BASEBALL : College Performances of Lovullo and Cook Help to Improve Small Schools’ Reputations

When Torey Lovullo and Toi Cook were high school teammates four years ago, they played at Montclair Prep, a Southern Section Small Schools Division team.

Small schools . . . the kiss of death for high school players. Torey and Toi? Even their names sounded small. No wonder nobody took them too seriously out of high school.

Four years later, however, the pair’s accomplishments have scouts and college coaches looking twice before dismissing small schools as small time.

“No question about it, those two opened the door for players in our program and on other small school teams,” Montclair Prep Coach Jeff Pressman said.

Lovullo, who first attended UCLA as a walk-on infielder, was named the Pacific 10 Co-Player of the Year each of the past two seasons. Lovullo, a senior, was drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Tigers last week and was a first-team All-American selection. He batted .350, had 24 home runs and 73 runs batted in.

Cook, who originally signed with Stanford as a defensive back on the football team, was a member of the 1987 national champion baseball team. The senior center fielder scored the run that put the Cardinal ahead to stay in the final game of the College World Series last Sunday and was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection in his junior season. In 67 games this year, Cook batted .315, scored 73 runs and had 59 RBIs. He also stole 28 bases.

Cook was drafted by the Minnesota Twins and the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.

“At the time, nobody knew how good they really were,” Pressman said. “Thanks to them, others are finally getting the recognition they deserve.”

This season, Montclair Prep sent two players to Division I schools. Catcher Frank Charles signed with Pepperdine and pitcher/outfielder Jeff Light signed with Stanford.

Trivia Time: Name the pitcher from Notre Dame High who recorded the victory for Stanford in the final game of the 1987 College World Series. (Answer in Column 2.)

Diplomacy: Somewhere out there, a washed-up, broken-down, has-been pitching prospect undoubtedly thinks Dan Penner has lost his mind.

Penner, a senior right-hander who was 10-8 at Cal State Northridge this season, has decided not to sign with the Oakland A’s and instead will return to CSUN to continue work on his bachelor’s degree in physical education.

“I thought it was the best thing for me to do,” said Penner, 23. “The offer just wasn’t right. I’m getting married soon, and at my age, I thought it was in my best interests to go back to school and continue my education.”

Penner, who was drafted in the 18th round, said the A’s asked him to start at the rookie-league level.

“The whole conversation didn’t go very well when I told them I wasn’t interested in rookie ball. I told them I thought I had enough experience to start higher. We never really even got around to discussing an offer.”

Double vision: When Ron Stillwell of Thousand Oaks turned on his TV last weekend to watch the baseball Game of the Week, you can bet he expected to see his son. After all, Kurt Stillwell is a shortstop on the Cincinnati Reds.

On Saturday, though, the senior Stillwell got a double eyeful.

Rod, Kurt’s younger brother and an infielder with the Valley Dodgers, was sitting in the dugout wearing a Reds jacket and watching the team play the L.A. Dodgers.

“Rod’s recovering from a broken foot, so I guess he thought he’d give his brother a visit,” Valley Dodger General Manager Dave Desmond said.

With or without Stillwell, the team opens its league season this weekend. The Dodgers, an amateur team that finished seventh in the nation last year in its first year of competition, open Golden State League play at noon Saturday at Oxnard College against defending league champion Ventura. The 1986 team was the Valley’s first to qualify for the National Baseball Congress World Series in the 52 year-history of the event.

The Valley Dodgers open their home schedule at Cal State Northridge at noon Sunday against San Marcos. Admission is $1.

Here we go again: Canoga Park and Poly highs will send five players between them to the 11th Bernie Milligan All-Star baseball game at Cal State Northridge on June 27.

Canoga Park, which defeated Poly, 5-4, in the City Section final last week, will be represented by catcher Mike Urman, first baseman Aaron Marks and shortstop Scott Strickland. All will play for the West team, which will be coached by Scott Muckey of Crespi and Wayne Sink of Birmingham.

Poly sends East Valley League MVP Danny Gil, a shortstop, and center fielder Joey Speakes, who will play for the East team, coached by Bud Murray of Hart and Jeff Pressman of Montclair Prep. The game showcases Valley-area City and Southern Section high school seniors.

Others competing for the West include pitchers Mike Teich of El Camino Real, Chris Spears of Crespi, and Jeff Frith-Smith of Monroe; catchers Jim Henderson of Westlake and Tim Laker of Simi Valley; infielders Tim Bohling of Newbury Park, Joe Testa of Crespi, Damon Buford of Birmingham, Jim Doushgounian of Cleveland, Mike Vanacore of Reseda, Kevin Farlow of Kennedy and Ernie Perez of Birmingham; outfielders Rob Bumgarner of El Camino Real, Joe Summers of Royal, Dean Yoshitani of Granada Hills, Chris Greenamyer of Crespi and John Dunn of Chatsworth.

Also participating on the East roster are pitchers Bryan Chandler of Burbank, Jeff Cirillo of Providence, Tim DeGrasse of Notre Dame and Scott Weiss of Quartz Hill; catcher Frank Charles of Montclair Prep; infielders Don Pedersen of Saugus, Manuel Orozco of San Fernando, David Lee of Hart, Steve Ross of Providence, Randy Cooper of Hoover, David Kushan of Fairfax and Mike Muhlethaler of Crescenta Valley; outfielders Jeff Light of Montclair Prep, Tom Ressler of Bell-Jeff, Jim Bonds and Sheldon Sparks of Hart, Travis Regnolds of Canyon and Shawn Fontenot of Sylmar.

Game time is 3:30 p.m.

Trivia Answer: Stanford junior right-hander Jack McDowell was the winning pitcher in the team’s 9-5 victory over Oklahoma State. McDowell, a first-team All-American, finished the season with a 13-5 record and a 4.15 earned-run average. He struck out 120 batters in 128 innings and had five complete games. McDowell is a 1984 graduate of Notre Dame High.