University’s Andrew Knoell, boys swimming athlete of the week. (DAN ALBANO, STAFF)
Bol Bol, second from left, stands with his Mater Dei teammates during the National Anthem before the start of their game against Orange Lutheran in Orange on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange sophomore Angel Franco. (Photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Valencia’s Kenadee Honaker scores past Mater Dei’s Sarah Rahon during the Monarchs’ 53-45 victory in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Division II Regional playoffs at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. (Photo by KEVIN SULLIVAN, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sunny Hills’ Luke Ross goes up for a layup against Capistrano Valley’s Grayson Beeman at Capistrano Valley High on Friday, February 17, 2017 in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
JSerra’s Peter Esparza puts up a shot over Santa Margarita’s Adrease Jackson during a Trinity League game on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)
Capistrano Valley’s Dawson Baker is the Register’s boys basketball athlete of the week for Monday, March 6, 2017. (Courtesy Capistrano Valley High)
Sonora’s Meghann Henderson shoots against Troy during a Freeway League girls basketball game at Troy High, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
Rosary’s Alexandria Iannone, right, and Serra’s Monique Smith scramble for possesion of a loose ball during the CIF Southern California Division III Regional Championship in Anaheim on Saturday, March 18, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Yorba Linda’s Luke Adams is brought down by Burbank’s Miguel Vasquez during the CIF-SS Division 8 championship game on Dec. 2, 2016. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)
Orange soccer players, from left, David Ortiz, Ali Ocampo, Gbanzi Benjamin Asabi, Eddy Ojeda and Angel Franco, front, on Tuesday, November 15, 2016. (Photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Edison quarterback Griffin O’Connor broke two school passing records this season while leading the Chargers to the CIF-SS Division 3 championship. Edison will face San Clemente on Saturday night in the CIF State Regionals. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)
Sunny Hills head coach Joe Ok talks to his players in a huddle before a CIF-SS Division 2A second round game against Capistrano Valley at Capistrano Valley High on Friday, February 17, 2017 in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Mater Dei’s Bol Bol, right, controls the boards against Chino Hills in the fourth period during the CIF-SS Open Division semifinal playoff in Los Angeles on Friday, February 24, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Buried in the cluster, Mission Viejo’s Joey Garman is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against Capistrano Valley on Thursday. Mission Viejo won, 6-0. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mater Dei’s Spencer Freedman, center, is bumped to the floor as he tries to put up a shot with seconds left in the fourth period against Chino Hills during the CIF-SS Open Division semifinal playoff in Los Angeles on Friday, February 24, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Myles Franklin signs his commitment letter to Northeastern He has lead the Spartans to 7-2 start this season.
A Mater Dei fan yells out a cheer for her team at the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinal playoff game against Rancho Cucamonga in Costa Mesa on Friday, November 25, 2016. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
San Clemente cheerleaders compare nail color prior to the CIF-SS Division 2 playoff game against Valencia in San Clemente on Friday, November 25, 2016. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Western center Erika Trujillo fires a shot against La Quinta in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Garden Grove on Tuesday. The senior scored five goals in the Pioneers’ 14-5 victory.
Santa Ana dancer, Dalia Garcia is crowned Homecoming Queen in a Golden West League game against Ocean View at Santa Ana Stadium. (MICHAEL FERNANDEZ, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
Bolsa Grande’s Muadh Abdulhakim and Derick Tran celebrate Abdulhakim’s free throw during the first quarter of a Garden Grove League game against Garden Grove at Garden Grove High School on Friday. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Los Alamitos’ Bayley Weber scored a penalty shot with seven seconds left to lift the Griffins past Huntington Beach, 10-9, at Newport Harbor on Wednesday night.
Troy’s Kianna Smith shoots against Sonora during a Freeway League girls basketball game at Troy High, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)
Rosary players cheer their victory in the final seconds of the game. Rosary was playing Leuzinger in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Division III regional playoffs in Fullerton, CA on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. (Photo by Bill Alkofer,Orange County Register/SCNG)
Costa Mesa’s Elliot Hachac is the Register’s boys cross country athlete of the week for Monday, Nov. 7, 2016.
Capistrano Valley head coach Ernst Bucher, left, walks off the field carrying the runner-up plaque as captains Kevin Brown and Matthew Slymen follow after the Cougars’ 35-14 loss to Calabasas in the CIF-SS Division 5 championship game at Capistrano Valley High in Mission Viejo, Calif. on Saturday, December 3, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
<p>Alexis, right, Breanna and Mikayla Novak, all 8 years old, pose near the Jacuzzi in the back of their Mission Viejo home.</p>
Villa Park’s Myles Franklin soars to the rim over Canyon’s Jordan Holden for two of his 22 points Friday night.
Sunny Hills’ Paul Kim drives against Capistrano Valley’s Dawson Baker during a CIF-SS Division 2A second round game at Capistrano Valley High on Friday, February 17, 2017 in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Sunny Hills’ Ryan Shaw shoots while defended by Capistrano Valley’s Nic Lipovic during a CIF-SS Division 2A second round game at Capistrano Valley High on Friday, February 17, 2017 in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
</p><p>ANAHEIM — Will Smith acknowledged it.</p><p>“I think we were desperate for something to go our way and it finally happened tonight,” he said after the Dodgers rode an overturned call and a well-placed divot on the basepath to a 2-0 victory over the Angels in the opener of the southern edition of this year’s Freeway Series.</p><p>The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Dodgers. The Angels, meanwhile, lost for just the fourth time in their past 15 games.</p><p>“Sometimes you’re going to need a lucky hop and we got that with Buschy’s (Michael Busch’s) ground ball to first,” Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw said. “We needed that. There’s no doubt. Between the overturned call in the fourth (inning) and that one (in the eighth) – for some reason it was our day today. We’ll take it and hopefully get some more of that tomorrow.”</p><p>The Dodgers and Angels both would gladly take some more of the kind of starting pitching they got Tuesday. Squaring off from opposite ends of the career spectrum, Kershaw and Reid Detmers dueled through seven scoreless innings.</p><p>“It’s awesome,” Detmers said of facing Kershaw. “Obviously growing up watching him, getting to face him in spring training, and then actually getting to face him in the regular season, that’s something special. Obviously, he showed what he’s capable of tonight. It was just fun to go up and compete against him.”</p><p>One of three Louisville first-round draftees in the house for this series (along with Smith and Bobby Miller), <a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/06/20/angels-reid-detmers-rides-re-tooled-slider-to-his-best-game-of-the-season/”>Detmers was nearly untouchable for his seven innings</a>. The Dodgers had just two singles and a walk. Only Freddie Freeman made it to second base, stealing it after leading off the fourth with that walk. The Dodgers advanced him no further.</p><p>Detmers finished with eight strikeouts and has an 0.98 ERA over his past three starts with 24 strikeouts and six walks in 18⅓ innings.</p><p>“Detmers threw the ball really well. He’s got good stuff,” Kershaw said. “I mean, he pitched better than I did, honestly. He didn’t give up many hard-hit balls at all tonight.”</p><p>Indeed. Kershaw had more work to do than Detmers.</p><p>Perfect for seven innings at Angel Stadium last July, he didn’t allow a hit until Brandon Drury singled through the middle with two outs in the fourth inning. Hunter Renfroe followed with a one-hop double off the wall in center field and it looked like the Angels would score first.</p><p>They did, briefly. The relay throw from Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas was up the first-base line, pulling Smith wide of home plate. Smith made an outstanding play, short-hopping the throw and diving back to the plate to meet a diving Drury there.</p><p>The original call by home plate umpire Sean Barber was safe. But the Dodgers challenged the call and (after an extended review) it was overturned, leaving the game scoreless – and Angels manager Phil Nevin disgruntled.</p><p>“Clear and definitive? I don’t get it,” Nevin said. “He maybe touched his eyelash. You can’t see because the dirt is popped up. We’ve had a couple like that that are just baffling to me. Maybe they had a different angle. I don’t know, but I’m just really confused on how this replay system works. Just get rid of it. Because the umpires are really good. Let them work the game.”</p><p>If Nevin was upset about the dirt popping up on that play, he wasn’t going to like the eighth inning.</p><p>The Angels put runners at second and third with no outs in the seventh but Kershaw worked out of it.</p><p>The Dodgers celebrated Detmers’ departure in the eighth inning with a one-out double by Rojas off Angels reliever Chris Devenski. Michael Busch followed with a hard ground ball at first baseman Kevin Padlo. But the ball hit something in the basepath, bouncing high over Padlo’s head and into right field for an RBI single.</p><p>“When I got the hit (two batters later), Padlo goes, ‘Did you kick the dirt and put holes over here?’” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I wish I could take credit for that. But that was a massive hop. Glad it happened for us.”</p><p>Freeman’s single sent Busch to third and Smith drove him in with an RBI single.</p><p>The first Dodgers starting pitcher <a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/06/08/kershaw-dodgers-dodge-sweep-in-cincinnati/”>to go seven innings since he did it on June 8 (also scoreless)</a>, Kershaw left little to be asked of the Dodgers’ bullpen. Considering their 7.81 ERA in June coming into the game, that was a good plan.</p><p>Roberts went with Caleb Ferguson in the eighth to face the top of the order. He struck out Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout (ending Ohtani’s 15-game hitting streak). Evan Phillips handled the ninth flawlessly.</p><p>“Our ground balls went to somebody in those spots and theirs just out of the reach of somebody. So that’s the way the game is,” Nevin said. “I thought it was a great baseball game all around. It was fun to be a part of. I love those back-and-forth pitching duels. I thought it was a really fun night at the ballpark. It just didn’t go our way.”</p><p></p>
