ARGO COACH Frankie Perales led the Garden Grove High boys’ volleyball team into the CIF-SS Division 5 finals At right is Jonah Fernandez (Orange County Tribune photo).

The quest of the Garden Grove High School boys’ volleyball team for a CIF-SS Division 5 championship came up just a bit short on Saturday.

The Argonauts had been ranked number one in their division all season long, but couldn’t get past Diamond Ranch in the final contest at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

It was nip-and-tuck in the first two games, with the Panthers prevailing 27-25 and 27-25. The third game wasn’t quite at tight, with Diamond Ranch prevailing 25-20 to take the match and claim the trophy.

Garden Grove, coached by Frankie Perales, finished 18-10, and could be in the finals again next year, as the Argos have five players on the varsity expected to return.

Ohtani puts the stop on Angels’ skid

Back in the dark ages of baseball before the DH and one-handed outfield play, the best pitcher on a team’s staff was called a “stopper.” He was the “hurler” you brought in to stop a losing streak.

SHOHEI OHTANI (Angels photo).

On Sunday, Shohei Ohtani was indeed the stopper for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, pitching seven-plus strong innings as the Halos snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The victory allowed the Angels (26-21) to hang on to third place in the snug American League West race, behind Houston and Seattle and one game ahead of a surging Oakland team.

Ohtani (4-1) worked 7.2 innings, yielding six hits and two earned runs while striking out nine batters and walking just one.

Offensively, the Angels only had four hits, but made them count. They scored four runs on outs, three on sacrifice flies and got a two-run home run from Martin Maldonado in the eighth, which settled matters.

Even the bullpen contributed, as two relievers combined for 1.1 scoreless innings.

The Halos have Friday off and will be next in action on Tuesday when they open a three-game series in Toronto with Garrett Richards (4-2) making the start for the Orange County team.