1990 ALL-COUNTY BASEBALL TEAM : His Patience at the Plate Has Paid Off

Donald Christian (D.C.) Olsen, a junior at Fullerton High School, thought he would follow in his brothers’ footsteps and develop into a college football player.

Todd and Damon Olsen earned football scholarships to Southern Utah State after standout high school careers in Hawaii and Louisana, respectively.

D.C. Olsen gave every indication that the sport of football would also be his ticket to a college education when he earned all-Freeway League honors as a middle linebacker last fall.

But the most productive baseball season in Orange County high school history has Olsen thinking his future might be on a diamond rather than a football field.

Olsen, The Times’ Orange County Player of the Year in baseball, established a county single-season record when he hit a three-run homer over the left-center field fence in a season-ending 6-1 victory over Troy.

It was Olsen’s 13th homer of the season, breaking Andy Ruscitto’s county mark of 12 set in 1986 at Valencia. Olsen has 18 homers in two seasons at Fullerton and is four shy of Ruscitto’s county mark of 22.

Olsen also had the highest batting average in county history, finishing the season at .595. Steve Evans of Anaheim set the previous mark of .585 in 1980.

Olsen was also the county leader with 50 hits, coming up one hit shy of the county’s single-season record of 51 set in 1985 by Los Alamitos’ Robbie Katzaroff.

Olsen, a catcher, had at least one hit in every game and drove in at least one run in 23 of Fullerton’s 25 games.

“My focus on my future has changed,” Olsen said. “Going into this season, I was very confident. I set a goal to hit .500, but I never expected a season like this.”

Olsen moved into Fullerton’s starting lineup last year as a sophomore when returning all-league catcher Steve DePhillips dropped out of school. Olsen hit .494 with five home runs, but admitted he swung for the fences in Fullerton’s cozy ballpark and needed work on his throwing skills behind the plate.

“The biggest thing I learned over last season was patience at the plate,” Olsen said. “I swung at anything last year. This year, I learned to wait for the right pitch. When I got behind on the count, I set up for the curve.”

Olsen credits his success this season to some long hours hitting pitches thrown by his father, Don, a district vice president for the YMCA. He also took time to downplay talk that his home run record came at the expense of a small field.

“I’ve heard a lot from people who say the only reason I got the record was because I play all my home games at Fullerton,” Olsen said. “I tell them, ‘Considering I hit seven homers on the road, I don’t think our field had anything to do with the record.’

“I love hitting in that ballpark, but I hit homers all over our league. Ask anybody on our team, and they’ll tell you that I had only one short homer at our field.”

The scouting report on Olsen also took a beating this year. Once described as a pure fastball hitter who liked to pull the ball, Olsen showed that he can hit any pitch to any field.

Olsen began playing baseball and football in Honolulu and then moved to Louisiana when he was 12 years old. He has continued to play both sports on every level of competition and is hoping to get the opportunity to play both in college.

“I’ll be working all summer in the weight room to get ready for football and playing on a Connie Mack baseball team,” he said. “I believe that hard work pays off.

“All those hours I spent hitting against my father paid off this season. I know that next year I’ll be a marked man, so I’m going to work even harder in the off-season.”

PLAYER OF THE YEAR D.C. OLSON Catcher, Fullerton

AB H HR RBI BA 84 50 13 39 .595

PITCHER DAN BAKER Tustin Baker won a school-record 27 games in his three-year career and struck out 208 batters over the past two seasons. He pitched one-hitters against Saddleback and Corona del Mar in league play and Etiwanda in the playoffs and had a two-hitter against La Serna in the 3-A division title game. 1990 pitching record

IP W-L SO BB ERA 96 14-2 108 35 1.23

PITCHER KEVIN LOVINGIER Laguna Hills Lovingier was the county’s strikeout leader with 153, including 19 against Costa Mesa in league play and 17 against Kennedy in the playoffs. The left-hander pitched no-hitters against Costa Mesa and Trabuco Hills and had nine complete games. Lovingier has signed with Loyola Marymount. 1990 pitching record

IP W-L SO BB ERA 95 13-1 153 43 1.09

PITCHER DUANE PAGE Ocean View The most valuable player in the Sunset League pitched for the junior varsity as a junior. This season, he won all seven league games that he started, pitching six complete games and shutting out three opponents. Page, who has an outstanding forkball, allowed only 26 hits and 17 earned runs. 1990 pitching record

IP W-L SO BB ERA 69 10-1 60 24 2.22

PITCHER ROBERT TOTH Pacifica Toth was a master of control, allowing five walks in 77 innings. His 8-4 record is deceiving. Toth’s defeats include two 1-0 losses and two 2-1 losses. He allowed only seven earned runs and was named the most valuable player in the Garden Grove League although his team failed to reach the playoffs. 1990 pitching record

IP W-L SO BB ERA 77 8-4 103 5 0.82

FIRST BASEMAN MARC NEWFIELD Marina Newfield is the only repeat first-team selection from last year’s team, moving from designated hitter to first base. He led Marina to the 5-A championship with seven hits in 15 at-bats, two homers and four RBIs in five playoff games. He was the sixth player selected in the amateur free agent draft. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 92 43 6 20 .467

INFIELDER ED CRIPPEN Servite Crippen, batting leadoff, hit safely in 25 of 26 games, stole 12 bases and walked 17 times. He was a two-year starter after transferring from St. Francis as a sophomore. Crippen also hit five doubles and scored 28 runs. He has signed with Arizona State, where he’ll play shortstop or second base. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 85 36 3 12 .423

INFIELDER LIONEL HASTINGS Mater Dei Hastings helped Mater Dei compile a 63-19 record in his three-year varsity career as a second baseman and shortstop. Mater Dei also won three Angelus League titles during the span. Hastings, who has signed with USC, became a late-inning relief pitcher this season, winning two games and saving two. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 80 36 5 29 .450

INFIELDER DANIEL HERNANDEZ Ocean View Hernandez was a second-team selection last year as a junior. He is a slick-fielding shortstop who will be reunited with his older brother, Steve, a second baseman at Orange Coast College, next season. He also had nine doubles, two triples and scored 19 runs. He batted .405 as a junior. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 93 35 1 24 .376

OUTFIELDER SHAWN GREEN Tustin Green and Fullerton’s D.C. Olsen are the only underclassmen to earn first-team honors. He has started since his freshman year and has totaled 101 hits in three seasons. Green struck out only seven times, stole 30 bases and scored 37 runs. He has a 4.6 grade-point average, ranking second in his class. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 108 49 3 23 .454

OUTFIELDER BO HALEY El Toro A three-year starter, Haley led El Toro to the 3-A division title game in 1988 as a sophomore and to the South Coast League championship as a senior. He hit four doubles and scored 22 runs. Haley was also a two-year starting tight end for the football team and played in the Division III title game as a senior. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 88 33 4 26 .375

OUTFIELDER BOBBY PATEL Fullerton Patel was overshadowed by teammate D.C. Olsen, but compiled statistics that would have earned him player of the year honors in any other season. He tied Olsen as the county’s RBI leader with 39 and scored 32 runs. Patel’s 12 homers equaled the second highest total in county history. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 67 35 12 39 .522

UTILITY DAN REDINGTON Esperanza Redington is the second family member to earn all-county honors; his brother, Tom, was selected in 1987. He was named the Empire League’s most valuable player, doubling as a first baseman-pitcher. He allowed only two runs in 12 relief appearances for a 1.80 ERA. He also had 12 doubles. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 78 38 2 22 .487

DESIGNATED HITTER LANCE MARKS Dana Hills Marks tied former Valencia standout Andy Ruscitto’s county career home run record with 22 and also collected 99 hits in his three-year career. He made a successful transition from the outfield to catcher this year and threw out 20 runners attempting to steal. Marks has signed with Pepperdine. 1990 batting record

AB H HR RBI BA 84 34 5 17 .405

FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM PITCHERS Dan Baker Tustin Todd Blyleven Villa Park Kevin Lovingier Laguna Hills Rob Johnson El Toro Duane Page Ocean View Chad Phillips Magnolia Robert Toth Pacifica Shade Summers Esperanza CATCHERS D.C. Olsen Fullerton Robin Lindsey Marina FIRST BASEMEN Marc Newfield Marina Brandon Farley Katella INFIELDERS Ed Crippen Servite Dennis Briggs Katella Lionel Hastings Mater Dei Matt Carter Troy Daniel Hernandez Ocean View Jason Cherms La Quinta OUTFIELDERS Shawn Green Tustin Walter Dawkins La Quinta Bo Haley El Toro Erickson Dumaual Esperanza Bobby Patel Fullerton Rich Prater Orange UTILITY Dan Redington Esperanza Kent Donnelly Foothill DESIGNATED HITTERS Lance Marks Dana Hills Brian Travaglia Brea-Olinda

Player of the year: D.C. Olsen, Fullerton