COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : Westmont Considers CCI Coach Marshall

Greg Marshall, Christ College Irvine men’s basketball coach, has been asked to apply for the head coaching job at Westmont and will interview in Santa Barbara after he returns from the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans, Marshall said Wednesday.

Marshall was an assistant coach for five seasons and a student assistant for two at Westmont before taking the CCI job three years ago. He and his wife, Lois, are Westmont alumni.

“I think if they offered a job, then you have a real tough choice to make,” Marshall said. “It’s kind of a can’t-lose situation for me. I mean we’re really happy here but it’s great to be asked to apply and it’s in my best interests to look at the position.”

Marshall’s teams have advanced to the NAIA District 3 playoffs in each of his seasons at CCI. He has a 42-49 record. Last season’s team finished 15-15.

Marshall is among five finalists. The first to be interviewed, Gregg Afman, an assistant at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., was on campus Wednesday.

The other finalists are: Warren Friedrichs, coach at Whitworth (Wash.) College; John Moore, coach and athletic director at Fresno Pacific, and Jeff Crosby, Westmont’s interim coach. Crosby took over after Chet Kammerer became an assistant to Laker Coach Randy Pfund last summer. He led the Warriors to a 19-12 record, losing to Azusa Pacific in the NAIA District 3 title game.

Azusa Pacific Coach Bill Odell expressed interest but removed his name from consideration this week, said Ron Mulder, Westmont’s interim athletic director.

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Soccer fever: Southern California College, Orange Coast College and the city of Costa Mesa might be playing host to a World Cup soccer team in 1994.

“There is talk that an event like this could raise literally millions for the community,” said Ron Prettyman, SCC’s athletic director. “When you’re talking about bringing in a Germany or an Ireland that would bring a big following.

“That’s why it’s so attractive.”

Prettyman met with Costa Mesa community and government leaders Wednesday to discus making a bid. The team would live in SCC residence halls and practice and play exhibition matches at OCC.

Prettyman said he has been told by soccer officials that as many as 10 teams, including the Mission Viejo-based U.S. team, will train in Southern California before and during the quadrennial competition.

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Chapman’s baseball team has been hovering around the .500 mark this season, but several Chapman players are having more-than-middle-of-the-road seasons.

--Corey Giuliano continues to be the Panther ace. Tuesday, he beat San Diego State, 9-3, for his sixth complete-game victory and seventh in eight decisions. He has a 3.02 earned-run average.

“He’s doing an outstanding job of making good pitches when he needs to,” said Gary Henderson, Chapman coach. “He’s getting out of a lot of jams by making good pitches.”

--Ben Mendoza is leading the team with a .333 average .

--Abijah Alastra is second at .315 ().

--Chris Briones leads the team in home runs (seven) and runs batted in (33).

--Trevor Rush is having a better season than his .163 average would indicate. “His batting average is misleading because he’s had about 15 line drives caught,” Henderson said. Rush has walked 29 times and has made only 10 errors at shortstop. “He still gets on base and he’s still a big part of our offense.”

The Panthers (16-16) have 23 games remaining, all but two against fellow NCAA Division I teams.

“It’s going to be a tough April for us, but they’re doing a great job of competing; there’s no question about that,” Henderson said.

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Softball: Southern California College had a rough week in Hawaii, losing all eight of its games, but it’s not quite as bad as it sounds.

First, the Vanguards were in Hawaii . Second, they lost all their games to teams ranked ahead of them in the first NAIA national poll.

SCC, No. 17 and ranked in the top 20 for the first time in school history, lost two games to No. 2 Pacific Lutheran, the defending national champion, four games to No. 9 Hawaii Hilo and two games to No. 16 Hawaii Pacific. The losses dropped the Vanguards, 8-1 against District 3 teams and 6-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, to 21-14-2.

“We played half the games tough and the other half we just played poor ball,” SCC Coach Terry Zeigler said. But Zeigler said she thinks the experience will turn out to be a positive one. “They got to hit against some really good pitching and I think that’s just going to make us stronger.”

Notes

Christ College Irvine softball player Stephanie Viola was named the NAIA District 3 pitcher of the week. Viola, a junior from Westminster, struck out 24 and allowed only three earned runs in Eagles’ victories over Pacific Christian, Loyola Marymount and a loss to Southern California College. . . . The Azusa Pacific baseball team is ranked fourth in the first NAIA national poll this week. The Cougars (21-2-1), who had a 16-game winning and 19-game unbeaten streak entering a game against Cal Lutheran Wednesday, will play a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader against Southern California College Saturday in Costa Mesa.