Eric Sondheimer

Los Angeles

Sports Reporter and Columnist at Los Angeles Times

Eric Sondheimer has been covering high school sports for the Los Angeles Times since 1997 and in Southern California since 1976. City Section HOF 2019.

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Articles

Prep Rally: St. John Bosco was the surprise of the baseball season

5 days ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. What a weekend it was for championships in baseball and softball. Memories of a lifetimeGoing into the 2025 baseball season, St. John Bosco was hardly on anyone’s mind as a potential Southern Section Division 1 champion. It was going to be the super team, Corona, or last season’s runner-up Huntington Beach.
Prep talk: Quarterback Gavin Gray of Agoura is back from injury

5 days ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

As the summer passing season moved into a high gear on Saturday with a tournament at Moorpark College, quarterback Gavin Gray of Agoura was all smiles. The 6-foot-5 senior is healthy again after suffering a season-ending leg injury during the fourth game last season. He had 1,142 yards passing and 12 touchdowns, then broke his tibia and fibula, tore ligaments in his foot and dislocated his ankle all on one play when tackled.
Prep talk: Freshman golfer Jaden Soong of St. Francis loves pressure

6 days ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

Jaden Soong, a freshman golfer at St. Francis High, thrives under pressure. “I will say I like pressure,” he said. Twice in the last two weeks, he has won playoffs to keep his season going. But the story of his first playoff win is comedy at its best. He had left the Temecula Creek Golf Club at the Southern Section individual championships after concluding he had failed to qualify for the SCGA regionals and stopped at Jack in the Box to get food for the ride home.
Prep baseball: West Ranch defeats Mater Dei to capture Southern Section Division 2 title

6 days ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

It was a night when gnats came out by the hundreds at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field. Fans swatted them away. Players endured. “In my ears, on my eyes,” said West Ranch pitcher Hunter Manning of the insect invasion.
Prep baseball: West Ranch defeats Mater Dei to capture Southern Section Division 2 title

6 days ago | aol.com | Eric Sondheimer

It was a night when gnats came out by the hundreds at Cal State Fullerton's Goodwin Field. Fans swatted them away. Players endured. "In my ears, on my eyes," said West Ranch pitcher Hunter Manning of the insect invasion.
Prep softball: Norco wins its seventh Southern Section championship

6 days ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

From the beginning of the season, Norco was considered the team to beat in Southern Section Division 1 softball. There were a few blips along the way, but the Cougars proved Saturday night they are No. 1. Norco (29-3) won its seventh Southern Section softball title with a 3-0 victory over El Modena at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. A three-run fifth inning was all the Cougars needed to support sophomore pitcher Coral Williams, who limited hot-hitting El Modena to one hit while striking out nine.
Prep softball: Norco wins its seventh Southern Section championship

6 days ago | aol.com | Eric Sondheimer

From the beginning of the season, Norco was considered the team to beat in Southern Section Division 1 softball. There were a few blips along the way, but the Cougars proved Saturday night they are No. 1. Norco (29-3) won its seventh Southern Section softball title with a 3-0 victory over El Modena at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. A three-run fifth inning was all the Cougars needed to support sophomore pitcher Coral Williams, who limited hot-hitting El Modena to one hit while striking out nine.
Prep talk: Top-seeded Norco goes for seventh Southern Section softball title

1 week ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

Norco High’s softball program under coach Richard Robinson has been setting the standard for excellence in the Southern Section for years. The top-seeded Cougars will seek to add a seventh section title on Saturday in the Division 1 final against El Modena in a 7 p.m. game at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. This team has lots of top hitters. Leighton Gray is batting .455 with 40 hits, eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Ashley Duran has six home runs, 34 RBIs and a .438 batting average.
St. John Bosco wins Division 1 baseball championship on Miles Clark’s walk-off single

1 week ago | latimes.com | Eric Sondheimer

To say that St. John Bosco and Santa Margarita engaged in a championship baseball game on Friday night that will be remembered for a lifetime would be an understatement. “This game was special, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. You really had to fight for it,” said St. John Bosco left fielder Noah Everly. It was a Southern Section Division 1 final filled with drama.
Prep softball: Marina wins Southern Section Division 3 championship

1 week ago | sanluisobispo.com | Eric Sondheimer

Marina won the Southern Section Division 3 softball championship with an 8-1 win over Westlake in Irvine on Friday. Aviana Valbuena had three hits and four RBIs. Sister Mia Valbuena struck out 13 with one walk. Marina improved to 19-13. Los Alamitos won the Division 2 championship with a 3-0 win over JSerra that took 10 innings. Cienna Kowaleski hit a two-run home run in the 10th to end a great pitching duel. JSerra's Liliana Escobar struck out 16.