Baker, Smearer lead Paloma Valley to 8-1 baseball victory

Jaxon Baker hit a three-run home run and Brody Smearer allowed only one run while pitching a complete game as the Paloma Valley High School baseball team scored an 8-1 victory over Liberty Tuesday in the final Ivy League game of the season.

Baker finished with 4 RBIs, including an RBI groundout. Smearer went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Brandon Alley went 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 RBIs. The Wildcats pounded out 12 hits and made no errors.

On the mound, Smearer allowed 1 run on 6 hits. Paloma Valley is 18-9 overall and finished second in the Ivy League with an 11-4 record. Liberty is 11-1 overall and 9-6 for third place in league.

Paloma Valley ends the regular season Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. nonleague game at Mater Dei. CIF Southern Section playoff pairings will be announced on Monday.

In a Sunbelt League season finale, Heritage lost a 10-0 decision to JW North. Even so, the Patriots finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record and an 11-4 record in league play, good for first place.

In softball, Liberty scored an 8-7 victory over Paloma Valley, ending the regular season with an 18-9 overall record, 8-2 for second place in the Ivy League. The Bison scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead for good.

Emma Campos, Jennessy Lopez, Julianna Larson, Cheri LeDoux, Yasmine Lopez and Jolie Tompkins each had 2 hits for the Bison. Larson and Lopez hit home runs.

For Paloma Valley, Kayla McGee went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs. The Wildcats finished the season with a 10-13 record.

Elsewhere, Heritage finished the season with a 9-7 loss to JW North. Delilah Diaz went 3 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Natalia York was 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs. Aryah Phiakeo was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.