Baseball: Hueneme’s Valdez has .706 batting average

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Junior Jesus Valdez of Hueneme has 12 hits in his first 17 at-bats, giving him a .706 batting average and making him the No. 2 hitter in the state, according to stats supplied by MaxPreps.com.

Other players off to a good start include Ricky Gomez of Santa Monica, batting .650 (13 for 20); Victor Arroyo of Narbonne, batting .647 (11 for 17); and Justin Moore of L.A. University, batting .640 (16 for 25).

Austin Wilson, a junior outfielder at Harvard-Westlake, is batting .556 (10 for 18). Josh Mason has led Crespi to 5-0 start by getting eight hits in 13 at-bats for a .615 average. Not far behind are teammates Kevin Williams (.500) and Zack Wiley (.500). Lonnie Kauppila of Burbank had four home runs and 10 RBIs in his first four games.

Among pitchers, Frank Hutchinson of Lawndale has 41 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. Omar Pelayo of L.A. Jordan has 32 strikeouts in 15 innings.

-- Eric Sondheimer