City Eastern League Baseball Preview : No 2-Team Race: Graduation Brings Parity to the League

The City Eastern League seemed to be separated into two divisions last season--Patrick Henry and Mira Mesa in one division and everybody else in the other.

The Patriot baseball team went unscathed in league play last year with its 10-0 record. The Marauders were the only team that kept Patrick Henry in check, eventually upsetting the Patriots, 7-2, in the San Diego Section 3-A championship.

Graduation last June left the Patriots with only three returning players, marking the end to Patrick Henry’s dominance of the league. Mira Mesa also was left with a young team after graduation, leaving the league wide open.

Most coaches in the league agree that experienced Point Loma will pose the greatest challenge. The Pointers have the strongest lineup in the league with Charlie Evenson and sophomore Jeff Gattis leading the way.

Coaches are cautious about Morse High this season, warning that the Tigers will rebound from their last-place finish of last year to be the league dark horse. The Tigers, who were 1-9 in 1985 league play, recorded a 3-1 record in last week’s Eastern League tournament.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the league:

Point Loma

Last season’s record: 4-6, 12-8.

Finish: Tied for third.

Coach: Bill Hall.

Top returners: Catcher Pat Evenson (senior bats and throws right); center fielder Walt Edwards (senior bats and throws right); third baseman Kelly Schlager (senior bats and throws right); pitcher Chris Reading (senior bats and throws left).

Top newcomers: Designated hitter Jeff Gattis (sophomore bats and throws left); right fielder Regoberto Beltran (sophomore bats and throws left).

Outlook: The Pointers lost only two players to graduation last year, leaving them with one of the most experienced teams in the league.

Solid team hitting will carry Point Loma, which registered a .340 team batting average in the preseaon. Evenson, who was put behind the plate last year when the Pointers’ starting catcher was sidelined with a sprained ankle, has provided solid hitting with his .600-plus batting average.

Even though the team is deep with experience, Hall has found room to start two sophomores: Gattis and Beltran.

Hall said the Pointers will have problems on the basepaths, and he still waiting for one of his players to emerge as a base-stealing threat.

Patrick Henry

Last season’s record: 10-0, 22-2.

Finish: First place.

Coach: Bob Imlay.

Top returners: Pitcher Lou Hayes (senior bats and throws left); Pitcher Brad Theil (senior bats right, throws left); third baseman/pitcher Ramon Llerenas (senior bats and throws right).

Top newcomer: Third baseman/pitcher Eric Watkins (senior bats and throws right).

Outlook: Last season, Imlay called his league champion Patriots a dream team. But after graduation, Imlay was left with only three returning players.

“This is a brand new team,” said Imlay, who is entering his 17th year as coach. “We’re still getting to know each other, but I’m surprised how good these guys are.”

Imlay has spent much of the preseason experimenting with his young team and recent injuries have only added to his work. Catcher Eric Halfano, who fills the spot vacated by Danny Martinez and his .575 batting average, suffered a separated shoulder in the opening days of spring practice which could keep him out all year.

The Patriots will look toward Hayes’ pitching ability on the mound during this rebuilding year.

Morse

Last season’s record: 1-9, 7-15.

Finish: Sixth place.

Coach: Leornard Arevalo.

Top returners: Third baseman/shortstop/pitcher Paul Anderson (senior bats and throws right); first baseman Ralph Portillo (senior bats and throws right); left fielder Derwin Proby (junior bats and throws right); catcher Hector Gil (senior bats and throws right).

Top newcomers: Second baseman/designated hitter Javier Brown (sophomore bats and throws right); catcher Mike Liera (freshman bats and throws right).

Outlook: Coaches throughout the league agree that the Tigers are not a team to be taken lightly. Morse has prided itself with a come-from-behind spirit that Arevalo believes will keep the Tigers in contention this season. That spirit was there last week when the Tigers came on strong in the seventh inning to down Serra, 5-4, in the Eastern League tournament.

Arevalo said baserunning will be a strong point for his team this season with Proby, Brown and Duane Lager posing threats on the paths to opponents.

“We’re gonna run a lot and try and eke out a run here and there,” Arevalo said.

Pitching will keep the Tigers in every game this season, Arevalo predicts. Anderson and Joel Lager will anchor the Tiger pitching staff, with Gil working in relief.

Mira Mesa

Last season’s record: 7-3, 17-6

Finish: Second place.

Coach: Larry Elliot.

Top returners: Catcher Mark Robert (senior bats and throws right); first baseman Kevin Hancock (senior bats and throws right); second baseman Ray Banford (senior switch hitter, throws right); pitcher Mike Eicher (junior bats and throws right).

Top newcomer: Pitcher Eric Estey (junior bats and throws left).

Outlook: With over 100 players trying out for the junior varsity and varsity squads, Elliot had quite a pool to chose from this spring. The Marauders are young, and their inexperience has been shown by the mistakes they have made in the field which have cost them games during preseason play, Elliot said.

“We’ve already made a lot of improvements with out defense, but we still have to improve much more,” he said.

Pitching will be Mira Mesa’s strong point, Elliot predicts, with Eicher leading the way. Although he is a natural pitcher, Elliot converted Eicher into a left fielder last season because of the Maurader’s strong rotation in 1985. Eicher will get relief from junior Estey and sophomores Art Maldonado and Victor Rico.

Serra

Last season’s record: 3-7, 9-15.

Finish: Fifth place.

Coach: Gary Henderson.

Top returners: Pitcher/catcher Tim Finn (senior bats and throws right); first baseman Beto Rodriguez (senior bats and throws left); outfielder Richie Callendar (senior bats and throws right) infielder Jason Arzaga (junior bats and throws right).

Top newcomer: Pitcher Ronnie Lardizabal (junior bats and throws right).

Outlook: Pitching and hitting will be the mainstays for the Conquistadors, said first-year coach Henderson.

Finn and Lardizabal are expected to guide Serra on the mound this year, according to Henderson. Arzaga leads the team in hitting with his .400-plus batting average, with Rodriguez (.370) and Finn (.350) providing extra power.

The Conquistadors will be slow on the basepaths and Henderson said it may be too late to work on team speed.

Madison

Last season’s record: 4-6, 13-9.

Finish: Tied for third.

Coach: Bob Roeder.

Top returners: Shortstop Scott Anderson (senior throws and bats right); first baseman/designated hitter James Moliere (senior bats and throws left); third baseman Dennis Lagenza (senior bats and throws right).

Top newcomers: Pitcher Chuck Frazier (junior bats and throws right).

Outlook: Roeder will spend most of the season trying to compensate for the 12 players he lost to graduation last June. The Warhawks also have had to contend with a string of injuries early this season, including Jeff Hawk’s injury to his throwing shoulder, which has kept him from pitching this season.

The Warhawk infield will be playing together for the first time this season, and Roeder has seen a bright spot in David Hallisey, a senior second baseman who sat out last year. Joining Hallisey in the infield will be Lagenza at third base.

Roeder will depend on senior starter Scott Anderson and junior Chuck Frazier on the mound. Frazier, in his first season with the varsity, threw shutouts in his first two appearances of ther season.