The Preps : SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Perseverance Pays Off: Steve Rath and Kennedy High Get Their Chance

There were times during his four-year varsity career when Kennedy High School shortstop Steve Rath admitted he was ready to quit.

It’s easy to understand his discontent. Kennedy was anything but a baseball power when Rath arrived on the La Palma campus.

Kennedy had stumbled to a 3-17 record the previous season, and the prospects of improvement were slim. The Fighting Irish had a new coach, Chris Pascal, and a couple of freshmen, Rath and Greg Hansell, had managed to make the team.

Kennedy won only nine games that year and only nine the next season. But losing never soured Rath.

“I never thought we were that bad,” Rath said. “Those teams laid the foundation for the success this team has enjoyed this year.”

He had more problems adjusting to Pascal’s coaching methods.

“My problem was the coach,” Rath said. “I was intimidated by Coach Pascal. He came here demanding 100% at all times, and that took a lot of getting used to. I had my doubts, and there were a couple of times when I thought about quitting.

“But looking back, I realize everything he did, he did to help me improve as a ballplayer. He made me become a better ballplayer, and he’s the reason Kennedy High is playing for a championship.”

Kennedy, once the doormat of the Empire League, will compete for the Southern Section baseball championship for the first time in the school’s 25-year history when the Fighting Irish (25-5) meet Saugus (23-4-2) for the 3-A division title at 1 today in Dodger Stadium.

Rath has grown with the team. He remembers facing former county pitchers Wayne Helm (Laguna Hills) and Scott Holcomb (El Dorado) as a freshman and “being scared to death” at the plate.

Today, he is Kennedy’s leading hitter with a .446 average. He has 115 hits in his career, fourth-best in history among Orange County players.

“I can remember my first varsity game against Laguna Hills,” Rath said. “I was playing second base, and I let a ball go through my legs. I figured Coach Pascal would really come down on me, but he said, ‘Don’t dwell on it, that’s going to happen once in a while in this game.’ ”

Rath has learned that mistakes are part of the game. He has also learned to keep a level head, trying not to get overly excited or overly unhappy about anything.

Kennedy’s baseball book features a statistics page that lists leaders for batting and pitching. Rath is the leader in most of the hitting categories. It also lists leaders for career strikeouts and errors. Rath heads these lists, too.

“I like the idea of listing errors and strikeouts,” Rath said. “It has a way of keeping things in perspective. It keeps a player from getting a big head. That’s one of Coach Pascal’s methods of coaching.

“We had practice the other day, and no one remembered to bring out the bats. We ran laps before we started practicing for forgetting something as simple as bringing the bats to practice. Coach wants us focused into everything we do.”

Pascal, a former All-Southern Section selection at Los Alamitos High, was impressed with Rath’s talent from the start, but questioned his work ethic.

“Steve made the varsity as a freshman and figured he didn’t have to do much to keep his spot as a sophomore,” Pascal said. “The reason I’ve always wanted him to work hard is that I see the potential he has and the future he has, and I don’t want him to waste it.”

Rath spent the off-season working out with Craig Gerber, one of Pascal’s former teammates at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Gerber, a minor leaguer in the Angels organization, was rehabilitating a shoulder injury.

Kennedy second baseman Craig Roah, Rath and Gerber worked together six days a week, routinely fielding ground balls for hours.

“I owe a lot to Craig Gerber,” Rath said. “He taught me a lot about fielding slow rollers. We did a lot of drills without using our gloves. Just talking baseball with the guy got me pumped.

“All winter long, Craig and I talked about playing in Dodger Stadium. Every team talks about it, but we knew we had a great chance of getting there. Getting there is great, but now I want to win the championship.”

3-A Championship Notes

Greg Hansell (12-1), who has struck out 113 batters in 87 innings, will start for Kennedy. Hansell has a 1.37 earned-run average and has 10 complete games. . . . Kennedy’s pitching staff has 23 complete games, including the past 19 in a row, and a staff ERA of 1.51. . . . Designated hitter Ernie Franco leads Kennedy with seven homers, and stopped an 0-for-10 playoff slump with two hits against Tustin in the semifinals. . . . Opposing pitcher Roger Salkeld (12-0) has struck out 162 batters in 100 1/3 innings and has allowed only nine earned runs. Salkeld is the sixth-ranked prep prospect in the nation by the publication Baseball America. He pitched two innings in Dodger Stadium as a freshman in Saugus’ 9-4 loss to Artesia in the 2-A title game in 1986. . . . Saugus has 27 hits in its past two playoff games.

3-A LINEUPS

KENNEDY (25-5)

Pos. Name Avg. 2B Craig Roah .269 1B Pete Montera .344 SS Steve Rath .446 DH Ernie Franco .380 P Greg Hansell (12-1) .280 LF Scott Ethington .316 C Scott Wood .345 RF Don Cochran .190 3B Paul Ruarke .188 CF Steve Lundby

Coach: Chris Pascal

SAUGUS (23-4-2)

Pos. Name Avg. CF Darrell Davis .327 RF Matt Tull .448 1B George Lopata .337 C J.B. Johnson .393 LF Scott Warr .325 DH Glenn Terry .345 P Roger Salkeld (12-0) .337 3B Trevor Rice .325 2B Tom Burges .330 SS Walter White

Coach: Doug Worley