Venice Squads Face Must-Win Scenarios

As the spring season winds down, several sports teams have crucial league contests coming up that could determine whether or not they make the playoffs. Other teams are simply looking to improve their seeding position. Here's a closer look at the week gone by and the one ahead:

Baseball

The hottest team on campus right now is the baseball squad, which has won seven of its last eight games. Fresh off a runner-up finish in the Dennis Gilbert Easter Tournament, the Gondoliers won back-to-back games against Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies--the first by a 10-6 score and the second by forfeit. 

“We played really well at the Dennis Gilbert tournament," Coach said. "We lost to Bell 5-0 earlier in the year, and lost to them in the finals [last Saturday] 6-5 on a suicide squeeze. I was really proud of the kids.” 

Venice was in third place in the Western League heading into Friday's game at co-leader Hamilton and wraps up the regular season at home against the Yankees on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Despite his team's 14-6 record, Fujita doesn’t feel safe yet.

“These games are must-win in my opinion if we want to make the playoffs," he said. "They are going to be tough. We beat them [Hamilton] 6-4 in the Dennis Gilbert Tournament, but being that these will be league games it’s a whole different ballgame.”

Softball

Coach was hoping her team would fare better in its second go-around against archrival Palisades, but instead the Gondoliers' losing margin was greater. They had lost the first game 14-3 and lost Monday's rematch 18-4--a game that clinched the Dolphins' first Western League title ever. 

“We didn’t play any games over spring break," Ruiz said. "I was hoping that we would come in rested and rejuvenated, but we came out rusty instead and fell behind too big too early."

Venice (7-4 overall, 4-3 in league) plays Gardena and Torres in the Spring Fling Tournament on Saturday, then wraps up league play Monday at second-place Westchester before concluding the Spring Fling against Reseda and King-Drew next weekend. 

Volleyball

The boys spikers split two league games this week after going 4-5 in Las Vegas during an action-packed spring break. The Gondoliers swept LACES on Monday before being swept on Wednesday at league frontrunner Palisades.

“We played better this time around against Pali for sure," Coach said. "We had a shot at the first and third sets. The kids bonded a lot in Las Vegas, and I think we can make some noise if we make the playoffs.”

Venice plays in the Sylmar Invitational on Saturday and is scheduled to take on Northridge Academy, Banning, Verdugo Hills, and Saugus. After that, the squad (9-15-1, 5-6) travels to Hamilton on Monday for a match Hunt called a "must win."

“The kids know what they have to do on Monday," he said. "If we can get a couple wins this weekend and beat Hamilton, I definitely think we can get up to the 8-10 [seed] range rather than down in the 12-14 range in the playoffs.”

Tennis

The boys team lost back-to-back league matches, falling 5-2 to LACES on Monday and 6-1 to Hamilton on Wednesday. The next day, , , and traveled to Ojai to take part in the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. In the CIF singles division, Costello lost his first-round match 6-0, 6-0, while Kim and Meikle suffered the same fate in the doubles division.  

Before the tournament, Coach knew it would be tough for his team to be competitive against some of the best players in Southern California.

“I’m hoping it was a great experience for my kids," Chew said. "Hopefully, they were able to see how good the players are out there and they know what they have to strive to be.”

Swimming

The Gondoliers wrapped up the regular season with a dual meet against LACES. The boys competition was neck-and-neck the whole way and ended in a draw. The Venice girls won comfortably. Both teams suffered one league defeat all season--against powerhouse Palisades. 

The teams now have time to practice until May 10, when they will compete in the Western League Finals at Palisades' new outdoor pool.

Now, here's what's happening at :

Both the baseball and softball teams have been out of action since April 15.

The Pirates' baseball squad travels to Harbor Teacher Prep on Wednesday at 2 p.m., then hosts Community Harvest at 3 p.m. Friday at the Culver Marine Little League complex.  

The softball team hosts Community Harvest on Friday at 3 p.m. at Oakwood Recreation Center.