El Segundo Legion Nine in Area Tourney : Eagles Have Won 4 of Last 7 Titles, but Coach Has a Few Worries

El Segundo’s American Legion baseball team, a blend of past and present players from El Segundo and St. Bernard high schools, enters the Fourth Area Tournament on Saturday at Blair Field in Long Beach with history on its side.

The Eagles have won four of the last seven area titles, including the last two, and have traditionally excelled in state and regional competition. Their best finish was in 1986, the year they took third at the American Legion World Series in Rapid City, S.D.

This time around, however, Coach John Stevenson is a little apprehensive.

One of El Segundo’s top players, pitcher-outfielder Heath Jones, has missed the last two weeks with a hip pointer, and the Bay-Pacific League co-champions were beaten by fourth-place Hawthorne, 5-3, Saturday.

While the Eagles have been good enough to win most of their games (9-3 in league play), they have not been as dominant as in recent years.

“Nobody has really stood out,” Stevenson said. “There’s been a lot of coming and going (by the players) this summer.”

Stevenson said Jones, a two-time all-CIF selection, is expected back Saturday for El Segundo’s 11 a.m. opener against Millikan, but the 6-5 right-hander remains questionable in a pitching capacity.

That’s where right-handers Pat Ahearne and Tom Fulkerson and left-hander Dan Melendez--the top three pitchers for St. Bernard’s CIF 2-A semifinalist team last season--figure to carry the load. Fulkerson will start against Millikan and Ahearne will start Sunday.

“They’ve helped us a great deal,” Stevenson said. “Pitching was not one of our strong suits last season.”

Offensively, El Segundo is led by shortstop Jeremy Varner, catcher Jose Sanchez, Jones, Melendez and outfielder Scott Talanoa, a former El Segundo High standout who spent last year at Cal State Fullerton but is transferring to a community college. All five players were all-CIF picks.

The double-elimination tournament, which concludes with the finals either next Thursday or Friday, features the top four finishers in the Bay-Pacific and Harbor leagues. Representing the Bay-Pacific League are co-champions El Segundo and Rolling Hills, Culver City and Hawthorne. The top teams from the Harbor League, in order, are Gahr, Lakewood, Long Beach Wilson and Millikan.

El Segundo won a coin flip with Rolling Hills to earn the league’s No. 1 berth in the tournament.

“It looks like it’s pretty competitive,” Stevenson said. “I don’t see any soft spots.”

The winner of the Fourth Area title will advance to the state tournament Aug. 6-9 at Yountville. From there, two teams will go on: one to the Northwest Regional in Yakima, Wash., and one to the Southwest Regional in Albuquerque. Regional winners qualify for the World Series in Connecticut.