Faith Baptist High boys’ basketball Coach Stuart...

Faith Baptist High boys’ basketball Coach Stuart Mason calls the trio “The Big Three,” and with good reason.

Over the past three seasons, Peter Rasmussen, Darren Wyre and Alex (Loafie) Estrada have started for the Contenders, who won a Southern Section 1-A Division title, a Division V Southern regional championship and a share of the Delphic League title in their tenure.

Last Saturday, Faith Baptist (27-7) fell short of becoming the first team from the San Fernando Valley to win a state basketball title. The Contenders fell, 80-70, to Ripon Christian in the state Division V final at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

The triumvirate’s three-year statistics:

* Estrada, a senior point guard, averaged 19.5 points and 7.1 assists in 81 games.

* Rasmussen, a senior center-forward, averaged 17.3 points and 11 rebounds in 90 games.

* Wyre, a senior off-guard, averaged 12.5 points in 80 games.

In losing the threesome--as well as senior forward Etienne Moore, who averaged 15.7 points and a Southern Section-best 17.9 rebounds--Mason must retool for 1992-93. Junior guard James DeCarriere (11.2 points, 3.0 steals) is the team’s lone returning starter.

Baseball: How did Granada Hills win the San Fernando tournament with a pool-play mark of 5-0? Sparked by the heart of their lineup, the Highlanders scored 53 runs in five games. The Highlanders’ Nos. 3-4-5 hitters are 20 for 43 (.465).

Third baseman Heath McElwee, a three-year starter who bats third, is nine for 19. He is followed by catcher Sam Voita (four for 10 with nine walks) and outfielder Scott Berger (seven for 14, seven walks). All three are seniors. Setting the table is leadoff batter Rob Weinzimer, a junior outfielder who is eight for 15. Weinzimer had six hits last week to spark victories of 19-8 over Birmingham and 12-5 over Thousand Oaks. . . .

Senior shortstop Dave Cipolla of Cleveland reached base 14 times in 18 plate appearances spanning five San Fernando tournament games. Cipolla had six hits and seven walks and was hit by a pitch. . . .

Through six games, Hueneme has only five extra-base hits. Leadoff batter Juan Ponce, all 5-foot-8 of him, is the power hitter with two doubles and a home run. “We’re a Punch-and-Judy club,” Coach Reg Welker said. . . .

L.A. Baptist, which has hit three home runs, already has surpassed last season’s home run total of two. Senior third baseman Jason Baumsteiger has two homers and senior shortstop Tim Shoemake has the other. Baumsteiger did not hit a home run last season; Shoemake is a transfer from West Eugene (Ore.) High. . . .

A young team to begin with, El Camino Real has received a boost from two sophomores. Outfielder and leadoff batter Randy Wolf, who batted .404 last spring as a freshman starter, is 10 for 18 (.556) with a home run. Second baseman Justin Martin is six for 11 (.545) and has three infield hits. Another non-senior, junior shortstop Dan Cey, is nine for 18 with a home run and a team-high eight runs batted in. . . .

North Hollywood’s Nathan Wrought is six for 12 and Oscar Gonzales is six for 14 (.429). . . . Hueneme catcher Mike Ortega was nine for 15 in the Westside tournament and is 11 for 17 (.647). . . . Agoura’s Ed Gillis is seven for 13 (.538) with eight runs and five RBIs. . . .

Highland (2-4) pounded out 28 hits in two victories last week and 15 went for extra bases. Junior Jeff Tepper hit two doubles and two home runs, one of which was a grand slam against Harvard-Westlake. . . . Of Hueneme’s 45 hits, 40 are singles. Twenty-two of Van Nuys’ 25 hits are singles. . . .

Josh Canale is Crescenta Valley’s leader on the mound and at the plate. He is batting a team-high .474 (nine for 19) with team-high totals of three home runs and eight RBIs. The senior right-hander has 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings and has a 1.45 earned-run average. . . .

Doug Distaso is batting only .133 (two for 15) in the leadoff slot for Hart. However, Distaso has a team-high six stolen bases and is 2-0 with a 1.87 ERA as a starting pitcher. . . . Hart’s Soren Halladay is batting a team-high .545 (six for 11).

The Van Nuys pitching staff has allowed four earned runs in 29 innings (0.97 ERA). Senior left-hander Jaime Chacon (2-0) has given up only three hits in 14 innings and has not allowed an earned run. He has 16 strikeouts and seven walks.

Said Van Nuys Coach Bill Gordon: “We haven’t faced the Monroes, the Polys and the Sylmars yet, but he’s been impressive.”. . .

Senior right-hander Terry Morrow (2-1) of El Camino Real has 15 strikeouts and two walks in 14 1/3 innings.

Softball: Saugus senior right-hander Kerry Coudry, who has signed a letter to attend Illinois, has given up two earned runs in 60 innings (0.23) and is 7-1 with two saves. She has faced 236 batters, struck out 89 and walked 14. . . .

Saugus’ Kerri Volpe (.561) was 10 for 12 (.833) in the Laguna Hills tournament last week and was named the tournament’s most outstanding offensive player. Volpe has 23 hits in 41 at-bats (.561). . . .

La Reina (4-2) has been victimized by two no-hitters, one by Simi Valley’s Sara Griffin, the other by Camarillo’s Laura Richardson.

Volleyball: Royal’s Travis Ferguson had 150 assists, 35 service points, nine aces, 13 blocks and nine kills in winning most-valuable-player honors in the Dos Pueblos Invitational on Saturday.

Outside hitter Brett Osterhoudt helped the Highlanders win the event with 58 kills, a .690 attack percentage and 30 digs. Royal middle blocker Kerry White had 32 blocks, 19 kills and a .543 attack percentage, and Steve Hambly passed at an 82% efficiency rate. . . Camarillo senior Brady Andresen set a school record with 28 kills in a four-game Marmonte League win over Westlake on Friday. Campbell Hall’s Lee Sprague had 40 kills in two wins last week.

Statistics complete through Monday.

Regional Baseball

Top 10 Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Lst. Rk Wk Team League Record 1 1 Simi Valley Marmonte 4-1 2 2 Crespi Mission 5-1 3 3 Channel Islands Marmonte 6-0 4 8 Granada Hills North Valley 6-0 5 7 Hart Foothill 6-1 6 6 Cleveland North Valley 4-1-1 7 NR El Camino Real West Valley 5-1 8 NR Buena Channel 5-1 9 5 Kennedy North Valley 4-2 10 NR Poly East Valley 4-2

NR--Not ranked.