City Western Preview : Parity May Send Tradition Packing : Mission Bay Favored, but Rest of Race Is Hard to Figure

Traditionally, the City Western League has been an unbalanced field. One or two teams would play well, and the rest of the league would play out the season. This season, however, that should change.

Last season, two games separated the league’s two playoff teams--Mission Bay and Clairemont--from the best of the rest, University City. Although Mission Bay is favored to repeat as league champion, graduation has claimed all but two lettermen at Clairemont.

So, the gap between second place and the rest of the league is expected to shrink.

Frequent rains during the preseason also could affect the league standings. At the end of last week, several teams had practiced just one day. Except for Mission Bay, City West teams came out of the tournaments with records below .500. “We’re every bit as good as everybody else in the league except Mission Bay,” said La Jolla Coach Dick Huddleston, whose team was 2-19 last season. “It’s going to be a battle for second place and I think we’re going to be in it.”

Said University Coach Dick Serrano: “I don’t think there are any super teams. One team is slightly favored, but we’re not even conceding that much to them. There’s not a team that we can’t beat.”

Mission Bay Coach Dennis Pugh agrees.

“There aren’t the dominant teams the way there have been,” he said. “When you graduate so many people you’re not going to be as strong. Clairemont’s lost a lot of people. . . . I think the teams to watch are Uni or Kearny. It’s going to be very competitive.” Mission Bay

Last season’s record: 9-2, 22-4

Finish: Tied for first with Clairemont, won league playoff.

Coach: Dennis Pugh

Top returners: Pitcher Rusty Filter (6-1 senior right-hander), pitcher-first baseman Scott Wonderlieth (6-1 junior left-hander), infielder Kyle Ketchum (6-1 senior, bats and throws right-handed).

Top newcomer: Sean Rees (sophomore pitcher-first baseman-outfielder, throws left, bats right).

Outlook: The Buccaneers won the Moose-Hilltop tournament and outscored their opponents in the Lions/Mike Morrow tournament, 23-8. But mixed in with two routs were a 3-2 loss to San Marcos and a 4-0 loss to Valhalla.

“When we’ve faced good pitching we haven’t hit,” Pugh said. But Mission Bay’s pitching staff is generally recognized as the deepest in the league. Filter is the team’s top starter, but Pugh likes Rees’ potential.

“He’s probably our best overall hitter,” Pugh said of Rees. “He’s one of the best players we’ve ever had here, or at least he will be by the time he graduates.

“I’m very pleased with the way the kids have played. I think we would have done better in the Lions tournament except the kids were dead tired. Their arms were dragging.”

Clairemont

Last season’s record: 8-3, 17-8.

Finish: Tied for first, lost playoff.

Coach: Hugh McMillan

Top returners: Robert Cummings (6-1 senior outfielder, bats and throws right-handed), Ricky Doane (switch-hitting junior shortstop)

Top newcomers: Andy Williams (6-1 sophomore right-handed pitcher) Danny Moran (5-7 junior right-handed pitcher) Garth Klem (5-6 sophomore catcher)

Outlook: Clairemont, with only two returning starters, is 3-4-1 in preseason. “We’ve lack the pitching we had last year, but we have more overall foot speed,” McMillan said. “In hitting and defense, we’re pretty comparable.”

Pitching will be a key for Clairemont, with Williams, Moran and junior left-hander John Tuttle being counted on to lead the team.

“But in the three games we’ve won, our pitching came through,” McMillan said. “And the batting’s always been there.”

Of all his young players, McMillan said he is most impressed with Klem.

“He does a superb job defensively and he’s been our best on-base man,” McMillan said. “When he doesn’t hit, he gets a walk. He does a lot of things well. He’s a real aggressive kid.”

McMillan said he hopes that aggressiveness will compensate for lack of experience.

“We could win it or we could come in fourth,” he said. “It’s just a toss of the coin. In each game, I’ve seen some potential. A lot of it’s going to boil down to me--what I can do as a coach.”

University City

Last season’s record: 6-4, 12-12.

Finish: third.

Coach: Allan LaMotte.

Top returners: Shortstop Steve Beck (senior, bats and throws right-handed), outfielder Matt Tillotson (senior, bats and throws right-handed).

Top newcomers: Second baseman Deron Thornton (junior, bats and throws right-handed), Third baseman Brian Sexton (junior transfer from University, bats and throws right-handed), Outfielder Jim Schafer (sophomore, bats and throws right-handed), Pitcher-infielder Randy Lohrenz, (junior transfer from Bloomington, Ill., throws and bats right-handed)

Outlook: “The rain has hurt us probably more than other teams,” LaMotte said. “We don’t have a winter league. Three of our players are soccer players, so they started with no practice.”

University City, 3-5 in the preseason, has been solid defensively--with the exception of one position.

“We have very questionable pitching,” LaMotte said. “Last year, we had four very serious pitchers. This year, our No. 1 concern is whether our pitchers can throw strikes. The three games we’ve won, the pitchers have thrown strikes and the defense has played well behind them. When they’re wild, the defense has let down.”

Schafer has emerged as the team’s best hitter, LaMotte said.

“The hitting is a little better than last year,” he said. “This should be a very good team and I think we have a shot at the playoffs. We may not have the experience to make a run at the league title, but I think we can make second place.”

University

Last season’s record: 4-6, 13-11.

Finish: fourth.

Coach: Dick Serrano.

Top returners: Pitcher Mike Eggleton (senior right-hander), infielder Duke Gonzalez (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Outfielder Pat Gonzalez (sophomore, bats right, throws right), catcher Brent Whelan, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Said Serrano of the 4-5 Dons: “We just don’t have any super players. We have a lot of players who are OK. We’re hoping that a balance in our team from top to bottom will compensate for the fact that we don’t have any standouts. I think most of the teams in this league are in the same boat.

“We should have a fairly good balance in pitching, some hitting and pretty good defense,” he said.

The Dons hit well in Lions tournament, but pitching and defense deserted them in the first two games, a 10-5 loss to Hoover, and a 7-6 loss to Serra. University beat Castle Park, 4-3, later in the tournament.

“In the Lions tournament, we just didn’t have any good pitching--we just had dead arms,” Serrano said. “I also think we played a strong nonleague schedule and that will help us during league.”

He hopes to have strong performances from his top two starters, Eggleton and junior right-hander Tom Stilinovich.

“With the pitching staff we have, we’re going to be in just about every ballgame,” Serrano said. “The question is our defense and whether we’ll get the hitting.”

Kearny

Last season’s record: 2-8, 9-12.

Finish: tied for sixth.

Coach: John Gunther.

Top returners: Center fielder Robbie Trice (senior switch-hitter, throws right-handed), Shortstop-pitcher Lupe Ford (junior, throws and bats right-handed), first baseman-pitcher Scot Welish (junior, throws and bats left-handed).

Top newcomers: Third baseman Chris Ponce (senior, throws and bats right-handed), Pitcher John Williamson (6-5 sophomore, throws and bats right-handed).

Outlook: After splitting four games in the Warhawk tournament, the Komets (2-5) lost three straight in the Lions tournament. Gunther said Kearny’s troubles can be summed up in one word: “Inexperience. We only have three returning players.”

Despite the slow start, Gunther said he was impressed with the team’s last two games--a 6-5 loss to Hilltop and a 4-2 defeat to Orange Glen.

“Even though we’ve made a lot errors, the defense is the strongest part of the team,” he said. “The hitting’s behind because of the rain, but the pitching is the area where we need the greatest work.”

Gunther said his team is “at best a dark horse. The odds are against us. We’re going to give it our best shot, though.”

La Jolla

Last season’s record: 2-8, 2-19.

Finish: tied for sixth.

Coach: Dick Huddleston.

Top returners: Catcher-outfielder Pat Tribolet (senior, throws and bats right-handed), pitcher Mike Owens (6-1 senior right-hander).

Top newcomers: Pitcher Brent Woodall (6-3 sophomore left-hander) and infielder Jeff Schultz (sophomore, throws right, bats left).

Outlook: “There’s nowhere for us to go but upward,” Huddleston said. “There are only two players returning from last year’s team. Most of them are from our J.V. team, which was very successful last year. The kids believe in themselves and they’re getting that winning attitude.”

La Jolla has lost six of eight preseason games. A highlight was a 15-0 win over El Camino in the Lions tournament.

“We’re hitting the ball fairly well, averaging eight or nine hits a ballgame,” Huddleston said. “We’re also playing good defense, averaging 1.6 errors a game.