BASEBALL : College of the Canyons’ Runaway Is Under Way in Western State Conference Southern Division

What are the chances of a Western State Conference Southern Division team catching up with first-place College of the Canyons?

“Slim,” Moorpark Coach Ron Stillwell said. “They’d have to have a complete breakdown and I can’t see that lineup having a complete breakdown.”

Canyons’ lineup, perhaps its best since, well, last year when the school won the state championship, continues to bully WSC teams. The Cougars (17-3), who hold a five-game lead over Moorpark (8-5) and Santa Monica (7-4), won five games last week and another Tuesday. Canyons has won 15 straight and owns the best conference record in the state at 13-0. Last season, the Cougars set a state record for most wins (41).

In a game against Pierce last week, Canyons scored 22 runs on 21 hits, including seven home runs. Tuesday against Glendale, catcher Mike Bible doubled, homered and drove in six runs in a 16-7 win. Canyons, which had 16 hits, got three hits from third baseman Andy Cutchall and two hits each from Len Hokanson, Vic Sotello and Joe Pieper.

Canyons will play host to Santa Monica at 2 p.m. today.

Add JC baseball: The first-place teams from the Northern and Southern divisions of the WSC will receive automatic berths in the state regional playoffs, which begin May 16. The teams will have a playoff series May 5-9 to determine the conference’s top-seeded team.

According to an informal poll of local coaches, Canyons and Oxnard will battle for the No. 1 spot, with Canyons projected as the eventual winner. Oxnard, a Northern Division team, is 14-2, 9-2 in conference.

Saturday’s doubleheader between Canyons and Oxnard could serve as a conference playoff preview. The first game, at Oxnard, will begin at noon.

Recruiting blues: After submitting his resignation to Athletic Director Bob Doering on Monday, Cal Lutheran baseball Coach Al Schoenberger, who has coached at the school for 14 years, said: “I want to stay in baseball but not at the college level. It’s too much work. The thing that is tough is the recruiting. I don’t know any coaches, in any sport, who enjoy it. And without recruiting, you can’t make it. Your program stagnates.”

Back in the chase: Moorpark’s Mike Chase, a freshman from Camarillo High, has gone from short relief pitching to the starting rotation in a matter of two weeks.

Chase pitched two strong innings of relief in a loss to Canyons on March 19, earning a start in a doubleheader against Hancock on Saturday.

“That was kind of the turnaround for him this season, those two innings in relief over at Canyons,” Moorpark Coach Ron Stillwell said. “He did a nice job and got a start at Hancock and went a strong seven, so, he earned another start and went another strong six Tuesday. He only walked one. He’s getting all his pitches over, which is the key for him.”

Actually, the key for Chase was merely getting on the mound.

“He had a tender arm at the start of the season,” Stillwell said, “and then he’d miss a practice for this reason or that reason. He just wasn’t ready to pitch. He’s finally got his act together.”

In fewer than four days, Chase has won two games, his only starts. Moorpark (8-5, 13-10 overall) will play at 2 p.m. today at Pierce.

The well ran dry: Cal State Northridge had 39 hits and 24 runs in two games prior to playing at UCLA on Friday but could come up with only two of each against the Bruins.

Poll check: Five of the seven California Collegiate Athletic Assn. teams are ranked in Division II’s top 25. Conference-leading Cal Poly Pomona (19-15) is fourth, UC Riverside (19-6) sixth, Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-8) ninth, Northridge (19-10) 15th and Cal State Los Angeles (14-18) 24th.

Going mobile: Nobody told USC Coach Mike Gillespie that leaving College of the Canyons and taking over the Trojans would be easy. USC had a good start this season and was ranked in the top 10 in both college baseball polls. A three-game series sweep by UCLA March 22-24 put a damper on the Trojan party. But things are looking better. On Tuesday, Gillespie coached USC to the championship of the South Alabama tournament in Mobile, Ala. USC beat Southern Mississippi, 1-0.

In the first round, USC (24-15) beat Tulane, 7-0, marking the first time Tulane has been shut out in 171 games.

Closing in: Stanford’s Jack McDowell struck out a career-high 13 in the Cardinal’s 10-3 win over Arizona State on Friday. McDowell, a junior right-hander from Van Nuys, pitched 7 innings to improve his record to 4-1, 3-0 in the Pac-10. The former Notre Dame High standout has 26 wins and ranks fourth on the Cardinal’s all-time list behind leader Jeff Ballard, who has 36.

The Torey tally: With two hits against San Diego State on Tuesday, UCLA second baseman Torey Lovullo extended his hitting streak to 19 games. Lovullo leads college baseball with 15 home runs. He is batting .500 in the Bruins’ past 19 games. Lovullo, who played at Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, has 35 hits in his past 70 at-bats.

Add UCLA: Besides Lovullo, three Valley-area players are making contributions in Westwood. Bob Allen (Granada Hills) is a reserve outfielder who coaches first base, Mike Hankins (Simi Valley) backs up Lovullo at second and also plays shortstop, and Charlie Fiacco (Camarillo) starts in center field and has five home runs.