HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION PREVIEWS : CHANNEL LEAGUE

Buena

COACH: Stan Hedegard, 8th season

LAST SEASON: 10-10; tied for 4th in league, 8-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Junior Gary Paul will start at third base and junior Brandon Knight will start at second. Junior shortstop Aaron Triana is a returning starter. Senior right-hander Darrin Mai and senior right-hander Nick Houchin (5-3, 7.50 earned-run average) supply most of Buena’s pitching. Senior left fielder Chris Denger is a power hitter who was second-team all-league last season. Returning lettermen include senior infielder Scott Baxter and senior outfielder Garrett Richins, who hit .350 before missing the last half of the season because he was academically ineligible. Senior Matt Carr, junior Chris Davis, sophomore Jeff Hebert, senior Johnny Gonzalez will contribute. Junior right-hander Grandon Aubert is vying for a place in the starting rotation.

OUTLOOK: Buena will draw upon talent from last year’s junior varsity that won the league title. “We don’t have much experience, so we’ll be shaky early,” Hedegard said. Yet the Bulldogs, a perennial contender for the league title, could battle for a playoff berth in a league that is not expected to be strong this season. “If we mature quick enough, we could be right there,” Hedegard said.

Hueneme

COACH: Reg Welker, 12th season

LAST SEASON: 18-8; tied for 2nd in league, 9-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior right-hander Frank Adame (10-2, 1.34 ERA), a third-team Southern Section 4-A Division selection last season, is the league’s top returning pitcher. Adame struck out 73 in 72 innings and limited opponents to a .180 batting average. The No. 2 slot in the rotation will go to either senior right-hander Chris Gonzales (4-1, 4.41) or junior right-hander Jesse Olivares (1-0, 1.31), who struck out 17 and walked two in 17 1/3 innings. Senior right-hander Marco Grajales, junior left-hander Juan Tostado and junior right-hander Robert Chavez add depth to the pitching staff. Chavez threw a no-hitter for the junior varsity last season. Senior catcher Mark Ortega, who hit .316 and drove in 24 runs last season, moves from first base and will bat third. Senior second baseman Casey Bolen, an all-league selection who hit .345 and stole 12 bases, will bat leadoff. Olivares, who hit .247 last season, will start at shortstop. Junior Raudel Flores might start at first base. Grajales, a part-time starter at shortstop who hit .293, will either start at third or in the outfield. Junior Scott Cain might start in the outfield.

OUTLOOK: Adame, who has a 14-5 career record at Hueneme, could carry the Vikings in a league that lacks quality pitching. “Frank has to come through and do what he did last season,” Welker said. Hueneme could have the league’s finest pitching staff, and the Vikings will play good defense. But the graduation of Jose Reyes (.403) and Jim Pettit (seven home runs) leaves the Vikings with gaps in their offense. Expect Hueneme to be among several teams contending for the league title.

Oxnard

COACH: Dan Garcia, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 9-13; tied for 6th in league, 5-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior right-hander Mike Mendoza, a three-year letterman, and sophomore right-hander Robert Meek are contending for the No. 1 slot in the rotation. Junior right-hander Armando Carrillo adds pitching depth. Returning lettermen include junior second baseman Hector Canales, junior shortstop Ruben Torres, and senior catcher Abel Romero. Carrillo will play third when he isn’t pitching. Junior center fielder Larry Bumpus, one of the Yellowjackets’ top returning players, has been declared academically ineligible. Bumpus was expected to pitch and bat third. Meek also will play outfield. Canales will bat leadoff. “He makes things happen for us,” Garcia said. Mendoza will bat fourth.

OUTLOOK: Garcia says Oxnard is not a strong hitting team. “But it’s early, and hitting always seems to be the last thing that comes around,” he said. Garcia will employ an aggressive offensive approach intent on using the Yellowjackets’ speed. “We’ll bunt, run and do anything we have to do,” he said. The loss of Bumpus, perhaps the school’s finest all-around athlete, is crucial.

Rio Mesa

COACH: Rich Duran, 6th season

LAST SEASON: 18-8; 1st in league, 10-4

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior third baseman Jon McMullen, who hit .378 with seven home runs and a team-leading 35 runs batted in last season, is among Baseball America magazine’s top 50 high school prospects. McMullen (6-foot-5, 230 pounds), a three-year letterman, is the son of former Angel and Dodger Ken McMullen. “He’s a definite pro prospect,” said Duran, who should know. Duran is a former professional player in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization who coached Dmitri Young (St. Louis Cardinals’ organization) for four years. Senior right fielder Dan Comando, who hit .327 last season, is the only other returning starter. Senior right-hander John Mitchell is Rio Mesa’s No. 1 starter and senior right-hander Jeff Howatt (2-2, 1.35) is No. 2. Senior right-hander Luis Holquin (3-0, 2.50) adds depth to the pitching staff. Sophomore Don DiDomizio will start at first base and senior Hernan Martinez will replace Young at shortstop. Freshman Charlie Boch will start in left field. Junior Jim Starr, a returning letterman, and senior Brad Larson are vying for the starting nod at catcher. Either junior Stan Monroy or sophomore Manuel Perez will start at second base. Senior John Guillen, a returning letterman, and junior Victor Moreno are competing for the starting center-field position.

OUTLOOK: Young, the 4-A player of the year, is one of six starters who graduated from last year’s team that won its second consecutive league title and reached the second round of the 4-A playoffs. And Duran already has squelched any thoughts of replacing Young’s numbers. “You don’t replace Dmitri,” he said. “We have some holes to fill but we feel pretty good about where our kids are and the progression they have made.” Rio Mesa will be a strong hitting team but might lack the power. This year, however, the Spartans might have strong pitching too. If anything, Mitchell (6-foot-4) and Howatt (6-6) are an intimidating duo. Expect the Spartans, who have won 10 of the past 13 league titles, to be in the thick of a five-team race.

Ventura

COACH: Dan Smith, 12th season

LAST SEASON: 8-16; tied for 6th in league, 5-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior third baseman Chris Mace, a second-team, all-league selection who hit .247 last season, also will provide pitching help. Senior right-handers Eric Rafter (3-6, 3.91 ERA) and Brandon Schneider (4-4, 2.26), and junior right-hander John French, a transfer from Birmingham, form a respectable pitching staff. Senior left fielder Trevor Rumsey, who hit .284 and stole 16 bases, will bat leadoff. Senior center fielder Elan Walshe, who hit .205 last season, will bat fifth. Senior catcher Travis Walters is a returning starter. Junior Derek Swafford, a shortstop last season who hit .351 and stole 11 bases, will move to right field. Junior Danny Lopez will play shortstop. “He has very steady hands,” Smith said. Either senior Sean Osborne or junior Eddie Centeno will start at second base. Senior catcher Jerry Carpenter, a transfer from Santa Paula, will back up Walters. Either junior Brandon Small or senior Chris Ramonette will play first base when Rafter, a starting first baseman, pitches.

OUTLOOK: Ventura has good speed and defense, but the Cougars’ pitching remains one of Smith’s main concerns. “We need to be consistent on the mound,” he said. Swafford, Rumsey and Walshe form what might be the league’s fastest outfield. If Schneider and Rafter can improve on last year’s statistics, expect the Cougars to contend for the league title and earn their second 4-A playoff berth in the past three seasons.