Orange County Community College Notebook/Steve Kresal : South Coast Begins Baseball Action Saturday

The Fullerton and Golden West college baseball teams open Saturday in the revamped South Coast Conference.

The Hornets and Rustlers join Cerritos, Compton, Mt. San Antonio and new members Long Beach City, El Camino and Pasadena City.

The teams play each other four times during the 28-game conference schedule.

Fullerton opens with Long Beach City at home; Golden West travels to Compton. Both games start at noon.

Saddleback, Orange Coast, Rancho Santiago and Cypress left the South Coast Conference to join Riverside and Citrus in the Orange Empire Conference, which opens play March 17.

A closer look at Fullerton and Golden West:

Fullerton: The Hornets will rely mostly on freshmen this season.

Sophomore Reggie Brown, who played shortstop last season and second base this winter, has switched to center field. Brown is flanked by freshmen Scott Einhorn in left field and Emitt Cohick in right.

Freshman Andy Ruscitto, who tied the Southern Section career home run record with 21 in his three years at Valencia, is playing first base. Freshman Tim Churchill, who played at Valencia with Ruscitto’s, also is playing first and serving as designated hitter.

Returning starter Jon Rice is at second, and freshmen Shawn Blankenship and Rodney DeYoung are splitting time at shortstop and third. Sophomore Bart Stroozas also is playing third. Sophomore transfer Richard Weller, from Cerritos, is the catcher.

“We’ve put those kids (the freshmen) in some pretty stressful situations and they’ve played really well so far,” said Nick Fuscardo, who is in his second season at Fullerton.

Freshman pitcher Mark Kiefer joins sophomores Craig Oden and Brian Coriell in the starting rotation.

Golden West: The Rustlers had four nonconference games cancelled because of rain in the last two weeks and it may take a while for their pitching staff to catch up.

“I’ve got pitchers who haven’t even pitched yet,” said Fred Hoover, who is in his 21st season at Golden West.

Sophomores Rudy Taub and Jeff Bryant and freshman Steve Watson are the starters. Ed Lidyoff, a sophomore transfer from USC, is expected to work in short relief.

Golden West returns an all-sophomore outfield. Gary Renko is in left, Darrin Tomasick in center and George Lazalde in right. They combined to hit .317 overall last season.

Golden West also returns shortstop Dave Solorano and second baseman Chip Damato.

Tom Smythe, a freshman redshirt, is at first and freshman Joey Aversa at third.

Sophomore Gregg Martin is back as catcher after being converted into a pitcher last season to take pressure off his knee, which underwent surgery before the start of the 1986 season.

The South Coast Conference again figures to be one of the state’s toughest races, and Cerritos is the coaches’ favorite.

Jay Makemson, 2-2 in nine games for OCC last season, transferred to Cerritos this season and pitched a complete-game one-hitter as the Falcons defeated L.A. Harbor, 7-1, in the championship of the the Casey Stengel Tournament Sunday.

The tournament is considered one of the toughest by Southern California coaches.

Community College Notes

Orange Empire Conference champion Rancho Santiago (26-4) finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the men’s basketball poll. Cerritos (27-4) was second, Ventura (26-4) third, Saddleback (22-7) fourth, EL Camino (24-5) fifth, Imperial Valley (22-8) sixth, Compton (22-6) seventh, Santa Barbara City (21-8) eighth, Los Angeles Harbor (21-7) ninth and Grossmont (21-8) 10th. Orange Coast (22-9) and Glendale (21-9) were the other schools to receive votes. . . . Rancho Santiago sophomore basketball player Chris Jackson was voted the most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference, and teammates Chris Jefferson and Simon Thomas were named to the 10-man all-conference team. others named to the team: Mike Kelly and Chuck McGavran (Orange Coast), Andy Olivarez and Kris Brodowski (Cypress), Tom Desiano and Vincent Smalls (Saddleback) and Kevin Kruz and Reggie Brown (Citrus). Receiving honorable mention: Rob Mase and Matt Judd (OCC), Scott Dwinell and Mike Minier (Saddleback), Brent Martin (Rancho Santiago) and Eric Krivashei (Cypress). Rancho Santiago’s Dana Padgett was named coach of the year. . . . Golden West College sophomore basketball player April Marion was voted the most valuable player of the South Coast Conference and teammates Kim Takayama and Jeaninne Battaglia were named to the first team. Rustlers Jane Utu and Stacy Barnes were second-team members, and Karen Chase and Pee Wee Kemper received honorable mention. Golden West Coach Dick Stricklin was named coach of the year.