Area Supplies Ample 2nd Helpings in Draft : Baseball: Crespi right-hander Suppan is the first of four local high school players taken in the second round.

The four-year streak of having an area player selected in the first round of the amateur baseball draft ended Thursday, but four area high school players were taken in the second round.

Crespi High right-hander Jeff Suppan, who was taken by the Red Sox with the 49th overall pick, was the first area player selected. Hoover catcher Nate Dishington (Cardinals), Montclair Prep infielder Brad Fullmer (Expos) and Newbury Park shortstop David Lamb (Orioles) also were taken in the second round.

UCLA All-American first baseman Ryan McGuire, a former El Camino Real High standout, was taken by the Red Sox in the third round. Stanford junior left-hander Andrew Lorraine, a Hart High graduate, was selected by the Angels in the fourth round.

Pierce shortstop Bryan Corey, a Thousand Oaks High graduate, was taken by the Tigers in the 12th round. Steve Soliz, a Rio Mesa graduate and Cal State Los Angeles catcher, was taken by the Indians in the 13th round.

In the 14th round, the Marlins took Cal State Northridge catcher Mike Sims and the Indians took former St. Genevieve High and College of the Canyons right-hander Roland De La Maza of Cal State Sacramento.

The draft continues today and Saturday, ending when no team wants to make another selection.

Suppan, who has a full scholarship to UCLA, said he was surprised at being selected so high. Suppan was 11-1 with an 0.85 earned-run average and 127 strikeouts in 91 innings for Crespi this season. He also had a 42-inning scoreless streak.

“I’m honored,” he said. “I was just hoping to go somewhere up there high. I’m in awe. It’s awesome, unbelievable. I don’t know what else to say.”

Dishington batted .528 with 10 home runs and 45 runs batted in. Dishington is the only one of the four area players taken in the second round who has not signed a letter of intent to play college baseball. He has signed with Fresno State to play quarterback, but said he will probably sign with the Cardinals.

“My decision has pretty much been made,” Dishington said. “I think it would be pretty unwise to turn down the money a second-round pick gets.”

Fullmer, a left-handed batter, set the Southern Section record for RBIs in a season with 62 this season. A Stanford signee, Fullmer batted .568 with 15 home runs, one shy of the section single-season record.

“I’m pretty excited right now,” Fullmer said. “I had an idea I could go in the top couple rounds, but I wasn’t counting on that. Scouts usually back off of guys who have committed to major colleges.

“I know its an overused saying, but this is a childhood dream.”

Lamb, who has signed with Pepperdine, was named American Legion national player of the year after helping Newbury Oaks to the World Series championship last summer. He hit .413 for Newbury Park this season.

“If everything goes good, hopefully I can sign,” Lamb said. “And if not, Pepperdine would be great.”

McGuire, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior, hit .376 with 26 home runs and 91 RBIs for the Bruins this season. McGuire, who also pitched in spot duty for UCLA, has had his fastball clocked as high as 93 m.p.h., according to UCLA publicist John Dolak.

Lorraine, who was 8-6 with a 4.15 ERA for the Cardinal, expected to go in the second round, but he believes he slipped two rounds because of uncertainty about his willingness to sign. He has a year of eligibility remaining at Stanford.

“Chances are pretty slim I’ll return to Stanford,” he said. “My goal my whole life is to play professional baseball.”

Corey, who is playing in the Arizona Collegiate Summer League, hit .330 with three home runs and 25 RBIs in Western State Conference play this season. His father Al said Bryan was excited about being selected and likely will sign with the Tigers despite having signed a letter of intent to play at Grand Canyon University.

“I told some of my friends that if they had a telescope and could see Phoenix, (Bryan) would be the one flying around in the sky,” Al said.

Sims, a graduate of Alemany High, spent draft day on the golf course to avoid a repeat of last year’s draft--three frustrating days waiting by the phone. The Marlins called twice to tell him they were interested, but nothing was certain until the last call.

“I’m relieved,” said Sims, who hit .338 with 42 RBIs seven homers and 17 doubles this season. “Being a senior you think someone won’t take the chance on you in the top 15 rounds. All those years (of work) have paid off.”

De La Maza, 21, said he was relieved as much as excited about getting drafted after he led Sacramento to an 11-2 record, a 3.17 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings. He had heard mutterings about being drafted on three previous occasions including his senior year at St. Genevieve and his sophomore year at Canyons.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this--four years,” De La Maza said. “I wanted to go out of high school, but I didn’t think it would happen. But my second year at Canyons I started hearing more. I started hearing things again my first year in Sacramento.”

Another selection with area implications is catcher Brett Callan, one of Northridge’s top recruits. A sophomore from San Diego Mesa College, Callan was selected by the Astros in the ninth round. Callan said he will decide soon whether to sign with the Astros or to attend Northridge.

When Derek Wallace of Pepperdine and Chatsworth High was selected by the Chicago Cubs last season, it marked the fourth year in a row an area player was taken in the first round. Dmitri Young of Rio Mesa High was taken by St. Louis in 1991; Mike Lieberthal of Westlake High was chosen by Philadelphia in 1990 and Roger Salkeld of Saugus High was taken by Seattle in 1989.

Players may not negotiate with professional teams until after the completion of the academic year.

High school players who attend four-year colleges have until they begin their first college class to sign before the drafting team loses the rights to them.

College juniors can sign until they begin another academic term. Junior college players have until a week before the 1994 draft to sign.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Dana Haddad and Theresa Munoz contributed to this story.

Area Players Taken in Amateur Baseball Draft

Player Pos School ML Team Rd* Jeff Suppan RHP Crespi HS Red Sox 2nd Nate Dishington C Hoover HS Cardinals 2nd Brad Fullmer IF Montclair Prep Expos 2nd David Lamb SS Newbury Park HS Orioles 2nd Ryan McGuire 1B UCLA; El Camino Real HS Red Sox 3rd Andrew Lorraine LHP Stanford; Hart HS Angels 4th Bryan Corey SS Pierce; Thousand Oaks HS Tigers 12th Steve Soliz C CS Los Angeles; Rio Mesa HS Indians 13th Roland De La Maza RHP CS Sacramento; St. Gen. HS Indians 14th Mike Sims C CS Northridge; Alemany HS Marlins 14th

* Major league baseball releases draft order for only the first round. Round information was supplied by the players.