Friendship Series

The Urban Youth Academy in Compton will be the site for the USA-Japan Friendship Series set to take place this weekend. The first game is Saturday at noon, followed by Sunday at 1 p.m. and Monday at 1 p.m.

Former Dodger great Steve Garvey will throw out the first pitch on Saturday.

Among the U.S. players is Garvey's son, Ryan, who plays for Palm Desert.

Also on the team are infielders Daniel Arellano (Compton Centennial), Ron Miller (Gardena Serra), Mark Silva (Paramount), Thomas Walker (Long Beach Poly), outfielders J.P. Crawford (Lakewood), Travis Harrison (Tustin), Desmond Henry (Compton Centennial), Austin Wilson (Stanford), catchers Darrell Miller (Servite) and R.J. Ybarra (Riverside Poly) and pitchers Ryan Keller (West Ranch), Kerry Kelly (Palmdale), Marcos Lara (Compton CC), Mike Martin (L.A. Cathedral), Kyle Twomey (El Dorado) and Aki Yamamoto (South Torrance).

Side Note:

Brett Kay has been given a five-year contract extension as baseball coach at San Juan Capistrano JSerra. That's pretty good job security for a private school, but Kay deserves it.

He guided the Lions to their first Trinity League title in 2009 and has steadily built the program into an elite one since taking over in 2006. And he also has attracted the attention of college coaches.