DOLPHIN REPORT

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, DANA POINT TIMES

For in-game updates, news and more for all of the Dana Hills High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports and on Instagram @South_OC_Sports.

Continued Rainstorms

Wreak Havoc on Spring Schedules

Since the spring sports seasons kicked off in mid-February, Southern California minors for a rehab assignment in August and finished out the regular season with the AAA Sugar Land Space Cowboys. In 19 appearances with the Astros, Taylor posted a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings pitched with nine strikeouts and 10 walks. In 11 AAA appearances, Taylor had a 5.06 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched.

In spring training this season, Taylor didn’t allow a baserunner in two innings over two appearances.

Looking to emulate Taylor and rejoin a major league pitching staff is right-handed hurler Hans Crouse.

Crouse (Class of 2017) tasted the big leagues for two games in 2021 with the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing seven innings over two starts with a 5.14 ERA and an 0-2 record. While that appearance seemingly had him on track to crack the Phillies roster again in 2022, Crouse made only five starts with the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs due to bicep tendinitis. In those five games, Crouse completed just 12 1/3 innings with a 13.14 ERA.

Crouse has been a highly touted prospect during his time with the Texas Rangers and Phillies organizations, but bone chips while with the Rangers and this bout of tendinitis have slowed his ascent. Crouse, listed as the No. 25 prospect for the Phillies by MLB, will begin the season in AAA, with a shot to return to Philadelphia if his crispness returns.

Another Dolphin on the edge of the major leagues is utility player Luke Williams in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Williams (Class of 2015) has bounced between MLB and AAA since making his big-league debut with the Phillies in 2021, playing 137 major league games with three teams over the past two seasons. Williams was traded to the San Francisco Giants ahead of the 2022 season and traded to the Miami Marlins in June.

After last season, Williams was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers and eventually signed a minor league deal in February. Williams, who hit a home run against the Angels in Anaheim to close spring training on Monday, March 27, opens 2023 with the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers.

Finally, right-handed thrower Justin Sterner (Class of 2015) has quickly worked up the ranks in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. In just his second year in the minors out of BYU, Sterner has already moved up to the AAA Durham Bulls and made six appearances last season. In 38 minor league appearances last season, Sterner posted a 3.94 ERA over 48 innings pitched.

Sterner will open 2023 back in AAA with the Durham Bulls. DP has been continually bombarded by the ever-returning flow from several “atmospheric rivers,” as the seemingly unceasing rains have covered the area.

While the grass on the fields that these spring sports teams inhabit has become greener, it’s made more of a headache for coaches and athletic directors in what is already the busiest season on the high school sports calendar.

Whereas local youth leagues have been able to add weeks on to the end of their schedules to make up for the lost dates, teams at Dana Hills High School have to abide by the CIF-SS and CIF State calendars, which have firm dates for the end of their regular seasons and playoffs.

Early in the season, it’s mostly nonleague or tournament games that have been set aside, and while losing some nonleague games can be disappointing, they ultimately don’t have an effect on CIF-SS playoff qualification like league games do. Many coaches and players even refer to nonleague games as “preseason” games.

However, unlike in previous years when there’s been an uptick in precipitation, this run of rainstorms has lasted deeper into the season. Now with an early Spring Break next week and teams fully into their league schedules, teams are going to have to employ creative scheduling maneuvers.

Again, due to the firm end dates for CIF-SS and a late Winter Break, South Coast and Sea View League teams got a taste of this in the winter season, with basketball and soccer teams playing condensed schedules of three games per week with Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedules. For baseball and softball, there will likely be those condensed schedules, with the extra option of doubleheaders. Doubleheaders are a staple of those sports and happen in early-season tournaments all the time, but it is unusual for their league slates.

Where the creativity really hits is for sports such as golf or track and field, where, instead of dual matches/meets with two teams, there is the possibility of combining for tri-matches/meets with three teams competing against each other at a single site.

As the rain was still falling in Dana Point at press time on Thursday, March 30, the schedule will continue to adjust as Dolphin teams compete for playoff positions. DP