JUNIOR COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEWS

Antelope Valley

COACH: Tim Fieckert and Joe Watts, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 7-24-1; 9th in Foothill Conference, 5-19

PLAYERS TO WATCH: In looking for experience on the Marauder roster, the browsing stops basically with six players--and only one who played full-time last season. Center fielder Jeff Whiteford, the No. 3 hitter in the lineup and an all-conference selection, batted a team-high .360 as a starter last season. Also returning are second baseman George Boykins (.221 average, 22 runs) and Jaime Ortega (.309, 12 runs batted in), who moves to first base from third. The other sophomores are right-handed pitchers Jim Carson, Steve Lewis and Tony Abrams. Neither Carson nor Lewis pitched last season, and Abrams is being converted from the infield. Carson pitched sparingly two years ago but was academically ineligible last season, and Lewis was sidelined a year ago with arm problems after posting a 3-2 mark as a freshman. Watts said Carson and Lewis will start and Abrams will be the closer. The freshmen include catcher Todd Barnes, who hit four home runs with 13 RBIs at Antelope Valley High last season; shortstop Ryan Branch, who had two homers and 10 RBIs at Aviation High; outfielder Chad Goodwin (11 RBIs at Quartz Hill) and right-handed pitcher Ryan Wilson (2-1, 1.00 earned-run average at Quartz Hill). Another addition is infielder Brandon Yount (from Douglas High in Douglas, Nev.), who is the nephew of Milwaukee Brewer center fielder and Taft High product Robin Yount. Former Antelope Valley High catcher Jack Cox will compete for the position with Barnes.

OUTLOOK: The Marauders suffered through one of their worst seasons last year, losing 12 consecutive games during one stretch. They had a 6.71 ERA and committed nearly three errors per game. And although the predominance of freshmen could mean more troubles, Watts looks at it from another perspective. “It’s like a fresh start,” said Watts, a Marauder assistant the past five seasons. “We are starting from scratch with a relatively new coaching staff and new players.”

Canyons

COACH: Len Mohney, 7th season

LAST SEASON: 16-20; 7th in Western State Conference, 10-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Youth and inexperience abound, but the new crop has the potential to improve on the team’s poor offensive display last season. The Cougars batted .272 in conference play and, for the season, outscored only four conference teams. The freshmen include power-hitting shortstop John Aguilar, who batted .457 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs at Hart High last year. His double-play partner probably will be former Granada Hills High standout Ari Jacobs (.341 average in ‘91), who sat out last season. Ted Kiester, coming off a .329 season with 24 RBIs at Hart, takes over at third base and Andy Shaw, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton who batted .415 with four home runs his senior season at Montclair Prep two years ago, will be at first. The outfield will feature sophomore Kirk Fellows in left field and at least one full-time freshman in John Davis, who batted .402 with three home runs and 23 RBIs at Kennedy High last season. Saugus High product Chris Hernandez (.370 with four homers) also will play in the outfield and will be a designated hitter. The pitching corps, the backbone of the team last season (first in the WSC with a 2.67 ERA), has two of its top performers back in right-handers Doug Maggiora (1-1, 1.29 ERA) and R.J. Simone (3-3, 3.11, third in WSC with 42 strikeouts). “(Maggiora) will be our guy out of the pen late,” Mohney said. Also slated for relief work is Keith Halcovich, the former Hart right-hander who played at Azusa Pacific last season. Left-handed sophomore Jason Chandler and right-handed freshman Cody Beaumaster, who skipped baseball last season after going 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA at Kennedy in 1991, also figure to start. They will take their signs from freshman catchers Heath McElwee (.375 with 21 RBIs at Granada Hills in 1992) and Chris Pfatenhauer (Bonanza High in Las Vegas).

OUTLOOK: Although obviously looking for the Cougars to step up their hitting and sharpen their execution, Mohney is pleased with the pitching staff. “We are excited with our pitching, but by no means overconfident,” he said. “Simone and Maggiora are proven, but the others remain to be seen.” Mohney is taking things cautiously. “We are hopefully going to get better every day,” he said.

Glendale

COACH: Steve Coots, 16th season

LAST SEASON: 11-22; 9th in Western State Conference, 6-14

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Four sophomores and two freshmen make up the core of a pitching staff Coots hopes will make his team competitive. Right-handers Mike McMullen and Eric Asselin, and newcomers Steve Hernandez and John Nall will start, with Paul Gomez and Ara Barsoumian working out of the bullpen. Asselin was academically ineligible last season but was in 13 games for the Vaqueros in 1991. Nall is a 6-foot-6 left-hander from Arcadia High and Hernandez is a right-hander from Verdugo Hills High. “(Hernandez) will be a spot starter or reliever, depending on the situation,” Coots said. Right-hander Gomez, who is coming off a 6-2 year as a starter, moves to the bullpen. At the plate, Glendale should get good power from center fielder John Horan, a conference second-team selection who batted .274 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs last season. Left-handed-hitting first baseman Mickey Moreno, who was academically ineligible in 1992 but an All-WSC player the previous season after batting .295 with 23 RBIs, also lends sock to the lineup. Another ineligible player last season, third baseman Jose Robles, is back. Bryan Miclette (.275 average) will be in left field and speedster Robert Mancilla (.277 average) will lead off and be at second base, the outfield or the designated hitter. He stole 19 bases in 22 attempts last season. The fiercest competition for a position, Coots said, will be at middle infield. Sophomores John Rogers and Mark Vail will vie for shortstop and second base, along with freshman Billy Ramirez from Kennedy High. Ramirez batted .333 with 20 RBIs last year.

OUTLOOK: After an excellent 22-15 season two years ago, the Vaqueros finished near the WSC cellar in 1992 after their pitching and hitting gave out. Glendale had a .249 batting average in conference games and a 6.84 ERA. Coots expects the pitching staff to be vastly improved and the offense to generate runs. “The pitchers have shown signs of brilliance,” Coots said. “I think we can put up some numbers offensively. We have good line-drive hitters and a lot more speed than we usually have.”

Mission

COACH: John Klitsner, 5th season

LAST SEASON: 18-18; 3rd in Southern California Athletic Conference, 10-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Third baseman Jose Gallegos, an all-conference selection, and catcher Robert Garcia, also an All-SCAC pick, are key returnees. Gallegos batted .360 last season and led the team with four home runs, 28 RBIs, 11 doubles and 48 hits. Garcia batted .330 and knocked in 15 runs. Other talented sophomores are returning first baseman Marlon McKinney, who batted .279 with 21 RBIs, and transfers Raul Flores and Richard Avalos. Flores, a shortstop, batted .260 with 21 RBIs at Chabot last season. Avalos is the older brother of freshman outfielder Lenny Avalos, who played at Canyons two years ago. “He’ll probably be our starting right fielder,” Klitsner said. The freshman corps includes outfielder Gary Matthews, son of the former major leaguer by the same name; catcher Joey Gandara; outfielder Jesus Perez and pitchers Jimmy Lemos, Eric Diaz and Raul Torres. Sophomore right-hander James Encinas (4-6, 5.96 ERA) probably will be the ace of the staff, but Klitsner is counting on the newcomers--all right-handers--to provide considerable help. Lemos was 5-4 with a 2.52 ERA at Sylmar High in 1992, Diaz was 11-2 with a 1.47 ERA and received All-City Section honors at Poly and Torres was 7-1 with a 1.99 ERA at Poly two years ago. Torres redshirted last season. “He should be another significant pitcher for us,” Klitsner said. Matthews was among the prep area leaders in RBIs with 19 last season at Granada Hills. Gandara played at University High in Westchester.

OUTLOOK: The Free Spirit had a .500 record last season but Klitsner is looking for a talented crop of freshmen to help improve things. “We are real optimistic,” Klitsner said. “This is as good a team as we’ve ever had here. . . . We’ll have nine tough outs in the lineup. We are going to hit the ball hard.” Klitsner said the pitching staff, although lacking a dominant player, should be good enough to keep the team in the games.

Moorpark

COACH: Ken Wagner, 4th season

LAST SEASON: 21-16; 5th in Western State Conference, 11-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Most of the positions will be filled by sophomores who were in backup roles last season. Among them is right-handed starting pitcher Lee Speyshock, who was 0-1 with a 3.37 ERA in four games in 1992. Others include Daryl Hernandez in center field, Brian Vasey at shortstop, Rich Naranjo at third base and outfielders Dave Demaio and Trent Martin. The latter two will attempt to pick up some of the void left in the outfield by the graduation of all-conference selection Tom Lunsford (.360, four home runs, 19 RBIs). Another huge hole to plug is at catcher, where the departed Del Marine (.380, four homers, 13 RBIs) was a unanimous all-conference pick. Steve Bernstein, who played at a Florida junior college last season after batting .444 with 31 RBIs his senior season at Simi Valley High, will replace Marine behind the plate. Another Simi Valley product, freshman Aaron Fischer, takes over at first base. Three newcomers, Darryl Stroh (Granada Hills High), Seric Harris (Pius X High) and Sean Mitchell (Royal High) will compete at second base. Besides Speyshock, three other pitchers who will figure prominently are right-handers Josh Zamarripa, a transfer from East L.A. College, younger brother Mark (Garfield High) and Brian Johnson (Royal High).

OUTLOOK: With no left-handed pitchers, Wagner undoubtedly will confront tactical problems when facing tough left-handed hitters. “It’s such a competitive league, we’ll have to pitch real well for us to be in it,” Wagner said. “We’ll have to rely on good fundamentals.” The Raiders had a .310 batting average (second in the WSC behind Pierce at .330) but their 4.61 ERA short-circuited their effort.

Oxnard

COACH: Chris Stevens, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 6-22; 10th in Western State Conference, 5-15

PLAYERS TO WATCH: There are 13 sophomores on the squad, including two All-WSC second-team picks in 1992--third baseman Adrian Estrada and outfielder Nick Frank. Estrada was seventh in the conference in batting with a .377 average and Frank batted .353 and had five doubles. Giving stability to the infield will be shortstop Jon Chaparro, who batted .303 with 13 RBIs and seven doubles. Returning as his double-play partner is J.J. Ramirez. “He’s a very solid defensive guy,” Stevens said. Ralph Guillen (.242 batting average) returns and will battle Rich Tepezano, who redshirted last season, for the first base job. Mark Contreras (.246 batting) will catch. He was expected to compete with Adam Basua, a transfer from Ventura, at the position but Basua suffered a broken leg in practice last week and is out for the season. The pitching corps, the team’s weakest component last season, should be improved. Stevens said right-hander Juan Hernandez, who pitched for the Condors two years ago but redshirted at Long Beach City College last season, will be the ace. Returning left-hander Eric Kovach (1-2, 6.42 ERA) and right-hander Craig Arnold (3.31 ERA at Thousand Oaks High last season) probably will be the long relievers. Newcomer Chris Gonzales, a right-hander who was 3-2 with a 1.81 ERA at Hueneme High last season, will be the stopper. Right-hander Paul Taylor, 6-4 with a 2.69 ERA at Royal High in 1992, and left-hander Chris Devlin, 7-0 with a 2.71 ERA at Simi Valley High, will be starters.

OUTLOOK: It was not difficult to pinpoint Oxnard’s main problem last season--lack of pitching. The Condors finished last in the WSC with a 7.26 ERA and gave up the second-highest number of runs in the conference behind Glendale. And when a team generates only 85 runs despite batting .285, trouble is sure to follow. But Stevens is counting on a large sophomore nucleus to turn things around.

Pierce

COACH: Bob Lofrano, 3rd season

LAST SEASON: 36-8-1; 1st in Western State Conference, 16-4

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Only three mainstays return from the banner season in 1992, but the Brahmas still have a solid pitching staff that Lofrano says should keep them in the hunt for a third consecutive WSC title. The No. 1 starter will be left-handed freshman Adam West, who spent last season with NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Ida., but did not pitch. West, who had an outstanding career at Thousand Oaks High, will be followed in the rotation by Steve Pack, a hard-throwing right-hander out of Fallbrook High (7-3, 1.21 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 100 innings) who was chosen by the New York Mets in the June amateur draft but did not sign, and left-hander Danny Rodriguez, the former Chatsworth High standout who was academically ineligible last season after going 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA for the Brahmas in 1991. Former Monroe High pitcher Chris Frith-Smith, a second-year freshman who did not play last year, will be the closer. Right-handed freshmen Brandon Nickens (7-3, 2.86 ERA in 1992 at Chatsworth), Osman Khan (3-1, 2.52 ERA at Montclair Prep) and Tony Dellamano (3-4, 2.94 ERA at Westlake High) are the other frontline pitchers. The key everyday players returning are All-WSC third baseman Jason Cohen, who’s moving to first this season, catcher Adam Pearlman and left fielder Josh Smaler. Cohen batted .350 last season with 21 RBIs (third in the conference) and four home runs. Pearlman (.220, three home runs and 15 RBIs), highly skilled defensively, will handle the pitching staff. “He lends a lot of stability,” Lofrano said. Smaler batted .311 and had seven doubles last season. Redshirt freshman Robert Vazquez, who batted .362 with 16 RBIs at Granada Hills, two years ago, will be in right field and freshman Brian Basowski (.333 with 15 RBIs at Cleveland) will take over in center field. They will try to plug the holes left in the outfield by the departure of Joey Arnold (.338 and 16 RBIs), the WSC player of the year in 1992 who is now at Cal State Northridge, and All-WSC pick Erik Martinez (.416 with seven doubles), who is playing at Pepperdine. Two redshirt freshmen, both from Notre Dame High, will be on the left side of the infield. Edgar Maldonado (.286 and seven stolen bases in ‘91) will be at shortstop and Lou Tapia (.368, three home runs, 23 RBIs in ‘91) will play third base. “He’s going to be a good one,” Lofrano said. Herman Merchan, a utility infielder last season, will move to second base.

OUTLOOK: Lofrano is anticipating more success for the Brahmas, although he prefers not to burden the club with the lofty expectations spawned by the championship teams of the past two years. “It’s not fair for these kids to have that pressure put on them, to compare them with those teams,” Lofrano said. Still, the former Chatsworth High coach likes what he sees. “We feel like we’ve moved up into the higher echelon of the JCs in Southern California,” he said. “Now we have to see if we can stay there. Based on all the fall ball we played, I think we can. We competed real well.”

Valley

COACH: Chris Johnson, 6th season

LAST SEASON: 15-20-1; 6th in Western State Conference, 10-9-1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Monarchs will be strong in the middle of the infield, with shortstop Carlos Olmos and second baseman Willie Rivera returning. Olmos batted .313 with 16 RBIs and was an All-WSC selection. Rivera will split time between the infield and the pitcher’s mound. He was 3-4 with three saves and a 3.88 ERA in 17 appearances, mostly in relief. Arnold Settles (.314 and six stolen bases) moves from left field to center field and provides speed on the basepaths. “We’re going to let him go and see who can throw him out,” Johnson said. Joining Settles in the outfield will be freshman right fielder Ozzie Areu, the former Burbank High standout who took a year off from school in 1992. Two highly touted freshmen will handle the corners. Vic Seper, who batted .429 and led area Southern Section players with 13 doubles last season at Crespi, will be at third base and David Stevenson, who batted .409 with three home runs and 23 RBIs at Chatsworth, takes over at first. “Both look like they can definitely handle this level,” Johnson said. Three transfer players and one coming off a back injury will anchor the pitching staff along with Rivera. Right-hander Colin Bode, who was 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA in limited action last season because of back problems, will be one of the starters. Others vying for the remaining starting assignments will be right-handers Jason Vargas, who played sparingly at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton in 1991; Jason Ignacio, who was at Moorpark College last season, and Matt Plugge, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Ridgecrest Burroughs High who redshirted at Loyola Marymount last year.

OUTLOOK: After suffering through one of the worst seasons (8-25) in school history two years ago, the Monarchs rebounded to win almost twice as many games in 1992. Johnson hopes the trend continues. “We’ve improved significantly,” Johnson said. “I feel positive about the coming season. The returning guys are solid people.” Valley will have to beef up in several areas to become a serious challenger in the conference. The Monarchs were ninth in the WSC with a 4.87 ERA and eighth with a .268 batting average.

Ventura

COACH: Gary Anglin, 16th season

LAST SEASON: 24-16; 2nd in Western State Conference, 14-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: With no returning starters, several backup and redshirt players from last season’s team and a host of promising newcomers form the core of the squad. The returners include Jason Isaacs, a right-handed pitcher from Buena High who was 1-2 with a 3.73 ERA last season. “He’s probably our most experienced pitcher, but I need him to be a little more consistent with his balls-and-strikes ratio,” Anglin said. Isaacs struck out 15 but gave up 15 walks. He will be joined on the staff by redshirt sophomores Joe Devlin, a left-hander who was 0-2 mostly in relief in 1990, and Jason Kernan, a right-hander who was 4-1 two years ago. Freshman Bryant Fick, a left-hander who was 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA at Newbury Park High last year, will challenge as a starter. The Pirates, however, will not have the services of right-handers Karl Whitnell and Pete Alamillo, who are academically ineligible. Alamillo (3-1, 3.45 ERA, two saves) was the team’s stopper last year. Second baseman David Frazier, a .403 hitter and an All-WSC selection in 1992, also will sit out the season for academic reasons. His position probably will be handled by Mike Muncy, a transfer from Moorpark. Jorge Macias, who batted .324 at Channel Islands High last year, will be at shortstop and sophomore Ron Tegland, who played in only 17 games for the Pirates as a late-inning defensive replacement, takes over at third base. Rio Mesa High product Ryan McMullen, who batted .247 last season primarily as the designated hitter, will be at first. Perhaps the stiffest competition for a position will be staged at catcher between freshmen Jose Gastelum and Robert Fick (Bryant’s uncle). Gastelum is coming off a .422 season with 43 hits and 33 RBIs at Channel Islands and Fick batted .315 at Newbury Park. They will try to fill the void left by the departure of All-WSC catcher Mitch King (.367 with 14 RBIs), now at Texas Tech. Redshirt sophomore Rob Fournier (.375 in 16 games in 1991) will be in the outfield and Chris Mace, a freshman from Ventura High who batted .473 during the fall, could be at one of the corners or in the outfield. “We’re looking to him to contribute heavily,” Anglin said.

OUTLOOK: Anglin, the WSC coach of the year after taking Ventura to a second-place finish behind Pierce, goes into the season with guarded optimism. “This team has more athletic ability than last year’s team,” Anglin said. “But they lack the experience. We are definitely going to miss the sophomore leadership.” While Anglin feels the defense and hitting will be sound, he has concerns about the pitching. “I’ve told the pitchers to be prepared to start, be prepared for middle relief and be prepared to close,” Anglin said. “None of them are experienced enough to take a particular role yet.”