Evans Makes Pitch to Awaken Past

If many folks don’t recall the name, it’s somewhat understandable.

Senior pitcher Keith Evans, who transferred to Crespi High from Chaminade in 1991, missed most of last season with tendinitis in his throwing elbow.

Expectations were high for the right-handed Evans (6-foot-5, 180 pounds), who was 3-0 with 20 strikeouts in 22 innings for Crespi before the injury.

Evans also didn’t play with the Encino-Crespi American Legion team that finished second in District 20 play last summer.

It was quite a disappointment. Evans and his mother went to extremes for him to play at Crespi--the pair moved to another house to satisfy Southern Section eligibility requirements.

Evans played last summer for the Las Virgenes Legion team, but didn’t pitch. He finally saw action on the mound last fall with the Philadelphia Phillies’ scout team.

“I just rested,” Evans said. “I rested part ways into the Phillies’ season. I’m trying to pace myself to where I’m at my strongest right before the (high school) season starts.”

If healthy, Evans could team with UCLA-bound right-hander Jeff Suppan to form one of the region’s best 1-2 pitching punches. Crespi is expected to challenge Notre Dame and Alemany for the Mission League championship.

“He’s looked real good in winter league,” Crespi Coach Scott Muckey said of Evans. “I think some people might have forgotten about him.”

MINE!

The shot flies through the air and the ball caroms off the rim. The four hands of Paul and Nick Foster reach for the rebound.

Sometimes, four hands land on the ball.

The Fosters, 6-foot-7 identical twins for Thousand Oaks High, rank first and second among rebounders in the Marmonte League. And they fight for every rebound, Coach Ed Chevalier said.

Yet, their totals are hardly identical. Through last week, Nick had 135 rebounds to Paul’s 115.

“I talked to Paul and I told them I wanted him to get more rebounds,” Chevalier said. “He said, ‘Nick keeps taking them.’ ”

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Cleveland, the lone City Section basketball team from the region that played last week, went 3-1 and finished third in the inaugural Bell tournament. The Cavaliers (6-6) defeated Jordan, Bell and Los Angeles and lost to Fremont.

Equally important, however, was Cleveland’s returning to full strength. Starters Edtwaun Adams and Jermaine Hall, both sidelined because of ankle injuries, were back in the lineup. Adams has played in only seven games.

Cleveland even gave traditional City power Fremont a run in the semifinals, leading by a point at halftime before falling, 71-57.

Fremont defeated Manual Arts, 66-63, in the final. “When we’re missing a couple of starters, we’re real average, maybe less than that,” Cleveland Coach Kevin Crider said. “When everybody is there, we’re in the top three-quarters. We can play with most (City) teams.”

Cleveland, which along with Chatsworth is expected to challenge for the West Valley League title, opens league play Wednesday at Granada Hills.

BATTLE ROYALE

Cleveland’s loss to Fremont in the Bell tournament was a battle. In fact, it was at times a bit brutal. Crider said he saw it coming.

“It was a very, very physical game,” Crider said. “I tried to tell (our players) to expect that, but. . . . “

One Cleveland player, point guard Tooki Akinoloye, was ejected after he skirmished with a Fremont player who was banging him around, Crider said. “They play so physically,” Crider said. “They walk right up, put their chest in your face and their hand on your hip. But you have to expect that and keep your composure.”

BRIGHT PROMISE

The Moorpark boys’ soccer team opened fast, with a 13-2 record, scoring 62 goals and allowing only eight. Coach Mike Scanlon said the Musketeers’ focus and sense of purpose remind him of the club team he coached in 1988, made up of all Royal High players who won the Southern Section 4-A title that year, and he sees a bright future for Moorpark this season.

“When we’re playing well, we’re as good as any school in the state,” he said.

Moorpark is ranked ninth in Division V.

Kennedy Cosgrove and staff writers Steve Elling and Vince Kowalick contributed to this notebook.