SportScope : Bravos Capture Regional Slo-Pitch Title, Will Play in Senior Nationals

The Joe Bravos team will play in the first Senior Slow-Pitch World Series in September at Greensboro, N.C. The Lawndale team, composed of men 55 years of age and older, won one of eight regional qualifying tournaments in May at Reno against five California teams and defeated its archrival, the Burbank Bluebirds, but Burbank, which finished second, also qualified for the World Series on Sept. 27 to Oct. 1. The Bravos’ home diamond is Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach.

The 28th Grand Prix Bike Races of Manhattan Beach get rolling Sunday morning at 7:30 and continue through the streets of the city into the afternoon. It is sanctioned by the U.S. Cycling Federation. A variety of racing classes are offered and late entrants can sign up the day of the race for an additional fee of $6. The cost per rider varies by category and there is an additional charge of $5 for unattached riders. Sign-ins begin at 6 a.m. near the start/finish line at 1600 Valley Drive. For more information call Sharon McLeod at 640-7743.

The El Segundo Babe Ruth baseball team won the Southern California championship at Glendale over the weekend and will play at Lodi this week in Western regional play. The team, coached by John Stevenson, had defeated Palos Verdes, 11-1, and Culver City twice, 8-0 and 3-2, to win the district title at El Segundo. At Glendale, El Segundo beat Escondido, 20-11, Sunset, 19-2, and Baldwin Hills, 22-5, then suffered its only tournament loss, 12-1, to Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks. But El Segundo came back to defeat the same team, 4-2, in the championship game.

Left-hander Tracy McAndrews threw a two-hitter in the finale. Center fielder Chris Feeney, who hit two home runs against Escondido, had three homers in the tournament. Jeff Poor, the winning pitcher in the district final, hit two homers in the tournament. El Segundo opens against Nevada on Saturday in Lodi.

Two Palos Verdes youths competed in the Junior Olympic National Track and Field Championships in Spokane over the weekend. Alex Dederer, 10, a sixth-grader at Mira Catalina Elementary School, placed sixth in 3,000 meters in 10:37.29 and was eighth in 1,500 meters (4:53.60). Dederer competed in the 11-12 age category. Phil Kuo, a 1989 graduate of Rolling Hills High, competed in the high jump, long jump and triple jump but failed to place.