Baseball: Is Oaks Christian ready to take a giant step?

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One of the sports Westlake Village Oaks Christian was supposed to dominate when it opened in 2000 was baseball, but the Lions have been surprisingly quiet.

This could be the season Oaks Christian challenges for a championshp. The Lions return nine starters from a 21-8 team, led by pitcher Travis Radke (Portland), first baseman Trevor Gretzky (San Diego State) and shortstop Drew Hacker (Pepperdine).

They’ve also added a promising left-handed pitcher in Harvard-Westlake transfer Austin Kamel, a 6-foot-6 junior.

Equally important is that they’ve improved their schedule. They open with a game against defending City Section Division I champion Woodland Hills El Camino Real on March 4 and have games against Newbury Park, Camarillo, Woodland Hills Taft and Wilmington Banning.

-- Eric Sondheimer