Notebook / Alan Drooz : Loyola Coach Wins One, Loses One in Search for More Pitching Help

Loyola Marymount baseball Coach Dave Snow, looking for pitching help, has lost a star recruit to the pro draft but signed another. Left-hander Wally Ritchie out of Glendale Junior College opted for the pros, but right-hander Kalani Bush from Kalaheo High in Kailua, Hawaii, will join the Lions next fall.

Snow called Ritchie “a blue chip--in our situation he would have helped immediately.” Ritchie suffered an arm injury last year but bounced back to record a 12-2 season with Glendale, with a 1.92 earned-run average and 133 strikeouts in 112 innings. “That’s the problem you face in recruiting at this level,” Snow said. “It’s always 50-50.”

Bush was 6-1 on the mound, batted .368 and was named the school’s athlete of the year. He was the football quarterback and center on the basketball team. He’ll be rejoining former high school teammate Carl Fraticelli, who started most of the season at shortstop for Loyola as a freshman.

Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball Coach Andy Lopez lost one of his top recruits, Frank Bellino from Mt. San Antonio College, to the pro draft. But Lopez got consolation by signing seven other recruits, including Banning High star Joey Pardo. Lopez also received the good news that his ace left-hander, Jim Pena, who was drafted in the 24th round by Oakland, has elected to return to Dominguez Hills next year.

Pardo, Banning’s star pitcher as well as a .400 hitter, will be an outfielder-first baseman for the Toros. He was twice the co-most valuable player in the Marine League. Lopez also signed Serra High outfielder Ron Williams and four junior college players: Pasadena City College right-hander Marc Lopez, El Camino College outfielder Jon Beuder and catcher Chris Plank--both of whom played for Lopez at Mira Costa High--and Long Beach City College infielder Eric Mihkelson. The final recruit is UC Santa Barbara transfer Tom Green, who pitched for Fullerton College previously. Green has been drafted three times.

Dominguez Hills coaches have also signed recruits in two women’s sports. Soccer Coach Marine Cano announced his first two signings, Nanci Nielsen and Jill Draper, both from El Camino College. Nielsen is a midfielder out of South Torrance High and was El Camino’s MVP. Draper didn’t play soccer at El Segundo High but earned all-South Coast Conference honors as a forward at El Camino.

Women’s basketball Coach Alice Textor has signed her fifth recruit, 6-2 center Kathy Goggin out of Long Beach Wilson. Goggin averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds and will enter the honors program at Dominguez Hills with a 3.92 grade-point average.