COLLEGE PREVIEWS : JUNIOR COLLEGE BASEBALL : Pitching May Buoy Valley Hopes in WSC Race

Chris Johnson patrols the deck of the Valley College swimming pool, keeping a watchful eye should an emergency rescue become necessary.

“So far, so good,” says Johnson, the Valley baseball coach who moonlights as a lifeguard. “Everybody has been safe so far.”

That might not be the case for junior college baseball teams this season once they see the depth of Valley’s pitching staff, which is expected to help keep the Monarchs afloat in their transition from the Southern California Athletic Conference to the traditionally powerful Western State Conference.

Start with left-hander Joey Kane, who was 6-5 last season but pitched well down the stretch and continued to pitch well in the Alaska Summer League. Kane will start today when Valley plays host to Long Beach in its season opener.

Sophomore right-hander Tim DeGrasse will be the other starter and sophomore Steve Slattery and freshmen Wayne Schull, Colin Hines, Dean Money and Mike Roberts will be used in relief.

Sophomore catcher Eric Vargas and sophomore shortstop Ray Sabado are key returning players from a team that finished 19-17 last season and won 9 in a row before being no-hit by Oxnard in the second round of the playoffs.

Like everyone else, however, Valley is going to have to keep pace with Canyons, which finished 22-3 last season and also compiled a 21-game winning streak.

The Cougars are shooting for their third consecutive conference title under Len Mohney, who is 45-4 in 2 seasons as coach. Canyons opens today in the Glendale-Citrus tournament with a game against El Camino--the team that eliminated the Cougars in the state regional playoffs last year.

“In the past we’ve always had at least one pitcher we could count on to win about 12 games,” Mohney said. “Right now, I’m not sure we have someone like that.”

Sophomore right-hander Jeff Frith-Smith is the early ace of the pitching staff, but the Cougars must replace shortstop Jeff Flesher, the WSC Player of the Year who is now at UC Santa Barbara. Sophomore Ernie Perez, who played third base last year, may move to shortstop to fill that gap.

Pierce Coach Bob Lyons has a great sense of humor, but even his effusiveness was tempered last season by his team’s 12-22 record.

Sophomore left-hander Pete Dragaloski gives the Brahmas a solid starter but after that the pitching staff gets thin.

“We have a bunch of pitchers who are marginal,” said Lyons whose team opens Saturday at Long Beach City College. “We may have to get 14 runs a game to win and I think we can.”

Sophomore third baseman Jeremy Lipton, freshman shortstop Billy Morris, freshman first baseman Robert Barena and outfielders Tony Dello, Pat Fairly and Mike Schwartzer are expected to carry the offensive load.

Moorpark will have 6 freshmen in the starting lineup when it opens today at home against Antelope Valley, but the Raiders are a lock to improve on last season’s 14-22 finish, Moorpark Coach Ron Stillwell said.

The Raiders are strong up the middle with freshman second baseman Steve Sisco and freshman shortstop Dan Smith, All-Marmonte League players at Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park.

Sophomore first baseman Kris Kaelin is the Raiders’ power threat.

Sophomore Paul Perce will open the season as the Raiders’ pitching ace. The staff includes sophomore Todd Gerbovaz, who blew out his knee at the beginning of last season, and freshmen Jeff Berman, Rob Teasdale and Willie Leighton.

Glendale, which will open its season today in its own tournament against Riverside, has just 5 players back from last season’s team that finished 21-21.

“This is the youngest group I’ve ever had here,” said Glendale Coach Steve Coots, in his 12th season. “But it also looks like one of the most competitive.”

Freshmen Mike Peterson, David Blackmore and Jamie Aguayo will handle the bulk of the pitching this season along with sophomore Darren Cruz, a converted outfielder.

John Klitsner took Sylmar High teams to 6 playoff appearances in a row and, in 1983, a City Section title, but he may have a long road ahead as a first-year coach at Mission, which competes in the Southern California Athletic Conference.

“We have some guys who’ve had some success at the high school level and we’re going to try and build on that,” said Klitsner, whose team opens Saturday at Moorpark.

Third baseman Tom Konkel, who played for Monroe’s City Section championship team last season and former Sylmar standouts Art Monreal and Shawn Fontenot are players Klitsner hopes can lead Mission to respectability.