Show Me The Money: Campbell Hall Grad Signs With St. Louis Cards

Since his earliest childhood memory, Adam Ehlrich has wanted to be a major league baseball player, and the Campbell Hall High graduate took a big step this past week by signing with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“It’s just so exciting. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 2,” Ehrlich said. “That’s the age I first hit a ball off a tee.”

Ehrlich, drafted in the sixth round, reported Tuesday to instructional camp in Florida.

“I’m excited to get my career started because the St. Louis Cardinals are such a great organization,” Ehrlich said.

Terms were not released, but it’s safe to say Ehrlich can afford his favorite car – a Cadillac Escalade – if he wants one.

By signing, Ehrlich decided not to honor a letter-of-intent to play at Loyola Marymount. He batted .566 with five home runs and a San Fernando Valley-best 49 RBIs this past season to help the Vikings to a 19-7 record. Ehrlich is the first Campbell Hall graduate to sign a pro baseball contract.

In other minor league news, Nik Turley, a former Harvard-Westlake pitcher, is coming along nicely in the New York Yankees organization. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander is 3-6 with a 2.68 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 77 innings at single-A Charleston (S.C.).

LITTLE TEAM THAT COULD

Campbell Hall’s football team competed against much larger schools last weekend at the 24-team Saugus Under The Lights tournament – with mixed results.

The Vikings played well enough Friday in pool competition to make the top 16 on Saturday, but then Campbell Hall went two-and-out with losses to Westlake and Golden Valley.

“We competed. We played real well, especially the first day,” coach Russell Gordon said. “The second day, we didn’t play with the level of consistency that we needed to. We just didn’t come to play.”

Most of the schools were larger, including state powers Valencia and Westlake, both of which defeated the Vikings in the closing seconds on Friday, but Gordon still thought his team should have fared better.

“There are no excuses. With those big schools, if it was a game with pads, maybe that would be a little different – but not seven-on-seven,” Gordon said.

NOHO FOOTBALL IS ON RISE, COACH SAYS

After winning its final three games of the season last year to finish 3-7 and just miss making the playoffs, North Hollywood High’s football team is feeling good about the future under second-year coach Doug Bledsoe.

“Our time is now. The City championship is our quest,” Bledsoe said.

Some of North Hollywood’s top players are receiver/linebacker Ilya Petrosyan (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), receiver-defensive back Javonte Mathews (6-4, 195) and offensive tackle-defensive end Geo Urquieta (6-3, 275).

BIG HONOR FOR HARVARD-WESTLAKE TRACK STANDOUT

Harvard-Westlake High junior Amy Weissenbach, who set a national track record in the girls 800 and won a state championship, has been named Gatorade national girls track and field athlete of the year.

FEELIN’ NO PAIN

Baseball standout Brett Lake of Campbell Hall batted .582 with three home runs and 37 RBIs as a senior this past season – not bad considering he was playing the whole season with a knee injury.

“I’m trying to rehab it this month and work out a lot,” Lake said. “I plan on playing (scout ball) for the West Coast Cubs to get ready to play at Emory.”