THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Kadletz Finally Finds Himself--at the Top of the Crescenta Valley Order

Ryan Kadletz is on base so often for Crescenta Valley it is difficult to believe that his playing status was so uncertain a month ago. Early in the baseball season, his niche on the team was nonexistent.

A successful quarterback on the football team, Kadletz first tried catching, but his arm proved deadly . . . to his teammates.

“As far as baseball is concerned, he has only an average throwing arm,” Coach Tony Zarrillo said. “It’s amazing he can throw a football so well.”

Not encouraging words, coming from a coach. So Kadletz moved to right field where his performance has been adequate.

“He wasn’t anything to turn an eye,” Zarrillo said.

Kadletz, who sought a weekly progress report from his coach, requested a move from the bottom of the order to the leadoff position. Zarrillo politely declined.

“I thanked him for offering but explained to him that he wasn’t who we were looking for,” Zarrillo said.

Finally, Kadletz’s persistence paid off and he was promoted to the top of the order.

A wise move.

In 37 at-bats as the leadoff hitter, Kadletz has 17 hits (.459), including three doubles and three triples. He has scored 12 runs and has driven in eight.

“He’s a whole new player,” Zarrillo said. “He’s hitting where he wants to hit, and he is a competitive young man.”

Trading places: Alemany baseball Coach Jim Ozella has done more shuffling than a Las Vegas dealer lately, but the gamble has yet to pay off. Despite game-by-game lineup changes, the Indians are struggling at 10-10.

“I’m really not the kind of guy that likes to change lineups a lot,” Ozella said. “This year, I’m changing quite a bit.”

For instance, Gabe Villasenor, Jaime Olivares, Leo Tejada and Joey Rosselli have played first base; and Steve Pacheco, Rich Dice, Bob Ordona and Eddie Bushui have alternated in right field.

Ozella’s lineup was so consistent last season that he could have tattooed it on his chest. This year, he has varied his approach to coaching.

“It’s been somewhat of a trying year,” he said. “I’ve coddled them, I’ve yelled at them--some things that aren’t typical of my coaching style.

“Something’s missing. Maybe I don’t have the right players, maybe it’s me. I can’t see a lot of coaches out there who would be satisfied with being .500.”

Cover boy: Westlake catcher Mike Lieberthal, projected to be selected within the first three rounds of the major league draft in June, will grace the cover of the introductory issue of California Baseball magazine in June. Lieberthal will be shown along with Beverly Hills pitcher Rob Wells and El Segundo first baseman Tate Seefried.

Lieberthal was Cal-Hi Sports male athlete of the week in the April 10 issue for his four-homer game against Simi Valley that tied a state record. Lieberthal will be featured at 11 tonight on “Victory,” a weekly show on KADY Channel 63 in Oxnard.

Records: Channel Islands baseball Coach Don Cardinal has won 390 games in his 24-year career but he won’t reach 400 this season--the Raiders have only six games left.

“Looks like I’ll have to hang around another year,” Cardinal, 57, said with a laugh.

One-time shot: Kennedy outfielder Garret Anderson, as expected, made his pitching debut in the Holt-Goodman tournament. This is one engagement that might have bombed on opening night, though.

In 1 2/3 innings of relief in Kennedy’s 10-4 loss to Poly, the Fresno State-bound center fielder allowed five earned runs on four hits, walked three and struck out one. Anderson was tagged with the loss.

“He threw hard, he just couldn’t find the strike zone,” Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado said. “I don’t know if he’ll be out there again.”

On the road: Canoga Park, Thousand Oaks, Royal and Saugus highs will compete in the Westmont College summer basketball tournament June 29-July 1 in Santa Barbara.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Sam Farmer and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.