COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : Yates Thrives as Chapman Struggles

In his final season of college baseball, Chapman’s Doug Yates is experiencing the frustrations of playing for a losing team.

In two seasons at El Dorado High School and two seasons at Cypress College, Yates’ teams never failed to qualify for postseason play. Last season, his first at Chapman, the Panthers challenged for the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title before finishing third.

But this year, Yates is riding out a season in last place with the Panthers (11-29, 7-14 in the CCAA.). This is a transitional year for the team, in its final season before moving to NCAA Division I. Coach Mike Weathers brought in nine new players with an eye on the future.

“Our team is kind of young,” Yates said. “I think in the future, they’ll come together. We have some guys who are pretty talented but it’s taken a long time to get guys on base.”

The offensive futility--Chapman is batting 51 points lower and is averaging 2.6 fewer runs per game than it did last season--helps explain why the Panthers have lost more games than they have since the 1987 season.

During one stretch, the team lost 14 consecutive games, and in the 14th loss, Cal State Dominguez Hills pitcher Vincent Aguilar pitched a perfect game against the Panthers.

“I think that perfect game kind of woke some guys up because Chapman is going Division I next year,” Yates said. “I think it made these guys think a little bit. We only had two hits in the second game but we were hitting the ball hard.”

Hard enough to beat the Toros, 4-1, and start a slight turnaround for Chapman, which has won three of its past five games before starting a three-game series with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo today.

“We knew we were going to be young and we didn’t expect to come together until the middle of the year,” he said. “Maybe we are starting to come around now. It’s a little late but better now than never.”

To take his mind off the team’s struggles, Yates said he has concentrated on improving his own game with hopes of being drafted by a professional team after the season. Batting third, he has increased his batting average 20 points over last season (.298). He leads the CCAA in home runs with eight but his runs-batted-in production has dropped off--he has 24 in 40 games compared to 58 in 53 games last season.

“Even though we’re having kind of a down year, I’m not ready to give it up,” Yates said. “So, hopefully, someone will give me a chance.”

Going for the fences: Sandy Olivas, Chapman’s softball All-American, had one hit in 11 at-bats as the Panthers, ranked No. 2 in Division II, lost three of four games during a trip to Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last weekend. But Coach Lisle Lloyd says Olivas isn’t in a slump.

“She’s just not disciplined enough to cut her swing down and just dunk them in there,” Lloyd said.

Bakersfield plays on a retrofitted baseball field with dimensions of 220 feet down the lines and 230 to center. San Luis Obispo has no outfield fence. Lloyd said San Luis Obispo stationed its left fielder about 400 feet away from the plate when Olivas batted and that Olivas, who leads the nation in home runs with 12 and doubles with 19, had two fly outs that would have been home runs on most fields.

“If it had been a night game, you would have never seen the left fielder out there,” Lloyd said.

Despite the losses, Chapman (33-9, 6-4 in the CCAA) still leads Bakersfield (23-14, 7-5) by percentage points. San Luis Obispo (26-14, 6-6) and UC Riverside (34-17, 7-7), which each play doubleheaders with the Panthers this weekend at Hart Park in Orange, are a game behind.

“If we stumble, a lot of people are going to nail us, but if we win these four games, we’re pretty much a lock for the (Division II) playoffs and have a good chance to win the conference,” Lloyd said.

By defeating Southern California College, 3-1, Tuesday, Christ College Irvine moved into a three-way tie for first place with SCC and No. 14 Azusa Pacific in the Golden State Athletic Conference. With four games remaining--doubleheaders at home against the Cougars and the Vanguards--Christ College (26-12-1, 11-5) has a realistic shot at the title.

The conference’s top two teams qualify for the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 playoffs and the third-place team likely will have a game with another district team to make the playoffs. The Eagles, who set a school best for victories with a 21-26 record last season, have never played in the postseason.

“I’m real anxious to see how well we can compete against Azusa this weekend,” CCI Coach Scott Sarver said.

Mike Adams was named the district’s player of the week after batting .727 (eight for 11) with a home run and a double and seven RBIs in three CCI victories last week. On the mound, Adams (10-1) got a victory over Cal Baptist and a save against Westmont and improved his earned-run average to 2.19. Adams is batting .466 and leads the district in RBIs (49) and doubles (14).

College Division Notes

With a split in a doubleheader with Cal Baptist Tuesday, the Southern California College softball team clinched second place in the conference and a spot in the district playoffs. . . . The Chapman baseball team has signed seven players for next season: Steve Aviles, a right-handed pitcher from Riverside College; Corey Giuliano, a left-handed pitcher from Saddleback College and La Quinta High; Jason Hoggans, a left-handed pitcher from Lassen College; Bill Courtney, a right-handed pitcher from Tustin High; Buster Nietzke, an outfielder from Saddleback College and Capistrano Valley High; Kevin Cook, an outfielder from Cypress College and Sonora High, and James Thomas, a right-handed pitcher from San Diego Mesa. . . . The Panther softball team has added two players for next season: Deann Ford, a pitcher from the now-defunct U.S. International softball team, and Terrie Hubbard, a catcher from Orange Coast. . . . Doug Grove, a 6-foot-3 small forward at Cerritos College, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Christ College Irvine. Grove, who was a second-team all-Southern Section player for Brethren Christian, averaged 11 points and four rebounds for Cerritos, which finished 27-8. . . . Christ College Irvine runner Genevieve Graff finished ninth in the college division 1,500-meter race at the Mt. San Antonio Invitational Saturday. . . . Former Ram safety Nolan Cromwell will be the honorary chairman for the Eagle Golf Classic at Green River Golf Club in Corona May 10. Funds raised from the best-ball scramble tournament will help purchase equipment for the school’s weight room. The fee is $125 a person and includes cart rental, a golf shirt and an awards dinner. For information call: Greg Marshall, (714) 854-8002. . . . CCI women’s basketball coach Kent Schlichtemeier will hold a basketball camp for youths in grades five through 12, July 21-26. For information call: 854-8002, Ext. 423.