Good Turned Bad, Then Ugly for Utah
What started as the first out of an inning ended in disaster for Utah pitcher Jim Hallinan on Sunday against Cal State Northridge in the first game of a doubleheader.
With the bases loaded and a 3-and-2 count in the sixth inning, Hallinan struck out third baseman Denny Vigo with a breaking ball in the dirt. But the ball darted away from catcher Keith McDonald toward the Northridge dugout.
That allowed Northridge’s Scott Richardson to score from third. He was followed by teammate Andy Hodgins, who scored all the way from second. McDonald then fired the ball wildly past Hallinan, allowing Greg Shockey to score from first.
In all, it was a three-run strikeout.
Northridge won, 6-1.
WILLING AND ABLE
Junior John Bushart is not sure when he will be called on next to pitch for Northridge, but he does know how he will approach the assignment.
“I want to take every opportunity like I did today,” Bushart said after throwing a five-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Utah on Sunday. “You always want to be right in the middle of it. I’m just waiting my turn.”
His turn came after a wait of more than a year. Bushart pitched four innings in the third game of the 1991 season. It was his last appearance of the season because he suffered strained ligaments in his throwing shoulder.
“I feel a lot more confident now and my arm is a lot better,” said the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Bushart, a former All-Marmonte League player at Thousand Oaks High.
With a starting rotation of Kenny Kendrena, Kevin Kloek and Steven Morales, all durable right-handers, Coach Bill Kernen appears to have found another contributor in the left-handed Bushart.
“This has at least the makings of being the best pitching staff I’ve had as a coach,” said Kernen, who also plans to use left-hander David Eggert and right-hander Tony Ljubetic. “We knew it wasn’t just going to be three guys.”
NOT SO FAST
Northridge freshman Tyler Nelson apparently was so overjoyed with what he thought was his first collegiate hit Saturday that he veered toward the first-base coaching box, looking to round the bag.
Oops, one problem: Nelson’s sharp grounder into the hole between short and third was gloved by Utah shortstop Robert Castellano, who made a diving stop. As Nelson slowed to change directions, Castellano calmly stood and threw to first for the out.
“I guess they round everything at (Simi Valley),” joked Richardson, referring to Nelson’s former high school. “He hit the ball hard and I guess he got a little happy.”
MATTER OF TIME
It was only a matter of time until Brian Smith, Pierce’s cleanup hitter, hit his first home run of the season. And his timing could not have been better.
The former Agoura High standout, who transferred to Pierce from Arizona State in January, blasted a score-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the Brahmas rallied from a 4-1 deficit to pull out a 5-4 win Saturday.
“If you’re going to pick the first one, that was the time to do it,” Pierce Coach Bob Lofrano said of the homer, which was followed one out later by consecutive doubles by Ricky Banuelos and Josh Smaler for the winning run.
In Pierce’s game against Valley on Monday, the 6-5, 215-pound Smith hit his second home run of the season and drove in five runs in a 10-4 win.
CHARGING BRAHMAS
Pierce, the preseason baseball favorite among area junior colleges, has streaked to a 14-1-1 start, including a 6-0 mark in Western State Conference play.
The Brahmas have been led by leadoff hitter Erik Martinez, who is batting .406. In 16 games, the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters in the Pierce lineup--Jason Cohen, Smith and Robby Welles--have runs batted in totals of 23, 20 and 25, respectively.
Lofrano also is receiving significant contributions from several unheralded players. Catcher Adam Pearlman, the only true freshman in the starting lineup, is batting .289 and has recorded 15 assists in 16 games.
Second baseman Paul Geller has emerged as bullpen stopper. In six appearances, the 5-11, 155-pound right-hander has not allowed a run in seven innings. He has a win and three saves. Left fielder Smaler is second on the team with a .393 average.
CATCHING ON
Who is the top junior college catcher in the region? Moorpark Coach Ken Wagner is sure he has the answer: Raider sophomore Del Marine.
“I would say he’s probably the best junior college catcher in the state,” Wagner said of the 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore.
Marine, a former standout at El Camino Real High, came to Moorpark to play football and was a quarterback for the Raiders in 1990.
He played baseball for Wagner last season and earned honorable-mention all-conference honors as a third baseman. After he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the late rounds last June, he decided to skip football and concentrate on baseball.
He made a smooth transition from third baseman to catcher over the summer.
“It was a natural move for him,” Wagner said. “He calls all of our pitches and he throws very well. He’s by far the best catcher I’ve seen this year.”
THREE EASY STEPS
The Cal Lutheran basketball team must keep a few things in mind if it is going to beat Otterbein College in the NCAA Division III sectional playoffs Friday night at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.
For Cal Lutheran Coach Mike Dunlap, these are the things to remember:
Commit few turnovers.
Limit the opponent’s three-point shots.
Get the ball inside.
“If we’re deficient in any of the three areas,” Dunlap said, “we’re going to find ourselves in trouble.”
But trouble also could creep in on the psychological level if the Kingsmen become awed by the fact they advanced to the final 16. After all, this season marks Cal Lutheran’s first postseason appearance in basketball.
LAST HURRAH
Cal Lutheran will feel the effects of the graduation of Cal Lutheran senior Jeff deLaveaga, who leads Division III players with a 29.2 scoring average. a
But the cheers might not die with his departure.
The impression DeLaveaga has made on the younger players could carry over into coming seasons.
“The name is gone,” deLaveaga said, “but the standard is always there.”
In particular, the deLaveaga standard could be carried on by sophomore Paul Tapp. DeLaveaga made Tapp his “workout partner” this season and Tapp has stepped up his performance recently--just as deLaveaga’s final days are drawing to a close.
Tapp scored 14 points--eight more than his average--in the Kingsmen’s 88-70 win over UC San Diego in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament Saturday.
ALMOST OVER
The Master’s College men’s basketball team was riding the wings of its best season in school history, but the ride finally ended.
Well, almost.
The Master’s advanced further than before in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 tournament, losing in the semifinals to Westmont, 95-87, in double overtime Saturday.
The loss ended the Mustangs’ quest for a bid to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament, but Master’s has not packed away its uniforms for good.
The Master’s (20-10) will participate in the National Christian College Athletic Assn. Division I tournament, March 19-21, at Indiana Wesleyan. The Master’s is one of two schools that have received bids for the eight-team tournament; the rest of the field will be announced Monday.
“The (players) really feel they are playing well and so they want to keep playing,” Coach Mel Hankinson said.
CRACKING THE POLLS
With a 15-14 record, the Cal State Northridge softball team broke into the national polls this week with a No. 19 ranking. Coach Gary Torgeson hopes his team reacts better to being in the national poll, which comes out monthly, than it did last season when it was ranked 16th in the second-to-last poll of the season.
“I still question the maturity of this team and how they will handle it, because last year when we got ranked, we fell apart,” Torgeson said.
“I like the position we’re in though. I’d like to see the true colors of this team. They all think we should be ranked higher, but talk is cheap.”
The Matadors will put their ranking on the line Friday in the Elite tournament in Bakersfield. Other than Northridge, No. 6 Cal Poly Pomona is the only ranked team in the 11-team field.
WALK-ON MAKES GOOD
Walk-on Nicole Wiggins has worked her way into the Northridge softball lineup with an on-base percentage of .429, second best on the team, and a batting average of .316, fourth best on the squad.
“She has just blossomed,” Torgeson said of Wiggins, a junior transfer from Bakersfield College.
“She’s come from nothing to where she is now. I’m looking at the lineup and we can’t sit her out. It’s one of those success stories you love to have.”
Torgeson has used Wiggins as Denise Swank’s backup at second base and in the outfield where she spells left fielder Kim Oakes and right fielder Terri Pearson.
Wiggins’ emergence has enabled Torgeson to move her from the ninth position in the batting order to leadoff hitter.
With Wiggins leading off, Jen Fleming has shifted to the second slot.
“Jen has a little more power so the second spot is better for her,” Torgeson said.
Last week against Cal State Fullerton, Fleming responded with two triples.
Ron Twersky and staff writers Mike Hiserman, Theresa Munoz, John Ortega and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this notebook.