Hawthorne Holds on to Glimmer of Hope

If nothing else, Hawthorne High’s baseball team can say it played against the best in 1993.

The Cougars opened the season with a 14-3 loss to Simi Valley, which briefly held the nation’s No. 1 ranking in USA Today. And, if the law of averages holds true, Hawthorne will end the season Friday in a Southern Section Division I playoff opener against top-seeded Crespi of Encino, the third-ranked team in the state according to Cal-Hi Sports.

In between those two impressive bookends, Hawthorne (10-15) has done little to indicate it can compete with a powerhouse team. The Cougars have struggled defensively and their pitchers are inexperienced. They tied for third in the Bay League with a 4-8 record.

But Hawthorne has done something neither Crespi nor Simi Valley have been able to accomplish in the past two seasons. Hawthorne beat Millikan, 5-4, in the Redondo tournament last month.

Millikan, the two-time defending Southern Section major-division champion, beat Crespi and Simi Valley in the El Segundo tournament in March. Last year, Millikan eliminated Crespi and Simi Valley in the 5-A Division playoffs.

Hawthorne Coach Greg Goode isn’t foolish enough to believe that that gives his team an edge over Crespi, but he does think it provides a glimmer of hope.

“Baseball is crazy,” Goode said. “You just don’t know what is going to happen. Like the Millikan game; we just wanted to stay close and make it respectable. We stayed in there and won it.”

Hawthorne’s victory over Millikan is even more remarkable when you consider that the Cougars started several second-string players. Goode, though, said Millikan made three errors that day and probably overlooked the Cougars. The Rams (19-6), who won the Moore League title, are seeded fourth behind Crespi (24-2), Simi Valley (23-3) and Fountain Valley (22-4) in the Division I playoffs.

“It was like playing a (junior varsity) game,” Goode said. “I think Millikan was flat and wasn’t ready. But we tend to play better when we’re playing good teams.”

Crespi could be playing the best baseball of any team in Southern California. The Celts have a 14-game winning streak and boast a dominating pitcher in right-hander Jeff Suppan. A UCLA recruit, Suppan is 9-1 with an 0.75 earned-run average and good control. In 75 innings pitched, he has 103 strikeouts and only 10 walks.

“Apparently they’ve got a kid who throws gas,” Goode said. “I don’t know if we’ll face him. I would go with him because they would have three days rest before (a second-round game) Tuesday.”

Goode said his players are looking forward to Friday’s game.

“It’s a neat opportunity,” he said. “The kids are excited about going over to play the No. 1 team. It hasn’t been difficult to get them to work out this week. They’re not dragging their feet and saying, ‘Oh man, we’re going to get our butts kicked.’

“I think they believe if we stay close, we’ve got a chance.”

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Hawthorne will start right-hander Ronnie Pimentel against Crespi. The junior’s 3-5 record and 3.26 ERA aren’t nearly as impressive as the Celts’ Suppan, but he has had some strong performances.

Pimentel pitched a no-hitter in a 10-0 victory over Torrance in the El Segundo tournament, and he had 12 strikeouts in an 8-4 loss to San Luis Obispo, which went on to win its own tournament during spring break.

Goode’s biggest concern is Hawthorne’s error-prone defense.

“We’re just a little slow afoot,” Goode said. “We’ve got big, strong kids who hit the ball well, but we don’t play defense too well. If we don’t make any errors, we’re usually in the game.”

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Goode, in his third year as Hawthorne’s coach, said he will not return next season. One of the leading candidates to replace him is assistant Todd Denhart, a former player at Redondo High, El Camino College and Cal State Northridge.

“I just got married, and one of the things I want to do is spend some time with the baby,” Goode said. “Plus I’m a little frustrated with the situation here. It’s real difficult.”

Goode can remember more prosperous days for the baseball program. A 1974 Hawthorne graduate, he played on the 1973 Cougar team that was the strongest in school history. The squad featured pitcher-shortstop Mike Scott, who won the Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros; catcher-pitcher Mike Colbern, who was the area player of the year that season and played briefly with the Chicago White Sox; and outfielder Tom Ruegger, who had a successful career at Pepperdine.

After winning its playoff opener, the 1973 team was upset in the second round by Santa Monica, which went on to win the major-division title.

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Running back Eric Whitfield, the leading rusher for Gateway Christian last season as a sophomore, has transferred to Banning and has a good chance to become the Pilots’ starting tailback next season, Coach Ed Paculba said.

“He looks like a kid who could come in and play for us,” Paculba said of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Whitfield. “We’re working him at tailback and free safety.”

Whitfield was granted a hardship transfer by the City Section because his father lost his aerospace job, making it difficult for the family to pay tuition at Gateway Christian, a private school in Harbor City.

Whitfield rushed for 966 yards and 17 touchdowns in 139 carries last season for the Hawks, who play eight-man football.

Paculba said London McBride, a junior who transferred from Gateway Christian last year, has a chance to become Banning’s quarterback. McBride played tight end for the Pilots last season.

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Since he became eligible late in the season, Redondo third baseman Steve Rawson has five hits in seven games. But four of them have been home runs.

Tuesday, the 6-2, 225-pound junior hit a three-run homer in the first inning to spark the Sea Hawks to a 7-0 victory over host Glendora in a Southern Section Division II wild-card game.

“He has tremendous power,” Redondo Coach Tim Ammentorp said of Rawson, who bats cleanup. “Against good pitchers, he struggles a little bit. But if somebody makes a mistake, he’s certainly capable of getting three runs on one swing. He hit (Tuesday’s home run) about 380 feet.”

Because of academic problems, Rawson was ineligible his sophomore season and most of the current season. He has five hits in 22 at-bats since joining the team.

Ammentorp said Rawson’s presence makes it more difficult for teams to pitch around No. 3 hitter Rick Jansson, who has walked 30 times.

Redondo (18-9), winner of 15 of its last 18 games, will play at Freeway League champion Troy of Fullerton (19-6-1) in a first-round game Friday. Senior left-hander Chris Peacock (5-2), who has won his last five decisions, will start for the Sea Hawks. Junior right-hander Scott Albin (7-2), the team’s No. 1 pitcher, pitched a four-hitter in Tuesday’s victory.

Notes

Cha-Ron Walker, a 5-foot-11 forward for the Morningside girls’ basketball team, has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada. Walker averaged 12.3 points and 10.5 rebounds last season to help the Lady Monarchs to a 28-3 record and the Southern Section Division III-AA title. She chose Nevada over UC Irvine. . . . Kyle McIntosh, a 6-7 center for South Torrance, said he will attend Georgetown and attempt to play basketball for the Hoyas as a walk-on. An honor student, McIntosh averaged 20.5 points and 13.8 rebounds last season, helping South to a 28-4 record and the Southern Section and regional Division III finals.

Ted Oh, a 16-year-old Torrance junior, moved a step closer to playing in the U.S. Open golf tournament by finishing fourth Tuesday in local qualifying at Industry Hills. Oh shot a 72 for a two-round total of 148, three strokes behind the top qualifier. The top eight finishers out of 90 participants will compete in sectional qualifying June 7 at Valencia Country Club.

Seniors Ryan Miller of Redondo and Denise Takamoto of Narbonne were the winners of the first South Bay Sports Achievement Awards given by the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. at a dinner Saturday night at the Torrance Marriott. Miller was Redondo’s cross-country most valuable player and a three-year letterman in track. He has a 3.96 grade-point average and has been accorded honors in history and algebra. Takamoto, an All-City Section basketball player and all-league volleyball player, also has a 3.96 GPA. She will attend UC Berkeley in the fall.

Redondo juniors Matt Roghair and Brett Maginn won the Ocean League doubles title last week, becoming the first non-Peninsula tennis players in two years to qualify for the Southern Section individual championships. Only the league’s top two singles players and doubles teams advance to the sectionals Saturday at Diamond Bar High. Roghair and Maginn defeated defending league champions Jimmy Kim and Dean Ho of Peninsula in the doubles final. Peninsula senior Loren Peters, the defending section champion, won the singles final against teammate Kyle Spencer.

Torrance pitcher Deanna Guerrero will take a 0.00 ERA into her team’s Southern Section Division III playoff opener Friday against visiting Schurr of Montebello. Guerrero (7-2), a senior bound for New Mexico Highlands University, has not given up an earned run in 67 innings pitched. She led Torrance (16-3) to the Pioneer League title. . . . Pioneer League runner-up West Torrance (18-7) features pitcher Jennifer Ramos (16-7), who has completed all 23 of her starts. The junior leads the area with 156 innings pitched and 168 strikeouts, and has an 0.49 ERA. West plays host to Bishop Montgomery at 3 p.m. today in a Division III opener.

South Bay Baseball Top 10

Selected by Times Sportswriters. Through Tuesday’s games Rank, School, League: Record 1 Westchester (Western): 22-7 2 El Segundo (Pioneer): 20-6 3 Redondo (Ocean): 18-9 4 Peninsula (Bay): 18-6 5 Mira Costa (Ocean): 17-9 6 West Torrance (Pioneer): 16-10-1 7 Mary Star (Santa Fe): 16-7 8 Carson (Pacific): 17-13 9 Banning (Pacific): 14-8 10 South Torrance (Pioneer): 14-12