Stephenson Keeps Up the Pace in Hart’s 5-0 Victory : Prep baseball: Junior right-hander relies heavily on his fastball and shuts down Burbank on two hits.

Gary Stephenson saw no need for variety--Burbank High batters were having a tough enough time with his fastball.

And so Stephenson, a junior right-hander, relied heavily on the heat Tuesday and allowed only two hits in Hart’s 5-0 win in a Foothill League opener at Foy Park in Burbank.

Stephenson (2-1) threw 98 pitches and faced only 23 batters. Most of his offerings were fastballs. And most were fast enough--or well-enough placed--to get past batters.

Stephenson struck out six, walked none and allowed only one runner to reach third base as Hart improved to 6-1 overall.

Burbank (1-3), the defending league champion, managed only a pair of singles, including an infield single in the seventh inning, and hit only five balls out of the infield. “Their guys were chasing every high fastball I threw,” Stephenson said. “So, I just kept coming back with them. I lived off their mistakes.”

No sense in wasting pitches, Hart Coach Bud Murray said.

“They weren’t hitting the ball, so why make him work for it?” Murray said. “He did a nice job. He was your basic fastball pitcher today. He’s getting that bulldog in him and that’s good to see.”

Through 21 1/3 innings, Stephenson has struck out 19 and walked only two. His earned-run average stands at 0.98.

Meanwhile, Hart also had trouble mustering offense. The Indians managed only seven hits, four off starter Brian Sindle (1-1), who suffered his first varsity loss. He was 4-0 as a freshman last season.

With a shortage of power hitters, the Indians might have to manufacture runs, Murray said.

Each of Hart’s first three runs served as an example. In the second inning, Frank Sanchez walked, moved to second on a single, took third on a groundout and scored on an infield error.

In the third, Doug Distaso singled, stole second and third, and scored on a groundout.

In the fourth, Sanchez doubled with one out, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

But that was enough for Stephenson, who faced only 12 batters in the first four innings.

“I think he is a very good high school pitcher, but I think we made him look a lot better than he is,” Burbank Coach Dave Johnson said. “We were in the ballgame. If we hit the ball at all, it’s a different story.”

Neither team has had much batting practice or played many games lately because of the rain. Last week, Burbank did not play.

Stephenson, however, has weathered the storms by throwing regularly.

“Just a lot of bullpens,” he said. “My arm feels pretty good right now. But there’s plenty of room for improvement.”

Stephenson escaped his only jam in the fifth by inducing Mark Sauri to pop out with David Selsby at third.

Hart scored twice in the seventh. Aron Miyata’s sacrifice fly drove in Mike Adachi and John Aguilar hit a run-scoring triple.