Verhoeven Gives Dominguez Hills Edge on Mound

Pitching was hardly a strong suit for the Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball team last season.

In fact, the Toros’ staff was at the bottom of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. with a 5.92 earned-run average.

But there has been a dramatic reversal of fortune this season with the addition of former major leaguer John Verhoeven as pitching coach.

Under Verhoeven, who played for five years in the majors, including two seasons with the Angels in 1976 and ‘77, Dominguez Hills has bolted from worst to first in the CCAA with an ERA of 2.26. The Toros are tied with Cal Poly Pomona for first place in the CCAA standings and are ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II with a 21-14-1 record.

“A lot of it has to do with the caliber of arms we have this year, but a lot of the credit also has to go to John Verhoeven,” Coach George Wing said. “He’s just made a major impact on our staff, especially in the mental aspects of the game.”

Verhoeven’s impact is even more impressive when you consider that he has been the pitching coach only since early January. He was hired after the resignation of Tom Pokorski in December.

Wing had first learned about Verhoeven, 38, through Oklahoma Coach Larry Cochel, who had worked with Wing at a baseball clinic during the summer. At the time, though, there were no openings on the Dominguez Hills coaching staff.

“(Larry) had highly recommended him, but at the time, I thought our staff was set,” he said. “So I kind of took it and filed it and didn’t really think much of it.”

When the position became available, Wing said it was his wife who reminded him about Verhoeven.

Once he was offered the position by Wing, it did not take Verhoeven long to accept.

“I wanted to get into college coaching, and I really wanted it to be at a four-year college,” said Verhoeven, who played at Westmont and La Verne in the early 1970s before being drafted by the Angels in 1974. “I had wanted to get back into the game (before), but at the time I had the business and I couldn’t just walk away from it.”

For the last five years, Verhoeven has been operating a baseball school and batting cage in Anaheim. But he recently sold half of the operation to former major league pitcher Don Aase.

From the moment he accepted the position, Verhoeven said he was certain he had made the right decision.

“I’ve really loved it and I knew I was going to enjoy it, but I think I’ve enjoyed it even more than I originally thought I would,” he said.

After coaching players in a controlled situation at the baseball school, Verhoeven said the biggest adjustment was getting accustomed to being involved in games again.

“It’s a lot different getting the knots in your stomach again,” he said.

But Wing said it did not take Verhoeven long to adjust to coaching at the college level, and the players have become accustomed to him.

“John will talk the game all the time and he talks pitch by pitch with each of our pitchers even when they’re not playing,” Wing said. “If he sees a mechanical problem, he’ll correct that. But I think his main thrust has been in the mental aspects.”

Verhoeven said he enjoys coaching at the Division II level because the players are “responsive and serious” about the game. Not that it doesn’t help to have experience in the big leagues.

“I would think that would have a lot to do with it, but when I tell (the pitchers) things, I try to relate it to them in stories,” he said. “I don’t just say to throw the fastball or throw the slider. I think it gives you a little more credibility when you say it that way.”

While he is already earning credibility as a coach, Verhoeven doesn’t want to get carried away with his success.

“At this point, I don’t really have a desire to be a head coach,” he said. “I want to get my feet wet first. I’m just real happy being a pitching coach right now. I’ll just see how this goes first.”

Azusa Pacific dipped into the high school coaching ranks to select its men’s basketball coach, and the Cougars may have come up with a gem.

They hired Bill Odell, 48, longtime successful coach at Long Beach Millikan High School. In 23 seasons of coaching, including the first three at Covina Northview, Odell compiled a 402-199 record.

Odell had his most successful season in 1989, when Millikan won the Southern Section 5-AA Division title. His teams also made the playoffs 15 times and won eight league titles, and he earned league coach-of-the-year honors in six seasons.

Odell said he is looking forward to becoming a college coach.

“The challenge of coaching at the collegiate level has always been a dream of mine,” Odell said. “I’ve been here on campus, and I’ve seen the excitement that the students generate. It’s a place (where) I would like to coach to meet that challenge.”

Athletic Director Cliff Hamlow said Odell was chosen from a list of more than 80 applicants from around the country. He replaces Terry Layton, who resigned after posting a 42-50 record the past three seasons.

College Division Notes

Senior Vince Aguilar became the first Cal State Dominguez Hills player to pitch a perfect game in a 9-0 victory over Chapman last week. Aguilar (3-2) made only 80 pitches and reached three-ball counts on only three batters. . . . Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills remain tied for the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. lead at 11-7, although preseason favorite UC Riverside has won six of its last seven conference games to move into third place at 8-7.

Chuck Deagle, Cal State San Bernardino baseball coach, gained his 200th victory when his team beat Southern Utah State, 7-3, in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Cedar City, Utah. San Bernardino swept a three-game series from the NCAA Division I Thunderbirds to improve to 18-7. Deagle has a nine-year coaching record of 201-98-2.

Pitcher David Black of Southern California College earned National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics pitcher-of-the-week honors last week after a masterful performance in a 2-1 victory over Pt. Loma Nazarene. Black, a junior, went the entire 14 innings and retired 26 of the last 27 batters to lower his earned-run average to 1.42.

Redlands took over first place in the Southern California Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball standings, defeating Occidental three times last week while La Verne was scoring a three-game sweep of Claremont-Mudd. Redlands is 10-2 in the SCIAC, followed by La Verne at 8-4 and Claremont at 6-3.