Pitchers Abound in Area Schools : Baseball: Major league scouts find plenty to hold their interest.

Not even abnormal rainfall can dampen the spirits of college and major league baseball scouts this spring.

Senior pitchers--dozens of talented ones in this year’s high school pool--have given the scouts reason to smile, even if the rain has kept them from doing much scouting.

Right-handers, lefties, flamethrowers, junkers. San Diego County has every base covered, and most eyes are on the mound.

“This is a good year for pitchers,” one major league scout said. “In the last 10 years, it’s probably as good as any. And when the weather warms up and people start pitching on a regular basis . . .”

Said Granite Hills Coach Gordy Thompson, “I remember 1977 as being a good year for pitchers. It was the toughest year in my 15, but this year might be just as good. There are a lot of quality kids around.”

“I’d say this is one of the best years ever in the county,” said Dick Barcus, who has coached the varsity at Chula Vista for nine seasons. “We’ve got too many of them in our area.”

Indeed. The South Bay has its share--Hilltop’s Jose Silva and Castle Park’s Benji Gil are considered among the top professional prospects in the nation--but there are others around the county.

Mira Mesa was ranked No. 3 in the nation in USA Today’s preseason listing, and a big reason was the return of right-hander Mike Bovee.

“He can dominate a game,” Mira Mesa Coach Mike Prosser said. “From what we’ve seen, he’s one of the best. He’s beaten everybody in San Diego.”

After going 3-0 as a sophomore, Bovee was 7-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 1990 before he broke his left ankle midway through the season. The injury essentially ended Bovee’s season, although he pitched the final inning of Mira Mesa’s section 3-A championship victory.

Bovee says he’s 100% healthy now. He played a full season of quarterback for the Marauder football team in the fall. This spring, he didn’t allow an earned run in 15 innings until Monday, when he lost 5-4 to highly regarded Fountain Valley.

Other senior pitchers having good years include Mike Saipe of University City (4-0, 24 strikeouts), Jim Lafferty of Serra (3-0, 0.78 ERA), Craig Woodall of La Jolla (0.54 ERA), Jorge Inzunza of St. Augustine (1.00 ERA) and Chris Nelson of Morse (1.00 ERA, 27 strikeouts).

There are three top pitching prospects in the East County and at least three others that are making names for themselves with good senior seasons.

Ryan O’Coyne, a 6-2 1/2 left-hander from Granite Hills, has a 1.10 ERA with 24 strikeouts and three walks in 24 innings.

“I’ve noticed a lot of maturity in him this year,” Granite Hills’ Thompson said. “He thinks like a pitcher now.”

O’Coyne, who also plays first base and outfield and has signed with UC Santa Barbara, is not a bad hitter, either. He hit .387 last year and is at .556 in 1991.

Robbie Stone, a 6-foot-7 right-hander from Monte Vista, mixes intimidation with his pitches. He wears a three-day-old beard during his starts and so far is 1-0 with a 1.67 ERA.

“His competitiveness and the look, it’s real,” Coach Mark Smelko said. “He’s not intimidated. He respects good teams and good players, but he’ll go right after them.”

Stone, who was instrumental in Monte Vista reaching the 3-A finals in 1990, threw four perfect innings earlier this year against Mar Vista before reaching a pitch limit imposed by Smelko.

“Great ability, great leadership, great brain,” said Smelko of Stone, who has a 4.5 grade-point average and has signed with Cal. “He out-thinks people.”

Mike Spears of Grossmont is the only pitcher in the county with a seven-inning perfect game this season. And that came against Fallbrook, one of the better teams in the county.

Spears, a 5-11 left-hander, also has a perfect record. He was 7-0 last year with five saves and a 2.16 ERA, and is 3-0 this year with a 0.80 ERA.

“He’d run through his mother, right over her, to win a game,” Coach Jeff Meredith said. “He’d pick her up and dust her off and say he was sorry after, but he has that kind of determination and desire.”

Other aces in the East include Eric Nielsen of Valhalla (3-0, 0.47 ERA), Dino Ennis of Santana (0.00 ERA) and Jason Reed of El Capitan (1-1).

In North County’s Palomar League, Brian Kooiman (0.58 ERA) and Damon Vinje (0.77) of Orange Glen have the Patriots looking up, and Scott Tebbetts (0.00) is a two-year proven performer at Mt. Carmel. But when scouts talk, they often mention Miles Kelly (1.02) and Scott Tittrington (0.78) of Poway and George Hadden (2-2, 1.86) of Rancho Buena Vista.

Kelly is regarded in the same manner as Bovee, Gil and Silva.

Hadden nearly had a perfect game Saturday against Carlsbad but walked a batter on a 3-2 count in the sixth inning. He then promptly picked off a pinch-runner to end the inning without throwing another pitch and faced the minimum 21 batters.

Aaron Cassidy of San Marcos and J.T. Patton of El Camino appear to be the class seniors of the Avocado League.

Gil and Silva are the rage in the South Bay, but pitching prowess doesn’t end there.

Silva’s teammate at Hilltop, Sean McGinnis, is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA.

Mike Wazal, a transfer from Bonita Vista, has given young Montgomery High (7-0) a legitimate shot at the 3-A title this year.

“I couldn’t be happier that he decided to come here this year,” Montgomery Coach Manny Hermosillo said. “I gained in him an outstanding outfielder, hitter and a pitcher who goes all out every time out.”

In two starts this year--both against Monte Vista’s Stone--Wazal has two complete-game victories and a 1.50 ERA.

Overshadowed by his team’s 1-5 record is left-hander Cesar Martinez of Chula Vista. Last year, he was 7-5 for a 10-15 team. This year, he’s 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA.

“He’s pitched well, but we’ve got a lot of young kids and make a lot of errors behind him,” Chula Vista’s Barcus said.