South Bay Baseball Preview : 1987’s Top 2 Teams Are Expected to Be in Same Spots Again

It has been a strange league preseason for most of the teams in the Metro Conference’s South Bay League, which begins play Tuesday.

Defending league champion Castle Park, the favorite to repeat, may be one of the more talented 2-A teams in San Diego County, but its coach, Bob Korzep, has pinpointed some weaknesses despite a 9-2-1 start through Thursday. He said the players make too many mental mistakes and have yet to hit to their capabilities.

Coronado, which is the defending runner-up and is expected to end up second again, lost seven players from last year and depends mostly on sophomores and juniors.

No one depends more on underclassmen than does Alex Santana, the Mar Vista coach. Two of his top returning seniors quit, and he starts six sophomores. He, to no one’s surprise, has had problems with errors--4.5 per game so far--relating directly to inexperience.

At Hilltop, John Baumgarten’s team finished second in the Metro Conference’s Mesa League last season. It has swapped places with Southwest, which finished last in the South Bay. Hilltop is off to a 1-7 start through March.

With the addition of Hilltop, four of the league’s five teams made the playoffs last season.

Castle Park

Last season: 21-6, 10-3 league (first).

Coach: Bob Korzep

Top returners: Juan Beltran (Jr., SS/P), Mike Vallerilli (Sr., OF/P), Darren Husted (Sr., C), Chris Sykes (Sr., OF).

Top newcomer: Sergio Hicks (Sr., P), Cesar Gutierrez (Sr., 3B/P)

Outlook: Everyone seems to think Korzep’s team is the one to beat, and with the pitching the Trojans have, why not? Beltran was 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA last season and already has pitched a no-hitter. The other two starters are Hicks, who earlier this year combined with Vallerilli on a no-hitter, and Gutierrez, who was ineligible last year. Sykes is a power threat as well but strikes out a lot. Korzep knows he has a good team, but mental mistakes have hurt. Castle Park (9-2-1) was 2-1 in the Lions tournament last week. The loss was by 1-0 to El Capitan as baserunning mistakes cost the team scoring opportunities.

Coronado

Last season: 16-8, 9-4 league (second)

Coach: Ron Smock

Top returners: Jason Johnson (Sr., C), Rich Bledsoe (Jr., CF), Bill Pate (Sr., 2B), Bob Watson (Sr. P/IF)

Top newcomer: Jason Fleddorjohn (Soph., P), Ted Forney (Jr., RF/C)

Outlook: The Islanders are 9-3 in preseason play despite having just 12 players. Coronado’s three losses were all games it kept close or had a chance to win. It lost to Crawford, 10-5, after leading, 5-1. The problem has been errors; the Islanders consistently have allowed opponents four and five outs per inning. Fleddorjohn is a solid shortstop and has pitched well. He, Watson and senior Scott Brovan are the team’s only pitchers. Bledsoe, who hit .371 last season, is in his third season on the varsity. Bledsoe, Forney (6-2, 240) and Fleddorjohn all are hitting more than .400 after 12 games. Gone are seven players from last season’s team that made the 2-A playoffs.

Hilltop

Last season: 11-9, 8-5 in Metro-Mesa (second).

Coach: John Baumgarten

Top returners: Brett Butterfield (Sr., 1B), Robby DePerro (Sr., P/Inf.), Brian Leonhardt (Sr., P), Donnie Diffenbaugh (Sr., C).

Top newcomer: None

Outlook: Hilltop went to the 3-A playoffs last season after finishing second in the Metro-Mesa League. Butterfield was an all-section choice at first base. DePerro and Leonhardt have been varsity pitchers for two years. DePerro is a solid infielder and was valuable as a reliever last season. “We’ve been rebuilding since 1985,” Baumgarten said. “We don’t have any excuses. We have five key people to build around.”

Mar Vista

Last season’s record: 14-9, 7-6 league (third).

Coach: Alex Santana

Top returners: Guillermo Leon (Sr., IF), Eddie Sandez (Sr., P/1B), Roberto Quinnones (Sr., OF/1B).

Top newcomer: Tim O’Neal (Soph., P/IF), Josh Leslie (Soph., 3B/P), Mike Green (Soph., OF/P), Rafael Santiago (Sr., CF)

Outlook: Santana took his club to the playoffs last year, but this version, although talented, is very young. He lists six sophomores in the starting lineup. All his pitchers from last season are gone. Mar Vista won the Lions tournament a year ago but this year it only won once and lost to La Jolla, 27-1. Leon is a first-team all-league returner, but top players Johnny Amaya and Tony Pacheco have quit the team. Santana said that O’Neal, hitting .380, was the team’s most effective pitcher through the first 12 games. Senior Rafael Santiago, hitting .300, ran track last season but has returned to play center field. Although it seems that the loss of Amaya left a void in the Mariner infield, Santana said Leon and Leslie have picked up the slack. Mar Vista has averaged 4.5 errors per game, a main reason for its 3-9 start. Santana said last Tuesday’s Lions tournament game--a 5-4 loss to Oceanside--was the first for his team without an error.

Marian

Last season: 8-14, 5-8 league (fourth).

Coach: George Milke

Top returners: Mike Jeremiah (Sr., CF/P), Chip Beardsley (Sr., SS), Brannon Hays (Sr., P/1B), Leo Ortiz (Jr., 2B/P)

Top newcomer: Beto Martinez (Freshman, 3B/P), Jeff Hays (Soph., P/C)

Outlook: Milke’s team is off to a 2-8-1 start, and it may not get better. “It’s going to be another struggling year for us,” he said. “Our pitching is really suspect.” Jeff Hays threw only 70 pitches in seven innings of work in their last game, which was 100 pitches below the team average throughout the first 11 games. Older brother Brannon Hays has four home runs, and senior David Powers hit seven last year. Five starters are seniors.