Venice Teams Continue League Play

While many schools in Los Angeles are on spring break, sports teams will be busy playing out their league schedules this week. Some will be taking on powerhouse Palisades, while others are jockeying for first-place position.

Baseball

The Gondoliers have started out on fire in play, winning all three of their games last week. Now they must prepare for a two-game set against defending champion Palisades, which struggled through a tough preseason schedule but has since breezed to a 4-0 league start.

“We need to play better to keep up with schools like Palisades," Venice Coach said. "Against Fairfax, we made a lot of mistakes that we were able to get away with. We won’t get away with it this week.”

The first game will be at Palisades High on Tuesday at 3 p.m., with the second game scheduled for the same time Thursday at Venice.

Softball

The Gondoliers didn’t look rusty after a two-week, rain-induced hiatus when they beat Fairfax 13-9 last week. This week they play back-to-back Western League games. They will host Westchester on Monday at 3 p.m., then continue a game at Hamilton on Tuesday that was postponed due to rain two weeks ago.

“We played two innings against Hamilton and were up 8-0 but it was stopped for the rain," Coach . "I would have loved to play it out since we were playing well, but I’m sure we will pick up where we left off this week."

Volleyball

The boys volleyball team is starting the second round of Western League play this week after going 3-3 in the first round. On Wednesday, the Gondoliers' varsity squad will host Fairfax, a team it lost to 3-1 early in the year,  after the junior varsity match.

“We are a lot better now than we were then," Venice coachsaid. "I still think we have room for improvement but I’m excited to see where we stand by playing a team that we’ve already played. I think we are good enough to beat every team in the league this time around, except for maybe Palisades."

On Friday, the Gondoliers will travel to Woodland Hills to take on Taft in a nonleague match at 7 p.m.

Tennis

The boys team will have a rematch with Palisades this week after being swept by the Dolphins 7-0 at home last week. The Gondoliers' opportunity for redemption will be on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Palisades Recreation Center, but Coach knows his team will have to be at its best to have any chance.

“Palisades is far and away the best team in the league," Chew said. "They have so many ranked players that all of them can’t play. It’s certainly going to be a tall task, but it will also be a good learning tool.”

The Gondoliers will have to turn around quickly, as they will welcome Fairfax to the Venice High courts on Wednesday for another 2:30 p.m. match.

Now let’s take a look at the week ahead at :

Baseball

The Pirates will be looking to improve on their 5-1 record so far this season with three games this week. First, they welcome Port of Los Angeles on Monday at 3 p.m. On Wednesday, they will hit the road to take on Elizabeth Learning Center before traveling to Amino Robinson for another 3 p.m. game Friday.

Softball

After a rough start the Pirates will be looking to get out of their funk with two more games this week. First, they will host Port of Los Angeles on Monday at 3 p.m. Then they have three days to rest before taking on Amino Robinson at home Friday at 3 p.m.