SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : 4-A Preview : It’s No One-Man Show : Lack of Recognition Only Made Esperanza’s Lineup Work Harder for Spotlight

It has taken 27 games for most people to figure out what Bart Goldman knew before the 1987 baseball season began--that Esperanza High School is much more than a one-man team.

Don’t get Goldman wrong. The Aztec left fielder isn’t questioning the stature of teammate Tom Redington, the senior shortstop and team leader who was selected in the second round of Tuesday’s annual baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves.

But one player alone didn’t carry the Aztecs into tonight’s Southern Section 4-A championship game against Lakewood in Dodger Stadium.

As much credit should go to second baseman Doug Saunders, who is hitting .439 with six homers, 28 RBIs and 32 runs scored. He also has a 4-0 pitching record with three saves. And some of the credit should go to Jason Moler, who is hitting .370 with 29 RBIs and 24 runs scored and has an 8-1 record.

And, especially, credit should go to Bart Goldman.

Goldman, the senior leadoff hitter, is batting .440 (40 for 91) with two homers, 14 RBIs, 29 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. He has a .596 on-base percentage, and he set a school record for doubles this season with 10.

Goldman wasn’t selected in the pro baseball draft, but he has earned a scholarship to play at UC Irvine next year. What he hasn’t received, according to Redington, is enough recognition.

“He hit .470 going into the playoffs, and no one knew it,” Redington said.

Redington, who is hitting .382 with nine homers and 30 RBIs, need only look at himself to understand why Goldman has been overlooked. Through no fault of his own, Redington tends to cast a shadow over his teammates.

He’s the dominant figure on the team and the only full-time returning starter from last year’s 4-A championship team. He was featured in several area newspapers as the county’s top returning player this season.

It was this exposure that both irked and inspired Goldman, who started in the outfield last season only when No. 2 pitcher Tim MacNeil was on the mound.

“Everyone was saying we had only one returning starter, but I played in every game but two last year,” Goldman said. “That kind of ticked me off, but it also got me going.

“We read quotes from other coaches who said Esperanza was good, but that Redington was everything. We had to prove that we were more than a one-player team, although that one player is pretty good. Going this far proved it.”

Aztec Coach Mike Curran said he had his reasons for playing up Redington and shying away from Goldman during the preseason.

“We wanted to take little attention away from Goldie so he could blossom on his own, which he did,” Curran said. “When he’s hot, he makes things real easy for us. He gets on base, can steal, can hit the ball deep or in the alleys, and is fantastic in the clutch.”

Goldman’s speed also helps in the outfield, where he is able to track down long fly balls in the left-center field gap. About his only weakness is his throwing arm.

“His arm isn’t that bad, but it’s not a great college arm,” Curran said. “He can run, hit and field at the college level, but someone may decide to stick him at second base. He played there as a freshman before we moved him to the outfield in his sophomore year.”

Goldman, 5-feet 8-inches and 155 pounds, is an excellent all-around athlete who played defensive back on the football team and had six interceptions last season. He has a 3.6 grade-point average and recently won the Aztec Social Science award for getting A’s in four social science classes.

“He has a good sense of humor and he’s an intelligent guy,” Redington said. “He’s a quiet leader, but he’s always there.”

Whether anyone else notices him or not.

4-A Notes Lakewood right-hander Mike McNary (11-3) will make his fifth straight playoff start tonight for the Lancers (24-7). The hard-throwing senior, who has signed a letter of intent with Loyola Marymount, went 21 innings without allowing a run. Included in that span was a 2-0, one-hit victory over Westminster in the second round and a 7-0, three-hit victory over Bishop Amat in the quarterfinals. McNary, who has struck out 131 and walked 26 in 97 innings this season, threw 110 pitches and allowed eight hits and four runs in Tuesday’s 5-4 semifinal victory over El Dorado.

Esperanza Coach Mike Curran has not decided on a starter for the 7:30 p.m. game. Right-hander Roger Weems, who is suffering from a strained neck muscle and pitched to only two batters in the first round, threw Thursday and Friday but was still experiencing some pain. If he can’t pitch, Curran will start junior right-hander Jason Moler, who pitched six innings of the Aztecs’ 2-0 semifinal victory over Arcadia, or junior left-hander Rob Nay.

Top-seeded Esperanza (25-2) is looking to snap a 16-year streak in which no 4-A team has entered the postseason playoffs ranked No. 1 and then won five games to win the championship. Lakewood was the last team to live up to its ranking, winning the 4-A title in 1970. . . . The Aztecs are also trying to become the first Orange County baseball team to win back-to-back titles. The last team to win consecutive 4-A championships was Chaffey, which won titles in 1956, ’57 and ’58.

The last four teams to have won 4-A championships and then returned to the title game the next season have all lost in their attempts to repeat. North Torrance defeated Chaffey, 9-0, in the 1971 title game but lost to Dominguez, 5-4, in 1972. Lakewood beat Jordan, 5-3, in 1976 but lost to San Gorgonio, 1-0, in 1977. El Segundo defeated Hueneme, 5-0, in 1979 and lost to Mater Dei, 8-5, in 1980. Millikan beat Colton, 6-5, in 1983 and lost to South Torrance, 3-0, in 1984.

Esperanza is hitting .347 as a team with 33 home runs and 77 stolen bases. Lakewood is hitting .338 as a team, and everyone in the Lancer lineup, with the exception of the No. 8 and 9 hitters, has at least 14 RBIs. . . . Lakewood left fielder Matt Nuez had his consecutive hit streak stopped at 10 when he struck out in his first at-bat against El Dorado Tuesday. He’s now 10 for 12 in the playoffs.

Esperanza shortstop Tom Redington needs one more walk to tie Bob Brooks’ Southern Section record of 38 walks, set this season for South Hills High. Redington’s 37 walks tie him for second place with Kraig Johnson of Whittier Christian, who walked 37 times in 1983. . . . The Aztecs are ranked second in the nation behind Sarasota (Fla.) High in USA Today’s most recent high school baseball poll.

Esperanza practiced Friday night under the lights at UC Irvine to prepare for tonight’s game. . . . Esperanza left fielder Bart Goldman on the importance of the Aztecs’ 7-5 quarterfinal victory over Servite, in which they came back from a 5-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh: “That win made us think that we were pretty much invincible.” . . . Lakewood will be the home team tonight.