Regular Season Ends for Venice High Squads

The regular season has wrapped up at and the Gondoliers have wound up the 2010-11 year with three league titles--all coming in the fall when the football, boys water polo and girls volleyball teams each won the . Now, it's playoff time for the spring sports and some have already started. Here's a closer look:

Baseball

The Gondoliers wrapped up their season Tuesday with an ugly yet thrilling 7-6 win over Hamilton in eight innings. The team finished 16-7 on the year, and is hoping its body of work is good enough to make the playoffs.

“We have to hold our breath for the next week and a half or so," Coach said. "We are square on the bubble, and I think it’s largely because we peaked after the Palisades win and lost some games we shouldn’t have. If we don’t make it, we have no one to blame but ourselves."

Softball

The girls have struggled down the stretch, losing three of their last four games. The Gondoliers split a pair of Spring Fling tournament games last weekend, being edged by Gardena 6-5 and routing Torres 20-2. 

On Monday, Venice suffered a tough 10-1 loss to Westchester, which finished second in the Western League behind Palisades. That wrapped up their league season in third place at 8-4, with all of their losses coming to Palisades and Westchester. 

“We actually played really well in the Westchester game, we just had one really bad inning," Coach  said. "We gave up six runs in the fifth inning and that buried us."

The Gondoliers play their final two games of the Spring Fling on Saturday when they host Reseda at 9 a.m. and King-Drew Medical at 10:45 a.m. at Venice High.

Volleyball

The boys spikers wrapped up their regular season in convincing fashion, sweeping host Hamilton 3-0 Monday. The win gave the Gondoliers an 11-17-2 overall mark and a 6-6 league record, good enough for fourth place. 

The brackets have been released and Venice is seeded No. 10 in the playoffs. The Gondoliers will travel to the San Fernando Valley to take on No. 7 Monroe in the first round at 7 p.m. next Tuesday. 

“I don’t know a whole lot about them at this point, but I know that if we can cut down on our errors and play our game we should be fine," Coach said. "If the kids can’t get focused for this then they won’t get up for anything."

Tennis

The boys team won its first round playoff match in the , beating 10th-seeded Verdugo Hills 19-9 ½ on Wednesday. You can read the full recap .

On Friday afternoon, the seventh-seeded Gondoliers faced a familiar foe in league rival Hamilton, the No. 2 seed in the tournament. 

Swimming

The boys and girls swimming and diving teams are preparing for the Western League championship meet next Tuesday at Palisades. Even though Coach understands that Palisades is the big favorite, she has one goal for her Gondoliers teams.

“Pali is one of the best teams in the City and I know that they're going to win, but I want out kids to solidify themselves at second," Sabbah said. "After the boys tied against LACES, there may be some doubt, but I know if we do our best we will get second, which I will be happy with.”

Now let’s take a closer look at the teams at :

Baseball

The baseball team showed no apparent rust after its three-week break, routing Harbor Teacher Prep 13-4 on Monday. The team has three regular season games remaining, starting with a home game against Community Harvest at the complex on Friday at 3 p.m. 

Softball

The softball team came back from its nearly one month-long break Friday when it hosted Community Harvest at Oakwood Recreation Center. The Pirates wrap up the season Monday at 3 p.m. against Animo Robinson at .