Valley’s Weir Finds Help From Above

Tim Weir, a sophomore outfielder for Valley College, was driving home from school Monday when he noticed what appeared to be a fast-moving river headed toward him.

It was.

Weir, a former all-league selection in football and baseball at Crespi High, was among a group of motorists caught in Monday’s floods in the Sepulveda Basin area.

He was driving west on Burbank Boulevard when, suddenly, raging water from the flooded L.A. River stalled his jeep and began to fill the vehicle.

“It (the water) started coming up past my doors and the engine shut off,” Weir said. “When I got out, the water was almost to my neck. I could walk a little bit until finally I had to swim.”

Along with about six to 12 other stranded motorists, Weir swam back to a bridge protruding above the water where his girlfriend (traveling in another car) had managed to stop. They waited with about 20 others before being airlifted to safety.

“We waited about an hour and I just remember a lot of people being really scared,” said Weir, who returned to the scene Tuesday to recover his mud-filled jeep. “If the helicopters didn’t arrive, there was no way we would have survived.”

SLOW START

Kenny Kendrena, the losing pitcher in both of Northridge’s games this season, did not drop his second decision last season until the Matadors’ final game, a 6-5 loss to Fresno State in the West II Regional championship game.

Kendrena, a right-hander, was 13-2 and a third-team All-American in 1991. In 10 1/3 innings this season, he has allowed 12 hits, including a double, triple and three home runs. His earned-run average is 7.84.

STRAIGHT SHOOTER

Make no mistake about it. Valley basketball Coach Jim Stephens would not welcome a berth in the Southern California men’s regionals later this month if his team is struggling at the end of the regular season.

Thirty-two teams from Northern and Southern California will begin regional play Feb. 29, but if Valley (15-12, 4-2 in South Division play) backs in, Stephens would rather not be there.

“We need to play well down the stretch,” Stephens said after Valley lost to Santa Monica, 73-65, Saturday night. “It’s no use playing in those if you’re just going through the motions at the end of the season.”

STRUGGLING MONARCH

After averaging 15.1 points and 9.2 rebounds a game as a freshman, forward Russell Baldwin of Valley was expected to be a major contributor to the Monarchs’ offense this season. However, he has struggled to find his game, especially since South Division play began Jan. 22.

Baldwin is averaging 14.5 points and seven rebounds a game, but he has averaged only 9.3 points in division play. He was held to seven points in Valley’s loss to Santa Monica.

“He’s been getting his shots, but he just hasn’t been hitting them,” Stephens said.

If Baldwin regains his touch, Valley would present an imposing front line that includes forward Randy Brown, who has averaged 27.3 points a game in division play.

PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND

While most area college baseball teams spent last week weathering a series of rainouts, Valley played four games en route to a third-place finish in the College of the Desert tournament in Palm Springs.

Valley (3-4), which played three games in less than 24 hours, staged a pair of dramatic come-from-behind victories that left Coach Chris Johnson pleased with the character of his team.

Against Saddleback on Saturday, outfielder Sean Lewis’ two-run single in the bottom of the ninth capped a seven-run inning that gave Valley a 10-9 win.

The next morning against Desert, Valley trailed, 8-2, in the eighth before rallying for a 9-8 victory. Reliever Mike Engler, who singled home the winning run in the top of the ninth, worked the bottom half of the inning for his second win of the tournament.

“I think our kids believe in what they can do,” Johnson said. “That is really the most encouraging thing.”

EBY ON TARGET

Former Westlake High pitcher Mike Eby, who transferred to Pierce after a redshirt year at UCLA, has opened the season with consecutive nine-inning shutouts.

After blanking Citrus on Feb. 1, the left-hander held perennial powerhouse Cerritos scoreless on five hits Sunday in a scoreless tie at Cerritos. The game, which pitted Eby against touted Dan Recibal, was called because of darkness.

In 18 innings, Eby has struck out 17 and walked four (one intentionally).

“He has a great concept of pitching,” Pierce Coach Bob Lofrano said. “He mixes his pitches well, and he’s making batters hit his pitches.”

Pierce (3-0-1), considered a strong hitting team, has not allowed an earned run since the third inning of its opener--a string of 33 innings.

SAME OLD STORY

The Valley women’s basketball team used a Western State Conference South Division title as a starting point for a run through the playoffs last season that did not end until the final seconds of the state championship game.

The ‘91-92 Monarchs have an 11-game winning streak, a 25-3 record and are a win away from clinching a tie for another WSC title with three games remaining.

(The teams are) very similar,” Valley Coach Doug Michelson said. “Last season we had four losses at this point; (this season) we have three. Both teams started to peak about this time.”

With the regional playoffs nearing (Feb. 26), Valley played its best game in a 73-54 win over strong Santa Monica on Saturday.

“It was a Rembrandt as far as I’m concerned,” Michelson said of the game, which included a 19-point, six-assist, six-steal effort by Valley guard Falicia Stanley.

FOOT FALL

The right-ankle sprain that Cal State Northridge forward Keith Gibbs incurred in the Matadors’ 61-57 loss to Washington on Monday was caused by a misstep on landing. In a battle for a rebound, Gibbs came down on the foot of Husky center Rich Manning.

As Gibbs leaned on crutches after the game, his tender ankle wrapped in ice, he recalled another occasion when he tangled with Manning.

In a summer-league game two weeks before Manning left for his freshman season at Syracuse, Manning came down with a rebound and landed on Gibbs’ foot, turning his ankle.

“Crazy coincidence,” Gibbs said. “I guess he got me back.”

In a desperate attempt to return to the lineup, Gibbs faked a light jog behind the stands in Edmundson Pavilion. But Northridge trainer Bill Miller noticed that Gibbs could not put pressure on his right foot.

Gibbs, Northridge’s top scorer (14.7 points per game), remains on crutches and is questionable for Saturday’s game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Matador Gymnasium.

COME RAIN OR SHINE

The Cal State Northridge softball team put the university’s new parking structure to good use last week, employing it as a ball field.

Coach Gary Torgeson, still reeling from the team’s two shutout losses to top-ranked UCLA the day before, held practice on the third level of the structure, where the team could work out without getting wet from the rain.

“There’s a big joke on our campus that the parking structure isn’t used,” Torgeson said. “I said, ‘Why don’t they come out on Thursday and watch us? We’ll use it.’ ”

Practicing in the cement structure seemed a little odd to players, but they have learned to expect the unexpected from Torgeson.

“Our coach comes up with some bizarre ideas,” senior catcher Patti Pearson said. “I’ve been here four years and he’s still pulling new tricks on me.”

With its low roof, the structure is not exactly an ideal practice facility, but Torgeson was determined to keep the team focused on softball.

“Early in the season, you’ve gotta keep a team going,” he said. “You gotta keep them in tune. Whether they like it or not, our job is to get them ready.

IN THE BOOKS

Who would have guessed that after Cal State Northridge managed just one hit against Fresno State in the first game of a softball doubleheader Sunday, that the Matadors would bust out for 15 hits against returning All-Big West Conference selection Marcie Green in the second game.

The scenario might seem improbable to many, but not to the Matadors (2-4).

“We’re a great hitting team this year--better than we’ve ever been, actually, since I’ve been here,” said Pearson, who had three hits in the second game.

Torgeson said that this year’s team is his best hitting club in his 11 years as coach.

Northridge’s 15-hit attack broke two Fresno State records: hits allowed in a game (13) and hits allowed by a pitcher (11).

PACKAGE DEAL

When Greg Shepard transferred from U.S. International to Cal State Northridge in May and made the baseball team, Torgeson had no idea that he too would benefit.

Shepard’s girlfriend, Jackie Volkert, who was pitching for USIU before the university cut its athletic programs, also transferred to Northridge and she tried out for the softball team.

“She came out of the woodwork,” Torgeson said.

In her first appearance as a Matador, Volkert beat No. 2-ranked Fresno State. The sophomore right-hander scattered eight hits and allowed one earned run. “It was kind of a package deal,” Torgeson said. “And I’m sure glad she came.”

SHARE THE WEALTH

Mike Smith has the stuff of which wins are made.

The Master’s College baseball team is 2-2, both victories courtesy of Smith, a senior pitcher.

Smith was the winner in the second game of a season-opening doubleheader against Cal State San Bernardino. The Master’s hitting outshone Smith’s performance, though. Tony MacCaughtry had two home runs and a single to drive in five runs in an 11-8 victory.

It was a different story when Smith pitched against Point Loma Nazarene.

“We didn’t hit and we needed a good pitching performance and he gave us a good performance,” Coach Chris Harrison said.

Smith pitched a four-hitter with five strikeouts and three walks to key the Mustangs’ 2-1 win.

Even though he was only 5-5 last season, Smith pitched well in big games. He had two wins and a save in important games against Cal Lutheran that effectively shut the Kingsmen out of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 playoffs and kept The Master’s in.

SIMON IS STOPPED

Cal Lutheran’s bid for its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball title has suffered a setback.

In the second half of Cal Lutheran’s 79-46 win over Caltech last Wednesday, Simon O’Donnell landed on another player’s foot and suffered a twisted right leg.

O’Donnell, a 6-foot-6 senior center, has been the Kingsmen’s main provider on the boards, averaging a team-leading 7.9 rebounds. O’Donnell also has been a big inside scoring threat, averaging 15.4 points and balancing the perimeter attack of Jeff deLaveaga, who leads the team and Division III in scoring with a 28.7 average.

Coach Mike Dunlap believes the first-place Kingsmen (11-9, 7-1 in conference play), one game ahead of Redlands, can still win the title, “but it’s going to be doubly tough,” he said.

Mike Fenton, a 6-6 freshman, replaces O’Donnell.

“He is out for a minimum of two weeks, and then he will be re-evaluated,” said Rod Poindexter, Cal Lutheran’s trainer. “It is doubtful that he will be able to come back in the regular season (which ends Feb. 27), but the doctors have not completely ruled it out.”

It is not the first time O’Donnell’s playing time has been limited this season. He was suspended for the first two games for breaking an unspecified school rule, and the Kingsmen lost both. Dunlap said that O’Donnell’s absence was a major factor in the defeats.

Ron Twersky and staff writers Mike Hiserman, Paige A. Leech, John Ortega and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this notebook.