SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL FINALS : 2-A DIVISION : Saugus Tries to Stop the Hurt : Seniors Attempt to Avenge Painful Semifinal Loss of 1984

Postseason banquets usually feature smiling athletes stuffing their faces with free food and reliving some of the happier moments of the season.

At the Saugus High baseball banquet in 1984, the players went home hungry.

The Centurions had come within one game of advancing to the Southern Section 2-A championship at Anaheim Stadium before losing, 11-10, in 10 innings to Laguna Hills.

“A lot of the seniors on that team broke down during that banquet,” said John Meyers, a sophomore shortstop on that team. “I couldn’t feel what they felt, but I was really disappointed.”

Chris Joy, who played outfield as a sophomore in ‘84, had no problem describing how he felt at the time.

“It was like my heart left my body,” he said. “It just burned inside.”

Joy, Meyers and three other players from that team will have the opportunity to make up for all the heartache on Saturday, when they face Artesia (21-7) in a 1 p.m. game at Dodger Stadium for the championship. Saugus (20-7) has won four straight and 16 of its last 19 games since starting the season 4-4.

Joy, Dennis Moran and Kent Gustaveson were all regulars as sophomores on the ’84 team. Meyers and Gene Northway, also sophomores, were called up from the junior varsity team near the end of the season.

Each of the five players, now seniors, has used the semifinal loss as motivation for the 1986 season. And, so far, it has worked.

They have been the key figures in the Centurions’ march toward a possible title, which would be the first ever won by a Valley-area team in the 2-A Division. Hart advanced to the championship game in 1982, but lost to Norwalk, 1-0.

“I think that having them around from the 1984 team helps,” Saugus Coach Doug Worley said. “But that’s not the only reason we’re doing well. We have a lot of character and leadership on this team. It sure can’t hurt having been there, though.”

Actually, it only hurts when you lose.

“It really got to me when I saw the disappointment in the seniors’ eyes,” Moran said. “I didn’t know at the time what they were going through, but I know now how I would have felt if we would have lost one game short of going to Dodger Stadium.”

Northway agrees.

“Being in 10th grade, it didn’t mean as much to me as it did to the seniors,” he said. “But, looking back on it, losing then makes me want to win it a whole lot more.”

Making it to Dodger Stadium is no longer a concern. The Centurions, who entered the playoffs unranked, are in the championship after pulling off one upset after another.

Gustaveson, George Aliano and Roger Salkeld combined for a one-hitter against La Mirada in a 9-0 first-round victory. That wasn’t an upset, just a prelude to what was in store the rest of the way.

Saugus, which entered the postseason with a .358 team batting average and seven starters hitting at least .300, then went on to dominate its opponents with pitching and defense.

Moran came within one out of hurling a no-hitter against No. 5 Capistrano Valley in the second round and had to settle for a one-hitter and a 2-1 win. Gustaveson came back in the quarterfinals to throw a six-hitter in a 7-3 triumph over third-seeded Norte Vista.

Then Moran and Gustaveson, best friends since the sixth grade, combined to throw 11 innings and held off Montclair, ranked No. 6, in the semifinals Tuesday night for a 6-3 victory.

“When we got to the ninth, I thought, ‘This is the same time of the game that we blew it against Laguna Hills,’ ” said Moran, who is 7-1 on the mound and batting .397 at the plate. “There was no way we were going to lose it again.”

“When I was pitching,” Gustaveson (6-2) said, “there was no way I was going to give it up and lose again in the playoffs.”

He didn’t.

During that semifinal victory Tuesday, something caught Meyers’ eye.

“I didn’t notice it until the end of the game, but there were about eight guys from the 1984 team at the game,” he said. “I know they were feeling what we felt. We didn’t just make it to the championship for ourselves. It was for everyone who is a part of Saugus High School.”

No one player is responsible for the Centurions’ Golden League championship and rise to the top of the Southern Section. Some teams qualify for the playoffs behind the performance of one or two players. They are easy to spot at a championship game. Check around Aisle 3 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Many of them will be there--watching.

“We’ve got a lot of unsung heroes on our team,” Meyers said. “Look at the bottom of our order. People just don’t expect those guys to hit, but they’ve won some games for us.”

While Joy isn’t the only one hitting well for Saugus, he’s done more than his share.

After starting the season in an 0-for-13 slump, he then put together a 21-game hitting streak. He is hitting .440 with a school-record five home runs and 31 runs batted in. Joy, now a third baseman, broke the school mark for career hits against Norte Vista in the quarterfinals and now has 82.

Meyers, who has signed a letter of intent to play for UC San Diego, is batting .321 with 23 RBIs and has stolen 18 bases in 21 attempts.

Northway, perhaps, has been the offensive surprise this season. After hitting .290 last season, Northway, who will play at San Jose State next year, has come on to hit .360.

Utilty man Don Pedersen (.361, three home runs), outfielder Bryan Riley (.345, 11 stolen bases) and second baseman Tom Dodson (.301, three home runs, 21 RBIs) have also shared in the limelight.

Together, with the five three-year varsity players, they have done more than Worley could possibly ask for. Only one more thing is left to accomplish--win the Southern Section title.

“You couldn’t ask for much more than that,” Gustaveson said.