Loara, Servite Lead Field : Coaches in County Emphasize Parity, but 3 Leagues Are Likely to Dominate, as Usual

Orange County high school baseball coaches are talking a lot about parity, leaving the impression that almost every team in the county will challenge for a league title or playoff berth this season.

“I haven’t heard anyone say the best they can do is fifth or sixth,” said Dave Demarest, La Quinta coach. “Everyone thinks they’ll be competitive in their leagues.

“The county is really balanced--we don’t have one or two dominating teams like we have had in the past--and by the end of the season, there may only be two or three teams in the top 10 that are there now.”

Added Ray Moore, Loara coach: “There are 15 teams that could be No. 1, and there’s always going to be someone who comes up that no one expects. It should be a strong year for most teams.”

There may be some new faces in the playoffs come May, but entering the season, it appears that the balance of power will still be concentrated in three traditionally strong leagues: the Sunset, Empire and South Coast.

Those leagues have produced six Southern Section champions in the past six years and have dominated county rankings.

It should be no different in 1987, as seven teams from the Empire, Sunset and South Coast leagues are ranked in The Times’ top 10. Two Empire teams, including No. 1 Loara, are among the top five, and three Sunset and two South Coast teams are among the top 10.

The county’s seven other leagues will send teams to the playoffs, but few of those teams, with the exception of Servite and Mater Dei (Angelus), Western (Orange), Tustin (Sea View), and Fullerton and Troy (Freeway), are expected to go as far as teams from the Empire, Sunset and South Coast leagues.

Here’s a closer look at The Times’ top 10:

LOARA 1 Four of the six starters who return from last year’s 18-10 Empire League team--pitcher/infielder Jeff Patterson, catcher Brian Roberts, shortstop Carlos Vargas and outfielder Brian Malavar--are seniors who have started since their sophomore seasons.

Also back is left-hander Alan Evans, who will join Patterson to give Loara a strong one-two pitching punch. Patterson, Roberts, outfielder Carlos Castillo and newcomer Craig Clayton, an infielder/outfielder who led his American Legion team in RBIs last summer, should provide most of the offense.

Roberts, considered to be one of the county’s top catching prospects, hit .405 with 22 RBIs last season, and Patterson, the ace of this season’s pitching staff, hit .324 with 15 RBIs.

Vargas is an excellent defensive shortstop who will be joined in the infield by newcomers Scott Wood (first base), Danny Rodriguez (second base) and Clayton (third base).

SERVITE 2 The Friars of the Angelus League appear to have it all--a good pitching staff, solid defense, powerful offense and plenty of experience. Six position players are back from last year’s 15-8 team, as are three pitchers--James Ferguson, Craig Barkley and Todd Cook.

Ferguson, a 6-foot 6-inch, 225-pound senior right-hander who was used mostly in relief last season, was 5-0 with seven saves, a 1.52 earned-run average and 52 strikeouts in 41 innings. He’ll be a starter this season along with Barkley, a junior who was 5-3 with a 1.72 ERA last year. Cook will be the Friars’ top reliever.

Mike Robertson, a switch-hitting junior outfielder, should be Servite’s top offensive threat, but he’ll receive plenty of support from returning starters Corey Wentz (outfield), Brian Criss (catcher), Andy Roschman (third base), Mike

Cornelius (second base) and Chris Ullmer (shortstop).

Mike Petko, a 6-4, 215-pound junior who hit three home runs in eight games last season after being called up to the varsity, will add power to the lineup.

OCEAN VIEW 3 Most teams would be devastated by the loss of a pitcher of David Holdridge’s caliber. The senior right-hander, who went 7-0 with 79 strikeouts in 54 innings last season, dislocated his clavicle over the winter and will be relegated to designated hitter for at least the first half of the season.

But few coaches are shedding any tears for Ocean View’s Bill Gibbons, who has three other players--pitcher Brent Knackert, shortstop Mike Fyhrie and catcher Eric Christofferson--who are considered major-college prospects.

Knackert, a breaking-ball specialist, was used almost exclusively in relief last year, but he has gained 15 pounds and increased the velocity of his fastball and will be the Seahawks’ top starter this season.

Fyhrie, a first-team All-Sunset League shortstop last year, will absorb some of the pitching duties, and Christofferson, who became a starter midway through the league season last year, should be one of the county’s top catchers.

CAPISTRANO VALLEY 4 The Cougars of the South Coast League lost only three starters from a team that finished 19-7 in 1986, and they picked up a good transfer in a junior left-hander, Brian Walker, who also played first base and the outfield at Big Bear High last year.

Walker will be joined in the rotation by ace Brett Snyder, a senior right-hander who went 7-3 with a 1.60 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 1986. He also is one of Capistrano Valley’s top batters.

The Cougars opened the season without their best all-round player, junior outfielder Tommy Adams, who hit .393 and stole 19 bases in the leadoff position last year. Adams is coming off arm surgery for removal of bone chips from his elbow seven weeks ago and may be out until league play begins.

The team’s defensive strength will be up the middle, where center fielder Marcel Durand, who hit .345 with 22 RBIs last year, shortstop Bill Bardens, second baseman Chris Ashback and catcher Mike Pierce return.

ESPERANZA 5 This would appear to be a rebuilding year for the Aztecs of the Empire League, who lost all but one starter from a team that won the 4-A championship and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in USA Today’s final poll.

But that one starter happens to be the best player in Orange County, shortstop Tom Redington. And several of the newcomers are players who spot-started for Esperanza last year.

Bart Goldman, who spent plenty of time in the outfield and hit .352 with 8 stolen bases and 6 doubles, will be the team’s top outfielder this year.

Brent Bish, a speedy infielder who filled in at third base last year and starred on Esperanza’s soccer team this winter, will move into a full-time role this spring.

Brian Aube, who started at second base last year, broke his leg during the soccer season and will miss the entire baseball season. But the Aztecs have a very capable replacement in Doug Saunders, who is one of several players up from last year’s league co-champion junior varsity team.

WESTERN 6 The Pioneers of the Orange League have a better offensive team than the one that reached last year’s 3-A championship game, but they will have to make up for the loss of pitchers David Tellers and Rich Lodding, who combined for a 23-4 record.

If junior pitchers Mark Holiday and Bob Noson have the same success on the varsity level that they did on the junior varsity, on which they combined for a 15-1 record to help Western to last year’s league JV title, the Pioneers might return to the championship game.

The hitting is there. First baseman Dan Price, who had 5 homers and 30 RBIs; shortstop Dave Brown, who hit .397, and catcher Scott Pawloski, who hit .300, are three of six starters who return. The others are third baseman David Jacob, pitcher Eric Kawamoto and outfielder Mark Klump.

Western will start four sophomores, including second baseman Troy Babbitt, who had 39 hits for the JV team last year.

MISSION VIEJO 7 Pitching is the Diablos’ strength, with ace right-hander Jack Bailey (9-5), left-hander Phil Houston (2-0) and right-hander Matt Lackie (3-0) all coming back to the South Coast League team after good seasons.

Tony Arnone, who started at third base last year, moves to catcher and will bat cleanup. Dwayne Lee, who hit .323 in a part-time role last year, will be a starting outfielder this year.

That’s it as far as returning starters go, but the Diablos have a promising sophomore in Eric Ekdahl, a speedy shortstop who will bat in the leadoff position. An excellent all-round athlete, Ekdahl was an all-league soccer player this winter and a starting wide receiver/running back on the Diablos’ football team last fall.

MARINA 8 The Vikings went 9-14 last year, but the eight senior starters who return should make Marina a strong contender for the Sunset League title.

Three of the main sources of optimism for Coach Paul Renfrow are senior catcher Matt Hattabaugh, a three-year starter who hit .414 last year and is one of the county’s best defensive catchers; pitcher Danny Jensen, another three-year starter, and first baseman Rick VanderRiet, who hit. 365 last year.

Also back are third baseman Kevin Dolan; outfielders Bruce Schmidt, Brian Bosse and David Mojica, and pitcher/outfielder Todd Destatte.

Juniors Robbie Carabba and Steve Jio will take over at shortstop and second base, but Renfrow considers them as good as or better than the combination he had there last season.

TUSTIN 9 Vince Brown, Tiller coach, can’t replace pitcher Steve Surico, a left-hander who went 10-2 with 132 strikeouts and was an all-county first-team selection last year, but most of a lineup that helped Tustin to a 20-5 record returns intact.

Leading the list is senior shortstop Matt Lundin, who gives the team defensive stability and a potent bat, and pitcher/designated hitter Chris Floth, who was 7-1 last year and hit .450 with six doubles in Sea View League play.

Also back are second baseman Craig Gill, who hit .326 last year; catcher Darren Puckett, who begins his third season as a starter; center fielder Walt McMahon, a leadoff hitter who had a .500 on-base percentage; all-league left fielder Lee Pooler (.356), and pitcher/first baseman Monte Roberts.

WESTMINSTER 10 The first-year coach, Ken Ostrowski, has inherited a talented Sunset League team that includes returning shortstop Al Rodriguez, who led the county in stolen bases last season with 20, and pitcher/first baseman Ryan Klesko, who had a 5-1 record and hit .420 last year as a freshman.

Other top players are pitcher John Gonzales, a senior left-hander who won seven games last year; catcher Dan Villegas, and infielder Dean Eddy, who is recovering from a broken hand and probably will move into the outfield when he returns.

The Lions will have good pitching and defense and better-than-average team speed. About the only weakness may be the lack of a true power hitter in the lineup.

Other teams to watch: Troy, Mater Dei, Katella, Fullerton, Laguna Hills.