Kennedy Pitchers See Error of Team’s Ways

In just one week, Kennedy High’s staff earned-run average ballooned a half-run to 2.49, which, of course, takes into account only the earned runs.

Senior left-hander Denny Sharp has been the most prominent victim of Golden Cougar defensive lapses. Of the 39 runs Sharp (4-3) has allowed in 45 2/3 innings, 16 are earned.

It all started with Sharp’s 14-4 loss to Chatsworth on April 3, when Kennedy committed multiple errors.

“When you make 14 errors in a game, you’re not doing a helluva lot right,” Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado said.

Fourteen?

“I think that’s what it actually was,” Alvarado said. “Some had us for 10, somebody else had us with 12. I think they were both being generous.”

Kennedy (12-5) continued to be generous to opponents. The Golden Cougars have lost four of their past five, defeating only Grant, 1-0, in a Holt-Goodman tournament game. Alvarado doesn’t seem particularly concerned--Kennedy lost two of three in the Holt-Goodman tournament last spring and later won the City Section 4-A Division title.

“I guess I’ll do what I did last season,” said Alvarado, whose team has been outscored, 45-11, in its past five games. “I’ll conduct a hitting seminar. That’s where I take out the bat and reintroduce it to them.”

Maybe, for his pitchers’ sake, he should show his players the glove too. On deck today and Thursday is El Camino Real (11-1-1).

Weekend warrior: Junior right-hander Shane O’Brien, one of the best players on the Hart golf team, pitches on Fridays for Hart’s junior varsity baseball team.

But over spring break, Hart varsity baseball Coach Bud Murray brought O’Brien along to Gilroy, Calif., where Hart won the inaugural Garlic Classic.

O’Brien (6-2, 190) pitched a five-inning two-hitter with three strikeouts as Hart stomped Los Altos, 16-0.

Said Murray: “He could be a pretty good pitcher if he’d quit playing golf.”

Young blood: Rio Mesa has benefited from the talents of Dmitri Young, the state freshman and sophomore player of the year the past two seasons. Now the Spartans are using a different type of “young” that has propelled Rio Mesa into first place in the Channel League.

Ten Rio Mesa players are underclassmen.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Jeff Riley and Vince Kowalick contributed to this notebook.