PREP NOTES : Torrance High Pitcher Keeps 5-Game Streak Going With Complete Game Squeaker : Baseball: Mike Kendall, son of former major league player Fred Kendall, didn’t start pitching until the middle of last season.

Torrance High senior Mike Kendall continued his ascent as one of the South Bay’s top pitchers Tuesday by hurling a complete game in a 5-4 Bay League victory over Hawthorne at Torrance Park.

The right-hander, son of former major league player Fred Kendall, is 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA despite the fact he didn’t start pitching for Torrance until midway through last season.

“Going into last year, we weren’t counting on him being a pitcher,” Coach Jeff Phillips said. “We got into a situation where we needed him. He really came through.”

Kendall, who was 4-3 last year, has helped the Tartars to their best start in several years. They are 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the Bay League heading into today’s 3 p.m. rematch at Hawthorne.

“This kid is a competitor,” Phillips said. “He wanted to get on the mound in January. He was ready to go.”

Another pitcher off to an impressive start is Banning’s Mike Busby.

The junior right-hander improved to 4-1 Tuesday by throwing a two-hitter in a 2-1 Southern-Pacific Conference victory over Narbonne. He had a perfect game through 5 1/3 innings and struck out 12.

In 36 innings pitched, Busby has an area-leading 50 strikeouts, eight walks and a 1.36 ERA. He has five complete games in six starts.

Busby’s dominance on the mound has helped Banning to records of 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference, good for first place.

Palos Verdes baseball Coach Gil Eberhard hopes he doesn’t have to watch any more games like the one Tuesday at Santa Monica.

His Sea Kings committed an embarrassing 10 errors, opening the door for an 11-5 Santa Monica victory. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak and dropped Palos Verdes to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the Bay League.

“I hope we can bounce back,” said Eberhard, whose team plays host to Santa Monica at 3 p.m. today. Palos Verdes, Santa Monica, Rolling Hills, Beverly Hills and Torrance are all tied for first place with 2-1 records.

“It looks like it’s going to be tight the whole year,” Eberhard said of the Bay League race.

El Segundo’s Tate Seefried raised his batting average to .550 last week by collecting nine hits in 15 at-bats in three games.

The pitcher-first baseman was at his best in a 17-3 Camino Real League win over Bosco Tech, going five for five with a home run and five RBIs.

Going into Wednesday night’s game against Verbum Dei, Seefried was leading the South Bay with six home runs and 22 RBIs in 10 games.

El Segundo catcher Garret Quaintance also enjoyed a big week, hitting five doubles to give him six on the season, tops in the area.

So far, the baseball season has not been kind to first-year Coach Bob Grant of South Torrance.

His Spartans entered Wednesday’s Ocean League game against Culver City with a 2-8 overall record, but they easily could own a winning record. Of the eight losses, three were by one run and three by two.

The Palos Verdes/Redondo Baseball Tournament will resume Saturday with the quarterfinals, highlighted by a triple-header at Redondo.

In the championship bracket, Palos Verdes faces Alemany at 4 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. game between El Segundo and Gahr. Redondo plays host to Royal in a consolation-bracket game at 12:30 p.m.

Another attractive consolation game matches Miraleste against West Torrance at 11 a.m. at Miraleste.

PREP NOTES: Thomas Byrnes, state CIF commissioner, announced that the CIF has entered into a multi-year agreement with School Properties USA, Inc. for the purpose of licensing products bearing the CIF name. While a number of universities license the use of their name and logo, the CIF is the first high school organization to sign with a company whose business is that of marketing high school sports. . . .Four South Bay teams are ranked in Southern Section boys volleyball coaches’ polls this week. Mira Costa is rated No. 1 in the 4-A Division, Bishop Montgomery is No. 9 in 3-A. In the 2-A poll, Miraleste is No. 2, St. Bernard is No. 8. . . .Many of the nation’s finest track and field athletes will compete in the 23rd annual Arcadia Invitational April 7 at Arcadia High. Athletes from 17 South Bay schools, including defending boys state champion Hawthorne, are entered.

South Bay’s Baseball Top 10 Selected bt Times Sportswriters Through Tuesday’s Games

Rank, School, League Record 1. El Segundo (Camino Real) 9-1 2. St. Bernard (Camino Real) 3. Torrance (Bay) 9-3 4. Palos Verdes (Bay) 7-4 5. Redondo (Ocean) 7-4 6. Miraleste (Santa Fe) 7-2 7. Banning (Pacific) 7-4 8. San Pedro (Pacific) 6-3-1 9. Rolling Hills (Bay) 4-5 10. Gardena (Pacific) 6-4