HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION PREVIEWS : DELPHIC LEAGUE

Buckley

COACH: Rick Weber, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 11-10; 3rd in league, 3-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: A trio of heavy hitters will be expected to shoulder much of Buckley’s load. All-league catcher Steve Moon (.480 in league play) returns for his junior season and is the team’s best hitter. Taryll Jackson, a returning starter, will play first base and pitch. Jackson, a junior left-hander, was an all-league selection after batting .500 in league competition. Chris Irwin, a senior shortstop, was a second-team all-league pick. Returning lettermen and likely starters include junior second baseman Jason Kaplar, sophomore outfielder Keith Armstrong, junior outfielders Chad Wehba and Harold Goodman, and senior outfielder Nerses Sanossian. Senior George Hur will pitch and is the team’s top utility player. Jackson and senior right-hander Richard Haskin will be the top starters, and Armstrong and Irwin will lead the bullpen corps. Junior Pat Field, up from the junior varsity, will start at third.

OUTLOOK: Weber led the Griffins into the playoffs in 1991 for their first appearance in eight seasons. This team has a good chance to return to the playoffs. “We’ve got a lot of kids back,” Weber said. “The key is pitching and defense. If they hold up, we’ll be in a lot of ballgames.”

Campbell Hall

COACH: George White, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 5-11; 5th in league, 1-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: White is taking the reins of what could be the youngest team on the Valley floor. There are no seniors on the Viking varsity and just two juniors are expected to start--outfielders Joe Rainey and Sam Park. “Two years down the line, we’ll be tough,” said White, a former junior varsity coach at Beverly Hills High. Freshman starters include John Pollak at second, James McDermott at shortstop and Andreas Fehrle at third. Jeremy Kline and James Clark, also freshmen, could play in the outfield. Sophomore starters are catcher Blake Levin and first baseman Ben Arnold. The pitching staff is just as young behind right-handed freshman starters McDermott and Thomas Rainey. Sophomore right-hander Chris Maronde also catches.

OUTLOOK: White said the team is taking shape despite its youth and inexperience. “They’re coming along,” White said. “Tom (Rainey, freshman pitcher), in all the years I’ve been coaching, is one of the finest raw talents I’ve seen.” Campbell Hall might improve its long-range baseball fortunes soon--an on-campus baseball field is planned and could be in place by next season.

Faith Baptist

COACH: Les Estrada and Greg Weiss, 8th season

LAST SEASON: 15-6; tied for 1st in league, 7-1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Faith Baptist finished in a first-place tie with perennial champion Crossroads last season to earn a share of the school’s first league title in baseball since 1984. Weiss expects more of the same, and since the Contenders have lost just two starters, he isn’t exactly going out on a limb. The team leaders are seniors Darren Wyre (.431, four home runs) and Alex Estrada (.521, 32 runs batted in, seven home runs, area-high 41 steals). Once basketball season is completed, Wyre will pitch and catch and Estrada will play center field. Chad Evanson, a sophomore and returning starter, also will catch. Other returning starters include junior David Tibor at first, sophomore Mike Jimenez at second and sophomore Clint Marcus in the outfield. Judd Granzow, a 6-foot-3 freshman, might be the school’s next Estrada-type impact player. Granzow will start at shortstop. “I don’t think anybody in the Valley has better tools as a freshman,” Weiss said. Senior Chad Watkins also may play in the outfield and senior basketball forward Etienne Moore has been impressive with the bat in workouts. Wyre, Tibor, Granzow, Marcus and Evanson all will pitch.

OUTLOOK: Once Wyre, Estrada and Moore have finished playing basketball--Faith Baptist will play in the Southern Section Division V-AA final Saturday night at Pepperdine--the pieces should be in place for another run at Crossroads. “We’re pretty excited,” Weiss said. “It’s a good team with experience in the right places.”