Antioch High pitcher Ayanna Sanchez winds up on her way to a perfect game. Photo by Michael Pohl

By Luke Johnson

Ayanna Sanchez, a freshman on Antioch High School’s varsity softball team, pitched the second perfect game in school history Thursday, March 19, in a 10-0 victory against Dublin. The other perfect game occurrence at Antioch was in 2001 from Melissa Baugh according to coach Nick Wisely.

Sanchez, who has been playing softball since she was 5 years old, is no stranger to throwing perfect games. She has done so on two separate occasions, both coming last year on her travel ball team.

“My defense had my back the entire game,” Sanchez said. “Without them, I would not have been able to throw a perfect game… I am proud to be playing for Antioch!”

Two plays that really set the tone of the game defensively came from senior Ciara Whitesell in centerfield. She made two over the shoulder catches in the right centerfield gap running in full stride. Sanchez struck out five batters in the contest, and after the Panthers went up 10-0 in the bottom of the fifth in the game was called due to mercy rule.

Throughout the season, Sanchez has an ERA of 2.90 and has 41 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. She is not only lethal on the mound, but also has a strong skillset offensively. She is batting .414, third best on the team behind senior shortstop Natalie Larsen (.474) and junior third baseman Julia Odom (.455), and has scored the most runs on the team with 10 through eight games.

Something unique about Sanchez is that she is not even a student Antioch High School. She attends Dozier-Libbey Medical High School, which has not been known for producing great athletes since its establishment in 2008.

The Panthers have been a little shaky as a team this season. They blew out Kennedy (Richmond), 32-0, in the season opener, but after that they lost three straight, getting shutout in the latter two. Now the team is red hot and currently possesses a four-game winning streak. In the past three games they have outscored their opponents 40-4. At 5-3 overall, the Panthers have the second best record in the Bay Valley Athletic League and will begin league play on April 14.  

“Heritage is the team to beat for sure,” Wisely said in regards to contending for BVAL Championship, “But after that I think it is wide open… Every team is a possible playoff team, and anybody can beat anybody any given day. If we play the right ball, we can win day in and day out.”

Local military veterans join American Legion State Commander Janet Wilson, front row in red, and muralist Scott LoBaido, front kneeling, for a photo in front of the new mural at the Antioch Veterans Memorial Building, on Friday, April 3, 2015.

“This is my way of thanking America for my freedom.”

By Allen Payton

A new mural was revealed in Antioch, Friday afternoon, of the American flag. Located on the back wall of the Antioch Veteran’s Memorial Building on West 6^th Street, the mural was painted by Scott LoBaido of Staten Island, as part of his “Painting Flags Across America” 50-state tour.

“I’m doing one veterans post in each state,” LoBaido said.

He contacted American Legion State Commander Janet Wilson, the first female in that position in the organization’s 96-year history, and whose home post is in Antioch. She told him they had a wall, here.

“I’ve been trying for 10 years, but couldn’t get someone to donate their services,” Wilson said. “So when this opened up I said ‘we want it.'”

So, Antioch was chosen as the one place in California for one of LoBaido’s American flag mural.

He started Wednesday about Noon, finished it up, yesterday and did some touch up, today, LoBaido shared.

“I don’t charge for this. It’s a gift,” he stated. “This is my way of thanking America for my freedom.”

The mural can be viewed from either the 7th Street side or E Street.

LoBaido’s tour is sponsored by The Home Depot, Behr Paint, City Quiet Windows and Stephen Stiller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

For more information about the muralist or to follow his tour, visit www.scottlobaido.com. For more information about the American Legion Harding-Noia, CA Post 161 in Antioch, call 925-754-8381 or email post161@aol.com.

See more photos on the Antioch Herald Facebook page, here.

By Corporal Powell Meads, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 at approximately 7:43 p.m., Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to a vehicle collision at the intersection of Cavallo Road and East 18th Street. Upon arrival, officers located a bicyclist down on the ground with a head injury. Con-Fire and AMR responded to the scene and the victim, a 48-year-old Antioch man, was transported to a local area hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life threatening. The driver of the vehicle that collided with the bicyclist remained on scene and cooperated with the investigating officers.

Our preliminary investigation indicates that the bicyclist was riding E/B across the northbound and southbound lanes of Cavallo Rd. The vehicle, traveling northbound on Cavallo Rd., collided with the bicyclist who was thrown from the bicycle. Drugs or alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is encouraged to contact the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2441.

Head coach Alvin Attles, Clifford Ray, Jeff Mullins, Charles Johnson, Rick Barry, George Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes, Butch Beard and Assistant Coach Joe Roberts pose with their 1974-75 championship trophy.  Photo by Z’ma Wyatt

By F.D. Purcell

The banners that hang high in the raptors of Oracle Arena for the players, teams and coach who’ve made contributions during their Philadelphia years and since their relocation to the Bay Area in 1962.

May 25th will mark 40-years since Golden State won their last NBA Championship. Comprised of a deep bench and players led by Hall of Famers such as Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes the Warriors finished with a 48-34 record finishing 1st in the Pacific Division.

“It was a fantasy year, said Barry the MVP of Game 4, we never quit and we never gave up. We were the deepest team in the NBA, a Cinderella team.”

He’s correct, the Warriors weren’t the favorite to win and certainly weren’t expected to sweep the then Washington Bullets in Washington especially after Bullets forward Mike Riordan attempted to get into the head of star player Rick Barry in the final game but instead it would be head coach Alvin Attles who would be ejected in the first quarter for standing up for Barry. Golden State scrapped their way to a 96-95 victory, their first and last championship since that date.

Fast-forward 40-years later, a little more gray and some no longer with us a handful of those team members graced Oracle Arena with their presence and it was as though they hadn’t missed a beat. Butch Beard, George Johnson, Rick Barry, Clifford Ray, Jeff Mullins, assistant coach Joe Roberts, Jamaal Wilkes and head coach Alvin Attles were some of those present on Monday.

There were lots of laughs and Barry was in his usual dominate form taking over questions and choosing the longer route when answering questions and everyone else’s; however, he also gave much deserved credit when it came to his former teammates and coaches.

The press room was packed as new media blended with old, times when you couldn’t live tweet and watched the game on tape delay. Those in attendance sat on the edge of their seats marinating on every word from the championship team and each vivid detail from flying coach and the sometimes disgusting habits of teammates and legendary announcer Bill King. It was refreshing to hear raw honesty minus the direction of a spin doctor.

“I’m appreciative to the Warriors for bringing us all together. I’m excited to see everyone including the late Phil Smith’s kids,” said 1975 Rookie of the Year Jamaal Wilkes, then known as ‘Keith.’ “It’s very moving and touching.”

A heartfelt ceremony was held before the second quarter honoring the championship team and the sellout crowd of 15,595 gave a rousing standing ovation as former center Clifford Ray, known on the court as a menacing figure, fought back tears.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr chose not to discuss any plays during the timeout instead opting to allow his team to soak in the ceremony. Afterwards Kerr said how special it was to have the championship team speak with his guys after their 107-76 victory over the Wizards.

“It’s just good encouragement for the mission that we’re on this year. I think there is something special about it being their 40th anniversary of winning the championship,” said center Marreese Speights, who finished the game with 16 points. “Having them all here gives us a visual of where we want to be. I think it’s a good motivation for the last part of this regular season and then once we get to the playoffs.”

Golden State will return for one game on Thursday, April 2nd versus the Phoenix Suns after their four-game road trip. They will head on the road again for a three-game road trip that includes Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans.

They will host their final four games at home: Portland, Minnesota, Memphis and finish their regular season versus the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, April 15th.

Anwar Hughes

By Corporal Rick Smith, Antioch Police Community Policing Bureau

On Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 9:59 a.m., Antioch Police responded to the reports of gunshots in the area of West 10th Street and G Street. While en route, Antioch Code Enforcement Officers and witnesses in the area provided detailed descriptions of the involved parties. This information led to the location of a vehicle leaving the area.

Stephanie Lopez

Initially, this vehicle was stopped and all subjects were detained. It was later learned that these were in fact victims fleeing the area after being shot at following a physical altercation on West 10th Street over a parking dispute.

Eventually, another party of the incident arrived at an area hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. This subject was identified as Antioch resident Anwar Hughes 33 and taken into custody. Hughes was with his girlfriend, Stephanie Lopez 25, who was also later taken into custody for her involvement in this incident. A firearm was later recovered and found to be the involved weapon.

This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Antioch Police at (925) 778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

State Senate candidate Steve Glazer today announced the filing of a formal complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against a special interest group for illegally hiding their major union donors on a campaign mailing to voters, which can be viewed, here: FPPC Complaint-Glazer v. WFOG-March 31, 2015

The so-called “Working Families Opposing Glazer for Senate” received hundreds of thousands of dollars from union committees, but failed to list on the mailer the names of the top two union donors who had contributed $50,000 or more.

“The disclosure rules are in effect to give voters full knowledge of the special interests who are funding these communications,” said Glazer. “These groups are sophisticated political players who circumvented disclosure laws for the sole purpose of misleading voters.”

According to a press release from Glazer’s campaign, “this is the second time these union groups have maneuvered around the transparency mandates. In the primary election, these same unions funded a committee called the “Asian American Small Business PAC.”  That group, financed by neither Asian Americans nor small businesses, sent out five separate mailers attacking Glazer. These activities were condemned as smear tactics by the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee.”

Based on filings with the Secretary of State, the two largest funders of the mailing were the State Council of Service Employees ($185,000) and the California School Employees Association ($75,000).

“Special interest groups are fearful of my candidacy because I won’t do their bidding. They need to come out of the shadows and play by the rules. I have asked the Fair Political Practices Commission to hold them accountable,” Glazer concluded.

6:35 p.m. UPDATE: In an email response to the complaint, Steven Maviglio of Forza Communications, the spokesman for the Working Families Against Steve Glazer for Senate, of which both unions listed in the complaint are part, wrote, “This is nothing more than a meritless publicity stunt cooked up by Big Tobacco political consultant Steve Glazer to deflect from the fact that his campaign is being bankrolled [by] big insurance and drug companies, out-of-state corporations, and other special interests. We look forward to the FPPC quickly dismissing this smear.”

The run-off election between Glazer and State Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla will be held Tuesday, May 19. Whichever candidate wins will serve through the end of 2016 and for a full, four-year term, will have to run, again, next year.