PREPS : El Segundo Gives Coach Plenty to Smile About

“I’m pretty happy with the way everything is,” said John Stevenson.

The El Segundo High School baseball coach had reason to be pleased after the Eagles captured the consolation title at their own 32-team tournament last week.

Among the highlights:

* After losing its opener to Alhambra, 6-5, El Segundo won four straight games and closed the tournament by scoring a total of 44 runs in wins over North Torrance, Lynwood and Arcadia.

* Senior left-hander Jason Wayt, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, posted two victories and had 17 strikeouts in 12 innings.

* Wayt, first baseman-pitcher Tate Seefried, catcher Garret Quaintance and third baseman Brett Newell hit home runs.

“Everybody is pounding the ball,” said Stevenson, whose team batted .358 last season on its way to the Southern Section 2-A title.

Are the Eagles capable of hitting that well again?

Perhaps, but Stevenson said there are more important statistics.

“Last year, our pitching and defense were just superb,” he said. “We didn’t walk anybody and we didn’t make errors. That had a lot more to do with winning than our team batting average.

“I think our defense has a chance to equal last year.”

So far, so good. El Segundo committed six errors in five tournament games, including two errorless games.

The Eagles open Camino Real League play at 7 p.m. Friday against Serra at Recreation Park in El Segundo.

Stevenson said El Segundo’s lineup is set at every position except center field, where he started a different player in each of the first five games.

After the auditions, the coach has narrowed the field to sophomore Chris Feeny and senior Tony Bartolucci.

The left-handed Feeny is one of the school’s finest underclass athletes, Stevenson said. Bartolucci, the starting point guard on the basketball team, is regarded as a hard-working competitor.

“We’re going to be solid no matter who is there,” Stevenson said.

But not as strong as last year, when the Eagles started All-CIF choice Erik Evans in center field, Jeremy Carr in left and Kenny Talanoa in right. Only Talanoa returns.

“Last year’s outfield was probably the best I’ve ever had,” Stevenson said. “Evans and Carr both flew, and all three of them had great arms.”

Torrance basketball Coach Bob Little reports that colleges are finally recruiting Tartar guard Rick Robison.

He said Fresno State, Cal State Fullerton and Gonzaga have shown the most interest in the 6-foot-2 sharpshooter, who led the South Bay in scoring this season with a 34.5 average.

“I expect things to pick up after the blue-chippers sign,” Little said.

Although Robison averaged 32 points per game during his two-year varsity career, recruiters have not been beating a path to his door. Critics say he lacks size and has a poor attitude.

Little doesn’t buy it.

“People warned me about his attitude,” he said. “Boy, I sure didn’t see it. He came out every game and did a great job. And he did it against defenses designed to stop him.”

Robison made 86 three-point shots this season, down slightly from the 94 he made as a junior, to finish his career with 180. Unofficially, that places him third on the all-time Southern Section list.

Rolling Hills guard Steve Clover, a Pepperdine recruit, is the leader with 288 career three-pointers, followed by former Glendora star Tracy Murray with 224.

Torrance third baseman Antone Williamson, an All-South Bay pick last year as a sophomore when he hit .463, is off to another impressive start.

In five games in the El Segundo Tournament, Williamson batted .471 (eight for 17) with two triples, two home runs and 11 runs batted in. His solo home run and two singles Saturday helped the Tartars defeat Millikan, 8-4, in the tournament’s ninth-place game.

Miraleste pitched around the junior Tuesday in Torrance’s 7-4 win, walking him three times, twice intentionally.

“The last couple of games, we’ve had three or four scouts come up and ask about Antone,” Torrance Coach Jeff Phillips said.

Williamson also excels in the classroom. He received four A’s and one B in academic classes on his latest report card.

“He’s just got it,” Phillips said. “He’s a super kid.”

Redondo’s baseball team fared well in the Westside Tournament last week, finishing with two straight victories and a 3-2 record, despite the loss of its No. 1 pitcher.

Junior right-hander Brian Fitzgerald is suffering from tendinitis of the elbow and will be sidelined at least until next week, said Redondo Coach Tim Ammentorp. He was forced to leave the team’s second game after working three innings against Channel Islands.

“I might have (had him throw) too much in practice,” Ammentorp said of Fitzgerald, who was 3-3 and pitched a perfect game in a five-inning win over Morningside last season.

Redondo could use Fitzgerald today. The Sea Hawks face Hawthorne, one of the area’s strongest hitting teams, at 4 p.m. in a double-header at Redondo.

Looking ahead: Perhaps the best match-up next season in South Bay girls basketball will occur when Palos Verdes, led by 6-3 Monique Morehouse, faces Morningside, led by 6-4 Janet Davis, in the realigned Ocean League.

Both players are sophomores.

Davis had 12 points and six rebounds Friday to help Morningside defeat Washington, 61-45, in the Southern California Division I title game.

Saturday, Morehouse had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Palos Verdes came close to upsetting unbeaten Brea-Olinda before falling, 47-46, in the Division III Regional finals.

How good was Bishop Montgomery’s boys basketball team this season?

Good enough to sweep two Angelus League games against Servite of Anaheim, which faces Mt. Eden of Haywood in the State Division III championship game Saturday in Oakland.

PREP NOTES--Bishop Montgomery’s baseball team lost to North Torrance, 7-4, Tuesday night at Torrance Park. It was the Knights’ third straight defeat and dropped the team to 1-3-2 overall. “I wish I had an answer,” said Bishop Montgomery Coach Bob Anderson, whose team was ranked No. 2 in The Times’ South Bay preseason top 10. . . . Torrance left-hander Dennis Miller, who missed all of last season after suffering a lacerated arm in a car accident, pitched 5 2/3 innings Tuesday in a 7-4 win over Miraleste to improve to 2-0. . . . The championship of the Hawthorne Softball Tournament will be decided Saturday. The host Cougars face Santa Monica and Torrance meets Rolling Hills in 10:30 a.m. semifinals. The winners play for the title at 1:30. . . . Mira Costa’s boys volleyball team, ranked No. 1 in the nation, opened defense of its Ocean League title Tuesday with a 15-1, 15-2, 15-0 victory over visiting Centennial. The Mustangs improved to 3-0 overall.