City Baseball Preview : East Valley’s Poly Off to Fast Start

For the teams of the East Valley League, baseball season came early this year.

Whereas most City teams have spent the first half of March playing in tournaments, the teams of the East Valley--there are eight, two more than the other City leagues--have played four league games.

For the rest of the 4-A division, at least, the results have been menacing. Poly of Sun Valley, which finished two games behind eventual 4-A champion Grant in the East Valley league last year, has emerged as perhaps the City’s finest team, having outscored its opponents, 64-9, in four league games. Included are a 25-0 romp over Hollywood and a 12-0 beating of Verdugo Hills last Thursday.

“They’re a talented group of kids,” said Poly Coach Jerry Cord, whose Parrots are The Times’ top-ranked City team. “But they know they’re not infallible. They’re realistic about these things (polls). They know we still have to go out there and do it.”

On the other side of the hill, the folks at Venice have been screaming for better competition for three years, while the rest of the 3-A division has been screaming for mercy. Both requests have been denied by the City Section once again.

The Gondoliers, who had hoped to move into the Valley-dominated 4-A division after winning three consecutive 3-A titles, will remain in 3-A. Venice is ranked third in The Times poll.

“This year, our principal sent a letter and the change was made,” Venice Coach Jeff Shimizu said. “Then the coaches in our league were kind of angered because we didn’t go by the proper procedures. It’s something you just can’t do overnight. They petitioned it downtown, and it was turned down.

“They didn’t want to make an exception for one team, even though you’ve won three straight (3-A titles). I thought I had a pretty good case.

“We could play with those guys. We sure could be competitive. In no way could we dominate.”

Probably true. Venice and No. 10 Wilmington Banning are the only non-Valley teams listed in the top 10. Valley teams have won the 4-A title for the last 14 years, and one is expected to win again.

But the finest all-around team is not necessarily the one that will win the City championship. Venice is a heavy favorite to win its fourth straight 3-A title, but look for No. 3 San Fernando, with pitcher Bobby Aparicio, to advance in the 4-A playoffs in May.

Aparicio, considered the City’s top pitcher, could dominate the City tournament, which allows a pitcher to start the second-, third-, and fourth-round games.

“For one game, with Aparicio on the mound, if I were a betting man, I’d pick Fernando,” San Fernando Coach Steve Marden said. “We’d have to be favored to win it.”

The West Valley, with four teams in the top 10--Chatsworth, Canoga Park, Reseda and El Camino Real--has shaped up to be the City’s toughest league, although Sylmar could make the going tough for Poly and others in the East Valley.

Sylmar has been nearly perfect with senior left-hander Olonzo Woodfin on the mound. The 6-4 Woodfin struck out 41 batters in his first 17 innings of league play, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run.

Here’s a look at The Times top 10:

1. Poly (East Valley)--”We’ve shown everybody we can play with them,” Coach Jerry Cord said of the Parrots, who got a no-hitter from Greg Nealon against Chatsworth in February. “If our pitching continues to get strong, I think we’re certainly going to be around for the (playoffs),” Cord said. Nealon looms as the key for Poly. “He’s not overpowering but he has a nice breaking ball and excellent control,” Cord said of Nealon. Completing the Poly pitching staff are juniors Nick Lymberopoulos, Miguel Delgado and Mario Gomez, and senior Hans Hekking. Shortstop Danny Gil, a senior, is a returning .345 hitter and considered a college prospect. Luis Porres, a junior right fielder, is a returning .400 hitter, and catcher Rodrigo Fuentes is a good defensive player who has been hitting well in winter baseball, according to Cord.

2. San Fernando (Mid-Valley)--Perhaps the Tigers do not have the overall strength of Poly or Venice, but they do have the City’s best pitcher, Bobby Aparicio, and that’s what counts in the playoffs. Last year, when Granada Hills and San Fernando boasted the City’s best all-around squads, both were beaten by Grant and 4-A player of the year, pitcher Rodney Beck. “I would say that Aparicio is capable of assisting himself more than Beck,” San Fernando Coach Steve Marden said. “He can throw with slightly more velocity. His fastball has so much velocity, so much movement, that it makes him almost unhittable for the average high school player.” Aparicio recorded 49 strikeouts in 24 innings during the winter, and worked four innings in a 6-1 victory over Venice, according to Cord. Aparicio is 6-4, and his fastball has been clocked at 88 m.p.h. Without Aparicio, San Fernando is an above-average team but one that would probably not advance through the playoffs. “We’re gonna have to play five, six league games without him, so it’s not going to be that easy,” Marden said.

3. Venice (Western)--The Gondoliers have five starters from a team that outscored opponents in the final two games of the 3-A playoffs last year, 31-5. Still, Coach Jeff Shimizu balks at the idea of his team being the City’s best, in either division. “The No. 1 team would be San Fernando, because they have the big pitcher, Aparicio,” he said. “I think we’re in the middle of the pack somewhere.” Returning is 3-A player of the year Chico Garcia, who hit .440 and 8 home runs last season, when he was a starting pitcher. He is now a reliever. Also back are outfielder Ernie Soto, an All-Western league selection in 1986 and a .345 hitter; Roger Serafin, a senior outfielder who hit .423, had 5 home runs and 25 runs-batted in last year; Arizona State-bound Eric Crawford, a speedy shortstop who hit .383 as a junior, and third baseman Roland Villasenor, a scrappy junior and a .375 hitter. “I think they form a solid nucleus,” Shimizu said. Dennis Van Buskirk, up from the junior varsity, will assume the No. 1 pitching spot. Other pitchers include senior Lucio Chaidez, a 6-5, 215-pound fastballer; Fred Smith, a junior fastballer, and Rick Vasquez, a fastballer and the Gondoliers’ long reliever. A lack of consistent competition may be the Gondoliers’ biggest foe once league competition starts.

4. Chatsworth (West Valley)--Robert Lofrano’s Chancellors, despite the preseason no-hit loss to Poly, are a strong all-around team and a slight favorite over Canoga Park to win their seventh straight league title. The squad is young--Lofrano will start five juniors and one sophomore--but should mature as the season progresses, Lofrano says. Junior right-hander Shawn Bowen, a change-up specialist who transferred from Newhall Hart, heads a pitching staff that includes junior Pierre Amado, Matt Finley and John Haselbusch. Third baseman Joel Wolfe--”the premier player in the City,” according to Lofrano, is a returning .393 hitter. The Wallace brothers--Donovan at second base, Derek at shortstop--are both able defensive players, and left fielder Rex McMackin is a returning .320 hitter. “I know we’ve got good pitching,” Lofrano said. “How we hit the ball is the question.”

5. Canoga Park (West Valley)--If they are not the best, the Hunters are certainly the City’s most talked-about club, with nine returning players. “Our team is for real, if you disregard the pitching,” Coach Doug MacKenzie said. Back from last year’s squad are everyone but the designated hitter and second baseman, and MacKenzie has found replacements. Catcher Mike Urman, the West Valley league player of the year who hit .475 with 15 home runs and 21 RBIs in 15 games in 1986, returns and is stronger, MacKenzie said. Shortstop Scott Strickland, a senior, is a solid leadoff man who hit .327 last year. Pitching is the problem for the Hunters, and No. 1 Mike Kerber’s right elbow has not improved since he stopped pitching more than four weeks ago. Canoga Park lost No. 2 Mike Roberts to academic ineligibility, and No. 3 Adam Schulhofer has an “injured right arm,” according to MacKenzie. Kerber, a .300 hitter in 1986, will play first base and Schulhofer, who had 23 hits in 15 league games for a .469 average as a sophomore, will play center field.

6. Sylmar (East Valley)--Olonzo Woodfin, he of the 85-m.p.h fastball and remarkable early season statistics, is the key to Sylmar’s season, according to Coach John Klitsner. “We’re not going to be embarrassed by anybody,” he said. “With Woodfin on the mound, we’re right up there.” Offense is the problem, Klitsner has said, but the team has responded, outscoring four league opponents in the early season, 41-10. Back are first baseman David Nunez, all-league right fielder and .400 hitter Tony Taisacan, and center fielder Shawn Fontenot. Sylmar handed Venice a 9-1 nonleague loss.

7. Granada Hills (West Valley)--Darryl Stroh’s team is struggling in the nonleague season he says, but Stroh has won five City titles in 17 years at Granada Hills, and his 1987 team has shown ability in the winter leagues. Steve Covacic, a junior right-hander, is Granada Hills’ No. 1 pitcher, according to Stroh, but Jeff Adams should provide strong backup. Right fielder Sean Brown, a junior who was on the basketball team, has “ the best arm in Los Angeles,” according to Stroh. Brown should hit well above .300 and with power, Stroh said. Left fielder Dean Yoshitani, a returning .400 hitter, Covacic and Brown should form the nucleus of a good hitting team.

8. Woodland Hills El Camino Real (West Valley)--The Conquistadores have three starters returning, including senior Rob Bumgarner, one of the premier outfielders in the league. Also back are shortstop Ray Sabado, a .355 hitter, and junior third baseman Bryce Welch. Ryan McGuire, a freshman, is starting at first base for Coach Mike Maio. “I see us being very competitive if everything falls into place,” Maio said. “If everything comes in, we can be tough, but this is not an easy league.”

9. Reseda (West Valley)--The Regents, a fourth-place playoff entry last season, may be the sleeper in the league. Reseda lost to eventual champion Grant in the first round, but this year have four players who have been starting for three years--Steve Brody, Donnie Grant, Mike Vanacore and J.P Desanfants. Coach Dick Vinetz should get strong performances from Brody and Grant, the No. 1 and 2 pitchers, respectively. Vanacore, a senior infielder, is a top prospect and Desanfants an able catcher. Pitchers Matt Gilmore and Mike Shwartzer, both of whom will play, are transfers from Woodland Hills Taft.

10. Wilmington Banning (Marine)--”No pitching, no catching, no brains, no coaching.” That’s how Coach Dan Evans described the Pilots in late February. Since, Banning has advanced through the El Segundo tournament--considered one of Southern California’s toughest--to a fourth-place finish and is shaping up as one of the non-Valley contenders in the 4-A. Leonard Fletcher, who is 6-3, brings little experience but a moving fastball to the Pilot varsity, while returners Tommy Louviere at second base and Fernando Herrera in the outfield should provide power at the plate.