PREP WRAPUP / ROB FERNAS : Visiting Teams Find S.L.O. Tourney Tough

In all but two seasons since the San Luis Obispo Tournament began in 1976, Rolling Hills High School baseball Coach Garry Poe has taken advantage of Easter break to give his team a taste of life on the road.

“It’s nice to get out of town and play some ball at the same time,” said Poe, who made the 210-mile trip to the sleepy Central Coast town for the 13th time this week. “The players get to see what a road trip is like.”

The Titans also got a look at top-notch competition.

“There were more solid teams in this year’s tournament than ever before,” Poe said.

How tough was the eight-team field?

Rolling Hills, tied for second in the competitive Bay League, was outscored 17-0 in losing its last two games to Arroyo Grande and El Segundo.

And El Segundo, despite giving up just two runs in three games, could do no better than third place.

El Segundo (16-3) was shut out for the first time in over a year Thursday, when San Luis Obispo left-hander Ted Kubinski limited the Eagles to four hits in a 2-0 semifinal victory. The team’s previous shutout came at the hands of Bosco Tech in a 1989 Camino Real League opener, Coach John Stevenson said.

The Eagles, averaging 13 runs a game entering the tournament, scored eight runs in three games. They defeated St. Ignatius of San Francisco, 3-0, in the opener and blanked Rolling Hills, 5-0, in Friday’s third-place game.

“Our hitting tailed off a bit, which happens,” Stevenson said.

But El Segundo’s pitching seems to be getting better. Rob Croxall gave up six hits in blanking St. Ignatius, Tate Seefried pitched a two-hitter in the loss to San Luis Obispo, and Jason Wayt shut out Rolling Hills on four hits. The decisions left each member of the three-man staff with a 5-1 record.

“They were great,” Stevenson said.

The coach added that, with a little luck, El Segundo could have beaten San Luis Obispo and Kubinski, who has signed to play at UCLA. The Tigers defeated Arroyo Grande, 2-1, in the finals, and their other pitcher, right-hander Robbie Weeks, was named tournament MVP.

“(Kubinski) was pretty good, but he wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen,” Stevenson said. “We had guys all over the bases. We just couldn’t cash it in. It was a very good game, and we just came out on the short end.”

Rolling Hills right-hander Kirt Kishita stopped San Ramon Valley, 5-4, in the first round of the San Luis Obispo Tournament for his fourth consecutive victory. The junior, who did not pitch an inning last season, is 4-3.

“He’s one of the better players I’ve had and one of the better players in the area,” Poe said.

Rolling Hills (7-8 overall, 4-2 in the Bay League) resumes league play this week with a two-game series Wednesday and Friday against Hawthorne. The opener is at Hawthorne.

Because Catholic schools are taking this week off for Easter break, El Segundo will not play again until Saturday night at 7, when it meets Culver City in the semifinals of the Palos Verdes/Redondo Tournament at Redondo.

Culver City leads the Ocean League with a 5-1 record.

Saturday’s double-header starts at 4 p.m. with the other semifinal between Palos Verdes and Millikan.

Morningside center Lisa Leslie, honored Friday by USA Today as the nation’s top schoolgirl basketball player, scored 14 points Friday to help the Southern Section defeat the L.A. City, 82-79, in the Southern California All-Star game at the Forum.

In the boys game, Westchester guard Damian Wilson scored 13 points to help the L.A. City defeat the Southern Section, 137-126. Morningside forward Tyrone Paul, who signed a letter of intent with Clemson this week, scored eight points for the losers.

Game of the Week: Beach city rivals Mira Costa and Redondo will meet in an important Ocean League baseball game at 7 Wednesday night at Redondo. The teams are part of a three-way tie for second place with West Torrance, all with 4-2 records.