Riptide

The Riptide, an under-12 Pacific Coast Girls Fastpitch Softball team, won one game and tied another in a doubleheader against Mission Viejo's Fear Factor Saturday. The Riptide recorded a 15-4 victory in the nightcap with Leslee Kaczmarek generating three hits and scoring three runs. Triples by Amanda Ring and Amy Smith helped the offense. Lauren Tofia pitched a five-inning complete game with eight strikeouts with Brieanna Ramirez as catcher. Brittany Martinez, Jessica Brockett, Courtney Francis and Adele DeBatz also provided hits for the Riptide.

The Pacific Coast girls under-12 Riptide softball team won the championship game of the Southern California ASA Turkey tournament. The 6-5 win added to the team's streak, winning 17 of the last 20 games. The Riptide advanced through the tournament unbeaten and only allowed eight runs in 28 innings, while scoring 29 runs. The team defeated Tustin, 1-0, in the semifinal game with no defensive errors. In the final, after the Riptide went into a tiebreaker in the eighth inning, Kira Mitani stepped up to the plate, slugged a run-producing hit that scored Brookie Migliori for the win. Kadee Malone had two home runs in the game, while Emma Zublin had one. Elizabeth Cramer caught for the entire 28 innings, Mitani and Mary Hamilton shared pitching duties and Jade Watts had numerous hits.

NEWPORT BEACH - Ashley Gleason pitched a no-hitter to lead the Riptide girls under 15 Travel Sox past Brea Hills, 10-0, Sunday at Bonita Creek Park in the second game of a doubleheader. Kyley Dill and Kelly Pfeifer each had two hits, while Heather Lohrman, Lauren Gega and Julianne Bass each had run-scoring singles for the Riptide. Sasha Grumman's perfect squeeze bunt drove in two runs, while Amie Benjamin sparked a three-run second inning with a double.

The Riptide, a girls under 15 traveling fastpitch softball team from the Pacific Coast Bobby Sox, crushed Tustin, 14-4, and, 12-1, Saturday in doubleheader action. In the opener, Ann Marie Topps hit two doubles and a triple, while Lauren Gega and Julianne Bass had two hits apiece. After an Amie Benjamin home run and an RBI double by Darci Pennington tied the game at 2-2, the Riptide sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine times in the fourth inning.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Two young men who disappeared while swimming Saturday are presumed drowned, authorities said Monday. A search for 24-year-old John Shua Lee and 20-year-old Shao Moua, both of Banning, was called off at sundown Saturday. Authorities have begun efforts to recover their bodies. At 2:38 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Beach lifeguards spotted four swimmers having trouble in high surf conditions south of the Huntington Beach Pier, said Huntington Beach Fire Department Spokesman Jeff Lopez.

NEWPORT BEACH - The Pacific Coast Bobby Sox Riptide White Team, a girls under 12 softball club, swept past East Anaheim, 8-5, and, 14-3, to capture the division championship with a 14-4 record. In the opener, pitchers Michelle Tolfa and Amanda Billing combined to shut out Anaheim through the first four innings, while the offense put eight runs on the scoreboard. The Riptide stole 19 bases in the game, six by Chelsea Kaplin. She also had two of the team's seven hits.

Sue Doyle NEWPORT BEACH -- A San Bernardino man who was pulled out to sea by a powerful riptide was still missing after the three-hour search for him ended Sunday night. Two boats and nine snorkelers scanned the ocean at 56th Street where the 39-year-old man was last seen swimming with three others around 5:17 p.m. Authorities saw the man just as a wave crashed on his head. He hasn't been seen since, said Randy Scheerer, battalion chief for the Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department.

The Blue Devils, an AYSO Region 57 boys under 12 team, shut out the Silver Baboons, 4-0, Monday. Goals were scored by Luke Griner, Peter Frankuchen, Tyler Ellis and Bryce Brunham with strong midfield play from Paul Bioche, Omeed Alipour, Andrew Gartner, Parker Rhodes, Christopher Wheeler and David Grant. In goal, Geoffrey Grant played well to preserve the shutout. In other boys under 12 action: Red Devils 2, Wedge 0 - Peter Broekelschen and Taylor Henderson each scored goals for the Red Devils, while Jonathan Gormley, Trevor Gladych, Alex Neff, Max Rollins and Spenser Singh anchored the defense.

Surf's up. Like, way up, dude. As we speak, read, write, whatever, the local beaches are hosting one of those impromptu spectaculars that Mother Nature puts on now and then. I would have thought she'd be exhausted after the fires in Arizona and Colorado, but I guess not. Maybe she gets bored. She does her beach shows with waves, sand and rocks, after an opening scene with a hurricane or an undersea earthquake. This weekend, it's a hurricane -- Hurricane Elida, which is behaving badly about 1,000 miles southeast of us. When hurricanes huff and puff, giant surf is what you get, even a thousand miles away.

Summer has not officially started yet, and already Newport-Mesa has had a harsh reminder: The ocean is as dangerous as it is inviting. Last month, a 12-year-old Santa Ana boy died after he swallowed too much water when taken under by a wave at Big Corona. Rescuers managed to pull out the 10-year-old girl he was with and save her. But the boy, Daniel Quijada, wasn't breathing by the time they got to him. He died two days later. There was no big surf the day Daniel was in the water.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Two young men who disappeared while swimming Saturday are presumed drowned, authorities said Monday. A search for 24-year-old John Shua Lee and 20-year-old Shao Moua, both of Banning, was called off at sundown Saturday. Authorities have begun efforts to recover their bodies. At 2:38 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Beach lifeguards spotted four swimmers having trouble in high surf conditions south of the Huntington Beach Pier, said Huntington Beach Fire Department Spokesman Jeff Lopez.

G.W. Mix, a Newport Coast resident, is definitely looking forward to Saturday. That’s when his team, the Los Angeles Riptide, plays in the New Balance Zip Major League Lacrosse semifinals against the Denver Outlaws. Mix, who also heads up a local youth program, the Newport Beach Dawgs, is the general manager of the Riptide. They’ll be playing at Harvard Stadium in Boston. The winner will play in the championship game the next day. Sunday’s championship game will air live on ESPN2.

A Kentucky man and his son were rescued from a rip current by Newport Beach lifeguards Friday afternoon, but the father died a short time later in the hospital, authorities said Saturday. The boy was released at the scene, and the man was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in serious condition. David Gichuru, 39, of Wilmore, Kentucky was pronounced dead at 3:11 p.m. Friday, authorities said. At 2:29 p.m., a unit lifeguard responded to two victims caught in a rip current, one of whom went face down into the water, according to a news release issued by the Fire Department.

A young boy and an adult male were rescued from a rip current by Newport Beach lifeguards Friday afternoon. The boy was released at the scene, and the man was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in serious condition. At 2:29 p.m., a unit lifeguard responded to two victims caught in a rip current, one of whom went face down into the water, according to a press release issued by the Fire Department. Both victims were pulled ashore, and the adult male was treated by lifeguards, firefighters and paramedics before going to Hoag.

The Newport-Mesa Riptide, a National Junior Basketball eighth-grade girls' all-star team, will compete this weekend at the NJB Nationals at various high schools around the area. The Riptide compete against Castro Valley on Saturday at 9:15 a.m. at Northwood High, then play Bakersfield at 11:45 a.m. at Tustin High. They finish the day at Fullerton High against San Jose, and the tournament continues through the championship on Sunday. Coach Don Daniels, who coaches along with Mike Tyre, said his Riptide team is just a complete team.

When lifeguard John Moore first spotted the seven teenagers swimming at Newport Beach, he thought it was just a bunch of kids playing hooky, having fun. A closer view, though, showed a rip current had pulled them too deep into the ocean, and it looked like they couldn't swim. Moore, who was on his routine patrol Monday morning, jumped out of his truck, called for backup, grabbed a buoy and sprinted to the surf. Ultimately he rescued all seven, but not before almost getting pulled under a couple of times as he tried to save the panicking teens.

Five years ago, when Barry Grumman took over what is now the Newport Beach Riptide Gold, an 18-and-under fastpitch softball travel team, the squadwas not exactly lighting the softball world on fire. Grumman, a Newport Beach attorney, was a coach in Pacific Coast Girls' Fastpitch Softball when his daughters, Samantha and Amanda, competed. Then he took over a floundering Riptide squad and set out to turn the program around with solid coaching and recruiting. It didn't take long for Grumman to lead the charge in turning around the club, which was a 16-and-under squad at the time and has since risen in ranks.

Former Orange Coast College quarterback and offensive coordinator Sean Ponder has been hired as the head coach of the San Diego Riptide of Arena Football League 2 and announced the signing of former Coast gridders Vince Strang and Brandon Hall. Ponder was chosen to take over the coaching ranks of the Riptide to replace Mouse Davis after the team went 8-8 last season and narrowly missed the playoffs. Ponder, who also acts as the interim team president, came to San Diego after three years with the Wichita Stealth.

The Pacific Coast girls under-12 Riptide softball team won the championship game of the Southern California ASA Turkey tournament. The 6-5 win added to the team's streak, winning 17 of the last 20 games. The Riptide advanced through the tournament unbeaten and only allowed eight runs in 28 innings, while scoring 29 runs. The team defeated Tustin, 1-0, in the semifinal game with no defensive errors. In the final, after the Riptide went into a tiebreaker in the eighth inning, Kira Mitani stepped up to the plate, slugged a run-producing hit that scored Brookie Migliori for the win. Kadee Malone had two home runs in the game, while Emma Zublin had one. Elizabeth Cramer caught for the entire 28 innings, Mitani and Mary Hamilton shared pitching duties and Jade Watts had numerous hits.

The Newport Beach Riptide, an 18-and-under fastpitch softball travel team, has earned a berth into the Amateur Softball Association national tournament, which will be in Clovis, Calif., Aug. 2-8. Riptide has gone 77-23-5 this season and is believed to be the first team from the Newport Beach area to reach the ASA national tournament at the 18-and-under age level. The Newport team includes Newport Harbor High's Julianne Bass and Sasha Grumman, as well as Corona del Mar's Heather Lohrman.