Venice Baseball Ready for League Play

This week, baseball joins softball, tennis, and volleyball in league play as Gondolier fans are looking for a team to make a deep playoff run. Let's take a look at the week ahead for high school sports in Venice.

Baseball

Players on the Venice High baseball team still have a bad taste in their mouths following their 6-1 loss at Granada Hills last week. This week, they will finally see where they stand in the Western League. On Monday they will host University at 3 p.m., then travel to University for another 3 p.m. game Thursday to complete the series.

Softball

The Gondoliers are in full swing of league play this week. First, they will go on the road to take on Fairfax (6-2) at 3 p.m. on Monday. After that, they will head to Hamilton for another 3 p.m. game Wednesday. Coach Jessica Ruiz has one goal heading into this week.

“I just want to shore up our batting," she said. "In a game earlier this year, we didn’t get a run on base until the third inning. If we want to win, that is unacceptable. Hopefully we can improve on that this week.”

Volleyball

The Venice High boys volleyball team continues to struggle. It dropped two games over the weekend at the Venice Invitational, falling to Narbonne and Marshall by 2-0 scores, and Coach Allen Hunt knows that things need to turn around quickly.

“We are getting better every time we take the court, but eventually, that won’t be good enough," Hunt said. "I’m still confident we will be ready come playoff time.”

This week, the spikers will be looking to improve on their 1-1 league record. First, they will host University on Monday after the JV match, which starts at 2:30 p.m. Then they will travel to Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for a varsity match, again after the JV. This week is critical, according to Hunt.

“Realistically, Palisades will probably win the league," he said. "But that second spot is up for grabs and I think we can take it. We need to cut down on our errors and get better ball-handling.

Tennis

Like all of the other Venice High teams, boys tennis has a pair of league matches this week as well. First, the Gondoliers will play host to University on Monday at 2:30 p.m. before they travel to LACES on Wednesday for a 2:30 match. Coach Randy Chew hopes that this week he will finally have all of his players together.

“We have yet to play a match with our top seven players," Chew said. "Once that happens, not only will it give us a better chance to win, but it will give me a better idea of where we stand in league.”

Now let’s take a look at the week ahead for Animo Venice Charter.

Baseball

After suffering its first defeat of the season last week, a 10-6 loss to Port of Los Angeles, the Animo baseball team got things back on track with an 11-1 win over Elizabeth Learning Center.

This week the Pirates have three games. First, they will host Community Harvest at 3 p.m. at the Culver Marine Little League field on Monday, then they travel to Harbor City park to play Harbor Teacher Prep  at 2 p.m. on Wednesday before returning home Friday to play Animo Robinson at 3 p.m., also at Culver Marine Little League field.

Softball

Just like the baseball team, the Pirate girls have a trio of games this week. They will play host to Community Harvest at 3 p.m. on Monday at Oakwood Recreation Center before traveling to Victoria Park for a game against Harbor Teacher Prep at 2:30 p.m. game Wednesday and traveling to South Park Recreation Center Animo Robinson for a 3 p.m. start Friday.