The St. Bernard Star Can Hit, Pitch and Play First Base. ‘I Feel Like We’re Getting Two Or Three Players in One,’ Says Pepperdine’s Andy Lopez Who Will Coach Him Next Season. : Dan Melendez: Mr. Versatility

Streaks, in one form or another, have kept St. Bernard High’s baseball program flourishing for four years. The Vikings have won three straight Camino Real League titles and set a CIF-Southern Section record with 35 consecutive league victories. The streak, which began in 1986, was snapped Saturday by El Segundo.

And the Playa del Rey school has produced a steady stream of superstars. Two years ago, pitcher-outfielder Tim Williams was the Southern Section 1-A Division Player of the Year. He now starts for Loyola Marymount. Last season shortstop Royce Clayton was the 2-A co-Player of the Year and a first-round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants.

Dan Melendez is the latest prodigy off the St. Bernard assembly line.

He isn’t as flashy as Williams or Clayton, but in his own quiet manner Melendez has surpassed his talented predecessors with a high school career that draws raves for versatility.

Pepperdine Coach Andy Lopez said Melendez’s ability to hit, pitch and play first base made him a sought-after recruit. He signed a letter of intent with the Waves last week.

“I feel like we’re getting two or three players in one,” Lopez said.

St. Bernard Coach Bob Yarnall has felt the same way since 1985, the year Melendez enrolled at the school after he failed to gain acceptance at Loyola High in Los Angeles.

“I knew he would be a great asset to our program,” Yarnall said. “The only thing he needed to do was put on weight. He was really skinny. But you can’t keep him down. He’s such a great competitor, he just keeps popping back up.”

Teammates used to tease Melendez about his broomstick-like physique. As a sophomore, his first year on the varsity, he was 6-1 and 150 pounds.

But nobody kicks sand in his face anymore. Melendez, who has grown to 6-3 and 185 pounds, became the leading home run hitter in South Bay history with two blasts Saturday in the Vikings’ 9-6 loss to El Segundo.

With 27 career home runs, Melendez eclipsed the school record of 24 that Williams hit in 1985-87 and is within reach of the Southern Section record of 32 set by Simi Valley’s Scott Sharts in 1986-88.

“That’s in the back of my mind,” said Melendez, who hit 14 home runs last season to tie Williams’ school record. “Every time I hit one, I think: ‘That’s one more closer to the record.’ ”

Melendez said his power came unexpectedly last season. Always known as a good contact hitter, he suddenly starting swatting balls over the fence. It resulted in a banner year in which he led the South Bay in homers, RBIs (51) and batting average (.563). This season he is hitting .595 (25 for 42) with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.

“My attitude toward hitting has totally changed,” he said. “When I was younger, with two strikes on me, I just wanted to hit the ball somewhere. Now I’m going to get my cuts and not get cheated.”

Some believe Melendez’s home run totals are inflated because of the cozy dimensions of St. Bernard’s field: 250 feet to left field, 350 to center and 290 to right. All but one of his home runs were hit at home last season.

But Yarnall contends that most of Melendez’s home runs would be out of any park, and he points out that five of the senior’s eight homers this year have come away from home.

“He’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen in high school,” Yarnall said. “He has unbelievable control of the bat. It’s almost impossible to strike Dan out. He’ll keep fouling the ball off until he gets the pitch he wants.”

Although Melendez has developed into a power hitter, he has never been mistaken for a power pitcher. The left-hander, who brought a 7-1 record and 21-3 career mark into Wednesday’s league game with St. Anthony, is known for his control and outstanding curve. His fastball, which he throws at about 75 m.p.h., is adequate but not intimidating.

Being called a finesse pitcher doesn’t bother him, however.

“I’ve been labeled that throughout my career,” he said. “I have to use my breaking ball to set up my fastball. My main concern is to get ahead of the batters. When you’re behind the batters, no matter how hard you throw, you’re always going to be in trouble.”

Defensively, Melendez possesses a gold glove. He set a school record for fielding percentage (1.000) as a sophomore by handling 161 chances without an error playing first base and pitching. He has committed only four errors in two seasons.

Hitting. Pitching. Defense. How did he become so accomplished at every phase of the game?

Melendez gives most of the credit to his father, Carlos, who coached him throughout Little League.

“I’ve always been around baseball because he would take me out to play when I was little,” Melendez said. “We would find any park, any open area, and he would throw me batting practice. He spent a lot of time with me.”

Because of his skill at fielding grounders, Melendez played shortstop in Little League, an awkward position for a left-hander.

“I could get to the ball,” he recalled. “The throw was my problem.”

Melendez went on to play outfield, first base and pitch in Culver City’s youth leagues, gaining a reputation as one of the Westside area’s top young baseball talents. That reputation grew in the summer of 1986, following his freshman year at St. Bernard, when he helped a talent-laden Culver City team reach the Babe Ruth World Series (for 13- and 14-year-olds).

Melendez was a pitcher-outfielder on a team that included current prep stars Todd Steverson, an outfielder for Culver City High who has signed with Arizona State, and University High pitcher Eric Alexander, the L.A. City 3-A Player of the Year last season.

Culver City won the Babe Ruth state and regional titles, becoming one of eight teams in the nation to qualify for the World Series in Ohio.

“That was one of the best teams I ever played on,” said Melendez, who relished the honor of pitching in the World Series opener.

Less than a year later Melendez played in another big event.

St. Bernard, led by Williams, reached the 1987 Southern Section 1-A title game at Dodger Stadium. The Vikings lost to Whittier Christian, 8-6, but the experience wheted Melendez’s appetite for a CIF championship.

The Vikings came close to reaching the finals again last season but lost to Norte Vista of Riverside, 3-2, in the 2-A semifinals when Melendez gave up two runs in the sixth inning.

“My big goal is to win the CIF championship,” he said. “That’s above any personal goals.”

Melendez went to work on that goal this season when he invited all of his teammates to the movies in an effort to build camaraderie. He was the only returning starter from last year.

“He brought them all together from a bunch of individuals,” Yarnall said. “And he did that virtually by himself. I’ve been approached by three or four parents who have told me that their sons were nervous about coming up to the varsity and Danny made them feel comfortable.”

Melendez also assumes a leadership role on the field.

“He leads more by example than he does by talking, but he’s not afraid to tell the younger kids when they’re doing something wrong,” Yarnall said. “He doesn’t put up with any nonsense on the field. He’s kind of a liaison between me and the other kids. He’s like a third coach.”

For all of Melendez’s physical talent, Yarnall says it’s poise and brains that set his star apart from most high school players. Melendez is the only St. Bernard pitcher allowed to call his own game.

“He has a great baseball mind,” Yarnall said. “Danny is a different type of player because he is very intense in a game but also very relaxed.”