Prep Wrap-Up : Hawthorne 9 Hoping History Repeats Itself

The year was 1973 and Hawthorne High’s baseball team was a power in the South Bay.

The Cougars boasted a formidable lineup that included pitcher-shortstop Mike Scott, the future Cy Young Award winner for the Houston Astros; pitcher-catcher Mike Colburn, who went on to play for the Chicago White Sox; and outfielder Tom Ruegger, later a standout at Pepperdine University.

Hawthorne continued to field competitive teams for several years, but in recent seasons the Cougars fell on hard times.

Last year they hit rock bottom, going 2-13 for a last-place finish in the Ocean League.

Neil Minami, who has experienced good and bad times in his 16 years as Hawthorne’s coach, hopes last week’s impressive showing by the Cougars is a sign things are looking up again.

Hawthorne moved into a tie for second place with Beverly Hills by beating Santa Monica, 3-2, on Wednesday and Mira Costa, 9-1, on Friday. The Cougars committed only one error in the two games.

“We played very well this week, so we’re happy,” Minami said. “We’re finally getting it together. Now the kids feel they are capable of winning.”

It’s too early to get excited about a 2-1 league record, but considering that it matches the Cougars’ win total of a year ago, the prospects of making the Southern Section 5-A playoffs appear promising. Hawthorne hasn’t made the playoffs since 1984.

“This is the first year since I’ve been back from El Camino that we had all the kids return from the previous year,” said Minami, who left Hawthorne for two seasons to coach El Camino College in 1983 and 1984. “Every year it seemed like we’d lose a few.

“You can’t tell by one week, but the attitude is a little different. We have some kids who are hustlers. I don’t worry about them as much as I have about past groups. This group is more like the ones I had in the ‘70s. It makes it a lot more fun.”

Hawthorne (4-4 overall) received some excellent individual efforts in its back-to-back victories:

Steve Miller went 3 for 3 in the comeback win over Santa Monica (Hawthorne trailed 2-0 after two innings) and he pitched a five-hitter, striking out seven and walking one, against Mira Costa.

Tom Jess, who pitched a three-hitter against Santa Monica, contributed to the team’s eight-hit attack against Mira Costa by going 2 for 3 with three runs scored.

Outfielder Bouche Robinson was the hitting star against Mira Costa, slamming two home runs and collecting three RBI.

Rich Peters helped bring the Cougars back against Santa Monica by driving in two runs, including the game-winner with sixth-inning single.

Hawthorne will play one game during the Easter break--a non-league contest on Saturday at El Rancho--before returning to league action on April 6 against last-place Inglewood (0-3).

After that, the Cougars will find out where they stand in the Ocean race. They will play host to first-place Culver City (3-0) on April 8 and then play back-to-back games with Beverly Hills on April 13 and 15. Beverly Hills routed Hawthorne, 17-4, in a league opener.

They’re doing it again at Banning.

Seemingly every year the Pilots are one of the area’s surprise baseball teams. They never have enough size, speed or talent, but somehow they find a way to win.

Some thought that would change this season when Syl Saavedra took over for veteran Coach Dan Evans, now in charge of the junior varsity team.

However, Banning hasn’t lost a beat with Saavedra at the helm. The Pilots (6-2 overall, 3-0 in the Marine League) moved into sole possession of first place on Wednesday with a 16-6 romp over previously unbeaten San Pedro.

Saavedra was understandably apprehensive about the team before the season. Banning returned only four varsity lettermen, including two starters. But the Pilots’ inexperience hasn’t been a drawback so far.

Neither has a lack of size. In their win over San Pedro, the Pilots started five players 5-foot-9 or under.

Banning’s undersized honor roll includes 5-4 second baseman Eric Fierro, 5-9 center fielder John Otte, 5-9 pitcher Ricardo Bernal, 5-9 third baseman Darren Kondash and 5-7 first baseman Chris Fernandez.

The Pilots have only one player over 6 feet.

St. Bernard appears well on its way to a third consecutive Camino Real League baseball title.

The Vikings, who opened the season as the top-ranked team in the Southern Section 2-A Division, dominated their first two league opponents this week. They routed St. Anthony, 15-2, on Wednesday and did the same to Verbum Dei, 19-1, on Friday.

Junior Dan Melendez was impressive in both victories. The left-hander pitched a four-hitter and went 4 for 4 with a home run and three RBI against St. Anthony. On Friday, he drove in four runs, scored three runs and stole three bases.

Althea Moses, a starting forward on Morningside’s state Division I runner-up girls basketball team, won three events on Friday in her team’s 61-52 Pioneer Legaue track loss to Redondo.

She won the 800 meters in 2:35.0, the long jump with a mark of 15-8 and the triple jump with a mark of 37-5.

West Torrance pitcher Juanita Olloque overcame a bout with the flu on Thursday to throw a no-hitter and keep the Warriors unbeaten in the Bay League softball race with a 4-0 victory over North Torrance.

West improved to 3-0 (6-2 overall) as Olloque struck out 12 to pick up her third league win.