HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION PREVIEWS : GOLDEN LEAGUE

Antelope Valley

COACH: Ed t’Sas, 3rd season

LAST SEASON: 8-15-1; 5th in league, 6-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Antelope Valley must retool. Only one starter returns--senior catcher Marcus Armstrong--who batted .259. The team’s two primary starting pitchers haven’t thrown a varsity pitch, t’Sas acknowledges. Sophomore Jon Johnson is up from the junior varsity, and senior Alfredo Arellano didn’t play. Both are right-handers. Junior left-hander Larry Hunt pitched sparingly, as did senior right-hander James Juneau. Hunt was 1-3 with an earned-run average of 3.40. Senior third baseman Eric Cole and junior first baseman Will Boyce are returning lettermen. The Antelopes are inexperienced up the middle with juniors Jeff Langham at short and Derrick Ford at second. Both played last season for the junior varsity. Juneau is the lone returning letterman in the outfield, alongside senior Phillip King and junior Chris Tapia, neither of whom played last year.

OUTLOOK: Palmdale and Quartz Hill are the teams to beat, t’Sas says. “Pick us to finish in the middle of the pack,” he said. But the team won’t swoon at the sight of tougher competition. “Expect us to hustle, expect us to know what we’re doing out there,” t’Sas said. “And expect us to give 100% every game.”

*Highland

COACH: Mike Van Cheri, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: Freelance team in 1992, 8-12

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Highland, which fielded a varsity team for the first time last year, makes its initial foray into league play. Van Cheri expects the team to score its share of runs. Senior catcher Jeff Tepper batted .350 and is a team leader. Senior Jim Reel, a right-hander who threw a no-hitter last season, will platoon with junior Sean Riley at first base. Senior Ryan Golphenee, the likely No. 2 hitter, will start again at second base. Shortstop Tom King, a three-year starter, batted .389 with four homers and 26 runs batted in, all team highs. Abe Mia and Tony Pulido, both seniors, are fighting it out at third. Senior Andy Hoggatt will start for the third season in the outfield and also will pitch. Other outfield candidates are Joe Astone, John Bailey, Bryce Montoya and Ladd Stilson, all seniors. Junior right-hander A.J. Wilson will join Reel and Hoggatt.

OUTLOOK: “I definitely feel our No. 1 strength is our hitting ability,” Van Cheri said. “One through nine, we can hit with almost anybody.” Highland’s overall record could improve: For the first time, the team will play games on campus.

*Littlerock

COACH: Coach Maury Cauchon, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: Freelance team in 1992, 8-13-1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The team’s best player could be a ringer from abroad: Senior exchange student Toine Jager is a member of the Dutch junior national team and is a “dynamite” switch-hitter, Cauchon said. Senior Sonny Tuft, the team’s most valuable player last season, returns at third base. Tuft batted .417. Pat Diehl, a junior, will start at first and bat second. A trio of returning lettermen have the inside track on berths in the outfield: Junior Jorge Pacheco and seniors Raul Rosete and Lucas Arnold. Pacheco batted .350. Right-handers David Anderson, a senior, and Robert Reed, a junior, are the top pitching prospects. Anderson also hit a team-high five homers last year. Seniors Robert Manriquez and Jeff Santiago are fighting for the starting position at second. Sophomore Joe Cook, junior Gonzo Barriga and senior Chris Cheek are candidates at catcher.

OUTLOOK: Littlerock also will be playing for the first time in a league. “We should be a strong defensive team,” Cauchon said. “We have a lot of speed in the outfield and some good contact hitters. The big question is the pitching.”

*Palmdale

COACH: Kent Bothwell, 3rd year

LAST SEASON: 15-11; 2nd in league, 9-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Six starters return, including senior right-handers Joe Garcia and Todd Berry. Berry was 6-3 with an ERA of 2.44, and Garcia was 6-6, 2.45. Junior left-hander Bob Harmon (0-2, 2.81) also returns. Harmon also will play first base and center field. Junior left-hander Brian Welsh, who didn’t play last year, has an arm comparable to any of the aforementioned, Bothwell said. Chris Paxton, who batted .337 as a freshman with 10 doubles and a team-high 14 RBIs, will start at catcher. Leadoff batter Jerome Payton, a junior who recorded a team-high 15 stolen bases, returns at second base. Luis Alcarez will start for the third year at shortstop. Alcarez hit .361 with eight doubles and was an all-league selection as a junior. Steve Ronge, a senior and returning starter, again will play the outfield. Robert Dillinger, a senior, and Charo Boyer, a junior, also will play the outfield.

OUTLOOK: Every successful team is strong up the middle, and with Paxton, Payton and Alcarez, Palmdale is well fortified. “I think that we have good strength in returning pitching and we’re real strong up the middle,” Bothwell said. “We should be a real solid contender for the league title.”

*Quartz Hill

COACH: Mike Nielson, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 11-10; 4th in league, 7-8

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Quartz Hill has seven returning starters on a team that could have contended for the league title last season. Pitching is a definite strong suit. Javier Salinas, a junior right-hander, was 6-3 with an ERA of 3.39. Junior Roger Worley, up from the junior varsity, has a fastball that has been clocked at about 84 m.p.h., Nielson said. Freddie Coleman, a right-handed transfer from Elko, Nev., also will pitch. Senior catcher Chris Grado batted .353. Mike Caudillo, another senior, moves from third base to first. Seniors Nelson Rios and Brian Willey start at second and shortstop. Willey has excellent defensive range, Neilson said. Mike Kenney, a switch-hitting senior, moves from second to third. Al Miller, a transfer from Covina High, plays all infield positions. Senior Jeff Bowne will again bat leadoff and start in the outfield. Bowne hit .320 and had a team-high eight stolen bases. William Wallace, whom Nielson says has “unlimited potential,” batted .300 as a junior and will start in right and pitch.

OUTLOOK: Most coaches feel Quartz Hill is the team to beat. With seven returning starters, it is easy to see why. Besides, had the Rebels known how to finish off a game last season, they might have been league champions. “We lost five Golden League games in our opponent’s last at-bat,” Nielson said. “That gets to be sort of frustrating.”