THE HIGH SCHOOLS : San Fernando’s Marden Uses Wiffle Ball Drill to Make Bunting a Breeze

San Fernando High baseball Coach Steve Marden concedes that his teams have never been classified as mashers who tear the cover off the ball. Indeed, the Tigers typically win with pitching and defense.

Some would call Marden’s one-base-at-a-time tactics, “Little ball.” Yet few would suspect that the little ball is made of plastic.

San Fernando has four pitching machines, three of the usual variety. The fourth, however, is a Wiffle ball machine that Marden uses during bunting drills.

Marden took a wooden bat and sanded down the hitting area on the barrel, creating a large flat spot. On the flat spot, he attached a coffee can, the one-pound size.

As the batter squares to bunt, he is told to “catch” the Wiffle ball in the coffee can. The benefits are many, Marden said. Batters learn to avoid bailing out on curves while improving their hand-eye coordination. And nobody has ever been sidelined for getting plunked by a Wiffle ball.

Collecting booty: Technically, Chatsworth has the right to claim the winner’s trophy of the Blue Division championship of the Westside tournament. Camarillo, which defeated Chatsworth, 4-2, in the final Saturday, violated a state rule when pitcher Eric Raba pitched 14 innings in one week.

Although Chatsworth is expected to be named the champion, Chancellor Coach Tom Meusborn has little interest in the championship trophy. He wants the shirts off the Scorpions’ collective backs.

“I just want the championship T-shirts,” he said. “They looked real nice. We got a second-place trophy already. I’ll even take shirts that say ‘Second Place.’ ”

Appeal process: Leonice Brown, a junior running back who transferred from Crespi to San Fernando, will try to regain his athletic eligibility at a City Section hearing next Thursday. Brown lost his eligibility when he transferred at the start of the spring semester without a change of address.

Under state rules, an athlete who transfers without moving loses athletic eligibility at the varsity level for one calendar year unless he can prove hardship. Brown is expected to claim financial hardship at the hearing.

Brown, who rushed for 1,097 yards last fall, also competes in track as a sprinter. Even if the City grants Brown eligibility, he is academically ineligible at least until the 10-week mark of the semester next month.

Brian Brison, a junior running back who transferred to Alemany from San Fernando, is eligible for sports because he moved from the Poly district into the San Fernando district.

Lockout workout: Dodger catcher Rick Dempsey, who played at Crespi, and Seattle Mariner pitcher Tom Niedenfuer, a former Dodger, are working out at Westlake High during the baseball negotiations. Westlake Coach Rich Herrera said the two have been working out together since January.

“Usually, they’re out of there before we take the field,” Herrera said. “Rick said he doesn’t want to get in our way.”

Niedenfuer sometimes joins in a drill that involves covering first base.

“The kids aren’t really in awe because they’ve seen them here so many times before,” Herrera said.

Freshman sidelined: Simi Valley second baseman Ryan Briggs, the first ninth-grader to start for the Pioneers, was injured attempting to turn a double play in a 9-3 loss to Long Beach Millikan last Friday and is expected to miss two to four weeks.

Briggs injured his left knee in a collision with a Millikan baserunner.

Briggs was unable to complete the double play, but an umpire ruled that the baserunner intentionally slid into Briggs and Simi Valley was awarded a double play.

Going, going, gone: A portable fence to enclose the field on game days and freshly painted dugouts are among the improvements at Glendale, but it will be some time before the Dynamiters enjoy the fruits of their labor. Glendale does not play a home game until March 27.

Glendale even played its alumni on the road. Coach Chris Axelgard scheduled the game under the lights at Stengel Field to give his team the experience of playing at night. The prospect of eight consecutive away games doesn’t ruffle Axelgard.

“We’re a senior-dominated lineup so those guys should be used to playing on the road,” he said. “Plus, coming down the stretch, it will be nice to have all those home games.”

Not-so-humble home: St. Francis, too, is facing a string of away games, because its field--Brookside Park near the Rose Bowl--is being renovated. Sprinklers, a new backstop and a warning track are being installed.

When finished, the field will be nice--possibly too nice.

“We’re going to have a tough time keeping it,” Coach Tom Moran said. “Other people are going to want it.”

Sublime to ridiculous: It was a strange week for the Village Christian pitching staff. The Crusaders are looking to wrest the Alpha League title from Montclair Prep behind pitchers Matt Smay, Matt Henzie, Matt Bates and Mark Vail. That’s if they can find the right rhythm.

In the opener against Buckley, Vail and Bates combined on a no-hitter.

Two games later, Smay threw a no-hitter against Brethren, the first no-hitter by a single Village Christian pitcher in school history.

In between, a combined effort allowed just four hits in a 13-6 win over Thacher.

So what happened last Saturday at Paraclete? Another no-no? A perfect game?

Try 16--count ‘em 16--runs allowed on 17 hits. What happened? Were the Crusaders throwing the ball underhand?

“To tell you the truth,” Village Christian Coach Mike Henzie said, “our guys were throwing into a 40-mile-per-hour wind.”

That might explain why Village Christian scored 20 runs of its own on 19 hits.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Sam Farmer, John Lynch, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.