and the loose yet educational provision that the girls receive makes it look as if the season is not just a serious conquest to another state championship but more like a fun journey to a destination too familiar and possible.



As the conference resumes, we will know more at how good these girls are.

How good will these girls be compared to as opposed to the teams from previous years.

Stay tuned.

POWER RANKINGS: Why Mandy Pongs is #1

Choy’s Mt. SAC Power Rankings
By James Choy
The following is a bi-monthly list of the top 10 current Mt. SAC athletes during the winter-spring season effective till Feb. 4.


10 Aiona Key / M Basketball / Mesa Verde --- His vertical leap is jaw-dropping but his body control and intelligence is something to see.

9 Keyshawn Ross / M Basketball / El Camino Real --- His low-post presence is vital to the team but his ability to rebound and score is an asset without another big man to help him.

8 Richie Escalera / Baseball / South Hills --- He led the team in home runs and RBI’s last year and will be every bit as important in leading the team not with his talent but with his overall makeup.

7 Versia Hodges / M Basketball / Don Lugo --- Hodges is a leader and the true facilitator of the Mountie offense. His adept ability to bob and weave allows him to be one of the quickest but also one of the deadliest guards in the conference.

6 Liz Javier / Softball / Warren --- Javier had a eight-for-11 outing in a two-day doubleheader this past weekend. She’s already making a name for herself as a freshman phenom.

5 Kadie Baldwin / Softball / Santiago --- Coach Kelly Ford shouldn’t think of ever taking Kadie out of the number one slot. She’s 10-for-12 right now and is leading the team in batting average. She and Javier are killing the baseball right now.

4 Carmen Deal / W Basketball / Desert Pines --- Deal recently was injured and possibly might affect the team tremendously. Her 16.0 point avg. 8.9 rebounds a game may hurt if no one fills her shoes.

3 Gregg Winger / Baseball / Canyon --- The past weekend had Winger batting .450 with three RBI’s and three runs scored. His hitting is impressive as of late.

2 Jazlyn Davis / W Basketball / E.L. Bowsher --- Davis has a 51.1% field-goal pct. averaging 17.8 points a game. She’s undoubtedly the MVP of the league right now.

1 Mandy Pongs / Softball / Ayala --- Three games of outstanding pitching in two days plus an astounding batting performance has her as the #1 player right now in Mt. SAC undoubtedly.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
Gary McNellys
Chris Carrico
Francesca Gonzales
Sahfiya Brown
Matt Morse
Shelair Rowell

+++++++++++++++

The argument of who is #1 between two athletes, Mandy Pongs and Jazlyn Davis can easily be decided on amount of play alone.

Davis is already 20+ games into the season having already produced stats good enough to be noted as the obvious #1 player.

So why does Pongs get the #1 ranking?

Both the basketball and the softball team are coming into the season as defending state champs. Davis has become the go-to player in the times when the Mounties are looking for a leader. However, Pongs is also a leader in her own right taking the mound a number of times--recently pitching three straight games and striking out 17 batters already early in the season with only four games played. But also including the post-season last year--Pongs was awarded All-Tournament MVP not just from pitching alone but also her ability to hit the ball as well. Pongs' batting average currently is at .417 having already hit a home run and 4 RBI's. Only Francesca Gonzales, Kadie Baldwin and Liz Javier is higher. Pongs' performance has continued to carry over from last season into this season and pretty much seems to remain consistent.

Mandy's pitching aside from teammate Shelair Rowell is at the top. She ranks #2 currently in the conference in pitching in all categories and is on pace to possibly being a two-time MVP considering if all goes perfect for the Mounties---but that's premature for now.

Davis was a factor in last season's run to a championship however with her company, she's had the presence of Chari Smith and Tay Hester who were the primary go-to players during the season. Davis provided a backup role in which her presence became significant to maintaining the Mounties' stability during games that were close. The numbers for Davis are much higher this year but not so high from last year obviously from not being the first option player.

The impact from last season carries weight to declare Pongs as the #1 player currently. However within the two weeks that surpasses, anything can happen and could happen resulting in a much different outcome.


OTHER INFORMATION ON OTHER PLAYERS:

Carmen Deal's MCL sprain is sought to be not serious and is on crutches for precautionary reasons. Basketball coach Laura Beeman has specified that Deal is fine and is just taking necessary steps in recovering progressively.

Baldwin and Javier are producing well amongst both of them when combining team stats with the rest. Both together are 16-for-23 in at-bats and are showing early signs of power and production for the team.

Surprisingly, Gonzales is coming through but in a more gradual sense. I was looking to see an instantaneous start from her with a combination of longballing and power-hitting. Despite that in 12 at-bats, she's come through with 5 hits, one RBI, one run scored thus far. She'll definitely be looked at as the games go on.

On the men's side, Gregg Winger has had a great past weekend producing hits and runs scored and is bringing his hitting ability into the limelight.

Alike Gonzales, Richie Escalera is gradually making his production known from the past weekend. Despite the 0-for-4 day against Riverside, Escalera has had a great freshman season and very likely will bring it through as the season goes on for him.

One name to really look at is Corwin Kim a freshman left-fielder, who currently has brought some lift in his hitting and is a name not mentioned in the rankings but is one to look at as weeks go by.

In men's basketball, Versia Hodges, Keyshawn Ross, Gary McNellys and Aiona Key all are showing promise as their team slowly begins to develop through each game. Despite a 9-13 record, the vibe amongst the teammates is growing postively and under the watch of Coach Criss Freeman, in due time you may see two of these four climb in rankings as well. All eyes will be on them.


For comments, questions --- send emails to James909@gmail.com.