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HIGHLIGHTS SPORTS APRIL 10, 2014
Freshman Gaon gets starting nod, follows brother Jessica Lu news editor Third baseman and pitcher Grant Gaon has played baseball since he was six, and now starts on the varsity baseball team. Gaon believes that his efforts in improving his game enabled him to land a spot on the varsity team as a ninth grader. “I worked hard, and that’s why I start,” he said. Assistant Coach Gregg Riesenberg said Gaon joined the team after basketball season ended, taking a couple of weeks to get accustomed to baseball. It was Gaon’s prior experience that enabled him to stand out to the coaches. “He was a kid who really shined,” Riesenberg said. “A couple of weeks into the season we gave him the opportunity to practice and play with JV and varsity and he did quite well.” A couple of games into the season, Gaon started as third baseman in a varsity baseball game, and according to Riesenberg, “did very well.” “He gives more options as far as lineups and what’s good for the time,” Riesenberg said. Catcher Jackson Martin felt that Gaon’s game has been improving throughout preseason
and season. “Grant has done a great job,” he said. “He’s really developed a lot and exceed a lot of expectations.” Pitcher and outfielder Maxwell Martin said that Gaon’s move up to varsity accounts for the team’s 7-2 record. In addition, according to Jackson, Gaon added to the team dynamic with his skills and teamwork. “We have a lot of fun with Grant on the team and call him ‘Dippy,’” Jackson said. Riesenberg also found Gaon to be a positive presence on the team. “He’s always willing to listen to coaches, works hard and always is appreciative,” he said. Grant is following his older brother Zach’s path; Zach carried the same position on the team before graduating last year. “I thought he had a great career at Beverly and wanted to follow his footsteps, but I have higher goals,” he said. He added that his brother helped him get into the game of baseball. “He showed me how to play and how to play it right,” he said. Riesenberg also coached Zach,
and though he believes the two are different players, he can see their similarities. “They both love baseball and work really hard,” he said. Jackson felt that Zach had an impact on Gaon’s game. “He’d told me that going to Dodger games with his brother has really improved his play at third base,” Jackson said. “Like his brother Zach, he models his game after veteran dodger player Juan Uribe, the third baseman.” Overall, Martin feels that the brothers are strong players. “Grant has a lot of potential,” he said. “He is playing really well against hard competition. Zach was one of our best players last year and Grant’s going to be the future of the team in a couple of years.” Riesenberg sees potential for Gaon to play in college. “He has a lot of desire to play,” he said. “If he works hard, he has potential to possibly play at the next level.” For now, Gaon is focused on finishing the rest of the season strongly. “I want to win; that’s all I want,” he said. “[I will] do anything I can to make this team win.”
JACKSON PRINCE
Gaon practices with the team at La Cienega Park on April 7.
‘Baseball Swing’ concert performs at Annenberg Audrey James staff writer Baseball Swing hails the attachment between baseball and music with a concert featuring more than 2,000 images and videos from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum forming connections between the music played by the All-Star Baseball Jazz Band. Baseball Swing is a musical that presents a nine-piece jazz band performing baseball hits such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Say Hey,” “Baseball Boogie” and “Knock It Out of the Park.” Sang
by a quartet of singers, Adrian Zmed, Terri White, Terron Brooks and Angela Pupello, and an announcer, played by Fred Willard. The four singers also act out scenes during the entirety of the musical. From spectators in the stands to a batter getting ready to make a home-run, the actors play out all of the aspects of the game, making the audience feel like they’re in Dodger Stadium. The musical is co-produced and co-commissioned by the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Baseball Music Project. The Baseball
Music Project was founded by a group of professional musicians who are passionate baseball fans and hope to foster greater awareness of the cultural lineage and historical significance of music written about baseball. Those who were weary of how entertaining the musical would be, because they aren’t captivated by the game of baseball, would have had a great time at the show with the array of cheerfully spirited singing dancing. With the light heartedness of the band’s jazz music and the spirit you’d expect from being in Dodger Stadium,
Baseball Swing can be single handedly described as a jubilant musical that calls attention to the importance of baseball’s influence on Americans from the early 1900s. But is able to highlight the game with musical excellence that keeps even the youngest of audiences dancing in their seats. Lou Moore, Executive Director of The Wallis, spoke to the Beverly Hills Patch about how the musical is able to entertain diverse audiences, from the youngest to the oldest members of a family with its kindred charm. “Baseball Swing is weekend of
concerts for the whole family to have fun and celebrate the great American pastime,” Moore said. “I was amazed to find that there are hundreds of songs written over the past decades about baseball and a few of the sport’s greatest players and we are happy to share a few of them with our audiences here at The Wallis. Baseball Swing, a part of the Jack Elliott Family Concert Series, had four performances from April 4-6, 2014, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
Upcoming Games Baseball
Softball
Fri., April 11 vs. El Segundo
Thurs. , April 10 vs. Morningside
Fri., April 11 vs. Peninsula
Thurs., April 24 vs. Morningside
Tues., April 29 vs. Hawthorne
Wed. , April 23 vs. Mira Costa
Thurs., May 1 vs. Hawthorne
Fri., May 9 vs. Alumni
Wed., April 30 vs. Downey
Boys Lacrosse Boys Volleyball
Boys Tennis
Track/Field
Fri., April 10 vs. Inglewood
Thurs. , April 24 Thurs. , May 1 vs. Inglewood Ocean League Meet Tues. , April 22 Wed., April 30 vs. Morningside vs. Culver Girls Lacrosse Tues., May 6 Wed., May 7 Fri. , April 25 vs. Samo Ocean League vs. Culver Singles CIF begins week of May 12