No Need to Tell the Roths Apart--Both Possess Look of Trouble

Early in the season, Kennedy Coach Dick Whitney said the only way he could tell identical twins Scott and Brian Roth apart was by looking at their gloves. At that stage of the season the two seniors were primarily playing at catcher and first base, respectively.

Two months later, the brothers are among the mainstays of the Golden Cougar pitching staff, and that has not exactly simplified identification for Whitney. Perhaps in an effort to make their coach’s task a bit easier, Scott is trying to grow a mustache.

Or so it seems.

“I think it’s Scott, but don’t hold me to my word on that,” Whitney said.

The Roths, seemingly, are everywhere for Kennedy (10-9, 4-3 in league play). Several times, Scott and Brian have pitched in the same game, and as often have formed an all-Roth battery. The combinations have made for interesting--and confusing--line scores. Last week against Granada Hills, Brian (4-1) started and Scott relieved, moving to the mound from catcher.

Scott has recorded four saves, twice in relief of his brother.

Brian’s best performance came in a 5-3 upset of first-place San Fernando on Monday. Brian, a right-hander, pitched his first complete game, allowing three walks and striking out three.

The Roths--both 5-10, 160 pounds--have been twin killers at the plate, and, fittingly, many of their offensive totals are virtually identical. Entering play this week, Brian--who bats third--was batting .415 with 6 doubles and 13 runs batted in. Scott, who bats fifth, is batting .428 with 6 doubles and 12 RBIs.

Whitney said the Roths don’t back down from challenges and, consequently, many opponents have felt the wrath of the Roths.

“They don’t get intimidated,” Whitney said. “Lot of guys are head cases--if you throw them a curveball or if they make an out their first time up, it’s all over--but not these two.”

A new groove: Three consecutive wins have revitalized Canoga Park, the defending City Section 4-A Division champion. The Hunters moved into sole possession of third place in the West Valley League with a 12-6 win over struggling El Camino Real on Monday.

Canoga Park, which started the season 2-5, is 4-3 in league play, 5-5 overall and three games behind first-place Chatsworth.

“We’re not dead yet,” Coach Horace Consolo said. “As long as that ball is round, baby, we’re still in the race.”

Senior Mike Kerber is a big reason for the Hunters’ resurgence. Kerber, who is batting .652 with four doubles and a triple, hurled a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in last week’s 6-0 win over Cleveland.

Two days earlier, senior Mike Roberts pitched a four-hitter with six strikeouts to shut out Taft, 2-0.

“Excellent pitching,” Consolo said. “That will do it for you.”

Rankling rankings: Hart Coach Bud Murray is not a man without an opinion. Take, for example, his reaction to the news that, in a USA Today poll released Friday, Hart (17-0) was ranked No. 7 in the nation.

“I don’t know how they can rank all those baseball teams fairly,” Murray said.

“I see they’ve got a team from Illinois ranked ahead of us. I didn’t even know they could play baseball in Illinois--especially in April.”

Spartan power: The loss of All-City pitcher Olonzo Woodfin because of a season-ending ankle injury obviously will hurt Sylmar’s pitching staff. Woodfin was 4-1 with an 0.68 earned-run average.

But Coach John Klitsner believes his team’s offense, overlooked while Woodfin was pitching, can win games. Sylmar (9-5, 8-2) has scored 50 runs in its past five East Valley League games.

“We’re scoring some runs and I guess that will come to the forefront now,” Klitsner said.

Unfortunately, Woodfin was also a major contributor to the offense. Woodfin was batting .466 with 6 doubles and 10 RBIs before he broke his ankle during practice two weeks ago.

Junior surprises: Poly Coach Jerry Cord, who has received his share of surprises this season, hopes he gets a few more when junior pitchers Mario Gomez and Herman Miranda take the mound in upcoming games. Poly had perhaps the best pitching combination in the City in seniors Greg Nealon and Nick Lymberopoulos, but Nealon, who is 8-0, has been lost for at least a month after contracting mononucleosis last week. Earlier in the year, Lymberopoulos, who is 4-1, missed two starts because of the chicken pox.

“I can never remember losing a kid to illness like that in the 14 years I’ve been coaching here,” Cord said.

Cord realizes Poly’s City championship hopes are virtually dead without Nealon, who is scheduled to return in time for the playoffs. But the Parrots can survive the rest of the league season with Gomez and Miranda filling in, Cord said. Gomez and Miranda are junior right-handers with only 24 innings and two decisions between them.

“Sometimes it’s amazing what young people can do when they get the opportunity,” Cord said.

Given take: Harvard volleyball Coach Mark Zalin knows how Klitsner feels. The Saracens will finish the season without junior setter Geoff Given, who broke his collarbone while skiing during spring break.

“The best we could hope for is a playoff game at the end of the season,” Zalin said. “But realistically, he’s out for the season.”

Given was an All-Santa Fe League setter last year.

Back on track: The stock of Chatsworth’s track team rose Tuesday when high jumper Kurt Gustafson rejoined the Chancellors after being academically ineligible the first half of the season.

Gustafson, who has a personal best of 6 feet, 3 inches, placed fourth in last year’s City championships.

The 6-3, 175-pound junior was one of three Chatsworth underclassmen to place in the top five in last year’s City meet.

Senior Bryan Addison was the runner-up in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles; senior Jay Bettinger placed fifth in the pole vault.

Three’s a crowd: In a couple of years, Pac-10 teams might find a particular threesome nettlesome when playing the USC golf team.

The Trojans last week signed Westlake High seniors Chris Zambri and Jimmy Chang, who helped lead the Warriors to the Southern Section championship in each of the past two seasons. Zambri and Chang will join James Kim, a 1986 graduate of Westlake.

Grounded power: The line score of Monday’s North Hollywood-Fairfax game indicated that the teams combined for three home runs, but purists may want to put an asterisk next to Steve Elbaum’s homer.

Elbaum, the Huskies’ designated hitter, hit a ground ball down the third-base line in the sixth inning that rolled past the Lions’ third baseman and onto Chandler Boulevard.

“We call those Huskie homers,” Coach Brian York said.

Elbaum’s opposite-field roller broke a 5-5 tie in the sixth inning. Duane Braxton, who, like Elbaum, was a reserve guard on the North Hollywood basketball team, hit a solo home run in the first. His shot went over the fence.

Imperfect 10: With this week’s addition of left-handed pitcher Paul Martinez, the Pater Noster roster actually hit double figures at 10. Martinez, who was academically ineligible, joins a team that is 2-11 and winless (0-5) in the Santa Fe League. Pater Noster twice has been forced to forfeit games because of player expulsions.

“It’s been a strange year,” Coach Jesus Peinada said.

And considering that Pater Noster is coming off one of its best seasons, the situation is even more puzzling. The Eagles finished 7-7 in league play last season, missing the playoffs by one game.

Heather Hafner and staff writers Vince Kowalick, John Lynch, Chris J. Parker and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.