Murrieta Valley opens with win over Linfield on the diamond

JP Raineri

Sports Editor

TEMECULA – The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks opened the 2023 baseball season Saturday, Feb. 11 with an extra innings win over host Linfield Christian. The game also marked the return of former Murrieta Mesa head coach Bryn Wade, who took the Rams to the Division 1 CIF Southern Section finals in 2016, beating

Harvard-Westlake for the school’s first and only CIF title for baseball. Wade is now the head coach for Murrieta Valley and is looking to rebuild a program that has not been to the postseason since 2018.

The Nighthawks, out of the Southwestern League, struck first when they put three runs on the board in the first two innings against the Lions, but sophomore Noah Getz was able to keep Murrieta Valley at bay through the sixth inning. Linfield, out of the Ambassador League, would tie the game up in the fifth inning at 3-3, and then again in the sixth at 4-4, after the Nighthawks scored the go-ahead run in the top half. It would be a pitchers’ duel in extra innings, but a four-run top of the ninth would be too much for Linfield to overcome. Final score: 8-4.

Top performers on offense for Murrieta Valley were Jacob

Loving, who went 3 for 4 with 2 stolen bases, and Jesiah Generoso, who was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and a stolen base as well. Loving also picked up the win on the mound with his three innings of scoreless work, striking out four batters, and only giving up two hits.

Linfield Christian had two players go 2 for 4 at the plate, Matthew Rezkalah and Luke Waddell, but run production came from Elijah Butler, Jake Valencia and Gavin Malcomson, who all had one RBI apiece. Getz would get handed the loss after his 6.2 innings of work. He gave up three

Rickie Fowler finishes in Top 20 at Genesis Invitational

shower like Sam Ryder’s ace last year, but Fowler definitely gave himself a moment to remember in Scottsdale. It was the second straight year someone made a hole-in-one at the tournament, and someone has received one in six of the last nine years.

Prior to that, we saw Rickie at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, where he finished in a tied 11th, shooting the final round at par and concluded the tournament with a total of 5-under, an 8-stroke difference from winner Max Homa.

JP Raineri

Sports Editor

PACIFIC PALISADES – Rickie

Fowler, a former Murrieta native now living in Florida, participated in the Genesis Invitational this past is Julien Gomez who averages 26 points per game and five rebounds.

As for the Rancho Christian girls’ basketball team, they have not lost a game at home this season and with the way things are panning out, it doesn’t look like they will. The Eagles (24-6) won their Wednesday, Feb. 15, home playoff game against Torrance’s South High School (1813) by a score of 78-44. The victory marked their 13th straight win on their home court for the newcomers to the Ivy League this season, who also took home the first-place title with their 7-1 record.

South High School was the third-place team from the Pioneer League and were clearly no match for the likes of Aaliyah Stanton, Jada Tiggett and Shaylynn De Yager. The three seniors combined for 67 of the 78 Eagles points on the night. Maddie Tang (10 points) and Maddie Chung (11 points) fought to keep South in the game, but a 17-point second quarter outing from Stanton would make a huge difference. Stanton was sent to the foul line four times that quarter, netting 7 of her 8 free throws. She would finish the game with 39 points and 5 steals while Tiggett and De Yager both ended the night with 14 points apiece. Tiggett also brought down 16 rebounds.

The win helped Rancho Christian move to the CIF Southern Section Division 3A semifinal round this past weekend where they met up with the Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary Cardinals (Montebello).

The Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary girls’ varsity basketball team was 18-8 overall and defeated Calvary Chapel 48-44 to advance to their side of the weekend after much consideration. Fowler was last seen in Arizona where he hit a hole-in-one on the seventh hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale Sunday, Feb. 12. It didn’t result in a beer bracket. The Cardinals welcomed Rancho Christian to their home court Saturday, Feb. 18, in a matchup between the team leaders Aaliyah Stanton and Laila Salazar (averaging 11.1 points per game).

Stanton was the clear standout in a 39-point performance where she outscored the entire CantwellSacred Heart of Mary team in the Eagles 79-34 win. Stanton is averaging 30.7 points per game, with four steals this season, and will now look to help the Rancho Christian girls’ team win their first-ever CIF Southern Section title when they take on Chino in the finals.

Chino (24-5), the No. 1 team from the Mt. Baldy League, was victorious over La Quinta in first round action 54-33, then took down Great Oak in the second round 48-31, beat Anaheim in the quarterfinals 62-49, and this past weekend defeated Campbell Hall in the semifinals, 55-53. On paper, Rancho Christian has the advantage. The Eagles average 79.3 points per game to Chino’s 49.3. The top performer from Chino is Lyndsey Valverde with her 14.7 points per game, as well as her three assists and 2.7 steals per game. Malani Johnson (averaging 8.8 rebounds per game) will have to fight off Eagles rebound leader, Jada Tiggett, to be the dominant girl in the middle. Both teams will play at Colony High School, Saturday, Feb. 25. The Lady Eagles will play at 2 p.m. and the boys’ team will play immediately after at 4 p.m. For more information on remaining games, or to view past results, visit www.cifss.org. JP Raineri

The last few years for Rickie Fowler have been disappointing on the PGA Tour. He hasn’t won a title since 2019’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. However, he has begun his new season with some positives from last season. The 34-year-old Murrieta Valley Nighthawk alumnus brought back his former swing coach, Butch Harmon, and the improvements reflected in his game as well.

Over his last 11 rounds, Fowler has finished below par six times, while also carding eight rounds with a better-than-average score. He has carded a top-five score three times in his last 11 rounds. earned runs, four hits, had one walk and struck out five batters. Murrieta Valley, at 2-1 on the season thus far, play against J.W. North and San Clemente, this week, with a game TBD on Saturday, which is tournament play. Linfield Christian is also 2-1 on the season and play Bloomington and West Valley this week, and have a game TBD on Saturday, which is also tournament play.

The Genesis Invitational, which is one of the PGA Tour’s new “designated events” for 2023, drew a star-studded field to compete for a $20 million purse, and included the return of Tiger Woods. Nineteen of the world’s top 20 competed at the Riviera Country Club, and for the third time already this year, Jon Rahm prevailed, banking $3.6 million.

Fowler didn’t have the worst of weekends, nor did he have the best. He finished tied for 20th place at 5-under with Sam Ryder, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood, Nate Lashley and Peter Malnati. Each netted approx. $197,666.67.

“Now, it’s nice to be back on the road,” Rickie Fowler told the media last weekend about the new golf season.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia. com

Fowler’s next scheduled event is the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Country. The Florida event will start on Feb. 20, immediately after the Genesis Invitational. If things go as planned, he will be playing straight for the next three weeks. Next comes the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is scheduled for the first week of March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Florida.

At the time of this article going to print, Rickie had yet to commit to the API. The final event on the list is Players with a purse size of $25 million, the highest among all elevated PGA Tour events. It should also be noted that PGA Tour players are only allowed to skip one of these elevated tournaments, courtesy of the new rulings for the new season to have more top players competing in these events.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia. com