The diving efforts of both right fielder Alejandro Madrid and second baseman Rex Lagman results in Madrid claiming the blooper in shallow right. (Photo: sportswurlz.com)

The Evergreen Valley baseball squad played perhaps its best game of the season on Monday afternoon as they claimed a dominating 8-0 victory over Prospect. Starter Alex Lagman and closer Cole Nicholson combined on a two-hit shutout. Nicholson was also on fire at the plate, going 3-for-3, scoring three runs, and driving in one. Robert Gonzalez and Chris Gallegos each hit a two-run double that contributed to the win. The Cougars play tomorrow at Piedmont Hills and host the Pirates on Thursday.

• Evergreen Valley's softball squad began play this weekend in the Charlie Miguel Tournament at Pioneer High School. The Lady Cougars defeated Los Gatos on Friday afternoon 6-0, but split their two games on Saturday, beating Valley Christian 1-0 and falling to San Benito 3-1. They will begin their league campaign this Thursday at Westmont.
• In a non-league match up against cross-town rival Silver Creek, the baseball team defeated the Raiders 3-2. Right fielder Alejandro Madrid broke his hitting slump with two hits and two RBIs, including the eventual game winner in the fourth inning. Alex Resendez threw four innings of three-hit ball to earn the win while Alex Lagman took over for the game's final five outs for the save.
  

A year ago, the Evergreen Valley boys track and field won the West Valley Relays team title by one point, just edging out Los Gatos, North Monterey County, and San Benito. Cougar runners, throwers, and jumpers won much more convincingly this year, earning 65 points, five better than Castro Valley. Kevin Liao won the 5000 meter run in 16:08.66 and Tom Liu took third in 16:56.94, earning 16 big points for the team effort. Ryan Thomas was second in the 800 meters and Derion Taylor finished second in the 110 meter hurdles and won the triple jump. The relays also contributed to the victory, with the 4x100 taking fourth, the 4x400 taking third, and the sprint medley earning second place.

Hurdler Lia Randazzo and distance runner Samantha Garcia exhibited excellent performances for the girls team. Randazzo placed fourth in the 100 meter hurdles and second in the 400 meter hurdles. Garcia set school records in the both the 1500 and 3000 meter runs, running the two races in 5:04.37 and 10:50.56, respectively. In her first race over the 800 meter distance, quarter-mile specialist Erica Arenas ran a courageous race to place 5th in 2:25.37.

• In its first league dual meet of the season, the Evergreen Valley track team defeated Willow Glen in both the varsity boys and varsity girls divisions. The girls were lead in their 102-25 victory by sophomore Jennifer Espinoza (winner of 800m and 1600m) and junior Lia Randazzo (winner in 100m and 300m hurdles). Derion Taylor won the 110m hurdles, triple jump, and set a new school record in the high jump at six feet, two inches, as the varsity boys won by the score of 81-46. The Cougars will compete at the West Valley Relays this weekend at Westmont High School.
• The Lady Cougar softball team routed Mountain View 14-2. Pitcher Bianka Molina threw a complete game two-hitter and also went 4-for-4 at the plate to drive in two runs.
  
• Both boys and girls swim teams suffered losses to a high-powered Pioneer squad on Thursday. The boys fell 127-56 while the girls were defeated 119-76. The team's next meet will be on Friday, March 27 versus Leland.
• Baseball will face non-league opponent Silver Creek on Saturday at noon.
  

Behind seven innings and only three hits allowed by starting pitcher Alejandro Madrid, the Evergreen Valley baseball team won their third consecutive game, defeating Prospect 6-1. The Cougars were highlighted by senior slugger Chris Gallegos's fifth inning hit that drove in two, catcher Mark Milioto going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and third baseman Robert Gonzalez driving in one with a first inning double.

The second game of the two-game set against Prospect scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Prospect has been postponed until Monday, March 23.

The Cougar swim team hosted Santa Teresa for their Mt. Hamilton Division dual meet on Monday afternoon. The boys held off the Saints by the score of 92-78, improving their league record to 2-0. Senior Brandon Pham won the 50 yard free in 23.60, 100 yard free in 53.78, and anchored the winning 200 yard freestyle relay. The girls fell to Santa Teresa 117-68. The Lady Cougars were led by freshman Chloe Rasmussen won the 50 free in 25.35 and 100 back in 1:02.75 while junior Nicole Reyes won the 100 breast in 1:12.90. Evergreen's next meet will be this Thursday at Pioneer.

• Evergreen Valley's swim team opened up its season on Friday afternoon at home against Westmont. The varsity boys team edged the Warriors 87-83. Sophomore sensation Michael Ngo won the 200m invidual medley in 2:03.43, the 100 fly in 57.09, and led the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay to victory.
• On the girls side, the Cougars defeated Westmont by the score of 177-106. Evergreen was highlighted by Chloe Rasmussen winning the 50 free in 25.20, the 100 back in 1:03.59, and both 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.
• The track and field team took a few athletes to the K-Bell Invitational on Saturday at Los Gatos High School. Derion Taylor made his 2009 debut in the triple jump with a victory, jumping a CCS-best 43 feet, 6 inches. Kevin Liao set a personal best in the 3200 meters in 9:52.17 for fourth place and Ryan Thomas led the first 600 meters of his 800 race, but finished fourth in 2:00.74. Erica Arenas ran 59.83 for second in the 400 meters.
• At the Circle of Champions tournament in Salinas, the Lady Cougars softball team fell to Piedmont Hills 2-1. Lauren Clark drove in Janel Salanoa in the 5th inning for Evergreen's lone run.
  

• Behind a strong offensive effort, the Evergreen Valley baseball team defeated Lincoln 8-6 to sweep the early season two-game series. Jose Gonzalez and Chris Gallegos both homered, with Gallegos going 3-for3 with 4 RBIs and Mark Milioto hitting 2-for-3, scoring two runs and driving one in. Alex Lagman got the win and Gallegos earned the save. Evergreen will next face Prospect at the Cougar diamond on Tuesday at 3:30 PM.
• In another pitching duel, the Lady Cougars softball squad scored an early run and rode the flawless pitching of senior Bianka Molina to beat Milpitas 1-0. Ashlee Velez scored the game's sole run in the 1st, while Molina held the Trojans to three hits on nine strikeouts.
  

Lively crowds at the baseball and softball diamonds Tuesday afternoon saw both Cougar varsity squads earn victories.

• The baseball team earned a close win against league rival Lincoln. Trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, the Cougars scored four runs to gain a three run cushion. The Lions scored one run in the 7th against Evergreen's closer, but was able to hold onto the victory by the final score of 5-3. The Cougars improve to 2-1 in league play and will travel to Lincoln on Thursday for the final game of the two-game set.
• The Lady Cougars defeated 2008 CCS Division I runner-up Gilroy 1-0 in a tough non-league match-up. First baseman Lauren Clark drove in Bianka Molina, the eventual winning run, in the second inning. Molina had a gem of a pitching outing, throwing a 4-hit complete game shutout. Evergreen will face Milpitas at home tomorrow at 3:30 PM at the softball diamond.

On Tuesday Night, a trustees meeting for the East Side Union High School District took place at Independence High School (San Jose, CA). On top of laying off 80 district teachers, along with 116 personnel that work for the district, the district took a large step into determining the existence of high school sports next year. The trustees agreed on a principle to charge students $200 a year to play after school sports. This would help balance the school's $23 million deficit. A more formal plan will be laid out in the future.

Earlier this year, Superintendent Bob Nunez said that he would consider shutting down the pools at various high schools, and thus eliminating aquatic sports. On Tuesday, Nunez then announced that he is considering for pools to be open part time during the school year.

For a more detailed description, go to http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_11884400.

The Lady Cougar Basketball team ended their season by falling to the Sheldon Huskies (Sacramento,CA) 53-39 in the out bracket game in the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Division I Tournament.

Evergreen Valley led off the game with their traditional aggressive and scrappy defense, which led to steals and easy baskets as the Lady Cougars took a 9-4 lead into the second quarter. However, when Sheldon put on a zone defense in the second quarter, the Lady Cougars could not stop the Huskies' momentum. The Huskies outscored the Lady Cougars 22-7 in the second quarter and took a 10 point lead going into halftime. The Lady Cougars kept fighting in the second half with their tenacious defense but could not overcome the deficit as the Huskies' lead stretched to 20 points midway through the 3rd quarter.

Lanyssa Fiaui led the Lady Cougars with 12 points as Jennifer Le added 11.

The Lady Cougars finish the season with a record of 23-7 while also claiming the BVAL A-League Title.

The Lady Cougars basketball team will travel to Sacramento tonight to face Sheldon High School in round one of the Northern Californian championships. Sheldon is the San Joaquin Section runner-up, falling to Kennedy in the section championships 54-48. The Huskies finished the season 20-11 and are ranked 10th in the SJS.

The winner of this match will face Monte Vista-Danville, the North Coast Section champions.

Coming into the CCS Division I championship game, few expected the Evergreen Valley Cougars to have much of a shot against number one ranked San Benito. The Haybalers had three players over six feet tall and had outscored their opponents during the CCS playoffs by an average of 25.5 points.

The Cougars started the game sluggishly as San Benito opened with a 7-0 run and led after the first quarter 11-4. Evergreen's perimeter game came to life in the second quarter. Guards Jennifer Le, Alyssa Prudencio and Jezelle Cutia hit clutch threes to bring the Cougars to a one point deficit at the half. After a back and forth third stanza, Evergreen claimed a one point lead, but was unable to hold on in the final quarter. The Haybalers' two centers, Lauren Adamek and Victoria Aguilera, came up with a number of timely rebounds while guard Vanessa Farias hit four clutch free throws in the game's final minutes to wrap the game up for San Benito, 48-37.

Evergreen will advance to the Northern California championships on the merit of its second place finish in CCS. The opponent and location of the game is to be determined.

• The track team participated in its first meet of the season at the Willow Glen Invitational. The Varsity Boys scored 65 team points, good enough for second place to Willow Glen's dominating 93 points. Seniors Jeremy Roberts and Domenic Casil went 1-2 in the 200 meter dash with times of 23.16 and 23.29, respectively, and senior Emmanual Scott placed second in the shot put with a school record throw of 44 feet, 4 inches. The boys relays also excelled. The 4x100 (Kevin Le, Jeremy Roberts, Kevin Nguyen, and Domenic Casil) finished second in 45.33 seconds and the 4x400 (Roberts, Nguyen, Casil, and Ryan Thomas) won in 3:38.35.
  
• On the Varsity Girls side, Erica Arenas was second in the 200 meter dash and third in the 100 meters, while Lia Randazzo won the 100 meter hurdles. The girls won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays (Randazzo, Arenas, Jalisa Taylor, and Bernice Fernandez) in times of 53.10 and 4:26.75. These performances capped a team victory, as the team's 53 points just edged out Leland and Mountain View.
• The Lady Cougars softball team continued play in the Circle of Champions tournament in Salinas with two victories on Saturday. In game one vs. Pacific Grove, shortshop Janel Salanoa and second baseman Ashlee Velez each went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Bianka Molina drove in three runs while also earning the pitching victory in Evergreen's 8-3 win. The Cougars took game two against Hillsdale by the score of 7-3. Molina and Salanoa both had two RBIs as Lexi Medina scored two runs. The team will continue with round-robin games in Salinas throughout the course of the week.
• Evergreen's baseball team was blown out by Gilroy 12-2. Mark Milioto and Chris Gallegos each hit a home run to score the Cougars' lone runs.
  

The Cougar track and field squad will open its season today at the Willow Glen Invitational. On the girls side, 2008 state meet qualifier Erica Arenas will lead both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays as well as her individual efforts in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Star hurdler Lia Randazzo will also partake in both relays and will have her season debut in the 100 meter hurdles. Freshman phenom Samantha Garcia headlines Evergreen athletes in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs.

2008 CCS triple jump runner-up Derion Taylor's work on the hurdles events over the winter will look to pay off today as he will run the 110 and 300 meter hurdles. He is also entered in the triple jump competition. Senior sprinters Jeremy Roberts, Domenic Casil, and Kevin Le look to start 2009 off strong in the sprint and relay events. Distance runners Ryan Thomas (800m) and Kevin Liao (3200m) will each be running their speciality events. Senior Emmanual Scott leads an improved throws squad lead by Coach Jim Grassi. Scott will compete in the shot put and discus.

The Evergreen Valley varsity baseball team opened up its league schedule on Thursday with a 5-3 victory over Mt. Pleasant. Rain fell throughout the course of the game, forcing the Cougars to play an effective brand of small ball. Freshman phenom Rex Lagman drove in two runs while his elder brother Alex threw five solid innings for the win. Senior Cole Nicholson shut down the Cardinals over the final two innings to earn the save.

Evergreen will again face Mt. Pleasant tomorrow to finish off the two game series and will travel to Gilroy on Saturday to match-off against the Mustangs in a non-league game.

The Evergreen Valley girls basketball team defeated Carlmont tonight 54-50 to move into the championship game of the CCS Division 1 bracket. They will play San Benito this Saturday night at 6 PM at Santa Clara University.

Our correspondent at the game will have more for you later tonight.

Today's baseball game against Mt. Pleasant was postponed due to incliment weather. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow (3/4) at 3:30 P.M. Also, the game was moved from EV to Mt. Pleasant but EV will still be the home team and bat last. The game was moved because the Cardinals have a better drainage system and the left field fence at EV fell down last night. The two teams will meet again on Thursday (3/5) at 3:30 P.M at Mt. Pleasant as well, weather permitting.

Badminton at Evergreen Valley has traditionally been notorious for its huge team sizes and killer conditioning sessions. This season, however, new head coaches Tina and Gus Liu have begun to change much of this. Over 180 eager athletes were eventually cut down to 24 varsity slots through a vigorous process of evaluations by the coaches, a process that took over two weeks due to the tremendous turnout.

The team looks to build upon its tremendous success in the past, including a Mt. Hamilton Division championship in 2006, a runner-up finish in 2007, and 3rd place a year ago. The Cougars will likely be challenged by their chief rival, Independence High School, which has won or shared a piece of the A division title each of the last three seasons. Top returning players for Evergreen Valley include Melissa Le (girls doubles), Jenny Yee (girls doubles), Samantha Lee (singles and girls doubles), Sarah Lee (singles and girls doubles), and Sheena Tsang (mixed doubles) on the girls side and Joey Nguyen (mixed doubles), Quoc Dang (singles), and Shaun Ngo (singles) for the boys.

The Cougar badminton team will open up its league campaign on Tuesday, March 24 at home vs. Santa Teresa at 3:30 PM. The squad is looking for a strong start after starting sluggishly last season with a 8-7 loss to Westmont.

-On Saturday night at Milpitas High School, the Lady Cougar basketball team grinded out a 60-50 win over league-mate Santa Teresa to advance to the CCS semifinals. EV played a sloppy game with many turnovers and missed lay-ups. The Cougars main weakness, which could give them trouble in the future, was height. EV was outrebounded by a wide margin. Coach Dan Johnson urged his players to "sit" in the lane when boxing out to create space but the efforts were futile. Santa Teresa had two forwards whose wingspan allowed them to snatch rebounds out of the air and go up for an easy put-back. Despite the disparity, EV kept the game close throughout and then went on a big run to close the game. Lanyssa Fiaui and Alyssa Prudencio took over the game by attacking the hoop and creating their own shots. EV also stepped it up on the defensive end and Santa Teresa went cold. On Wednesday night, the 3rd seeded Cougars take on number 2 seed Carlmont at Milpitas High at 7:30 P.M.

-The baseball team lost to Los Altos 7-4. After Los Altos scored 2 in the top of the first, EV responded with 2 in the bottom half. Despite 5 errors, the Cougars were able to stay in the game throughout and kept the pressure on Los Altos. Chris Gallegos led the attack with three hits.