Page 9 - Dinuba Sentinel 8-9-18 E-edition

Sports
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Lee relishing his role as a reliever
“I just come out of the bullpen and attack the bat- ters,”
- Former DHS pitcher Dylan Lee on his role as a reliever for the Triple A New Orleans Baby Cakes
The Dinuba Sentinel
Former Dinuba High pitcher Dylan Lee was recently promoted to the New Orleans Baby Cakes, the Triple A affiliation of the Miami Marlins. Lee was assigned to the Baby Cakes from the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (AA) on July 28.
Orosi Football
Cardinals braces for a road heavy schedule
won a playoff game before falling to Strathmore 28-20. The Spartans went on to claim the CIF State 6-AA crown.
White says the team has 29 players on the roster and hopes the injury bug won’t strike during the season.
“We got 29 guys, we’ve got to stay healthy,” White said. “We played ironman football last year. I play guys on both sides of the ball at multiple positions. Everybody plays.”
The Cardinals will be missing some key players from last year’s championship team including losing four of five offensive linemen.
“We should be halfway decent,” White said. “We had to rebuild the offensive line which is going to be good because they’re all young and all sophomores and juniors. Next year, our whole line should be returning, it’s going to be amazing then but this year it’s going to take a bit of time to gel.”
See Cardinals, Page B6
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Former Dinuba
High standout
Dylan Lee assigned
to New Orleans
His high school coach Brent Morelli says watching Lee’s progress has been exciting.
“We’re all excited to see him doing special things,” Morelli said. “It’s exciting not only for him but for the entire community, and he’s just a good person.”
After his prep days were over at DHS, Lee went on to play at the College of the Sequoias and eventually signed to play for Fresno State. Lee caught the attention of the Marlins organization and was selected in the 10th round.
At COS, Lee had an outstanding sophomore campaign leading the Giants with a 13-1 record and 2.34 ERA. He was an all-state selection and was the Central Valley Conferences Pitcher of the Year. His 13 wins is a school record for a season.
Now as a reliever prospect for the
See Lee, Page B6
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Dylan Lee has no qualms coming out of the bullpen and firing strikes.
The 6-foot-4, 210 pound left hander from Dinuba has been on point as a reliever for the Triple A New Orleans Baby Cakes.
“I just come out of the bullpen and attack the batters,” Lee said during a phone interview prior to the Baby Cakes’ game against Albuquerque. “I get pumped.”
Lee has done very well adjusting from his days as a starting pitcher.
Parker Waters | Special to The Sentinel
Orosi High football coach Ben White talks to his team after a morning practice on Saturday. The Cardinals will be playing a majority of their games this season on the road as their stadium is being renovated.
Poor air quality has teams weighing options
District Superintendent Yolanda Valdez says they are in constant contact with Orosi High School Athletic Director Ken Sawatzky in monitoring the air quality and conditions..
With school set to begin on Tuesday, Valdez stated that the district has plans in place for the safety of the students.
“On bad air days we keep the students in,” she said. “Each site has a plan for these types of things. Student safety is very important.”
Coaches are also taking precautions by scheduling practice in the early morning hours and providing athletes with plenty of water breaks.
There is no telling how this will affect scheduled scrimmages and games that will take place over the next few weeks in Dinuba and Orosi.
In extreme cases, both districts have previously made modifications to in-season games and matches such as delaying game start times and rescheduling.
Youth football teams are also tracking the air quality. Most recently the All Valley Youth Football league cancelled practices that affected all teams including Orosi and Dinuba.
Dinuba High cross country coach Lucas Lichtenwaldt said his team has been practicing later in the day when the air quality is a little better.
“We have a few athletes who work and they get off late, so we’ve been practicing at a later time,” Lichtenwaldt said. “It hasn’t affected us to drastically. There have been times when we have run in the morning.”
Lichtenwaldt says that he checks his mobile phone to keep track of the air quality.
“The athletic director will send us a reminder when it gets bad.” Lichtenwaldt said.
George M. Villagrana | The Dinuba Sentinel
Orosi High School football coach Ben White doesn’t mind the team playing a majority of their season away from home.
The Cardinals had some success on the road a year ago but won’t see action in front of their home crowd until possibly October. Orosi is having their stadium completely renovated and it is projected to be completed later in the fall. Until then, Orosi will have some traveling to do.
“We played very well last year on the road,” White said. “We won a playoff game on the road. Sometimes there’s less pressure when you play away, players are more loose away than at home.”
Orosi is hoping to carry over some of the momentum it had a season ago when the Cardinals finished with an 8-4 overall record. The Cardinals
Dinuba Football
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
The combination of poor air quality and high temperatures are making local athletic teams scramble to find ways to practice as their season openers are right around the corner.
Dinuba and Orosi Unified School Districts administrators and coaches are keeping a watchful eye on the Air Quality Index as it spiked to unhealthy late Monday afternoon.
The combination of the wildfires in Northern California and the on-going Ferguson fire have made conditions worse in the Valley.
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School
George M. Villagrana | The Sentinel
Dinuba High School’s football team added two traditional juggernauts to its schedule this year as the Emperors will be ready to host Redwood and Edison High.
Youth football teams in Orosi and Dinuba have had to cancel practices due to the poor air quality.
Dinuba High School football coach Kevin Scharton and the Emperors are coming off an impressive 11-2 season and are the defending Central Sequoia League champions.
Emps welcomes tough opposition
Redwood, Edison and Hanford West on DHS schedule
Coach Kevin Scharton said he handed Dinuba its only two losses of the
By George M. Villagrana
welcomes the challenge.
“We definitely will be battle tested
before we get to league,” said Scharton. “I’d like to say we picked up a heck of a preseason. We have Redwood, El Diamante and Edison coming here to our place. That should be good not only for our football program but for the community.”
Last season, the Emperors had an outstanding season as they reached the Central Section Divison 2 title game before falling to Tulare. The Tribe
season. Still, it was quite a season for the the Emperors who claimed the Central Sequoia League title and finished with an 11-2 overall record.
This season Scharton is looking at trying to fill in some key losses on offense. The Emperors lost their top receivers and will be missing another player at running back who could return by the fourth game of the season, according to Scharton.
See DHS, Page B6
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
George M. Villagrana | The Dinuba Sentinel