Harbor Pitcher Lundstrom Makes Most of Opportunity : Community colleges: Right-hander was only 3-1 as a freshman, but is 7-0 this season after getting chance to be Seahawks’ No. 1 starter.

As a freshman pitcher at Harbor College last year, Carey Lundstrom didn’t take the mound often because the Seahawks had a talented array of sophomore pitchers who played a big role in winning the school’s third state baseball title.

Lundstrom, who finished 3-1, saw limited duty behind standouts Pat Ahearne and John Ingram. Ahearne is now at Pepperdine and Ingram signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Sure I would like to have seen more action, but we were so good last year it didn’t matter,” Lundstrom said. “I learned a lot last year from watching those guys.”

Besides winning the state championship at UC Irvine, Harbor went undefeated in the Southern California Athletic Conference and won a state-record 51 games. Lundstrom did a lot of watching, but he knew his time would come.

“I worked a lot harder last summer because I knew all the sophomore pitchers were leaving,” the 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore said. “I knew I’d have to work harder to pick up a lot of the slack.”

Harbor Coach Tony Bloomfield informed Lundstrom of his future duties at the team’s postseason banquet.

“We knew at the end of last year that Carey was going to be our No. 1 pitcher this year,” Bloomfield said. “He was a great pitcher last year. It’s too bad we had so many guys last year or he could win 20 games in two years.”

The laid-back Lundstrom enjoys the added responsibility this season and feels no pressure because of it.

“My role is a lot different this year,” he said. “I’m relied on a lot more. Last year we had guys to do what I do now. Coach expects more out of me now, but I’ve matured and I know I can do it. I’m glad to be where I am.”

Lundstrom has already doubled last year’s victory total. He is 7-0 with a 2.16 earned-run average and three complete games. He also leads the SCAC in strikeouts (66) and single-game strikeouts (12). Lundstrom was named most valuable pitcher at the Casey Stengel tournament, which the Seahawks won in February. The right-hander beat Rancho Santiago, ranked No.1 in the state at the time, in the Stengel tournament.

“He really worked his butt off and that’s why he’s doing so well,” Bloomfield said. “He’s just a real hard worker. He works harder between innings than anyone I have. I just can’t say enough good things about him. I’ve never had one problem with him.”

Lundstrom is a power pitcher with a fastball that’s been clocked in the mid-80s. He also has a good slider and changeup and is known to hit his spots consistently.

Bloomfield believes the 20-year-old pitcher will improve after he leaves Harbor. Pepperdine, USC and Cal State Long Beach have shown interest in Lundstrom. The Houston Astros drafted him last year and own his rights until the June draft.

“He’s got unlimited potential,” Bloomfield said. “He can be a 90s (m.p.h.) pitcher, but he’s too good at this level to change things. Someone else will have to teach him that at the next level.”

Doug Deutsch, the Astros scout who drafted Lundstrom, says the team thinks highly of the pitcher’s potential.

“All I’ll say is that he has an ideal pitcher’s body and he throws strikes,” Deutsch said. “He’s also very competitive and he keeps the ball in the game.”

Lundstrom says he has greatly improved since high school and he credits Bloomfield for helping him refine his skills.

“He turned my life around,” Lundstrom said. “I’m totally different now. I mean I have changed totally. I was bad mechanically when I got here and I was wild. I used to walk the park. I was a thrower then, but now I’m a pitcher.”

At Downey High, Lundstrom seldom played as a junior, but became the team’s No. 2 pitcher and starting right fielder as a senior. That season Lundstrom compiled a 5-2 record and was named to the All-San Gabriel Valley League’s second team. The Vikings won the league title, but lost to Santa Ana in the first round of the CIF playoffs.

Bloomfield spotted Lundstrom in a summer league prior to his senior year at Downey. He doesn’t understand why Lundstrom wasn’t a standout in high school.

“He didn’t play much in high school, now you tell me why?” Bloomfield said. “That’s an insult that this kid didn’t play in high school. I just can’t understand why.”

Downey Coach Fred Yanez says it is because Lundstrom didn’t develop into a solid pitcher until the middle of his senior year.

“He always had a good fastball,” Yanez said. “He could throw through a brick wall, but he didn’t have much control until his senior year. That’s when he started maturing mentally. He was always mature physically, but not mentally.”

Bloomfield believes Lundstrom will benefit from his mediocre high school career.

“Now he’s on a mission,” Bloomfield said. “He’s out to prove everybody in high school was wrong about him. He’s hungry and he really wants it. I guarantee if we didn’t have all those guys last year he would have pitched a lot.”

The Seahawks have plenty of pitching depth, but Lundstrom is clearly the standout. Harbor’s other ace, Chico Limas, hyper-extended his knee three weeks ago and is sidelined for the season. Bloomfield however, isn’t worried. Harbor is in first place in the SCAC and ranked third in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau.

“We have eight or nine guys we can throw out there any time,” Bloomfield said. “We’re not really set on starters, but we have lots of depth. Depending on the situation we have a guy that can get the job done.”

And Lundstrom is happy to finally have the leading role.