CHAVEZ RAVINE: Former Santa Monica High School standout pitcher Tyler Skaggs' first start in his hometown will have special significance.
Making his third Major League start for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Skaggs will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday against newly-acquired pitcher Josh Beckett.
To give the game added significance, it happens to be the Samohi Alumni Association's annual Dodger Nite.
There's expected to be a large contingent of Skaggs' local friends and family at the game. His mother, Debbie Skaggs, is a long-time coach and teacher at the school. His stepfather, Dan Ramos, is an assistant coach on the softball team.
Tyler Skaggs, who was the 40th pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2009 MLB Draft out of Samohi, is 1-1 with a 2.92 earned run average in his two big league starts. His last start was a loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Samohi hires new baseball coach
Samohi has promoted Kurt Schwengel to head coach of the baseball team, school officials confirmed this week.
Schwengel was the team's pitching coach for the past three seasons.
His promotion comes after a controversy regarding how the previous head coach, Sheldon Philip-Guide, had been fired by administration.
Schwengel takes over a team that finished 14-16 last season. The Vikings lost to Downey in the first round of the playoffs.
St. Monica football hosts Malibu
St. Monica football on Saturday will try to bounce back from a season-opening loss by taking on nearby Malibu.
Malibu is playing its season opener.
The game will be held at Santa Monica College's Corsair Field at 7:30 p.m.
daniela@www.smdp.com
