But to suggest that Welle is at all similar to a one-dimensional post player would be a disservice to the Mariner's overall versatility.

"He definitely led our team in every facet of the game," Aptos coach Joseph Smith said.

Offense, defense and all parts in between, from knocking down 3-pointers to even, yes, posting up opponents in the paint, the skilled Welle earned co-Most Valuable Player honors in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League this season. Today, the Sentinel follows suit, naming the multi-position player the All-County Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Welle, who as a sophomore gained valuable experience playing on Aptos' senior-heavy roster, took over the leadership role this season on a relatively inexperienced Mariners team -- and blossomed. He more than doubled his points-per-game output from a year ago, averaging 18 points this season, and led the Mariners to a 20-8 record and a repeat trip to the Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinals.

Welle also pulled down a team-high 14.5 rebounds per game and had 3.2 blocks on average. He was also one of the team's top performers in steals, assists and 3-pointers, playing positions at the 3, 4 and 5 spots on the floor.

"It was evident we needed Cole to perform at a high level for us to win games," said Smith, whose Mariners finished third in the SCCAL with a 9-3 record.

"He had that experience (from last year) and that experience benefited him in the offseason. He became the main guy this year. He accepted that challenge and performed well for us."

In other awards, Soquel's Stu Walters was named Coach of the Year after leading the Knights to their first SCCAL title since the 2007-08 season, as well as trips to the CCS Open Division playoffs and CIF NorCal playoffs. Soquel was the No. 8-seed in the Open Division and wound up finishing fifth, nearly upsetting top-seeded Archbishop Mitty in the first round, while it went 2-1 in NorCal's to finish in the Division IV regional semifinals.

Knights senior Cody Valcarcel led the postseason charge for Soquel, and is the Guard of the Year. Valcarcel led the Knights in scoring during the regular season with roughly 13 points per game, then upped his performance in the playoffs by averaging more than 17 points per game -- against some of the top teams in Northern California, no less.

Santa Cruz senior Thatcher Sammet is the Post Player of the Year. The 6-foot-3 power forward led the Cardinals to a runner-up finish in the SCCAL after averaging team highs in points (13.2) and rebounds (8.7). Sammet deposited 11 points and 10 rebounds in a surprising victory over St. Ignatius in the CCS semifinals, advancing Santa Cruz to the Division III title game.

The All-County Team is made up by Monte Vista Christian's David Hightower, who led the county in scoring; St. Francis' Aidan Mathews, who rose to the occasion on offense and defense for the Sharks; Soquel's Sam Walters, the co-MVP in the SCCAL and two-time defending Dads Club MVP; Pajaro Valley's Mark Hinojosa, the MVP of the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division; Santa Cruz's Kiree Hutchings, a standout on both ends for the Cardinals; and Soquel's Tucker Wiget, the second-leading scorer on the Knights who anchored their 3-point attack.

It was Welle's versatility that made him stand out. Smith described the post player as resilient, unselfish and a great competitor who led by example. The Mariners would often position Welle in the post, then adjust accordingly with what defenses were showing.

Take away the inside game by double-teaming Welle and the junior becomes a passer, seeking his teammates for the outside shot. Fall into a zone, and Welle could move outside for the 3 or stay inside and fight for boards.

He had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks on Jan. 23 when Aptos defeated Soquel -- the lone loss for the Knights in SCCAL play. He had 26 points and 22 rebounds in an all-around performance against San Lorenzo Valley on Jan. 11.

"Cole created matchup problems for a lot of people because he can do so many different things," St. Francis coach Ed Kelly said. "He's good inside, with his size and strength, but he also has the ability to step outside and knock down a 3-pointer."

Last month, Welle was named Junior of the Year in the CCS by Prep2Prep.com. Stu Walters, meanwhile, earned the website's top coaching honor in the section.

"He made a lot of his teammates better," Kelly added of Welle.

Contact staff writer Andrew Matheson at amatheson@santacruzsentinel.com

Tershy, a Santa Cruz High graduate, compiled a two-run score of 58 and placed sixth overall in the event -- 20 points outside of the bronze medal.

Brazil's Pedro Barros won gold with a two-run score of 86, while 17-year-old Ventura native Curren Caples earned the silver medal with an 82. Brad McClain, of Livermore, took bronze with a 78.

Tershy, 20, won the gold medal the last time he competed in the X Games, in Los Angeles in 2011. And he advanced into Sunday's final round of six in Barcelona, Spain, with a chance to add to his medal count.

But only able to score a 33 with his best run kept Tershy of earning a top-three spot.

During the 10-man elimination round earlier in the day, Tershy compiled a two-run score of 62 to place third in his heat, sixth overall. He narrowly advanced to the final over Virginia resident Ben Hatchell.

On Thursday, Tershy compiled a 71 to advance from the opening round.

Summer X Games will travel to Munich, Germany, June 27-30.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

No. 3 seed Mount Madonna (30-8), the Central Coast Section Division II champion, will host No. 6 Vista del Lago (24-10) in the first round of the NorCal Regionals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Pajaro Valley High.

Campolindo (39-2) of Moraga received the No. 1 seed. Whitney (30-3) of Rocklin is the No. 2 seed.

Semifinal-round play is also at the higher seed on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The regional final is at Dublin High on Saturday at 5 p.m.

MEN'S GOLF

Santa Cruz's Nate Smith shot 3-under-par 68 to finish tied for 35th at the Web.com Tour's BMW Charity Classic in Greer, S.C.

Smith had four birdies and one bogey in the final round and finished with a 13-under-par 273 total at Thornblade Club.

Mark Anderson of Beaufort, S.C., won with a 27-under-par 239 total.

YOUTH BASKETBALL

The Aptos Fog took third place in the varsity boys division of the Santa Cruz Spring Slam Tournament.

The Fog fell behind 21-4 before rallying to defeat Hand Down, Man Down 61-59 in their final game.

Luke Rossi and Ben Dorfman led all scorers with 17 points each. Rossi added 10 rebounds and three blocks, and Dorfman had 14 rebounds. Dalton Weitzel had nine points and five rebounds, and Nemo Howe added five points.

On Saturday, the Fog beat the West Coast Hustle 62-48, and lost to the Sonoma County Bearcats 65-53.

Eight days through all of California's climates erased those doubts.

Van Garderen guided the BMC Racing Team with a command that suggests he could be American cycling's next big star, winning the Tour of California on Sunday for his first professional stage race title.

"It's actually a big relief," he said. "I've been close on a number of occasions. I was actually starting to get worried that maybe I just didn't have what it took to win a stage race."

Van Garderen stayed out of trouble and cruised through the smooth and scenic final stage from San Francisco to Santa Rosa without incident to lead the team to a victory in front of its home fans, edging Australia's Michael Rogers for the overall title by 1:47. Colombian Janier Acevedo was third, 3:26 behind van Garderen.

Van Garderen completed the eight-day, 727.8-mile race that has evolved into North America's most prominent cycling event in 29 hours, 43 minutes. He held the overall lead the final three days.

"I've known for years that I'm capable of a ride like that," he said. "Finally for it all to fall in place, it's really special."

Watsonville's Ben Jacques-Maynes finished with the field on the final day and finished 75th overall, 30:28 behind van Garderen.

With a formidable field and a taxing terrain, van Garderen showed an all-around style that will make him a strong contender in this summer's Tour de France.

He stayed within striking distance in the desert heat, powered through coastal crosswinds to grab the yellow jersey in a grueling fifth stage from Santa Barbara to Avila Beach, and dominated the hilly and technical time trial that followed in San Jose. Finally, he maneuvered up Mount Diablo behind his teammates to maintain the overall lead that set the stage for a mostly ceremonial and celebratory finale in this cycling-loving city where the BMC Racing Team is headquartered.

"I think it just showed that I was able to deliver under pressure," van Garderen said.

Peter Sagan sprinted out of the tunnel in the final half-mile to win the 80.7-mile final stage in 3 hours, 4 minutes, 7 seconds. Daniel Schorn was second and Tyler Farrar third.

Sagan dedicated his win -- his second this year and record 10th in the event -- to Alex Shepherd, an 11-year-old from Oregon with a brain tumor who waited for his favorite cyclist at the finish line.

"Special day," said Sagan, who won the green jersey for the race's top sprinter.

The memorable week for van Garderen ended with a postcard-like morning ride along the bay in San Francisco's trendy Marina District, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and pedaling beside the sprouting spring vines in Sonoma wine country. He crossed the finish line with an ear-to-ear grin in front of a cheering crowd that squeezed into Santa Rosa's quaint downtown.

Van Garderen shared in the moment by kissing his daughter, Rylan, who was born in Colorado on April 7 -- when he arrived from France just about an hour before his wife, Jessica, delivered the newborn three weeks early.

Van Garderen, who finished fifth in the Tour de France last year for the highest place by an American, is ready to aim even higher. The 24-year-old, often playing second-fiddle to teammate and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans, said he hopes to be in the top three when cycling's crown jewel ends in Paris on July 21.

Asked how far he was from competing for the sport's most prestigious title, he quipped: "Well, what's it, six weeks?"

"It's not just about the next month or two months or six months. It's about the next 10 years," BMC Racing Team manager Jim Ochowicz said.

At least for a day, van Garderen wanted to savor his proudest professional moment.

He won the white jersey for best young rider in the 2011 Tour of California and was second at the USA Pro Challenge and fourth in Paris-Nice last year. But he had never raised the overall trophy in a pro stage race.

Raised in Bozeman, Mont., van Garderen now lives in Boulder, Colo. He looked right at home in the Tour of California, which provided him and the BMC Racing Team a special shot to celebrate in Santa Rosa, where the 8-year-old event had passed through previously but never ended before.

For the first time in the race's history, the route went north instead of south.

Van Garderen's breakthrough performance will still leave him wanting more. After all, about half of the world's best riders weren't competing in the race -- including teammate Evans, who's at the Giro d'Italia.

But van Garderen said the race helped hone his leadership skills. Once intimidated to tell more veteran and decorated cyclists what he expects of them, he proved to himself -- and his teammates -- that he could do it in a marquee event.

"I think I'm getting better at it. I'm getting more comfortable in that role," he said. "This week the team showed that not only are they OK with me filling that role, but that's what they expect from me. They want me to do that and they're more encouraged by me."

MOUNTAIN VIEW -- In his final game in a Soquel High baseball uniform Saturday, Stanford-bound ace Chris Viall threw strike after strike, recording a career-high 16 strikeouts in a Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinal game against Menlo.

However, one of his wayward throws -- after fielding a high infield chopper in the fifth inning -- sailed wide of first baseman Hunter Parkinson, allowing a pair of unearned runs to score in the Knights' 4-3 loss to Menlo.

In a tight contest, many plays proved to be pivotal, none more so than the one to end the game.

With Soquel threatening to score in its final at-bat, Knights baserunner Caleb Fidiam was called for interference while sliding into second base to break up a possible double play on Scott Akrop's grounder.

After second baseman Jared Lucian stepped on the bag, umpires quickly ruled Akrop out as well. Automatic double play. Game and season over.

It didn't sit well with Soquel coach Robert Zuniga, who protested to officials for a minute and was unsuccessful in getting the play overturned.

"I'm still reeling," Zuniga said after calming down for an upbeat post-game meeting with his players. "That's a (horrible) way to end the game."

It was the second time in the game Soquel (17-12-2) -- the co-champion of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with St. Francis -- was called for interference.

"The first one was OK," Zuniga said. "We didn't slide at all. But the second one, he clearly slid into the base. They say he went over it and made contact with (Lucian). It's just horrible."

With the win, No. 5 Menlo -- the Knights have two CCS titles in three finals appearances the past three seasons -- moves into Tuesday's 7 p.m. semifinals against No. 1 Palma (22-6) at San Jose Muni Stadium.

The Chieftains advanced with an 11-1 win over No. 9 Terra Nova (20-8).

Unbeaten Pacific Grove (29-0), the No. 2 seed, and No. 14 Stevenson will play in Tuesday's other semifinal in San Jose at 4 p.m.

Despite surrendering its lead in the top of the fifth, Soquel hit the ball hard over the final three innings. It stranded a pair of runners in the fifth, had three hard-hit flyouts to center field in the sixth, and then there was the seventh.

Austin Turnell drew a leadoff walk and Fidiam was hit by a pitch to put a runner in scoring position with no outs.

Fabiano Hale lined out to diving third baseman Christian Plucher, setting the stage for Akrop, a San Jose State-bound shortstop.

While Zuniga was outraged with the interference call, Menlo skipper Craig Schoof said the right call was made, noting that his team was fortunate to dodge several bullets throughout the afternoon.

"By rule, he slid past the bag," Schoof said. "I'm not trying to enrage them, but he was 4 to 5 feet past the bag. It's probably the turf field. You slide a lot farther. I don't think it was intentional, but it is the rule. It was an easy call."

Viall, who threw all seven innings, struck out the final six batters he faced. His previous high for strikeouts in a game was 15 in a 2-0 no-hitter against Aptos on April 9.

None of the four runs charged to Viall were earned.

Two of his strikeouts came in a five-out second inning. Catcher Michael Mine was charged with a pair of passed balls on strikeouts, which allowed the batters to reach base.

Adam Greenstein reached on a strikeout to lead off the second and Plucher followed with a walk. Greenstein scored on Will King's single and Plucher scored on Jared Lucian's flyout.

Michael Mine delivered Soquel its biggest hit in the first inning. He smacked a bases-loaded double to center to drive in Fidiam, Hale and Akrop.

He finished with a pair of hits and reached base three times.

Hale also reached base three times, with a hit and a pair of walks.

"Once we got the lead early, with Chris pitching, I thought we had a good chance to win," Mine said. "We left a lot of runners on base, though. I thought we worked their pitcher(s) well. We just couldn't get the key hits."

Chris Atkeson earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of middle relief.

Mine and the rest of his teammates didn't appear overly distraught with how the game ended.

"We can't control the umpire making a call like that to end the game," Mine said. "We didn't get beat. The umpire kind of handed it to them. I mean, there were other things, too. We gave them a couple of free passes earlier and I couldn't squeeze the ball hard enough. But Chris, he did a great job."

But Saturday's bronze-medal finish in the Enduro X finals at the Summer X Games in Spain was perhaps the most surprising for the Watsonville native, as Webb rode past Taddy Blazusiak on the final lap to earn the last spot on the podium.

Webb, who earned silver medals two times before, including last month at Summer X Games in Brazil, completed the 10-lap final in 11 minutes, 14.456 seconds.

Mike Brown narrowly took gold in 10:59.579, edging out Hollister's Colton Haaker (11:01.417).

Haaker nearly swiped top honors from the 39-year-old Tennessean with roughly 15 feet remaining in the race, as Brown's back tire got stuck between two boulders on the very last obstacle. But Brown managed to pull his bike out just in time and ride to the finish line for the wire-to-wire win.

While that was happening, Webb leapfrogged Blazusiak, who had several chances to take the lead from Brown during the race.

Blazusiak, who earned the gold medal at Summer X Games in Brazil, wound up finishing fourth in 11:22.695.

It was Webb who sat in fourth place for nearly the entire race, though, as Blazusiak and Brown were neck-and-neck at times for the top spot. Blazusiak crashed in the later laps, however.

Along with Haaker, the top three riders were each within a second of one another midway through the final, while Webb was roughly two seconds behind.

The wide-open course perhaps didn't suit Webb, though, whose background is in trials riding.

The Enduro X event took place at the expansive, open-air Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, and featured long straightaways that commentators believed favored racers, not trials riders.

Still, Webb managed to find the podium on the last lap, ensuring his medal streak continues.

The 24-year-old took second place in his heat earlier in the day, fourth overall, after clocking a 6:57.119 during the five-lap elimination round.

Webb is expected to compete in June when the Summer X Games travel to Munich, Germany. But first, Webb will return to the AMA Endurocross Series on June 8 in Sacramento.

On Sunday, Santa Cruz's Raven Tershy will compete in the Men's Skateboard Park final. The event will be televised on ESPN beginning at 7 a.m.

It was the 36-year-old Belfort who made sure he had the last word, though.

Belfort delivered a spinning kick to Rockhold's head and knocked the Soquel High graduate to the mat, following the highlight-reel move with a series of punches en route to a first-round knockout at UFC on FX 8 in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil.

Referee Leon Roberts ended the fight at 2:32 in the first round.

It was Rockhold's first defeat since falling to Tony Rubalcava in November 2007, snapping a nine-fight win streak.

"He landed a spinning heel kick to my head. I didn't see that one coming," Rockhold said after the fight. "I thought I was finding my time. But, what can I say, he caught me with a spinning heel kick to the head. Kudos to him."

Rockhold falls to 10-2 in his career, 0-1 in UFC.

The 28-year-old was against Belfort's use of testosterone-replacement therapy, or TRT, leading up to the bout. Although other fighters have admitted to using TRT in the past, Rockhold took issue considering Belfort's prior positive test for a banned substance in 2006.

Afterward, the two fighters showed respect by embracing in the middle of the octagon.

Belfort (23-10, 11-6 UFC) is known for his heavy hands, which Rockhold said he was preparing for prior to the bout. The Brazilian landed a right hand earlier in the first round, while Rockhold had a counter hook later on.

The first round was relatively quiet until Belfort's spinning kick, though.

"I'm here to fight," Belfort said afterward to what was essentially a hometown crowd. "I don't pick fights. I accept fights."

It's Belfort's second straight knockout victory. He defeated Michael Bisping by TKO in January.

The outcome alone was motivation enough.

"I'm more of an end-result kind of person," she said. "And I just wanted to get a win so bad. The details were out the window."

Gurr, pitching with a little more "oomph" as a result, didn't let her team down. She scattered seven hits en route to a complete-game outing as No. 3 Soquel earned the final word with an 8-4 victory over No. 6 Aptos in the Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinals at the Salinas Sports Complex.

The junior pitcher gave up just two earned runs to get the win, while her teammates did their part by knocking out 12 hits. Katrina Agosti was 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI, while Makenna Provancha was 2-for-4 with a never-in-doubt two-run homer in the home half of the sixth that helped provide the Knights with four much needed insurance runs.

No. 8-hitter Maddie Marlatt was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, as seven of nine batters registered a hit for Soquel.

"Everyone came out swinging. Everyone came out hitting," said Gurr, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

There was no apparent rust for the Knights (23-4), who were playing their first game in more than a week after receiving a first-round bye. They will meet No. 2 Half Moon Bay (22-6) in the D-III semifinals at PAL Stadium in San Jose on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Cougars upended No. 10 Carmel 4-1 Saturday.

"Our team is playing really well," Agosti said. "I'm proud of them and of how far we've come."

Reaching the D-III quarterfinals shows how far Aptos has come. The Mariners finish their season with a 21-7-1 mark.

"We're all proud of ourselves. It was a big improvement from last year," said Mariners junior pitcher Michelle Firebaugh, who took the loss but went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. She blasted a two-run homer to center field in the seventh inning that managed to cut the deficit in half.

"It was a good season," said senior Rita McCreesh, who was 1-for-3 with a run scored. "Toward the end I felt our spirits going down. But we got everyone involved to give it one last shot. ... We knew we had to play hard until the final out."

Aptos didn't reach the postseason a year ago after finishing fourth in the SCCAL. It moved up one spot in the standings this season, but more than doubled its win total to earn an at-large playoff berth.

The Mariners, who edged Harker 3-2 in Wednesday's first round, will graduate three seniors, including Amanda Ang, Marissa Bugayong and McCreesh.

"Last year, we didn't really play the game within the game," said McCreesh, referring to situational softball, which is an important factor when playing Soquel. The Knights pride themselves on aggressive base running, among other facets.

"But we did that today and we did that this season," McCreesh added, "and that brings your game to a whole new level, which is cool."

Aptos was one of only three teams this season to defeat Soquel, which nevertheless won the SCCAL title outright. The Mariners rallied twice, once by scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, to edge the Knights 4-3 on April 11.

But the Knights didn't let that previous result cloud their focus Saturday.

Agosti's triple to the right-center field gap led off the bottom of the first inning, and she scored one batter later when Jamie Corder knocked her in with a fielder's choice to the right side.

Although Aptos responded in the second, when Firebaugh's hard-hit single up the middle allowed Casey Messersmith to score, the Knights tacked on runs in the third, fourth and fifth frames to take a 4-1 lead going into the sixth.

"They had key hits, timely hits," Firebaugh said. "They were the better team today, which is just how it goes."

Timely was when Agosti hit an RBI single to right field and Provancha followed with a two-run blast to left in the sixth. It not only provided Soquel with an 8-2 lead going into the final frame, but it also provided an answer to Aptos' run in the sixth that cut the deficit in half.

"I had been practicing all week on my swing -- all week on the tee, on the tee, on the tee, and it paid off," said Agosti, who was in a hitting slump last week. "It feels good to get this win, get the first one out of the way."

Gurr would concur. The pitcher retired Aptos in order in the first, fourth and fifth frames to lead the Knights, who defeated Aptos two out of three games this season.

"We didn't want to let them get the best of us again," she said.

CENTRAL COAST SECTION DIVISION III SEMIFINALS

"If anybody could pull off a back-row challenge it would be a Kaeding," Golobic said. "Glancing at the scoreboard, I knew he was behind me. Then a couple of laps later he was able to get inside of me while working through slower traffic. He almost pulled it off."

Driving for Keith Day Trucking, the 2012 Taco Bravo series-sponsored champion led the entire 30-lap feature starting from pole position. The "Fremont Flyer" is the fourth different winner this season.

Bud Kaeding, last week's feature winner, was Friday night's fastest qualifier. In the sprint car world, this is a dubious honor. While drawing a zero keeps him on pole position, the remaining three numbers -- four, six or eight -- put him in that starting position. The intent is to add excitement to the feature by inverting up to the first eight positions.

The fastest qualifier can also choose the back-row challenge, Ocean's $1,000 bonus starting last and finishing first.

"After winning fast(est) time, I made up my mind to take the challenge," Kaeding said. "We owe it to the fans. They pay good money to watch exciting sprint car racing so we'll just spice it up a little more and see if we can't win from the back. My grandfather use to do it all the time."

Brad Furr, current point leader of the series and two-time feature winner this season, was able to pass Kaeding on the final lap for second place. Kaeding finished third.

Kaeding was up to fifth place when two caution periods on laps 11 and 15 set the stage for his opportunity to challenge Golobic. By lap 20, Kaeding had passed Kurt Nelson, Carson Macedo and Furr. The final 10-lap showdown went awry when Kaeding drove under a slower car and clipped the tractor tires that border the inside of each turn, ending his back-row challenge.

Macedo, second to Kaeding last week, finished fourth. Gilroy's Kurt Nelson maintains his second place standings in the series with his fourth top-five finish. Kaeding and Golobic were heat winners.

IMCA MODIFIEDS

Hollister's Andy Obertello is the first IMCA modified competitor to record two feature wins this season. Friday night's 25-lap feature seemed like a repeat of his opening night battle with 2012 champion Jim Pettit II. But with 10 laps remaining, a battle ensued between Pettit and Nick DeCarlo. It ended badly when Pettit spun out on Turns 3-4 and DeCarlo was penalized for the unnecessary contact.

Salinas' Cody Burke took up the chase for Obertello. Burke was always in striking distance but Obertello drove an error-free race.

Nick Silva, the 2012 rookie winner, had great results finishing third in the feature and winning the first heat race. Raymond Keldson enjoyed his best night of the season by leading the first five laps of the feature and also winning the second heat race. Winton's Paul Stone finished fourth in the feature in his first appearance this year.

4-BANGERS

Robert Gallaher is the fifth different winner in Ocean's 4-Banger division this season.

The Gilroy resident swept the night's action by also winning the second heat race. He performed double duty Friday night, making his rookie appearance in IMCA's sport modified division as well. Al Sotomayor could start no better than 12

The division's current point leader finished second despite several attempts to pass Gallaher. He also won the first heat race. Prunedale's Quintin Harris finished third. Aptos' Luke Babcock finished fourth with San Martin's Justin McPherson finishing fifth.

IMCA SPORT MODIFIEDS

Bakersfield's Nick Spainhoward has made two appearances and scored two wins in IMCA's sport modified division. He triumphed in spite of seven caution flag periods, which resulted in his restarting at the rear of the field after a four-car melee at the halfway mark of the 20-lap feature.

The 18-car field included four newcomers and had four lead changes with Spainhoward taking the lead from Gilroy's Stephen Hopf on lap 18.

Hopf finished second, followed by Kyle Wilson and Adriane DeSousa. Campbell's Mike Shapiro had another top-five finish. The highest-finishing newcomer was San Jose's Charlie Hunter in sixth place; he's an American stock regular.

NON-WING SPRINTS

Tommy LaLiberte easily won his third Ocean Speedway non-wing sprint car feature.

Santa Clara's Adam Christian finished second in his first appearance followed by last week's winner Terry Rothweiler.

Next week's show features IMCA's modified division with the Bay Area Dwarf cars, Ocean's 4-Bangers, American stocks and IMCA's sport modified divisions.

Johnson reached the state finals in the 800 meters last year and he had aspirations of making the podium in this, his senior season. But he almost didn't qualify for his third straight CCS finals, joining the crowd of 11 Santa Cruz County boys who will compete Friday at Gilroy High. After leading the entire race, he stumbled at the finish line to place second in his heat and sixth among the eight qualifiers with a time of 1 minute, 55.71 seconds.

"I felt really weak today. It was a bad race," Johnson said shortly after ripping off his right shoe and sock and limping away from the finish line. He headed to the athletic trainer's tent, but brushed off the limp as "age-old injuries."

If anything, though, the close call for the University of Missouri-bound runner served as a reminder of how much tougher things get from here on. Athletes must finish in the top three at Fridays' CCS finals or hit a qualifying mark or time to advance to the CIF state championships, scheduled for May 31 and June 1 in Clovis.

"There's always going to be competition," Johnson said. "I'm going to try to keep working and get a little more focused."

Several local athletes didn't let their focus waver for a second during the trials.

Dustin Samms of Monte Vista Christian threw the top qualifying mark in the discus -- 162 feet, 4 inches — to reach his first CCS final. He will be joined by surprise qualifier Dominic Rodriguez of Aptos (eighth, 145-2). In the boys 1,600, Scott Edwards of Scotts Valley won his heat and recorded the second-fastest qualifying time overall, 4:20.42.

Meanwhile, Watsonville High junior Raymond Silver left the high-jump pit tied for first after leaping 6-foot-2 on his first attempt, which fell far short of his personal record of 6-6 ¾. But he might have needed to conserve his energy to fend off Santa Cruz's Dion Shattuck in Friday's finals. Shattuck, a state-qualifier in 2012, tied for fifth after hitting 6-2 his second try, which he took while trying to compete simultaneously in the long jump. He finished 11th there (21-1) -- the best showing in the county but not enough to move on -- and will solely focus on high jump in the near future.

The same cannot be said for his teammates Ashtyn Davis and Alex Morris. If an athlete of the meet award existed, Morris would have been in contention after winning his 100 dash heat in the sixth-fastest time of the day (11.17) and turning in the fourth-fastest time of the day in the 200 (22.23). He also anchored the 4x100 relay, where Will Romero, Dale Stoller, Davis and he turned in the third-fastest time (49.18) of the day.

"I think if we get our handoffs better in the 4x1, we can go to state," Davis said.

Davis didn't even really know state existed, or what it took to get there, until Friday. A former baseball player, he joined the Cardinals' track team this year to keep in shape -- telling himself he wasn't going to compete, just work out with the track team. Then sprints coach Bob Sanders egged him into entering a race, and it turned out he not only was good at it, but he liked it.

"This is the only time I've had a good time running, when there's competition," he said.

In addition to the 4x100, Davis qualified in seventh (15.33) the 110 high hurdles. The Cardinals will also send junior Miles Key-Mckay to the finals. He placed third in the triple jump prelims with a jump of 45-4.

Not all the athletes who competed Saturday -- usually earning an invitation by finishing among the top two in their league -- had expectations of moving on. Some of those who felt short of their goals at least walked away with a little more big-meet experience. But even they know getting back to this point isn't a given.

"I definitely learned it's all about how you're feeling on the day," said Watsonville junior Kasem Green, who placed 15th (42-6½) in the triple jump in his first CCS meet. "It's good to get some experience in. There's always next year, but "...."

CCS TRACK & FIELD TRIALS

At Gilroy High

Nevertheless, there's something a little off about those $80 board shorts and fresh Merrick sharing the lineup with your new friend's battered yellow thruster that looks like it was left in a trash can back in 1982.

This is exactly what happened to Santa Barbara surfer Matthew Smith on a surf trip to Nicaragua in 2011.

"Chinto was a barrel maniac on an old yellow, broken board," Smith said of the young Nicaraguan surfer who inspired him to found a nonprofit called Foam for Families. "The local surfers there literally take our trash, put these surfboards back together, and they shred. It blew my mind."

Every great movement began as an idea. Foam for Families, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing surfing, surf supplies and economic opportunity to impoverished communities around the surfing world, started as Matthew Smith's idea.

Today, with a little help from co-founder and professional surfer Chad Compton, the rapidly growing nonprofit is planning outreach to several locations around the globe.

"Our goal is to find a community leader in the town, and basically create a surf center, a place where kids can come in every day and borrow a board, promoting surfing and a community activity," Smith said. "I can't change their economic situation, but I know that when I paddle out into the ocean, everything is left behind."

EMPOWERING A COMMUNITY

A year later, Smith and Compton returned to the Nicaraguan village of Aserradores with enough surf supplies to stoke out the entire community. There were donated boards of all sizes from Al Merrick, foam boards to learn on, surf wax, pads and fins from Pro Lite, board repair kits, fiberglass and resin.

Instead of dropping off the supplies, patting themselves on the back and heading home, Smith and Compton spent several weeks teaching the local youth how to surf and how to care for both the boards and the beautiful coastline they lived on.

Smith and Compton also established a community surf center at a local hostel/bed and breakfast owned by the mayor of the town and her husband.

Simply donating the surfboards to various kids in the community would create unintended problems, Smith said, explaining that the town's extreme poverty could easily encourage parents to sell the boards for cash to buy food. Instead, the boards are kept and repaired in one place and the entire community "owns" the resource and can borrow the boards to use for the day.

"The town of Aserradores is a really small fishing village with a world class surf break, but a lot of the property is being bought up by foreign investors and the locals are being taken advantage of," Smith said. "We are trying to empower the people through surfing and help them realize the potential to boost their local economy."

As the local youth progressed, the foam surfboards fell into disuse. The owner of the hostel contacted Smith with a suggestion; since tourists staying at the hostel regularly asked to rent the boards, why not allow the boards to be rented and the profits saved for a community emergency fund, such as a birth or sudden illness that required a trip to the hospital. In addition, the foam boards are available for local youth to give surf lessons to visiting tourists, a new source of income for the community.

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

As Foam for Families monitors its pilot program in Aserradores and lays plans to expand to Indonesia and South America, the ripples of the small changes the nonprofit set in motion in Nicaragua are already being felt in other places around the globe.

For the Osborne family in Ventura, their 13-year-old son Eithan's discovery of Foam for Families was the answer they had been searching for.

"We have always said to our three children that we wanted them to be 'part of something bigger than themselves,'" explained Karine Osborne. "What we meant was that outside of their perfect world, there is a world of the less fortunate; people suffering from poverty, abuse, sickness and more.

"It was a very abstract concept"...I showed our oldest son [Eithan] several causes he could join to help out; rescuing animals, helping the environment, helping in homeless shelters, but nothing really clicked."

Finally, Eithan found Foam for Families after watching an online video of surfer Chad Compton of Ventura scoring perfect waves and helping children in Nicaragua.

"He said, 'That's it, that's what I want to do to help others!'" remembered Karine Osborne. "It was a perfect link between what he wants to do in his life; traveling and surfing around the world while at the same time giving back and spreading his love for surfing."

Heralded as ''the next Dane Reynolds" by TransWorld Surf, Osborne is a progressive power surfer with an aerial attack that puts him among the best in his age group.

While contest wins and free gear from sponsors poured in, his parents were concerned that professional surfing wasn't teaching Eithan to be a caring person.

"It's a 'me, me, me' culture," Karine Osborne said.

Now, Eithan Osborne is excitedly awaiting his first trip abroad with Foam for Families.

"I can't wait to go on my first mission," said Eithan Osborne, who is headed to Indonesia this summer with the nonprofit. "I can't believe those kids have the best waves ever and can't surf them! It is going to be so fun. I surf every day and love it and I am hoping one or more of the kids are going to feel the same way."

Foam for Families needs donations of surfboards, surf accessories and repair supplies. To learn more or get involved, visit www.foamforfamilies.org.

Gretchen Wegrich's Stoked and Broke occurs every other Sunday. Contact her at sports@santacruzsentinel.com.

The Falcons, seeded sixth in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs and confident after a first-round thrashing Wednesday of No. 11 Half Moon Bay, were favored over No. 14 Stevenson in Saturday's quarterfinal game at Monterey Peninsula College.

But the Pirates of Pebble Beach were also buoyed by their first-round upset of No. 3 St. Francis and continued their impersonation of the Biblical David in a 5-2 win over Scotts Valley.

"We put the guys on base, and that's why they ended up with five runs," Scotts Valley coach Rick Erlin said. "But, you gotta execute, and we didn't execute particularly well. A base-running gaffe here, get bases loaded with the No. 3 guy coming up and instead we run into an out at third base. That hurt."

That happened when Stevenson pitcher Angelo Martinez issued consecutive walks to Brenny Hillan and Matt Becker to start the second inning. Two outs later, Joe Gillette ripped a 1-2 pitch that ate up third baseman Warren Graham, who recovered quickly enough to tag out Hillan as he began a dash for the plate.

Scotts Valley scored a run in the first inning on a two-out double by Bubba Rogers and a sun-aided RBI single by Garrett Johnston. The Falcons made noise in four of the next six innings, including loading the bases with two out in the third, but were consistently turned back by Martinez and his knack for throwing the right pitch when he needed to.

"It's a game of momentum. We couldn't generate momentum," Erlin said. "When we thought we had something going, we'd run into an out. We can't afford to do that, and they played a clean game. They made one error, I think, and their pitcher did a good job of getting the ball over the plate when he had to."

Scotts Valley starter Riley Hilton looked brilliant at times but couldn't seem to find a rhythm. He ended a first-inning scoring threat with a strikeout, then fanned the first two Pirates to begin the third with fast balls that painted the corners of the plate. Back-to-back singles gave Stevenson another threat, but Hilton again stopped it with a beautiful curve ball for strike three.

Hilton walked the first two Pirate batters in the fifth inning. A sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third on a play that would've been disastrous for Scotts Valley had the first baseman Johnston not leapt high to spear catcher Jake Lobo's throw.

Disaster was only delayed, though, as Hilton intentionally passed Drew Miller to load the bases, then hit Chandler Bluhm with a curve ball to force in a run.

Erlin then summoned the hard-throwing Ben Braverman to the mound. The senior induced a ground ball to Johnston, who threw home for a force-out, but seeing-eye grounders by Martinez and Paul Edwards brought home three more runs for Stevenson.

"He (Hilton) walked five guys and had two hit batsmen," Erlin said. "He only gave up three hits in 4 1/3 innings. I mean, we beat ourselves. I can't take anything away from Stevenson, but you give up that many free passes, that's how they scored their runs. And we're hitting the ball all over the yard with authority, and we're hitting them right at guys."

Martinez, meanwhile, got more effective as the game went on. The Pirates' hurler threw 63 pitches in the first three innings and only 37 in the last four.

Scotts Valley added a run in the sixth on a leadoff double by Hillan, a sacrifice attempt that Cruz Machado beat out for a single and a sacrifice fly by Abe Alvarez.

"This season, I've kind of been just scraping by," the sophomore admitted.

So it made perfect sense that Trenchard barely scraped into the top eight in the girls pole vault at the CCS trials at Gilroy High on Saturday. She fell into a three-way tie for the final spot after topping out at 10 feet, 6 inches. The decision came down to misses and, after going back several heights, Trenchard came out on top.

That put her among the 22 Santa Cruz County girls who qualified for next Friday night's CCS Finals, which will also be at Gilroy.

Two other pole vaulters took a less stressful path to the final, as Harbor's Erika Malaspina and Santa Cruz's Katherine Whiting were in a seven-way tie for first after clearing 11-0 on their first attempts. Watsonville's Brianna Cueva qualified in third place in two field events, the discus and the shot put, while Trenchard's PCS teammate, Miranda Arnett, came out on top in the high jump qualifiers. Arnett hit 5-2 on her first attempt and will be joined by Soquel's Natalie Diaz, who qualified sixth out of eight with her 5-0 jump.

Diaz was delighted, of course, but it would have been tough to put a damper on her day. In the very first track event of the meet, she ran on the Soquel 4x100-meter relay team that finally snapped the 37-year-old county record. It was one of two local records to fall in that race. Watsonville's team also set a school record, running 50.49 seconds, to improve upon its week-old record of 50.56.

Diaz and the Knights have been chasing their record for two seasons, coming close at last year's Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League final, but never getting over the top. This time, the team of Christen Goetzl, Hailey Fish, Kendra Bonsall and Diaz ran 49.18 and beat the old county record of 49.2, set by a Harbor High squad in 1976, by eight hundredths of a second. 

They also beat the old Soquel record of 49.29 held by a team that included Maggie Vessey.

"Last year I thought would be better than this year, but I think we just really got our handoffs down," said Diaz, a sophomore.

In addition to the record, the Knights got the No. 3 qualifying spot at the CCS finals. If they can hold that position, they will qualify for the CIF state championships, scheduled for May 31 and June 1 in Clovis.

"We got the school record and the county record, that's one thing," Diaz said. "Now we're going for a bigger record."

In the 4x400 relay, Hayley Herberg burned up the final lap to take Scotts Valley from third to first in its heat. Madi Volk, Katelyn McNulty and Mikaela Inman joined with Herberg for a time of 4:03.32, good for fourth overall. Aptos' team qualified sixth in 4:03.95.

For once, the county's distance runners didn't set any league, section, state or national standards. They'll save those efforts for next week as San Lorenzo Valley's Anna Maxwell, Aptos' Nikki Hiltz and Scotts Valley's Vanessa Fraser mostly cruised through their preliminary heats.

Maxwell, who holds the nation's top time this season in the 1,600, appropriately ran the top qualifying time (4:54.04), followed by Aptos' Clare Peabody (third, 4:57.63) and defending state champion Hiltz (fourth, 4:57.74). In the 3,200, Maxwell eased up down the stretch to take third (10:50.03) and rival Vanessa Fraser of Scotts Valley trotted in at fourth (10:53.4).

Hiltz got scolded by Aptos distance coach Dan Gruber for holding back too much on the final lap of her 1,600, so she hustled through both laps of the 800. She won her heat and turned in the fourth-fastest time overall, 2:15.81.

"I kept thinking about next week and how that's going to hurt even more," Hiltz said.

The senior said she feels like she has something to prove -- as much to herself as to any doubters -- in the coming weeks. She suffered a stress fracture around this time last year and had surgery in the offseason. It has taken her longer to come back than she would like, but she and Gruber believe she is regaining her form.

"It's not at all what I imagined senior year would be like, but I didn't think I would break my foot either," she said. "I want to prove a lot of people wrong, especially next week at CCS."

Other qualifiers for the CCS finals include Jenny Delucchi of Santa Cruz in the 100 hurdles (fifth, 15.63); SLV's Claire MacMillan, who placed eighth in both the 1,600 (5:04.69) and 3,200 (11:26.16); and Aptos' Yulisa Abundis in the 3,200 (ninth, 11:27.08).

Young's score was hurt by his inability to capture a solid second scoring wave. After counting a 7.27, his second scoring wave carded a 3.93. Young waited for a solid wave in his attempt to rally late but it never came.

Young beat France's Jeremy Flores 13.13-10.17 in Round 3 before finishing third in his Round 4 heat, scoring a 5.57 while Brazil's Adriano de Souza won with a 15.90 and Australian Taj Burrow took second at 9.30.

GOLF

Harbor High alum Cory McElyea finished tied for 13th at the NCAA Columbus Regional at The Ohio State University's Scarlet Course.

The University of San Francisco junior, a transfer from University of Washington, closed with 72 for a 5-over-par 218 total.

New Mexico's James Erkenbeck earned medalist honors with a 3-under 210 total.

Auburn's Dominic Bozzelli, Virginia's Denny McCarthy and South Carolina's Matthew NeSmith tied for second at 214.

The top five teams in the 13-team field -- New Mexico (870), Auburn (872), South Carolina (872), UNLV (878) and Texas Tech (879) -- advance to the NCAA Championships.

Stanford (884) finished in seventh and USF took 11th at 893.

Biking down a hill back to his day job, the chain on Rockhold's cruiser popped off, resulting in a belly slide that left him with a busted chin that required 10 interior stitches and 15 exterior stitches. The injury was so bad that he was unable to train in the month leading up to the championships, where he eventually performed below his own expectations.

Very little has managed to keep Rockhold down since that day. The Soquel High graduate has instead undergone a meteoric rise in the mixed-martial arts world, ever since he won the Strikeforce middleweight belt in September 2011.

And whereas Rockhold won gold at the BJJ world championships the year following his cruiser crash, essentially kickstarting his career, the 28-year-old middleweight is now poised to take another monumental leap forward with his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut Saturday night.

Rockhold will take on MMA veteran Vitor Belfort in the headlining event at UFC on FX 8 in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The fight will be televised on FX beginning at 6 p.m.

No longer bruised and battered, the circumstances have certainly changed for Rockhold in his return trip to the South American country.

"Well, I'm healthy, for one. I've been training, and I've done everything I need to do to win this fight," Rockhold said in a phone interview last week. "And I'm still driving cruiser bikes, but my cruiser bikes are much more well greased these days."

Consider it the perks of being a champion.

Rockhold hasn't fought since July 2012, when he defended his Strikeforce belt with a unanimous decision against Tim Kennedy. Yet the American Kickboxing Academy product has nevertheless remained in the limelight.

The fact that Rockhold was the last middleweight titleholder in Strikeforce, which went belly up in January, means he is in line to contend for the same belt in UFC. Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez was granted an immediate title shot upon joining UFC, while contenders like Dan Henderson, the last light heavyweight champ, earned a title shot after winning his UFC debut.

"This is my chance to prove something," Rockhold said, "to try and be the best."

Rockhold is well aware that a win Saturday against Belfort could have him squaring off against middleweight champ Anderson Silva in the near future -- an opponent he's been pining for since he first defended his middleweight belt in Strikeforce. Back then, it seemed like a longshot that Rockhold might ever stand toe-to-toe with Silva -- the top pound-for-pound fighter, according to UFC.

It was also perhaps a longshot for Belfort to ever stand across from Rockhold. The Santa Cruz fighter was just 12 when the now-36-year-old Brazilian made his UFC debut in 1997.

But each win has drawn Rockhold (10-1, 0-0 UFC), who's ranked No. 5 in the UFC's middleweight division, closer to that title shot with Silva. He's won nine straight bouts, six by submission and two by TKO.

While his detractors stand firm -- believing that he's outspoken, unproven and was competing in the "lower-tier" promotion for a reason -- another win Saturday would also go a long way toward earning their respect.

Or at least shutting them up.

"We've proven that, all the guys that have come over (from Strikeforce) have kicked ass and taken names. So I don't see their angle anymore," Rockhold said. "And I'd like to add to that as well."

The No. 2-ranked Belfort (22-10, 10-6 UFC) isn't without critics, either. Many are against his use of testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT, a controversial-yet-legal treatment for UFC fighters who qualify. Although other fighters have undergone TRT, Belfort's usage raises red flags because he tested positive for a banned substance, 4-Hydroxytestosterone, in 2006.

That side story has led to a war of words between the two fighters in the weeks leading up to their bout. Belfort has called Rockhold "disrespectful" and "arrogant" and Rockhold has made it a point to routinely question Belfort's TRT exemption, calling it "crap."

On Friday at the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, the two contenders had to be separated during their staredown following weigh-ins. Both fighters made weight, tipping the scales at 186 pounds apiece.

Still, Rockhold hasn't lost respect for Belfort -- at least not as a fighter. He recently referred to Belfort as "a legend" in the sport, and knows he remains dangerous even at his advanced age. Belfort's surprising TKO of Michael Bisping in January was enough evidence to show "The Phenom" can still pack a punch.

And it showed Belfort still has aspirations of another title fight. Although he's lost twice in his last five bouts, Belfort's recent setbacks came in title fights against Silva and in a light heavyweight matchup with Jon Jones.

Rockhold could put a serious dent in Belfort's championship hopes, though. He feels he's better in wrestling and kickboxing, and he has the height and reach advantage. With his youth and cardio, though, Rockhold's best weapon may be time. The longer the fight goes, the better he'll be against the explosive Belfort, who is expected to look for an opening early and try to end the fight with a quick strike.

"His left hand, you have to watch out for that," Rockhold said. "But I can take him early, I can take him late, and I can submit him."

If he can do that, he'll leave Brazil a much happier man than he did in 2006, with a career path continuing on the upswing.

And certainly not on a downhill roll.

"It's his home turf, but I'm looking forward to it," Rockhold said. "It's like a paid vacation. I get to go to Brazil, I get to kick someone's ass, and I get paid.

"It's a win-win-win situation for me."

Crocker, a third-year professional outfielder, is batting .275. He's hitting .382 in his past 10 games.

On Friday, Stage 6 of the Tour of California pro cycling race seemed to set the scene perfectly for Jacques-Maynes to reinforce that title. Not only was the stage a 19.6-mile time trial, but it wound through, and up, the familiar hills north of Morgan Hill, just 50 miles or so from his home.

But when Carter Jones of Jaques-Maynes' former team, Bissell Pro Cycling, and his support car came careening around one of the winding -- and dangerous -- sections of the course, about midway through the slog, and passed him, Jacques-Maynes didn't give chase. On this day, he had something even more important to protect -- a lead.

"I won't get to ride fast," he said before the ride. "I've got to save my legs."

Jacques-Maynes dogged it, relatively speaking, during the grueling time trial, finishing 61st in 54 minutes, 32 seconds. He hopes the time he lost will equate to energy saved for Saturday's Stage 7, a 91.4-mile ride that will finish with a climb to the top of Mount Diablo in Livermore. Not that Jacques-Maynes will get to be the first one to get there. No, at this point in the race he's sacrificing his personal performances for the glory of Jamis-Hagens-Berman teammate Janier Acevedo of Colombia.

Acevedo won Stage 2 of the eight-stage race to give Jamis HB the yellow jersey, which the team retained through Stage 4. Acevedo slipped to third overall Thursday and then slipped a little farther Friday after placing 18th in the time trial (51:33). Wearer of the yellow jersey, Tejay Van Garderen of BMC, padded his overall lead by winning the time trial in 48:52.34, while Michael Rogers of Team Saxo-Tinkoff finished fourth to stay in second but fell 1:47 back in the GC.

Still, in fifth at just 3:31 back, a good finish Saturday on a hilly rout that suits Acevedo could put him back among the top three. If he's still there by the time the cyclists cross the finish line in Santa Rosa on Sunday, it will be the first time a domestic team placed a rider in the top three overall in the eight-year history of the race.

"I don't think this has happened with another continental team. The pro teams dominate this race," Jacques-Maynes said. "To have a local -- well, U.S. local -- team leading this race is unprecedented."

UCI, cycling's governing body, divides racers into three categories: pro tour, with the highest caliber riders and deepest pockets; pro continental, which are based domestically but also race internationally on occasion; and continental teams like Jamis HB, which race only in the U.S.

With less depth, it's typically difficult for the continental teams to keep pace with their Pro Tour competitors.

"It's like the movie 300," said Todd Herriott, a former Tour of California rider who was working as a performance consultant for Jamis HB. "Ben's riding like three guys and Luis (Romero Amaran) is a freight train, but you can only block so many arrows."

Jacques-Maynes is one of a handful of racers who have competed in every Tour of California. Often he held the honor of being his team's protected rider and he even finished among the top 10 during one Tour of California time trial.

This year, as a domestique, he didn't get a chance to repeat. But he couldn't relax too much during the time trial either. If he let off the gas, he might not have finished within 25 percent of the winner's time -- a time he wouldn't know until the race finished -- and would have been cut from the race.

Nonetheless, Jacques-Maynes said the thrill of being in the chase for the yellow jersey and a piece of history has been worth the sacrifices, which number more than just giving up his chance at winning the time trial. The past three days he has burned out his legs to stay at the front of the pack and make the trip easier for Acevedo. He said he was pumping his fist and celebrating Acevedo's win on Monday before he realized how hard he would have to ride from that point forward.

"The race was already a spectacular result after Stage 2, the rest was just icing," Jacques-Maynes said. "Now we have a clear goal for the rest of the race."

"It was beautiful and flat calm all day," he reported. "My anglers put in four nice salmon to 15 pounds, and of course lost three or four more. I'll be out again tomorrow for salmon."

The kings are still feeding on krill, and early mornings feature the best bite on the surface. These fish are hot, with plenty of energy that often results in heartbreak when they break off or spit the hook.

Captain Jim Rubin had similar reports for the weekend: "Awesome day on the bay! Six Anglers hooked 15 salmon and landed seven big fish from 15 to 18 pounds. Great weather all day!"

Monday's weather was not quite as nice, and Tuesday was far worse, forcing many boats off the water before noon. On Wednesday, the six-pack boats had to cancel trips due to poor conditions.

The weather settled down Thursday with calm winds in the morning, and the forecast for this weekend looks OK so far. The National Weather Service calls for "moderate" swells, and moderate to strong winds Saturday and Sunday. Get out early and fish hard!

Considering the marginal weather report, inshore fishing might be the best bet. Rock cod is looking very good on all the usual spots around Santa Cruz. Natural Bridges and the West Cliff reefs from 50-80 feet of water are producing well. The scattered reefs from South Rock to Pleasure Point are holding hordes of smaller schoolie rockfish and Capitola Boat and Bait collected reports of limits and near limits of rockfish from Jack O'Neill's house at Pleasure Point, Adam's Reef, Surfer's Reef, the Sponge Bob buoy and the Capitola Mile Reef. One halibut was caught in the Pleasure Point area.

Myron Larsen at Capitola weighed in lingcod of 13 and 15 pounds caught in the kelp beds east of the wharf this week. Larsen is also stoked by the large balls of bait in the area.

"They are just pinhead anchovies, but in huge schools," he reported. "Big old balls of bait, like 100 by 100 feet across!"

This may bode well for our summertime bait situation.

Watching the sea surface-temperature charts last week, we noticed an anomalous warm water "bubble" some 60 miles off Big Sur. The 62-degree temperatures naturally brought up hopes of early albacore. No confirmation yet, but Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine did receive rumor/reports of albacore caught just 30 miles from Monterey earlier in the week.

Bushnell can also be heard on The Let's Go Fishing Radio Show Thursday nights at 8pm on KSCO radio 1080 AM. Send your photos, comments or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com

But, considering the made basket equaled just three of Green's season-high 49 points that game, it was perhaps easy for Kumasaka to visualize at least one more score by his star player.

No matter how much of a prayer the shot might have actually been.

"In the back of my mind, I knew it was going to go in," said Kumasaka, coach of the Pacific Collegiate School girls basketball team. "That's the type of play superstars make. It was amazing."

So, too, was Green's junior season, in which she averaged 30.3 points per game for the Pumas and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Mission Trail Athletic League. Thursday, the Sentinel follows suit, naming the 5-foot-8 point guard the All-County Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Green led PCS to its best season in program history. The Pumas (25-6) were promoted to the more competitive MTAL after winning three straight Coastal Athletic League titles, but nevertheless ran the table with a 13-0 record. PCS capped its perfect mark in the MTAL Tournament final when Green's 50-foot heave from near midcourt lifted the Pumas to a 70-67 victory over King City.

Said Kumasaka, "It was insane."

The "crazy shot" was just the beginning for Green and the Pumas, though. They earned the No. 1 seed and reached the Central Coast Section Division V championship -- both firsts for the program. Although PCS was narrowly defeated in the final, it continued on, reaching the CIF NorCal D-V playoffs for the first time, and winning its opener against Northern Section champion Durham behind a 43-point effort by Green.

Kumasaka felt this season was going to be more of a stepping stone for the Pumas. But, with Green leading the charge and leading PCS as far as it has ever gone in a season, the coach said the team is ahead of schedule.

"She's definitely the heart and soul of the team. We wouldn't be the same without her," Kumasaka said. "She's the most talented player I've been around."

Green, who is receiving interest from several Pac-12 and Ivy League schools, among many others, averaged 5.3 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 6.6 steals for PCS.

In other awards, John Wilson was named Coach of the Year after leading the Knights to their second straight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title and a 25-3 overall record. Knights sophomore Natalie Diaz, the MVP of the SCCAL, was named Guard of the Year after she averaged 11.4 points per game for Soquel during the league season -- and played her best basketball against some of the better teams in the SCCAL.

Scotts Valley junior Nadene Hart, a first team all-SCCAL selection who averaged 16.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game, was named Post Player of the Year.

Soquel's Madison Rocha and Tyler Stewart, Watsonville's Sonya Cervantes, St. Francis' Lauren Price, Scotts Valley's Angela Silver and Monte Vista Christian's Sydney Beadle made up the All-County team.

Green displayed a quickness that few opponents could replicate on the court this season, whether it be driving through the lane, getting out in transition, or delivering a crossover dribble -- one that would often leave defenders in her wake.

Her high expectations and basketball IQ only carried over to her Puma teammates, Kumasaka said, while her ability to score -- from the paint or behind the half-court line -- attracted the attention of opposing defenses and often left her teammates wide open for easy baskets.

Earlier this month, Green was named to the All-State Division V second team by Cal-Hi Sports. She was the lone selection from Santa Cruz County.

"She's a remarkable athlete and she can do it all -- inside and outside," Soquel's Wilson said. In a nonleague game in December, Green scored 42 points in a losing effort against the Knights.

"She's tough to guard," Wilson added. "We did a pretty good job against her (in the first half). But when she wants to take the game over, she's pretty unstoppable."

McElyea, a junior who transferred from University of Washington, posted three birdies and two bogeys at The Ohio State University's Scarlet Course.

The Santa Cruz resident has been on a hot streak of late. After posting a top-10 finish at the U.S. Intercollegiate at Stanford last month, he tied for fourth at the West Conference Championships in Washington. He also advanced from a U.S. Open local qualifier on May 8 in Half Moon Bay.

Charlotte's Raoul leads Columbus Regional at 4-under-par 67. UNLV's Carl Johnson and South Carolina's Will Starke are tied for second at 68.

Also tied for fourth are Texas Tech's Matias Dominguez, Stanford's Cameron Wilson and Missouri's Ryan Zech.

Charlotte leads with a 287 total. South Carolina is second at 288, three strokes ahead of Stanford. UNLV (292) is in fourth in the 13-team event. San Francisco sits in eighth at 297.

The regional runs through Saturday.

Santa Cruz's Nate Smith shot 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Web.com Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greer, S.C.

Smith had four birdies and three bogeys at Greenville Country Club.

Hudson Swafford, Mark Anderson, Zack Miller and Franklin Corpening share the lead at 9 under.

Warriors rookie guard Kent Bazemore -- a star in limited NBA D-League appearances this season with Santa Cruz -- treats the minutes he receives in the NBA playoffs like nuggets of gold, not to be spent foolishly.

The road to becoming a postseason legend is quite fickle. For some, like Bazemore, the window is open one second and closed a second later.

After Thursday's 94-82 loss to the Spurs, he'll hope to add to his legend next season, much like he did in Game 1.

Bazemore -- who averaged 21.6 points in five regular-season games with Santa Cruz -- nearly added to his legend in Game 1 of the NBA's Western Conference semifinal series on May 6, draining a clutch basket in the Warriors' 129-127 loss to San Antonio in double overtime.

After gathering a pass from Stephen Curry, Bazemore drove to the basket for a layup and one-point lead with 3.9 seconds left in the second overtime.

But the Spurs and their fans didn't have any nightmares about Bazemore, because wide-open guard Manu Ginobli drained the winning 3-pointer with 1.2 left.

"Game 1 was a great time for me," Bazemore said. "Klay (Thompson) fouled out and so did Draymond Green. I was so ready to go and I actually made a play, so it turned out good."

It just so happened that Ginobli made Bazemore's basket less important.

Bazemore laughed it off prior to Game 6.

"That was just Ginobli's way of saying, 'Welcome to the big leagues, fella.' The dude's a Hall of Famer, you know?" Bazemore said. "Big-time players make big-time plays and that's exactly what he did. I was ready to embrace those points as being the game-winner, but he's a Hall of Famer. That's what he do."

Bazemore -- who was given the Lefty Driesell Award for being the best defensive player in college as an Old Dominion junior in 2011 -- said he focused on his offense this season, including stints in Santa Cruz.

"I don't play heavy minutes, but I like to be that spark on the bench," he said. "I can't be a liability on offense. That's why I've done a lot of work in the offseason. If called on, I can provide that extra boost, like I was able to do in Santa Cruz."

And Game 1 against the Spurs.

Usually, he's in the game for defensive purposes. He said he continues to work hard to increase his playing time.

Coach Mark Jackson didn't predict victory -- Patrick Ewing-style -- prior to Game 6, but he said that "when" the Warriors won the game it would be because of defense, not the offensive output of guards Thompson and Curry, who was playing on a sprained left ankle that has the durability of limp spaghetti.

Jackson's band of wounded Warriors -- which also includes center Andrew Bogut (ankle) and forwards David Lee (torn hip flexor) and Harrison Barnes, who was slammed to the floor in the second quarter Thursday night -- have had a mixed bag in this semifinal series. Thompson and Curry have hit dry spells at times and Bogut has been in foul trouble early in contests.

Jackson didn't blink with the series and season on the line Thursday. He pointed to his unheralded bench players and their desire to contribute.

"We've got guys who have been waiting for this opportunity, who are prepared," Jackson said prior to the game.

Count Bazemore and Scott Machado, who also played in Santa Cruz this season, among them.

"You gotta take advantage and play your minutes," said Machado, who averaged 9.8 points and 1.8 assists in six D-League playoff games with Santa Cruz. "You gotta play hard and make sure those minutes aren't going to waste."

Added Jackson: "I've got a young basketball team that is tied together and not afraid. Over the course of the season, they've shown a history of fighting. When the going gets tough, they respond."

Both Bazemore and Machado, a pass-first guard, said they're embracing every chance they get.

Bazemore said he's trying to be important on the bench, too.

After any big play, he's often going bonkers, not that he can be heard over the sea of yellow-and-blue clad fans at home games.

"If I tried to sit and bottle my emotions, I'd go crazy," he said. "It's the passion I have for basketball. It's the same as a kid watching it on TV. To have a front-row seat is amazing."

Contact Assistant Sports Editor Jim Seimas at jseimas@santacruzsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AiringItOut.

It was Tershy's first X Games since he took gold in the same event in Los Angeles in 2011.

The finals will be televised on ESPN on Sunday beginning at 7 a.m.

The 20-year-old compiled a score of 71 on his two best runs during Thursday's elimination round. Competitors were given 40 seconds per run, with a total of five runs.

Tershy recorded a 31 and a 40 on his two best tries, the latter of which he used the full clock and earned the praise of commentator Tony Hawk, who noted Tershy's stalefish and frontside nosegrab.

"That was his best run, by far," Hawk said following Tershy's run of 40.

It was just enough to edge Kevin Kowalski's 68 in the elimination heat.

Only Curren Caples (79) and Brad McClain (74) scored higher than Tershy in the elimination round.

The top 10 competitors will compete in Sunday's finals.

Watsonville's Cody Webb, meanwhile, is expected to compete in Saturday's Enduro X event at Summer X Games Barcelona. Last month, Webb took silver in the event when X Games traveled to Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

Enduro X will be televised by ESPN Saturday beginning at 7 a.m.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Santa Cruz biker Jacob Albrecht looks to defend his title as he enters Sunday's California Mountain Biking League championship as one of the top three in the varsity boys category.

Albrecht won last year's title in 1 hour, 41 minutes, 51 seconds -- a win by just two seconds over Salinas' Bryan Duke -- to become the first-ever league champ out of Santa Cruz.

He finished second in the NorCal Championships at Boggs Mountain on April 28 with a time of 1:37:11.

Sunday's race will take place at Stafford Lake in Novato.

TRIATHLON

Aptos High hosted its fourth annual student/staff triathlon Thursday, and sophomore Jack Rose was the event's winner with a time of 44:59.

Teacher Manuel Rubi took second in 48:02, while junior Chris Tiran was third in 48:40.

Freshman Olivia Quinn was the top girls finisher in 55:33.

EQUESTRIAN

George Hall of Santa Cruz and his partners John Hall (no relation) off Fairfield and Clown's Courage, an Arabian-mustang cross boarded in Scotts Valley, won the 25-mile course at the Cache Creek Ride and Tie on Saturday.

The trio completed the running-and-riding relay in 3 hours, 31 minutes.

OUTDOOR RECREATION

Heavenly Mountain Resort is opening for summer activities May 25-27. Heavenly will run its gondola for sightseeing, dining and hiking from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Heavenly Gondola will transport guests 3,000 feet above Lake Tahoe to the Mid-Station Observation Deck, where guests can enjoy views of Lake Tahoe, the Desolation Wilderness, and the Carson Valley.

At the top of the Gondola, guests can challenge themselves on the 25-foot climbing wall, designed for beginner to advanced climbers, and kids can play in a safe environment on the Spider Zone climbing tower.

Keep an eye out for these upcoming events:

This Weekend

Saturday

Fishing: FLW College Fishing Western Conference, Bethel Island, 7 a.m.

Running: Girls on the Run 10th annual 5k, Los Gatos, www.gotrsv.org

Sunday

Running: Surfer's Path Marathon & Capitola Half Marathon, 7 a.m., www.surferspathmarathon.com

Biking: California State Championships, Stafford Lake Park, Novato, www.norcalmtb.org

Down the Road

May 27

Beach volleyball: Memorial Day Century Tournament, 4th Avenue Beach, Doubles partners ages must add up to 100+, lizzyfowler@aol.com

June 6-9

Biking: Near Death Experience bike camp, Kirkwood, www.kirkwood.com

June 16

running:Run in the Name of Love 5k, Carmel, dogs welcome, www.runinthenameoflove.org

June 22

Surfing: Surftech Jay Race, 8 a.m., Capitola Beach, jayrace.surftech.com/event-info

June 29

Biking: California Enduro Series, China Peak Enduro. Lakeshore, caenduro.blogspot.com

Aug. 25

Running: Dirt Inspires Trail Runs, Fort Ord, www.ditrailruns.com

Oct. 5

Climbing: Real Rock 7 film festival, Rio Theatre, 7 p.m., www.reelrock.tumblr.com

Oct. 12-13

Biking: California Enduro Series, Soquel Demonstration State Forest, caenduro.blogspot.com

Oct. 26

Running: Warrior Dash, 24445 County Rd. 25 Esparto, CA 95627, 9 a.m., www.warriordash.com

Nov. 2

Beach volleyball: "No Attitudes Allowed", men's senior division, ages 50+ doubles, Main Beach, www.cabrillo.edu/~pkaplan/tournaments_schedule.html

The No. 7 Falcons -- runner-up in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League -- made five errors in the first inning of the program's Central Coast Section playoff debut Wednesday. They refound their form by the fourth inning, but their early bobbles paved the way for their 6-0 season-ending loss to No. 10 Carmel in a Division III first-round game in Scotts Valley.

"They were all amped up and excited -- this was their first time in CCS," first-year coach Matt Houseman said. "They set the school higher on two levels: We finished second, the highest we've ever finished in the SCCAL, and we made CCS. I told them we left room for improvement for next season."

Scotts Valley struggled from the get-go as three of Carmel's first four batters scored.

Leadoff hitter Angelina Savoldi walked. Then, with Lauren Salvati at the plate, she stole second and came home on a pass ball and an error. That would be the only run the Padres would need to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals, but Amber Clark added a third score before the Falcons closed out the inning.

"I think since we made it to CCS, we felt we can't make mistakes now that we're here. Then there was one error made, and they built up, and it was like a snowball effect," junior Seryna Tapuloa said.

The Padres (16-10) added another run in the second and two in the third before Scotts Valley (18-8) settled down.

Pitcher Sarah Reyes didn't allow a hit until the third inning, when Scotts Valley was already trailing 4-0, but was saddled with the loss. In five innings, she allowed four hits, walked six and struck out one.

Under pressure to close the chasm, the Falcons' bats never got going, either. It didn't help that they were trying to make hay against the Padres' Brittany File, whom Houseman called "the best pitcher we've faced all season." Only Audrey Liebenberg broke through, hitting a line-drive single to left-center field with two outs in the fifth.

Carmel coach Mike O'Dello said his team would have received a higher seed if points were given on strength of schedule. The No. 10 Padres finished second in the Mission Trail Athletic League to D-III favorite and defending CCS champion Santa Catalina, and had already beaten Scotts Valley once this season, 3-1, on Feb. 26.

He said that game, the Padres' first of the season, hardly resembled Wednesday's.

"Both teams played a better game in the first one," O'Dello said. "It was more of a pitchers' duel in the first one. I thought this girl (Reyes) pitched a good game, but her defense let her down a little."

Scotts Valley will graduate just two seniors -- catcher Caitlyn Pellemeier and shortstop Michelle Ponos, both of whom will be attending Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in the fall.

Pellemeier said the loss didn't taint the success the Falcons had this season.

"I felt this season was probably the best I've gotten to have," she said. "This season we were really close-knit, we were more like family. I think that's why we got farther and why they will do well next year."

"It helps a little bit, considering we won," said Wilson, who was feeling ill.

In a game where the hits were lacking, Wilson provided the antidote to help lead the No. 6 Mariners in a come-from-behind effort over No. 11 Harker, 3-2, in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs at Aptos High.

The right fielder had just one of Aptos' four total hits off Harker's Alison Rugar, but she managed to knock in a pair of runs, including the game-tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

It set up the go-ahead run in the sixth, when Amanda Ang led off with a double, moved to third following a bunt single by Nicole Getzschmann, and later scored when Casey Messersmith connected on a sacrifice fly to shallow right field -- just deep enough to score Ang from third base.

"She was pretty awesome, I have to say," Ang said of Wilson, who grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the third inning that scored courtesy runner Kate Jeffery for the game's first run.

"She helped pull us through," added Ang, who was 2-for-3.

The Mariners (21-6-1) managed to figure out Rugar just in time to rally late and advance to Saturday's D-III semifinals, setting up a familiar showdown with No. 3 Soquel (22-4) -- the outright champion of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League.

Aptos finished third in the SCCAL, but was one of just three teams to hand the Knights a loss this season. Soquel won the first meeting 9-5 on March 12, while Aptos returned the favor on April 11 when it scored three times in the bottom of the eighth en route to a 4-3 victory. It was the Knights' lone loss in league play.

The two teams will meet Saturday at the Salinas Sports Complex at noon, with the winner advancing to next week's CCS semifinals against either No. 10 Carmel or No. 2 Half Moon Bay.

"I think we're all really stoked to play Soquel again," Wilson said. "It's usually our best game when we play them. They're our biggest rival and the our best competition."

Wilson said the Mariners will need to step up against the Knights -- more so than they did Wednesday against Harker.

"We didn't do bad today. But we need to get on the pitcher faster," Wilson added.

Rugar and Aptos' Michelle Firebaugh were both on point early in the game. Firebaugh didn't allow a hit until the third inning, while Rugar, who was recently named the Most Valuable Player of the West Bay Athletic League's Foothill Division, didn't surrender a hit until the fourth inning.

By then, the Mariners already held a 1-0 lead following Wilson's fielder's choice RBI in the third -- aided in part by three Harker errors, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the frame. But two errors by Aptos in the fifth, compounded by three walks issued by Firebaugh, allowed the Eagles to take a narrow lead.

Firebaugh allowed five walks in the game, but was otherwise solid in the complete-game effort. She allowed zero earned runs on two hits while striking out eight, and got out of a fourth-inning jam when she gave up a leadoff triple to Laura Thacker but didn't surrender a run.

Rugar, who led Harker (14-8) to the Foothill Division championship, gave up just two earned runs on four hits while striking out seven.

"It doesn't surprise me. She pitches so hard," Harker coach Raul Rios said. "She was very good today, and against a very good team. She was able to hold her composure and we were able to compete with them."

Still, Aptos connected on three of its four hits in the fifth and sixth innings when they scored the game-tying and eventual game-winning runs.

"We definitely weren't expecting that kind of funky pitching," Ang said of Rugar, whose fastball tailed away from right-handed batters and whose rise ball stayed in the strike zone.

"But we adjusted well," Ang added. "We were aggressive on the base paths and we kept up our defense."

And the Mariners converted on a bout of good fortune in the fifth.

Rugar made an illegal pitch with two outs to Marissa Bugayong that instead led to a two-out rally for the Mariners. On the play, Bugayong popped out to second base, but got a second life following the illegal pitch and drew a base on balls.

She then stole second base and scored the tying run on Wilson's RBI single to center field -- just the second hit allowed in the game.

The Mariners know they'll need to hit better against high-powered Soquel, though.

"We're getting better and I feel we've improved," Ang said. "We just need to go out and get another good game."

No. 14-seed Stevenson scored three runs in the fifth inning and held on to stun the No. 3 Sharks, 3-2.

Galen Manhard threw a complete-game six-hitter for the win.

Jonathan Carmona lasted 5 2/3 innings after walking four batters and striking out three.

Stevenson took advantage of four errors by the Sharks (20-9), who earned their first Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title this season.

David Gugale was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Jacob Cardona scored the Sharks' other run.

Nick Ciandro was 2-for-2 with a double and RBI and Calvin Nakagawa doubled.

Stevenson (17-9) faces No. 6 Scotts Valley in Saturday's quarterfinals. The site and time are expected to be announced on Thursday night.

SCOTTS VALLEY -- Sean Varenkamp will attempt to walk-on to San Diego State's golf team next season.

His focus Tuesday, however, was on the baseball diamond.

Varenkamp pitched a complete-game five-hitter, helping No. 6 seed Scotts Valley High rout No. 11 Half Moon Bay 11-2 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs.

The win snapped the Falcons' three-year streak of first-round exits, including in 2010, when the Falcons were the top seed.

"I thought this could be my last game of baseball -- ever," Varenkamp said. "I did everything I could to be focused on today."

Varenkamp was one of five seniors in the starting lineup for the Falcons (19-11), but all 10 starters played like it was their last game.

Patient at the plate, Scotts Valley rapped 12 hits and took advantage of 10 walks. Designated hitter Brenny Hillan and Cruz Machado each had a pair of hits and drove in combined seven runs. Machado hit a ground-rule double and finished with four RBIs.

The Falcons -- the third-place finisher in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League behind regular-season champion St. Francis and SCCAL Tournament champion Soquel -- advance to Saturday's quarterfinals against No. 14 Stevenson (17-9) of Pebble Beach. The site and time are to be determined on Thursday night.

Stevenson, behind pitcher Galen Manhard's complete-game six-hitter, stunned No. 3 St. Francis 3-2 in first-round action. The Pirates are the fourth-place team from the Mission Trail Athletic League.

Half Moon Bay (18-10) -- the third-place finisher with Terra Nova in the Peninsula Athletic League's Bay Division -- entered the game with a .304 batting average, but the Cougars couldn't get much going against Varenkamp, a crafty lefty who pitches to contact.

Varenkamp finished with five strikeouts and one walk.

"He was definitely on his game from the start," said Cougars outfielder Brett Berghammer, who hit .524 during the regular season. "We were fired up for the game. We scored first. And then we got nervous fast because we weren't producing at the plate."

Cole Watts singled and scored on a groundout in the second inning. But the Falcons took the lead in the bottom half of the inning and never looked back. They led 11-1 after five innings, but the game wasn't called on the 10-run mercy rule by the home plate umpire.

Varenkamp stayed in control throughout, nearly striking out the side in the fifth. He got the final batter of the inning to ground out.

"I wanted that bad," Varenkamp said of striking out the side.

Scotts Valley had runners on base every inning. It stranded 13 runners total.

More often than not though, the Falcons came through in the clutch.

Both of Machado's hits came with two strikes against him.

"On most teams' lineups, the top five hitters are their best and the rest are four outs," Machado said. "For us, I feel like our lineup keeps going."

Every hitter reached base at least once. Garrett Johnston was 2-for-5, Jake Lobo had two hits and scored three times, Varenkamp had three hits and three runs scored and Matt Beck drew three walks.

"We're really starting to come together," Machado said.