Mater Dei’s No. 1 Again; Only Difference Is the Sport

Two years ago, the Mater Dei High School baseball team won 21 games with a talented outfield of Mike Basse, Larry Sutton and Jim Austin, all of whom signed with Division I colleges.

Last year, Mater Dei won 22 games with an equally talented pitching staff that featured Tony Pena (12-1) and Scott Corliss (7-2).

This season, Mater Dei should continue its winning ways with a stellar infield that Coach Bob Ickes thinks could be comparable to his previous outfield and pitching stars.

Mater Dei, which finished second in the county poll the past two seasons, is the top-ranked team in The Times’ preseason baseball poll.

1. MATER DEI

Shortstop Lionel Hastings, a gifted hitter with a strong arm, is the catalyst of the infield. Hastings has made an oral commitment to USC and Ickes thinks he will start for the Trojans as a freshman.

First baseman Jim McCarthy, sidelined with injuries the past two years, finally gets his chance to play. Doug DeJardin starts at second base and Ryan Andersen is at third.

“They’re all Division I prospects,” Ickes said.

Mater Dei, 6-2 with losses to Capistrano Valley and Irvine, is batting .350 as a team. In the recent Newport-Tustin tournament, Mater Dei scored 23 runs in the championship game against Foothill.

“Year in and year out, we’re going to score runs,” Ickes said. “But we’ve never been questionable on the mound. We don’t have a No. 1 on the mound, they’re all equal. We’re just hoping for consistency.”

Pena, the county’s player of the year in 1989, is now at Arizona State. Three starters--Jason Deitrick, Colin Gawlonski and Sean Sutton--are vying for the top spot in the Mater Dei rotation. Mike Ferletic is the team’s top relief pitcher.

“I’ve used eight pitchers,” Ickes said. “We knew going into the season we were undermanned, but our depth could confuse some teams if we use the right pitcher in the right situation.”

Despite an inexperienced pitching staff, Ickes likes his team’s chances

“We had the same question marks in 1980 with our pitching staff, and we went all the way (won the 4-A title) that year,” he said. “You just never know.”

2. OCEAN VIEW

A trio of talented left-handed pitchers--Randy Karliner, Jim Gwaltney and Eric Schaff--gives Ocean View one of the best starting rotations in the county. Karliner won eight of 11 games as a sophomore and was a first-team all-league selection last year. Schaff was injured most of last season but is one of the most improved players on the team.

Shortstop Daniel Hernandez batted .378 and was a Times’ all-county selection as a junior last year. Few can match Hernandez’s defensive skills in the infield and he is expected to attract a lot of attention from major league scouts.

Coach Steve Barrett thinks Scott Caringella is the best outfielder in the Sunset League. “Pitching, pitching and more pitching will be our strength,” Barrett said.

Ocean View was the runner-up in the 32-team Loara tournament last week, losing to nationally ranked Lakewood, 9-3, in the championship game.

3. KATELLA

Returning all-league third baseman Dennis Briggs and shortstop Jamie Vitzelio give Katella a solid infield. Katella scored seven runs on three home runs to beat Servite in the third-place game of the Loara tournament.

“Everybody from our No. 1 to No. 9 batter is hitting the ball,” said Tim McMenamin, Katella’s coach. Katella has a .375 team batting average in preseason play.

Briggs is batting .647 with 11 hits in 17 at-bats in five games and newcomer Eric Boyd has been a pleasant surprise in the outfield, batting .562.

Danny Allen, formerly Danny Kirker, is the team’s top pitcher. Allen allowed only two earned runs in Katella’s only loss to Ocean View. Catcher Jess Evans has made a successful transition from the outfield.

4. SERVITE

Thirteen returning varsity players, including seven starters, should help Servite turn around a mediocre 1989 season in which the Friars finished 11-12-1. Cliff Mierendorf anchors a solid pitching staff. Shortstop Ed Crippin and first baseman Rob Walker are among the team’s top hitters.

Crippin batted .362 and had 11 stolen bases last season and Walker, the team’s best power hitter, batted .464 with eight doubles. Catcher Ryan Boucher is one of the top defensive players in the county.

“We will produce runs with power and a good bench,” said Mike McNary, Servite’s coach. “We have high hopes for a turnaround season with every starter having at least one year of varsity experience. We could battle Mater Dei for the Angelus League championship.”

Servite will play at Mater Dei Saturday in the league opener.

5. TUSTIN

The Tillers shared the Sea View League title with Estancia last year and advanced to the Southern Section 3-A semifinals. This should be another banner year.

Two-year starter Dan Baker, who struck out 100 batters in 74 innings last year, has opened with victories over Esperanza and Mission Viejo in 1990. Two juniors--outfielder Shawn Green and shortstop Ben Munoz--are the Tillers’ top hitters. Green is batting over .500 in six games.

Tustin scored 54 runs in four games in the Irvine tournament and was held to less than 10 runs in only two games all summer.

“We’re swinging the bat pretty well,” said Vince Brown, who has been head coach at Tustin for the past five seasons. “The team is batting over .350 and I have three players hitting over .450. I think we have the makings of the best team since I’ve been here.”

6. EDISON

Consistently one of the county’s top programs, Edison slumped to a 9-13-2 record in 1989 after injuries to its top two pitchers. Jim Futami tore an arm muscle in Edison’s fifth league game but returns healthy.

Catcher Steve Thobe, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound senior, has hit three home runs in six games and has a fine arm. Shortstop James Eidam and second baseman Rocky Balch return.

Three stars on Edison’s football team--Donnie Smith, Brian Higgins and Chad Ponegalek--also will play key roles. Ponegalek is the team’s leadoff hitter and has good speed.

“We have good pitching, speed and contact hitters,” said Paul Harrell, Edison coach. “After last year, the key will be trying to keep our pitchers healthy.”

7. LOARA

After losing eight of their first 11, Loara was the surprise winner of the Empire League last year. Joey Gaudio is the ace of a solid pitching staff and also plays the outfield. He won four games and batted .367 last year. Catcher Chris Hoffman is the team’s best player, coming off a junior year in which he batted .333 and struck out only four times.

“We have eight returners with valuable experience and four quality pitchers,” said Rob Megill, Loara’s coach. “As our pitching goes, we will go.”

8. LOS ALAMITOS

All-county quarterback Todd Gragnano is equally impressive throwing a baseball, and along with outfielder Tony Napolitano, gives Los Alamitos a strong team.

Gragnano won four games as a junior and batted .318. Another football standout, Brian Havens, returns after batting .370 with 19 RBIs as a junior.

Napolitano is one of the premier players in the county. Last season, he batted .427 with six home runs and 26 RBIs. “Hitting will be our strength,” Los Alamitos Coach Mike Gibson said. “We don’t have much team speed and our pitching is a big question mark after Gragnano.”

9. EL TORO

Four starters who combined to win 15 games give El Toro one of the best pitching staffs in the county. Rob Johnson won eight games; Brad Hulse won three games, and Greg Pearce and Ryan Filbeck each won two games last season.

“Pitching should keep us in all games . . . hopefully the experience will pay off,” El Toro Coach Dan DeLeon said.

Outfielder Bo Haley, a three-year starter, is a Division I prospect and among the county’s best players. Shortstop Chris Sauritch and third baseman Scott Sebbo both have good power.

10. EL DORADO

It is supposed to be a rebuilding for El Dorado, which won the Southern Section 5-A division title last year. Every starter graduated from last year’s team that finished 23-8, but Coach Steve Gullotti has a good group of sophomores and juniors who were the nucleus of the junior varsity team that finished 19-6 last year.

Pitcher Andy Brazeel has won four games going into Friday’s league opener with Esperanza. El Dorado had no problems scoring runs in the Loara tournament last week, getting 11 runs in the first inning in a 16-2 victory over Savanna.

“We should be strong defensively and have more-than-adequate offense,” Gullotti said. “We will need two or three pitchers to emerge if we expect to win.”

Others teams to watch: Anaheim, Capistrano Valley, Esperanza, Estancia, Fountain Valley, Mission Viejo, Pacifica, Santa Ana, Sunny Hills and Trabuco Hills.