Ocean View Staff Pitches In to Share Work Load

Every Wednesday morning Ocean View High School baseball Coach Steve Barrett scans the box scores in the local newspaper, looking for one statistic in particular.

Innings pitched.

Barrett hasn’t always paid close attention to opponents’ pitching statistics. But starting this season, Barrett and other coaches consider innings pitched one of the most important stats beside the final score.

Under a state rule, pitchers are limited to three appearances and 30 outs a week. Violation of the rule constitutes a forfeit.

“This is a big deal among coaches and umpires,” Barrett said. “All the coaches watch the box scores in the paper now. I want to know who threw on Tuesday, so I know if that pitcher has only three innings of eligibility left when he pitches against us.”

Barrett rarely worries about his pitchers’ eligibility. The Hawks, 16-5 and ranked third in the Orange County writers’ poll, have four experienced pitchers:

--Jim Gwaltney, a senior left-hander, is 6-1 with a 2.00 earned-run average.

--Senior Duane Page, the only right-hander on the staff, is 7-1 with 35 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA.

--Randy Karliner, a junior left-hander, is 3-0 with one save and 15 strikeouts.

--Eric Schaff, a senior left-hander, is 0-2 but has a 2.00 ERA.

Few schools can match Ocean View’s pitching depth, which Barrett said will give the Hawks an advantage in the playoffs, where teams play as many as three games in a week. “Pitching, pitching and more pitching will be our strength,” he said.

The rule will play an even larger role when the playoffs start May 18, Barrett said. He said teams with deep pitching staffs will benefit from the rule.

“In the playoffs, we’re going to have to have two (extra) pitchers to get us through,” Barrett said. “If you look at what has happened in the past, teams use one kid to get through the entire tournament. With this rule, you can’t do that anymore. It used to be a kid could get you out of a tournament no matter what defense he has behind him. If the teams don’t have the depth, you’ll eat their lunch right there.

“It protects the young arms and in the playoffs, it will make it more of a situation where a good team wins, not a team with just one good pitcher.”

Karliner said the Ocean View pitchers had mixed emotions about the rule.

“Our initial reaction was bad,” he said. “We didn’t like it at first because we couldn’t pitch as much. We like it now, because we realize it saves arms. And in the tournaments, you really need more pitchers.”

Schaff said he expects the rule to help his team during the playoffs.

“We have a pretty deep staff, and by the second or third game of the week it could really help us,” Schaff said.

Barrett agreed.

“If you have two horses like we do it’s not a problem,” Barrett said. “We always have someone who can come in. The only time the rule has come into play for us was in the Loara tournament. We came down to our fourth pitcher (Schaff) in the championship game when we lost (to nationally ranked Lakewood). Lakewood had just a little deeper pitching staff than we did.”

Sometimes Barrett thinks he has more pitchers than opportunities to use them.

Karliner, who was 8-3 and an all-league selection last year, spent most of the season playing first base. He has appeared in only five games as a pitcher, but works out on the mound daily. Schaff is the team’s designated hitter when he’s not pitching.

“I thought Gwaltney and Karliner would do most of the work this year,” Barrett said. “Page has been a surprise. Last year, he was our junior varsity pitcher.”

Barrett said he fears if Schaff and Karliner are underworked in the regular season, they won’t be ready if asked to pitch in the playoffs. Both pitch batting practice daily.

“Schaff and Karliner throw a lot in the tournament games,” Barrett said. “The league games are so important that I have to go with my best pitchers, Gwaltney and Page. But I try to get Schaff and Karliner in there in the late innings or if it’s a blowout.”

That experience, and depth, could pay off in a few weeks, Barrett said.

“I’ve never had this many good pitchers,” he said. “This is my second year as varsity coach and I spent two years with the sophomores and freshmen before that. Ocean View has had some good arms, but this is one of the deepest staffs we’ve had.”

If you don’t believe him, just read the box scores.