Lights added to Cabrillo High School’s baseball field

BY KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Lompoc Unified School District has announced the completion of the lighting project at Cabrillo High School’s Don McIntyre baseball field. Cabrillo will hold a grand opening celebration at 5 p.m. Saturday before hosting the school’s first night game at the field.

In fall 2020, Cabrillo High School graduate and Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Duffy began working with Musco Lighting, LUSD, and Cabrillo High coaches and administrators to start a lighting project for the field, which had no lighting. Students had not been able to practice or play games in the evening. Mr. Duffy committed to funding all of the project’s costs up to $1.5 million, and the district agreed to fund any expenses soaring beyond Mr. Duffy’s commitment.

In fall 2021, a Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared, then publicly posted per the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 to gather public comments about the project. In December 2021, LUSD’s Board of Education approved the final MND.

Working with Musco and KBZ architects, the district submitted the final plans for the project to the Division of State Architects in April 2022. DSA provides design and construction oversight for California’s K-12 schools to ensure structural, accessibility, and fire and life safety code compliance.

In August 2022, LUSD’s board of education approved a Sourcewell piggyback bid from Musco Sports Lighting, and Smith MEP completed the project in late February.

The project included the installation of eight light standards ranging in height between 70 and 80 feet and containing various LED luminaires.

“Playing under the lights is an amazing experience,” Mr. Duffy said in a news release.

“Adding lighting to the field at my alma mater has been a dream of mine for years. My mom and dad, Deanna and Dan, instilled in me a love for Cabrillo High and the entire Lompoc Valley and gave constant support and encouragement in making this project come to life.”

The school district’s superintendent, Dr. Clara Finneran, noted, “Athletics provide tremendous opportunities for students, and we are very proud of our student-athletes in Lompoc Unified. The new lighting at Cabrillo is an exciting enhancement for our students.

“We are extremely grateful for the generous donation from Mr. Duffy, and we are happy to have helped make his vision a reality,” Dr. Finneran said. email: kzehnder@newspress.com email: sports@newspress.com

32 games for Baylor, the junior snatches 5.75 boards a game with a total of 184 this season.

• The Bears are coached by Scott Drew, who has been with the Bears since the 2003-04 season. Since taking over the program, he has accumulated a 419-232 record, which equates to a .644 winning percentage over 20 seasons.

The Gauchos will hit the floor against the Bears in the opening game of the day in Denver beginning at 10:30 a.m. PDT. Fans can watch the game live on TNT with a radio broadcast through the Varsity One app. Live stats will also be available through the NCAA.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB.

SBCC men’s volleyball earns second straight road sweep

By MICHAEL JORGENSON SBCC SPORTS WRITER

Outside hitter Cole Richards led the way for the SBCC men’s volleyball team in three straight close set wins at El Camino on Wednesday, 26-24, 25-22, 25-20. Richards finished with a teamleading 12 kills to go with seasonhighs of 14 digs and five aces. He notched his second doubledouble of the season to help the Vaqueros improve to 6-4 overall, 3-2 WSC.

El Camino (3-7, 1-4) hung tight in set one, forcing extra points before Santa Barbara was able to close it out 26-24. While no set on the day was decided by more than five points, the Vaqueros would increase their separation slightly over the next two sets.

SBCC enjoyed a huge edge in the attacking game, outhitting El Camino .264 to .099.

Opposite Troy Fitzgerald and outside hitter Arie Padmos finished with seven and six kills, respectively. Padmos also dominated at the net with a season-high eight blocks.

Setter Carter Cottrell flirted with a double-double on an allaround solid day, registering 24 assists, seven digs, a block and two kills on two attempts.

The Vaqueros will be back home today to host Antelope Valley at 6 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion.

Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College. email: sports@newspress.com