Newly Donated Fence Came With a Catch

For the want of a few feet, the Carson family donation almost paid off in Notre Dame’s first home baseball game Monday.

With Notre Dame trailing Chatsworth, 3-2, with a runner on first and two out in the bottom of the eighth, Glen Carson sent a high fly ball to deep center field.

“I thought it was gone, and I thought it was all over,” Notre Dame Coach Bob Mandeville said.

The ball wasn’t gone, although it was over--the school’s newly installed portable outfield fence, that is.

Trouble was, Chatsworth center fielder Mark Lopez had a bead on the ball. Lopez reached high above the fence, pulled the ball back into play and tumbled into the fence, which toppled under Lopez’s weight.

Lopez somehow held onto the ball for the final out, which left Glen’s father Chuck on the receiving end of several good-natured barbs. The elder Carson donated the funds to purchase the outfield fence and during its installation suggested that the fence was placed too close to home plate.

“We chewed Chuck out (Monday night),” said Linda Carson, Chuck’s wife and the team scorekeeper. “When they were putting the thing in he said it was too close, so they moved it back five feet.”

The fence stands about 365 feet from home plate in straightaway center, which is where Glen hit the ball.

Said Chuck Carson in his own defense: “That ball could just as easily have been hit by them.”

Countered his wife: “That’s fine, but this is your son. “

Notre Dame also learned, the hard way, that the fence functions as designed.

“We found out that it falls down the way it’s supposed to,” Linda said.

OPPORTUNE TRANSFERS

Buena girls’ basketball Coach Joe Vaughan took a big swipe at Thousand Oaks after the Bulldogs’ 76-46 loss to the Lancers in the Southern Section Division I-A championship Saturday.

“Buena High got beat by an All-Ventura County team,” Vaughan said. “Take that to mean whatever you want it to mean.”

Vaughan was referring to the presence of three transfers, Michelle Palmisano, Sasha Scardino and Marion Jones, in the Lancers’ starting lineup.

Scardino, a 5-9 senior forward, transferred from La Reina after her freshman year. Jones, a 5-11 forward, moved from Rio Mesa to Thousand Oaks in November.

Most upsetting to Bulldog fans, however, is the case of Palmisano, whose parents live several blocks from the Buena campus. Palmisano, the fourth-leading scorer in state history, moved in with her sister Dina, a Lancer assistant coach, as a freshman.

A number of Buena supporters yelled criticism at Palmisano throughout the final, but she responded with a game-high 26 points, hitting 14 of 16 free throws, despite playing with a badly bruised knee in the second half.

RECORD SETTER

Lauren Goldstine, a four-year starter for the Westlake High girls’ basketball team, finished her career as the leading rebounder in Ventura County and the all-time scorer in Westlake girls’ history after a season-ending, 70-39 loss to Bishop Montgomery in the Southern Section Division II-A quarterfinals.

Goldstine’s 1,241 rebounds bettered the county mark of 1,086 set by Simi Valley’s Cheri Graham in the early 1980s. Goldstine’s 1,428 points cracked the school record of 1,408, established by Michelle Stevens from 1981-85.

“You couldn’t ask for a more complete person,” said Nancy Bowman, who resigned as coach after the game. “She is not only a great player, she is just a total package of player, student and friend.”

COMANDO RAID

Rio Mesa High Coach Rich Duran should have little trouble getting senior second baseman Dan Comando to make an aggressive slide into second to break up a potential double play--Comando perfected the art during the Spartans’ basketball games.

During the break between the third and fourth quarters of Rio Mesa’s 58-47 loss to Artesia in a Division II-AA semifinal Tuesday at Camarillo High, the Spartan student section began a chant of “Dan-ny! Dan-ny!”

Comando emerged from the bleachers and jogged to one end of the court. After he eluded the grasp of a security guard, Comando broke into a sprint, passed mid-court, then lunged into the air and slammed belly-first onto the hardwood.

Comando, who used only a thick jacket as padding, rose to a thunderous ovation.

“It’s a legacy that his brother Joey started about three years ago,” Athletic Director Brian FitzGerald said. “When the crowd needs to get pumped up, he responds. He is the man with a gut of steel.”

A LOAF SHORT

Campbell Hall guards Austin McKellar and C.J. Thompkins had a pregame confab before the Vikings played Delphic League rival Faith Baptist in the Southern Section Division V-AA championship game Saturday.

The pair agreed that the safest plan of attack was to win in a rout. Of course, file that sentiment under “easier said than done.” Faith Baptist had beaten Campbell Hall twice in as many league meetings.

“I was talking to C.J. before the game and we wanted to make sure we won by about 40 so we didn’t lose it on one of those buzzer-beater, breadbasket shots,” McKellar said.

Huh? Breadbasket shots?

McKellar and Thompkins figured that if the dough was on the line, Faith Baptist would get the ball to senior guard Alex (Loafie) Estrada.

“We saw how Loafie was named after a loaf of bread, and we didn’t want him to beat us on one of those wild shots again,” McKellar explained.

Estrada helped beat Campbell Hall, 71-70, in the second round of league play by scoring on a near-miraculous jump shot with three seconds to play.

There was no repeat shake-and-bake performance. Campbell Hall easily defeated Faith Baptist, 60-40, and Estrada finished with seven points.

THE ROOKIES

Several of the region’s largest schools will employ freshmen as starters or top reserves on their varsity baseball teams. To wit:

* Jim Landress, son of Cleveland Coach Steve Landress, starts in the outfield at Notre Dame.

* Charlie Boch will start in left field at Rio Mesa.

* Matt Gershon (catcher) and John Dalrymple (outfielder) will see playing time at Agoura.

* Outfielder Matt Buttell was impressive for Camarillo during a scrimmage against Hueneme.

* Bill Sperry will start in left field, and right-hander Tim Barron will add pitching depth at Thousand Oaks.

* Mike Melucci will start at shortstop for Westlake.

NERVOUS TIME

Professional baseball scouts flock to Simi Valley for a glance at Royal senior shortstop Dave Landaker, and Highlander Coach Dan Maye grimaces.

Landaker, who hit .408 and stole 15 bases last season, is perhaps the finest shortstop in the region.

“A lot of our success depends on how well our guys deal with the pressure of having five to eight scouts at every ballgame and three or four at every practice,” Maye said. “One practice we had scouts with the Pirates, Mets and Dodgers there.”

Maye said several Highlanders are attempting to show off their skills and predicts that Landaker will get off to a slow start because of the distractions.

“It’s very difficult for Dave to concentrate,” Maye said. “It’s just a lot of pressure. Kids feel like they need to smoke the ball across the diamond and hit it 400 feet to impress the scouts.”

DARK, DANK AND DISMAL

Darkness fell on Grant’s baseball team in more ways than one in its opening game against Granada Hills last week.

The Lancers, who scored seven runs in the first inning, held an 8-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. But as the sun was setting, Granada Hills was rising to the occasion.

Heath McElwee’s two-out, bases-loaded triple tied the score, 8-8. Grant Coach Tom Lucero instructed relief pitcher Jason Litt to intentionally walk the next two batters, Sam Voita and Scott Berger.

After loading the bases and as he faced the next batter, Litt looked to Alberto Vazquez for signs but no longer could see the catcher’s fingers.

“He went to step off the rubber because he couldn’t see the catcher’s signal, and he was called for a balk,” Lucero said. “Needless to say, everyone was upset (with the call).”

NEW SEASON

A year ago, Poly’s baseball team was The Times’ No. 1 team in the region.

Poly, which had nine players who batted better than .300 last season, managed just two hits against Kennedy in an 8-0 loss to open the season.

“We might not hit the ball as well as we have in the past, but we’ll be OK,” Coach Jerry Cord said.

ELIGIBILITY CHECK

Grant junior pitcher Rusty Howard fulfilled requirements to make a proper transfer from Van Nuys in the fall, but Van Nuys Coach Bill Gordon is not convinced Howard’s move is legitimate.

“The way I got it, he got an address in the Grant district, but he isn’t living there,” Gordon said.

Hal Harkness, the City Section Commissioner, confirmed that the Howard family has moved into the Grant district.

“I’m confident that over the course of all our conversations with the three parties concerned--Grant, Van Nuys and Mrs. Howard--during the last six months, they are aware of what the rules of the game are,” Harkness said. “I have had several conversations with Mrs. Howard and my instructions to her (were) that they must be living (in the Grant district) full time.”

It is the responsibility of Grant officials to determine whether the move was legitimate, Harkness said. Apparently the officials are convinced. Howard, who batted .392 for Van Nuys last season, played in a Lancer uniform for the first time last week in a game against Granada Hills.

David Coulson and staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.