SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PREVIEWS : GOLDEN LEAGUE

Antelope Valley

COACH: Ed t’Sas, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 12-13; tied for 2nd in league; 8-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: T’Sas, who quarterbacked the Antelopes to the 1976 Southern Section 2-A Division football title, takes over a team that lost to Victor Valley, 5-0, in the first round of the 3-A playoffs. Left fielder Jeff Whiteford, catcher Jack Cox and shortstop Chad Eberhardt, all seniors, are returning starters. Junior Raul McNaughton is a returning pitcher. Whiteford hit .369 last season, and Cox, an all-league second-team selection, hit .368 with five doubles, three triples, three home runs and 27 runs batted in. McNaughton, a left-hander, had a 3-2 record with a 3.23 earned-run average. Seniors Chris Abbey and Von VanLeeuwen also will pitch. Rick Nickols, a lineman on the football team and a relief pitcher last season, has been moved to first base. Fellow football players Fred Edwards and Peter Holt will start in center field and at third base, respectively. Junior Ryan Branch and sophomore Phillip King will round out the starting lineup at second base and in right field.

OUTLOOK: “I like our balance,” t’Sas said. “It looks like we’re going to be able to hit and pitch, and we have good team speed. We don’t have any slugs. We’re going to be aggressive on the basepaths.”

Canyon

COACH: Rich Montanio, 4th season

LAST SEASON: 11-12; 4th in league, 7-8

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Oscar Silva, a second-team all-league selection as a junior, heads a list of four returning starters for the Cowboys, who hit .328 as a team. Silva, a second baseman-pitcher, hit .405, and had a 3-1 record with a 1.35 ERA in 26 innings. The other returning starters are first baseman Billy Sivley, left fielder Chris Stark (.328, 15 RBIs, 13 stolen bases) and center fielder Kevin Bialas. Josh Malneck will round out the outfield in right, and Greg Hamm and Chris Cooper will start at shortstop and third base. Erik Hiljus (2-2, 5.70 ERA) and Silva are expected to be the Cowboys’ top two starters. Junior Dave Bildner and sophomore Chuck Schuster will vie for the starting nod at catcher.

OUTLOOK: “Offensively, we’re not going to have a lot of power,” Montanio said. “Our pitching will be a strength, although we won’t have a lot of depth. Hiljus has improved dramatically since last season.” Defense is the area in which Canyon needs to improve most. The Cowboys committed 72 errors last season. “If we play good D, we can be in the running for the league title,” Montanio said.

Palmdale

COACH: Kent Bothwell, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 12-9; tied for 2nd in league, 8-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bothwell, who has coached the Falcon football team for the past two seasons, inherits several strong hitters from last year’s club, which lost to Hesperia, 4-0, in the first round of the 3-A playoffs. First baseman Travis Wilson hit .439 with four home runs and 25 RBIs, and second baseman Jeff Pica had a .424 average with nine stolen bases. Chris Tampoya, the Falcons’ top returning pitcher, will play in the outfield when he is not on the mound. He hit .388 last season. Shortstop-outfielder Jason Rose batted .357. Wilson, Pica and Tampoya were first-team all-league selections last year and Rose was a second-team pick. The left-handed Tampoya (5-5 with a 3.39 ERA) is the only veteran on an inexperienced pitching staff. Senior Scott Reusser, juniors Danny Salazar and Mike Parker, and sophomore Joe Garcia will battle for the other starting berths in the rotation. The catcher’s job is also up for grabs between senior Derek Gates and juniors Ryan Herman and Ivan Hernandez.

OUTLOOK: “We’ve got a lot of good players returning, but we’ve got a very inexperienced group of pitchers and catchers,” Bothwell said. “How well they develop will play a big part in how the team does. If they come along, we should be in pretty good shape.”

Quartz Hill

COACH: Stan Lyons, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 10-12; 5th in league, 6-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Although the top four hitters have graduated from a Rebel team that batted .329 last season, shortstop Rob Keller (.360), catcher Dave Haney (.333 and 16 RBIs) and second baseman Carl Grissom (.303) should provide plenty of power. Ron Turner (7-2, 3.77 ERA) will lead a pitching staff that also includes Chad Hamilton and Dan Bennett, who saw limited action last season. Jason Higginson and John Solkalski will start at first base and third base, respectively. Chris Reel (left), Chad Goodwin (center) and Jerry Gaines (right) form the outfield.

OUTLOOK: “Hitting will be our strength,” Lyons said. “We’re really working hard to improve our defense and pitching, but I’d suspect hitting to be our best weapon.”

Saugus

COACH: Doug Worley, 16th season

LAST SEASON: 20-6-1; 1st in league, 14-1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Centurions, who lost to eventual champion La Serna, 4-3, in the 3-A quarterfinals last year, lost key players to graduation, but their entire pitching staff and some key offensive players return. Doug Maggiora, a submarine-style right-hander was 11-1 with a 2.32 ERA last year, and Chris Hernandez was 7-2 with a 4.11 ERA. Maggiora was an 3-A-Division second-team selection and Hernandez was an all-league second-team pick. Jayme Riggio (0-2) and David Weeg (2-0), part-time pitchers last season, are expected to play a bigger role. Left fielder Kyle Lonsberry (.420 and 22 RBIs), right fielder Jason Bates (.396, four home runs and 23 RBIs) and first baseman-third baseman Scott Minkler (.429) will lead the offense. Minkler is a transfer from Burroughs. Josh Nolan will start at second base and Riggio will play shortstop when he is not pitching. Mike Hogen, John Lopata and Mike Neal will battle for the starting nod at catcher. Brian Worley, the coach’s son, will start in center field.

OUTLOOK: Saugus, the two-time defending league champion, seems to be the favorite among opposing coaches, but Worley scoffs at that analysis. “We lost some great players from last year’s team,” he said. “Canyon and Burroughs both have a lot of players coming back.” Worley concedes, however, that the Centurions have the ingredients for a potent offense and a superb pitching staff. “We should hit throughout the lineup,” he said.”