THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Anderson Up to Speed as Kennedy Pitcher

Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado figures that a true test of a pitcher’s mettle is how he fares against the Kennedy lineup. The same rule applies for his own pitchers.

That’s why Alvarado thinks Garret Anderson might have to be reckoned with when the Holt-Goodman tournament opens this weekend.

“God, he’s been impressive in intrasquad workouts,” Alvarado said of Anderson, an outfielder. “I figure if he can handle our guys--we have to be one of the hottest-hitting teams around--then he can handle anybody.”

Kennedy’s team batting average is .334, so Anderson, an All-City Section outfielder last season, must be doing something right. In practice last week, he even struck out catcher Lazaro Campos, who has fanned only once in 44 at-bats.

“He throws harder than anyone we have,” Alvarado said of Anderson. “You never know, we might just see him when the tournament gets started.”

Anderson, a left-hander who has committed to play in the outfield next season at Fresno State, could give Alvarado’s defending City 4-A champions yet another pitching option. That’s a disconcerting thought for opponents, considering that entering the week, pitchers Cody Beaumaster, Denny Sharp and Richard Trujillo were 11-1 with a cumulative earned-run average of 1.55.

Hunted: Notre Dame and Virginia are the latest schools to offer Westlake’s Billy Hunter a full scholarship.

Hunter, who finished third in the state meet at 175 pounds in March and finished 43-1, also is considering William & Mary, Lehigh, and Pennsylvania. Considered one of California’s top recruits by Amateur Wrestling News, Hunter will continue to visit schools through next week.

Stinging loss: Shawn Goetzinger and Chad Malesich were major contributors to Camarillo’s state Division I championship cross-country team in the fall, but the two seniors have not gotten started this track season.

Malesich injured a knee while playing basketball at home and has not participated in track, and Goetzinger has been hampered by illness, Coach Mike Smith said.

Malesich’s absence has been particularly damaging. A versatile runner, Malesich timed 52.0 seconds for 400 meters and 9:21.1 for 3,000 as a junior. He was undefeated at 800 meters in Marmonte League competition with a 1:57.82 best.

“Losing him was really tough on us because he’s a big points man,” Smith said of Malesich, who could be competitive in races from 400 to 3,200 meters. “He was good for 10 to 12 points a meet.”

The more distance-oriented Goetzinger timed 4:22.18 and 9:31.2 for 1,600 and 3,200 last year but has had problems keeping healthy this spring. Goetzinger missed last fall’s Marmonte League cross-country finals because of illness but came back as the Scorpions’ fourth man in the state meet.

Cleared for takeoff: Quartz Hill’s boys’ track team has an imbalance in the field events.

Superior depth in the horizontal jumps compensates for the Rebels’ lack of athletes in the vertical and weight events.

“I’ve got jumpers coming out my ears,” Coach Don Crimin said. “It’s a real strong group.”

Gabe Higa, the defending Southern Section 4-A Division champion in the triple jump, leads a group of three who have bettered 43 feet. Higa has bounded 47-5 this season, and teammates Brian Slack and sophomore Bryan Frazier have leaped 43-5 and 43-4, respectively.

Slack jumped 44-11 3/4 last year, narrowly missing the 4-A final.

Higa also leads the Rebels in the long jump with a 22-1 1/2 mark. Adam Frazier, a 22-plus long jumper in 1989 who has gone 21-0 this season, and Slack (20-10) also could score in the divisional championships in May.

Hitting Highlanders: Royal’s Dave Landaker, a sophomore, is hitting .333 in the No. 5 position in the lineup and is a part of the Highlanders’ recent resurgence at the plate. Royal has 47 hits in its past four games and has won five of its past six.

“At first, we were trying to hit the ball farther and harder than than we were capable of,” Coach Dan Maye said. “But we started hitting line drives that were putting more runs on the scoreboard than the long fly balls, and we started winning.”

Royal has hit only one home run all season.

“I think we’ve figured out that hard ground balls through the infield score more runs,” Maye said.

Tested optimism: A 3-7 record usually does not generate much optimism, but Agoura Coach Gary Gray is somewhat pleased with that mark. Five of Agoura’s defeats have been at the hands of teams from the talent-rich Marmonte League, the other two against a talented Buena team.

“If there’s any consolation in any of this, it’s the tough preseason schedule,” said Gray, whose team defeated Santa Paula, 3-2, on Tuesday in its Frontier League opener. “But I hope it hasn’t buried us. Sometimes you begin to have doubts in yourselves and your abilities. But I think we’re OK. At least they’re still coming back to practice.”

Agoura, which will move to the Marmonte League next season, is holding its own against larger schools.

“We’re making those teams earn their runs,” Gray said.

Cruising with Cruz: Channel Islands center fielder Jacob Cruz, a 6-foot, 160-pound junior, has been attracting professional scouts and intentional walks with his .568 batting average (25 for 44). According to Coach Don Cardinal, the scouts’ interest has spilled over to sophomore pitcher Angel Aragon (3-2) and sophomore cleanup hitter Jose Gastelum (.395).

“I told them that this is a great opportunity to show the scouts a thing or two,” Cardinal said.

No place like home: Because of the renovation of Brookside Park, St. Francis did not play a home game until last week when the previously nomadic Knights played host to St. John Bosco in a Del Rey League game.

“It looked better to Bosco than it did to us,” St. Francis Coach Tom Moran said of the field. No wonder--St. Francis committed eight errors and had three runners picked off in the 7-2 loss.

Shelled: Alemany’s ace left-hander, Joey Rosselli, surrendered six hits to Loyola on Friday--three of which were home runs. Rosselli (4-1) allowed only four homers last season.

Mike Glaze and staff writers Steve Elling, Sam Farmer and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.