TWO MAYORS TO MISS THEIR OWN EAST COUNTY MAYORS PRAYER LUNCHEON, THURSDAY, MAY 2 IN EL CAJON; BOTH WILL BE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AT SEPARATE EVENTS
Printer-friendly version East County News Service April 26, 2019 (El Cajon) – The East County Mayors Prayer Luncheon will be held on the National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 2, at Foothills Christian Church, 365 West Bradley Ave., El Cajon. The public is invited to attend. The annual event, held on the first Thursday in May to coincide with the National Day of Prayer, features a hands-on collaboration gathering of government, business and church leaders with one goal in mind, to improve East County communities for the better. The event will feature prayers for the mayors of the four East County cities, including El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee and Lemon Grove, and for all East County residents. In previous years, the event also has included brief comments from the mayors, but this year will be different. Two of the East County mayors will be out of town, both of them will be in Washington, D.C. Absent will be Bill Wells of El Cajon and John Minto of Santee. Wells has been invited by President Trump to attend the National Day of Prayer event in Washington, D.C. Wells said the President read an essay he wrote and, as a result, he received an invitation to the nation’s capital. The essay, “How Donald Trump is the Christian Hero We Never Expected,” was published in Charisma News, a Christian-based news outlet. https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/75555-how-donald-trump-is-the-christian-hero-we-never-expected. Ironically, Minto also will be in Washington, D.C., May 1-2, for meetings with elected California Congressional representatives and staff members. Minto said he will be seeking construction money to improve Highway 52 as part of the Highway 52 Coalition (www.fixthe52.com). Standing in for Minto and Wells at the East County Mayors Prayer Luncheon will be Santee City Councilman Ronn Hall and El Cajon City Councilman Steve Goble, respectively. Also speaking will be Mark Arapostathis of La Mesa and Racquel Vasquez of Lemon Grove. Also invited to speak will be two candidates running for an open seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, District 2, in the 2020 election. District 2, the largest of the county’s five districts, covers much of the East County. It covers more than 2,000 square miles and 50 communities and cities with more than 620,000 East County residents. The two candidates include Joel Anderson, former State Assemblyman and State Senator; Steve Vaus, mayor of Poway since 2014. Much of the supervisorial district overlaps the same communities as the State Assembly and State Senate districts previously served by Anderson. Over the last 12 years in Sacramento, Anderson at some point has represented 86.4 percent of the County’s District 2, and 78.2 percent most recently as a State Senator. Vaus’s Poway community represents 5.56 percent of the County’s District 2. Organizers said it will be Vaus’ first time ever to attend in the event’s six-year history. The two candidates are running to replace Dianne Jacob, first elected as Supervisor in 1992, who is termed out after six terms. The keynote speaker at this year’s East County Mayors Prayer Luncheon will be Mark Hoffman (right), senior pastor at Foothills Christian Church. A La Mesa native and East County pastor for the past 40 years, Hoffman was a pastor’s son but quit Christianity while attending Helix High School in La Mesa. He later became an alcoholic. But, at age 23, he experienced a dramatic conversion and was called into Christina ministry. Hoffman and his brother Dave Hoffman, also a pastor, merged their two churches in 1987 to form Foothills Christian Church. This year’s event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the National Anthem performed by OneAchord Choir, a 40-voice group of teenagers from Heritage Christian School in San Diego. The event also will include the honoring of those in military service and first responders. Lunch service will begin at 12:20 p.m. Cost to attend is $25 per person, or $225 for a table of 10. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mayorsprayerlunch.com. For more event information, call (619) 442-7728 or (619) 444-7200, or send an e-mail to t.ashland@goteamec.com. The National Day of Prayer, an annual observance held on the first Thursday in May, invites people of faith to pray for the nation based on an understanding that the country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible. The date was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Its purpose is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. Printer-friendly version
SAN DIEGO STATE SOFTBALL FALLS AT COLORADO STATE 9-0
Printer-friendly version Rams stop Aztecs’ three-game winning streak Source: goaztecs.com Photo courtesy goaztecs.com April 26, 2019 (Fort Collins, Colo.) – The San Diego State softball team lost its series opener at No. 25 Colorado State, 9-0, in six innings Friday afternoon in Fort Collins, Colo. The Aztecs had their three-game winning streak snapped and are now 20-23 on the season and 7-9 in Mountain West play, while the Rams improved to 35-7 and 16-3. SDSU had the early scoring opportunities, but was unable to get a run across the plate. San Diego State first threatened in the top of the first when Katie Byrd hit a one-out double and Shelby Thompson followed with a single up the middle. Byrd raced home on the play but was thrown out by centerfielder Ashley Michelena. After retiring CSU in order in the bottom of the first, San Diego State loaded the bases with two outs in the second on back-to-back singles by Alicia Garcia and Aris Metcalfe, and a walk to Kristen Parker. Colorado State pitcher Bridgette Hutton, however, struck out Kiera Wright swinging to get out of the jam. The Rams took advantage of their first scoring opportunity in the second when a two-out single by Isabella Navarro scored Lauren Buchanan from second base. Colorado State added to its lead in the third as Ashley Ruiz hit a three-run home run, once again with two outs. Following a lightning delay of 1 hour, 3 minutes, the Rams added to their lead in the fifth when Tara Shadowen connected on a two-run home run just over the center-field fence, thanks to a gusty wind. Later in the inning, Makenzie Miller scored from third on a wild pitch to make it 7-0 CSU. Amber Nelson ended the run-rule win with a two-run homer in the sixth with two outs. In all, Colorado State scored seven of its eight runs with two outs. The Aztecs were outhit, 10-5, in the game. Marissa Moreno took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter over four innings. She is now 9-10 on the season. Patirck Henry alum M.J. James relieved Moreno in the fifth and yielded five runs on six hits and a hit batter. NOTE I Katie Byrd doubled and now has 37 for her career, which ranks fourth in school history. STAT OF THE DAY The game was delayed for 63 minutes (1 hour, 3 minutes) in the middle of the fifth inning because of lightning in the area. UP NEXT SDSU and CSU play game No. 2 of the series at 1 p.m. MT (noon PT) Saturday. No. 25/– Colorado State 9, San Diego State 0 (6 innings) San Diego State (20-23, 7-9 MW) 000 000 — 0 5 0 Colorado State (35-7, 16-3 MW) 013 032 — 9 10 1 Moreno, James (5) and Sturdivant, Umi (6); Hutton and Buchanan W – Hutton, 14-4; L – Moreno, 9-10 HR: Colorado State, Ruiz (8), Shadowen (12), Nelson (10) Box Printer-friendly version
SDSU MEN’S TENNIS OUTLASTS NEW MEXICO IN MW SEMIFINAL THRILLER 4-3
Printer-friendly version Source: goaztecs.com Photo courtesy goaztecs.com April 26, 2019 (Fresno) – Battling sultry conditions for the second straight day, fourth-seeded San Diego State advanced to the title match of the Mountain West Men’s Tennis Championship with a dramatic 4-3 victory over New Mexico in the semifinal round Friday at Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. With the result, the Aztecs will face the winner of the Utah State-Fresno State encounter for the conference crown on Saturday at 1 p.m. Links to live stats and streaming video will be available on goaztecs.com via the Mountain West Network. In addition, SDSU (15-9) defeated the Lobos for the third straight year at the MW Championship, advancing to the tournament final for the first time since 2010, when it dropped a 4-3 decision to TCU. Jan Kirchhoff provided the clinching point for the Aztecs at the No. 2 position on Friday after storming back for a three-set triumph over Dominic West 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. In the final set, the Berlin, Germany, native raced to a 3-1 lead, only to see his Lobo adversary rally take the next three games for a 4-3 advantage. Moments later, the SDSU sophomore had a chance to close out the dual after reclaiming a 5-4 lead; however, an overhand smash went long and West eventually knotted the score at 5-5. Undaunted, Kirchhoff went back to work, winning the next two games to finally put an end to the marathon affair, as his Aztec teammates erupted in jubilation. SDSU came out firing on all cylinders in doubles, earning the pivotal point for the 10th time in its last 12 matches, with the all-MW duo of Sander Gjoels-Andersen supplying the winning result for the second day in a row, courtesy of a 6-3 decision over another all-conference pairing in Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Stepan Holis at the top of the rotation. With the victory, the Aztec tandem improved to 8-2 this spring. Earlier on court two, Kirchhoff and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan wasted little time in their matchup with West and Facundo Bermejo at No. 2, posting a 6-0 shutout, as the Scarlet and Black improved to 12-2 in dual matches this year when capturing the doubles point. With the doubles outcome no longer in doubt, the No. 3 match pitting the Aztecs’ Arnaud Restifo and Fabian Roensdorf against Tim Buttner and Nicolas Prieto was abandoned with the two sides deadlocked at 4-4. Singles turned out to be a different story, however, as New Mexico (14-8) battled back to claim three of the first four decisions. The Lobos got on the board when Bermejo pinned a 6-1, 6-0 defeat on Restifo at No. 4. SDSU answered with a straight-set victory of its own when Martinez won his third straight after dismissing Buttner in the fourth slot 6-2, 6-2. Moments later, though, Hernandez-Tong exacted a measure of revenge with a 6-3, 6-1 conquest of Gjoels-Andersen at the top of the ladder, while Holis followed suit by toppling Roensdorf at No. 3 6-4, 6-2. With momentum tipping toward the UNM side, Gonzalez Almazan overcame a sluggish second set in his match versus Prieto in the sixth slot with a clutch performance in the third, where he ultimately prevailed 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, setting the stage for Kirchhoff’s heroics. NOTES San Diego State is 3-4 all-time in Mountain West championship matches, winning in 2002 (BYU), 2003 (UNM) and 2005 (BYU) while suffering losses in 2000 (UNM), 2004 (UNM), 2006 (TCU) and 2010 (TCU). The Aztecs dropped both regular-season meetings vs. Utah State and Fresno State, falling to the Aggies 4-1 on the road March 29, before experiencing a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Bulldogs at home on April 5. SDSU’s 15 victories this season are its most since the 2015 squad posted a 19-9 ledger to earn an at-large NCAA tournament berth. San Diego State 4, [1] New Mexico 3 MW Semifinals April 26, 2019 Fresno, Calif. Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center Doubles 1. Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Ricky Hernandez-Tong/Stepan Holis (NM) 6-3 2. Jan Kirchhoff/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Facundo Bermejo/Dominic West (NM) 6-0 3. Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) vs. Tim Buttner/Nicolas Prieto (NM) 4-4, DNF Order of finish: 2, 1 SDSU wins doubles point Singles 1. Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) 6-3, 6-1 2. Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Dominic West (NM) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 3. Stepan Holis (NM) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 6-4, 6-2 4. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Tim Buttner (NM) 6-2, 6-2 5. Facundo Bermejo (NM) def. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) 6-1, 6-0 6. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Nicolas Prieto (NM) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 3, 6, 2* * Match-clinching victory Records: SDSU (15-9), UNM (14-8) Printer-friendly version