PREPS / ROB FERNAS : After Slow Start, Hawthorne Is Now a Thorn In Side of Opponents

Hawthorne High entered the baseball season regarded as potentially one of the best hitting teams in the South Bay.

But after the Cougars’ first two Bay League games in March, first-year Coach Greg Goode began to have his doubts. Santa Monica limited Hawthorne to one hit in a 7-1 victory and Beverly Hills followed that with a 17-3 rout.

“It was terrible,” Goode said.

Nearly a month later, things are looking up for the Cougars.

Hawthorne avenged its early loss to Santa Monica by taking two games from the Vikings this week to climb back into the Bay League race.

Collecting 14 hits in each game, the Cougars posted lopsided victories of 9-5 on Tuesday and 19-3 on Thursday over Santa Monica. Tuesday, the Cougars roughed up Viking pitcher Richard Armendariz, who had pitched a one-hitter against Hawthorne on March 14.

Goode said his team’s improved hitting of late is a result of the players accepting the batting tips of assistant coach Mike Whitt, a former Hawthorne standout who also played at Loyola Marymount.

“It took time for them to give in to some new techniques and ideas,” he said. “Now everything is coming into place.

“We were striking out way too much early in the season. A lot of our key hits in the last couple of games have come with two strikes.”

Center fielder Tarrik Brock and right fielder Anthony Mosby each had three hits in Tuesday’s victory. Thursday, Hawthorne got three hits each from Brock, left fielder Armando Fernandez and third baseman Moises Barba, who drove in six runs.

Goode said he is looking forward to the Cougars’ two-game rematch with Beverly Hills on April 18 and 23. The Normans are unbeaten in league play. Hawthorne is 4-2 and 6-4 overall.

“I know they’re a good team,” Goode said of Beverly Hills, “but I think we’ll play them a lot tougher now that we’re hitting.”

Goode only hopes next week’s spring break doesn’t cool off his team’s hot bats.

“I want to keep playing,” he said.

The Pioneer League is shaping up as one of the area’s most competitive baseball races.

Torrance forced a three-way tie for first place Friday by beating West Torrance and ace pitcher Brian Fitzgerald, 7-2, at Torrance Park. Fitzgerald, losing for only the second time in six decisions, gave up seven hits, seven runs (five earned) and four walks before he was pulled with no outs in the fourth inning.

Control problems plagued Fitzgerald in the third and fourth innings, when Torrance scored all its runs.

On the other hand, Torrance left-hander Kris Radcliffe consistently found the strike zone. He gave up seven hits in pitching a complete game, striking out four and walking none, to improve to 4-1.

The decision left Torrance, West and South Torrance tied for first place at 3-1. West and South will meet in a two-game series Wednesday and Friday.

It was a big week for two members of Hawthorne’s track team.

Sprinter Erik Allen and hurdler Demond Smith each recorded California-best times for the season Thursday in a 104-13 Bay League victory over Inglewood.

Allen won the 200 meters in 21.3 seconds and Smith placed first in the 300 intermeditate hurdles in 38.1, helping the Cougars improve to 3-0 in Bay dual meets.

Serra’s baseball team has made a remarkable turnaround since last season, when the Cavaliers had the dubious distinction of being on the losing end of an embarrassing 42-0 defeat to El Segundo.

With a record of 6-5 overall and 3-1 in the Camino Real League, Serra has already matched its win totals of last season (6-18, 3-11) and is considered one of the sleepers in the Southern Section 2-A Division.

And the Cavaliers are doing it with an 11-man varsity roster.

So far, though, a lack of depth hasn’t hurt the team.

Junior right-hander Eugene Davis, who had a no-hitter March 28 against Pius X, pitched his fifth complete game in as many starts Friday in a 5-3 loss to Cerritos, a strong 4-A Division team. Davis is 2-2 with a 2.10 earned-run average.

Serra outhit Cerritos, 10 to 6, and stole eight bases. Dwon Knighten and Jermaine Ferguson, who lead the South Bay with 23 steals apiece, each had two stolen bases against Cerritos, which is coached by former Serra Coach Tony Guigianna.

Knighten, a senior center fielder, is batting .540 and Ferguson, a junior left fielder, is batting .370.

With 1 1/2 games separating the top four baseball teams in the Ocean League, every meeting becomes an important one.

Second-place Palos Verdes (2-1-1) and third-place Mira Costa (2-2) will meet in a crucial two-game series Wednesday at Mira Costa and Friday at Palos Verdes. Palos Verdes tied first-place Rolling Hills (3-0-1), 4-4, Friday in a game that was called after eight innings because of darkness.

The decision continued a pattern for Rolling Hills, which has had trouble winning when ace right-hander Kirt Kishita does not pitch. Take away Kishita’s 4-1 record, and Rolling Hills is 2-3-1.