Lakewood High Making a Pitch for Moore Title

Lakewood High School Coach Walter (Spud) O’Neil has a problem when it comes to finding a weakness on his Lancer baseball team.

The Lancers are 15-2 overall and tied for first with a 6-1 record with Long Beach Millikan in the tough Moore League. Having opened the season by winning the 32-team Loara tournament, the Lancers made their claim as one of the top teams in Southern California.

The first area O’Neil does not have to worry about is offense. Despite a recent slump, the Lancers are hitting better than .375. Among the top hitters is senior shortstop Chris Gomez, at .400.

“He is definitely our best player in the eyes of the scouts,” said O’Neil, who inherited his nickname from his father. “He is the best defensive shortstop in the area, with a strong arm and great glove.”

Ricardo Guiterrez, who plays third base, is also an outstanding hitter. He is averaging about .400 and has batted in more than 20 runs, even though he bats leadoff.

At second base is Shawn Hardy, who is batting better than .500 and leads the team in stolen bases with 15.

“Our infield has just been great,” said O’Neil, who is in his sixth season at Lakewood after coaching at Colton. “Every player is hitting over .400 for the year and they have all had their share of big hitting games.”

O’Neil also does not have to worry about his infield’s defensive play.

“Defensively, we have averaged one error or less a game,” O’Neil said. “(Guiterrez) has not made an error all season.”

To complement their strong offense and defense, the Lancers also have quality pitching.

Steve Proffitt, a right-handed senior, leads the way with a 7-0 record. Sophomore Dave Reeser, a lefty with a 6-1 mark, is the Lancers’ other key starter.

Relievers Chris Miller, a junior right-hander, and Richard Lovan, a senior lefty, have three saves each.

“The pitching has been a pleasant surprise,” O’Neil said. “We have four outstanding pitchers who lead a staff that has an earned-run average below 1.5.”

With the Southern Section playoffs approaching, O’Neil is looking for the Lancers to get hot at the right moment.

“Our goal at the start of the season was to make the playoffs,” he said. “After we won the Loara tournament, we started thinking about how good we really are.

“Basically, we have to keep up our intensity and be hot at the end of the season in order to win it all.”

At Culver City High School, center fielder Todd Steverson has received most of the attention on the Centaur baseball team.

Steverson signed a letter of intent with Arizona State last week, and is expected to be drafted in the first round of baseball’s amateur draft.

However, Culver City has been more than Steverson this season, as the Centaurs are in first place in the Ocean League with a 6-0 record, 12-4 overall.

“We have a very good team, all-around,” Coach Dave Ruebsamen said. “Our only weakness is our lack of depth in our pitching.”

A major surprise for the Centaurs has been the emergence of pitcher John Wade, who leads the team with a 6-1 record.

“Wade has really come into his own this season,” Ruebsamen said. “Nothing indicated that he would have a season like this. He has worked hard and gained the confidence needed to become an outstanding pitcher.”

Wade, 3-0 in league play, throws strikes with both his fastball and his breaking ball. He pitched a six-hit shutout over Redondo last week, striking out 10 and walking only one.

“Before the season started, I knew we would have a good hitting and a questionable pitching team,” Ruebsamen said. “But with the development of Wade, I am pleased with our pitching.”

Wade’s performance this season may have been unexpected but Steverson’s wasn’t.

“Todd just has that God-given ability that makes him special,” Ruebsamen said about the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Steverson. “He has outstanding speed, a great arm, hits for power and average.”

Steverson has put up some outstanding statistics. In six league games, he has batted .412 with two home runs and 12 runs batted in, and leads the team with five stolen bases.

Ruebsamen has also been fortunate to have three other star players.

Senior second baseman Lamarr Rogers, is batting .409 in league, is a fast leadoff hitter who has attracted scouts with his fielding ability.

“Lamarr has tremendous speed with great hands,” Ruebsamen said. “He is the ideal leadoff hitter because he is such a good contact hitter.”

Tim Mitchell is Culver City’s power hitter. In league play, the left-handed first baseman is batting .444 with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. He has hit 21 home runs in his prep career.

Junior outfielder Mauricio Estavil is batting .583, with 10 runs batted in, and has a .958 slugging percentage.

“Those four players have really pounded the ball this season,” Ruebsamen said. “The key for us is to be consistent.”

Prep Notes

Playa del Rey St. Bernard’s baseball team set a Southern Section record for the most consecutive league wins with a 6-4 victory over Serra for its 35th straight Camino Real League win. St. Bernard, which last lost to Cantwell in 1986, broke the record of 34 set by Lakewood of the Moore League from 1973-76. The Vikings’ streak ended Saturday when they lost to El Segundo, 9-6.