SPORTSCOPE : Claremont Tries to Earn Trip to Division III Series

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team will be trying for its first berth in the NCAA Division III World Series when it plays host to Cal State San Bernardino in the best-of-five division regionals starting Friday in Claremont.

The teams will open play with a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and there is a double-header at noon Saturday. The fourth and fifth games, if necessary, would be played at noon Sunday.

Claremont (21-16) is making its fifth appearance in the Division III regionals and is 6-9 in postseason play. The Stags, who have yet to win a regional title, won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 14-4 record.

The Stags will face San Bernardino (25-12), which has won its past six games.

A key to the success of both teams has been pitching. Claremont, which has a strong 3.69 earned-run average, is led by senior Dennis Bricker (7-4, 3.08 earned-run average) and junior Pete Young (7-5, 3.80). San Bernardino’s top pitchers are Rene Aguilar (4-1, 2.40 ERA) and John Glasscock (6-3, 2.70).

Claremont also has a potent offensive attack that has been sparked by junior first baseman Andy Sallee, who has a .420 average, and sophomore outfielder Marc Sherman, who has five home runs and 33 runs batted in. The Stags have a average of .308.

San Bernardino, which will be making its first appearance in the Division III playoffs in the school’s four-year history, is led by first baseman Paul Gonzalez and second baseman Ryan Love. Gonzalez has a .370 average and is 17 for 17 in stolen bases. Love is hitting .363.

In the most recent Division III rankings, San Bernardino was No. 21 and Claremont was No. 25. The Coyotes have already defeated Claremont twice this season, 6-1 on Feb. 9 and 8-6 in 10 innings on May 1.

The winner of the series advances to the six-team Division III World Series May 25-28 at C. O. Brown Field in Battle Creek, Mich.

Five schools from the San Gabriel Valley, including Wilson High of Hacienda Heights and South Hills of West Covina, have been seeded in the CIF Southern Section baseball playoffs that start Friday.

Wilson (23-4), which won its first Sierra League championship since 1970, is seeded No. 4 in the 5-A Division. South Hills (20-5), which took the Valle Vista League title, is seeded No. 3 in the 4-A. Wilson plays host to Marina (12-12-1), third-place finisher in the Sunset League, and South Hills plays host to Hemet (14-12), No. 3 team in the Ivy League, in first-round games at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

Other seeded teams from the valley are San Marino and Gladstone of Azusa in the 2-A and Pasadena Poly in the Small Schools. Rio Hondo League champion San Marino (19-2-1) is seeded No. 2 in the 2-A and Gladstone (20-3), which won the Montview League, is No. 3. Prep League champion Pasadena Poly (17-3) is seeded No. 4 among Small Schools.

San Marino and Gladstone have both drawn first-round byes and Pasadena Poly will play host to either L.A. Lutheran or Pacific Shores.

Second-round games are Tuesday in the 2-A through 5-A and Small Schools divisions and May 25 in the 1-A.

The Azusa Pacific baseball team, which posted its best record since 1978 in winning the Golden State Athletic Conference title and reaching the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 final, has placed three players on the All-District 3 first team.

The trio was headed by senior first baseman Carlos Salazar, who was selected District 3 player of the year. Senior outfielder Tim Norman and senior pitcher Jose Gallardo also were named to the team and Tony Barbone was voted coach of the year.

Salazar finished regular-season play with a school record 20 home runs and also had 62 RBIs and a .428 average. His home run total broke the school record of 19 set by Paul Moskau in 1975 and Rob Amble in 1984. He also posted a remarkable .952 slugging percentage, well above the previous school record of .789 established by Chuck Van Schoych in 1974.

Norman was also one of the leading hitters in District 3 with a .400 average and .361 in conference play and Gallardo was 10-1 and 6-0 in the GSAC.

For Barbone, who coached the Cougars to a 34-12 record for their best mark since 1978, it was the third time in five seasons that he has been named coach of the year. He also received the honor in 1986 and 1987.

Barbone has a record of 154-94 and a winning percentage of .621 at the school.

In addition to the first-team players, third baseman Jose Millares, outfielder Reynold Douge and catcher Gaspar Ruiz--all seniors--received honorable mention.

Ann Lebedeff, who guided the Cal Poly Pomona women’s tennis team to second place in the NCAA Division II this season in her second year as coach, has been named the division’s coach of the year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn.

The Broncos, who entered the Division II championships as the top-ranked team, lost to UC Davis, 5-3, in the championship game last week to finish 24-2. That snapped a 20-match victory streak for the Broncos.

In addition, four players on the Broncos earned All-America honors: Onnaca Heron and Julie Slattery in singles and Donna Ewing and Cindy Hamnquist in doubles.