Southern Section Baseball Playoffs : El Dorado Picks Site Better Suited to Its Strength

Steve Gullotti, El Dorado High School baseball coach, considered playing today’s Southern Section 4-A semifinal game against Lakewood at Fullerton College, but his players talked him out of it.

Too many bad memories. The Golden Hawks played last year’s 4-A semifinal game against Fontana at Fullerton College and lost, 1-0.

So when El Dorado won a coin flip Saturday to determine which team would select the neutral site for today’s 3:15 p.m. game, Gullotti chose Valencia High School--not Fullerton College.

“We have a few kids back from that team, and they said, ‘No way, we don’t want to play there,’ ” Gullotti said.

One is catcher Doug Yates, who hit a 330-foot fly ball to left field that Fontana outfielder Mike McClellan leaped for and caught at the wall. That would have been a home run at most high-school fields, but not at the spacious Fullerton field, which is 330 feet down the lines, 380 in the alleys and 400 in center.

Gullotti thinks a smaller field--Valencia is 320 feet down the left-field line, 305 to right, 350 in the alleys and 370 to center--will favor the Golden Hawks, who have hit 30 home runs this season.

“Lakewood has some good hitters, but if it comes down to the long ball, I think we’d have the advantage,” Gullotti said. “We’ll probably turn around and get beat by a 310-foot home run--you know how those things go.”

It probably won’t go that way today, not with a pitching matchup that features Lakewood right-hander Mike McNary (10-3) and El Dorado lefty Steve Gill (11-3).

McNary, who throws an 87-m.p.h. fastball and has an excellent curve, has pitched two straight shutouts, defeating Westminster, 2-0, on a one-hitter in the second round and Bishop Amat, 7-0, on a three-hitter in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Gill, a senior breaking-ball specialist, has won all three playoff games. He allowed only one hit in five innings of the Golden Hawks’ 13-2 first-round victory over Culver City, and he pitched two innings of relief in a 13-4 second-round victory over Simi Valley, and five innings of relief in a 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Crespi.

Both will be facing hot offensive clubs. Lakewood has scored 27 runs on 38 hits in three playoff games, and El Dorado has scored 31 runs on 31 hits. Lakewood’s top hitter is left fielder Matt Nuez, who is 10 for 10 in the playoffs.

El Dorado is led by shortstop Bret Boone (.494, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs), first baseman Scott Tomko (.413), Gill (.376) and Yates (.355, 3 homers, 25 RBIs).

In the other 4-A semifinal:

Esperanza (24-2) vs. Arcadia (21-5-1) at Cal State Los Angeles--The defending champion Aztecs have reached the semifinals without the services of ace right-hander Roger Weems, who faced only two batters in Esperanza’s first playoff game but had to depart because of a strained muscle in his neck.

If Weems, a sophomore, is unable to pitch today, Aztec Coach Mike Curran will start junior right-hander Jason Moler and use left-hander Rob Nay and right-hander Doug Saunders in relief.

Esperanza is coming off Friday’s 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Servite, in which the Aztecs erased a 5-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth inning and two in the seventh on shortstop Tom Redington’s two-run homer, his ninth of the season.

Esperanza scored the winning runs in the ninth on Saunders’ two-run double. Saunders, who bats fourth, behind Redington, hit .426 during the regular season with

In 3-A semifinal play:

Arlington (20-7) vs. Villa Park (19-10) at Rancho Santiago College--Tom Kelly (9-5), a senior left-hander who lasted only 1 innings in Friday’s 11-6 quarterfinal victory over Righetti, will start today for Villa Park.

If he falters, Coach Dave Ochoa has junior left-hander Jerry Aschoff, who pitched 5 innings of relief to earn the victory over Righetti and 5 innings of relief to gain the victory over South Hills in the second round.

The Spartans have scored 31 runs in three playoff games and are led offensively by third baseman Tony Inga, who went 3 for 5 with three RBIs against Righetti and has 26 RBIs this season.

The Lions, one of two semifinalists from the Ivy League, are led by shortstop Layne Lambert, who hit better than .500 during the regular season and has signed a letter of intent with Nevada Las Vegas.

Senior right-hander Mark Pratt (11-4) has pitched every inning of the playoffs, allowing three runs and 19 hits in three games, and is expected to start today.

John W. North (24-5) vs. Troy (20-6) at Cal State Fullerton--The Warriors, who have 39 home runs this season, including two in Friday’s 14-0 quarterfinal victory over Alhambra, will face one of Southern California’s top pitchers in North’s Scott Chanz, whose fastball has been clocked at 90 m.p.h.

Chanz, who will attend UCLA next fall, threw a two-hitter to lead the Ivy League-champion Huskies to a 4-2 victory over Schurr in the first round and a three-hitter to help them defeat Brea-Olinda, 7-0, in the second round. He pitched one inning of relief in Friday’s 5-2 quarterfinal victory over El Segundo.

Troy will counter with an outstanding pitcher of its own--senior right-hander Chris Robinson (12-2), who will attend Cal State Fullerton next fall. Robinson, a sinker-slider pitcher, allowed only one hit in five innings Friday and knocked in six runs with a grand slam and a two-run double.

In a 2-A semifinal:

Arroyo (18-5-1) vs. Capistrano Valley (25-3) at Cal Poly Pomona--The second-seeded Cougars needed Mike Pierce’s RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to defeat Central, 4-3, in Friday’s quarterfinals. Lance August, a senior right-hander with a 6-1 record, will start today for Capistrano Valley.

The Knights, Mission Valleys League champions, will start either Paco Chavez (11-1), a right-hander who pitched a seven-hitter to lead Arroyo to a 5-3 victory over La Mirada in Friday’s quarterfinals, or Steve Castillo (4-1), a right-hander who threw a six-hitter in the Knights’ 18-2 second-round victory over Brawley.

Arroyo has excellent team speed and is led offensively by O.J. Castillo and Anthony Alvarez, who are hitting better than .400.