Sports

With that infectious love for the game as her guiding light, Hernandez Marquez was the driving force behind Aptos High’s success over the last four seasons. An All-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League First Team selection as a freshman, the league’s forward of the year her sophomore year and the SCCAL’s Most Valuable Player each of the last two seasons, Hernandez Marquez can now add another accomplishment to her long list.

In the end, however, the Mustangs (19-11) buckled down and held off the Hawks’ (18-12) improbable comeback with a 25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 18-25, 15-7 heart-pounding victory to corral the NorCal Division V title.

Santa Cruz Warriors forward Javan Johnson finished with a season-best 22 points in a 121-118 overtime loss to the Valley Suns at Mullett Arena on Thursday night.  Johnson drained six 3-pointers, while teammate Kevin Knox II followed closely behind with 20 points and nine rebounds....

According to former Watsonville baseball coach James Gomez, Rivera is the first player from the program to be drafted since Rene Rascon was selected by the Florida Marlins in the fifth round of the 1995 draft.

Only three players that were signed with Santa Cruz last season return to the team and head coach Casey Hill, who led the franchise to a championship in 2015 and is now the leader of the Agua Caliente Clippers, is also gone, replaced by first-time head coach Aaron Miles in July.

The coaches from the MBL-P recently honored Gio Gonzalez for his overpowering tosses, naming him the league’s Pitcher of the Year.

The Cabrillo College football team began the season with a 31-7 thumping of Contra Costa College in non-conference play.