D’Aoust Signs, Further Strengthening Northridge Pitching Staff

Right-hander Aaron D’Aoust of Long Beach City College and right fielder Kevin Howard of Fresno City College signed national letters of intent to play baseball at Cal State Northridge. D’Aoust, a sophomore reliever for the Vikings, is projected as a starter for the Matadors.

D’Aoust joins a staff that includes new signees Rick Orr of Cypress College and Eddie Hernandez of Bishop Amat High, as well as returning starters Keven Kempton and Marco Contreras. Coach Bill Kernen expected to lose one or both players to the professional ranks, but, surprisingly, neither Kempton nor Contreras was drafted.

As a result, Kernen has an unexpectedly strong pitching staff.

A third junior standout, left-hander John Bushart, is still negotiating with the Angels, who drafted him in the 24th round.

Howard, a right-handed hitter, batted .359 with 56 runs batted in, 10 home runs, 13 doubles and six stolen bases.

Boxing

Omar Flores of Mexico City has been signed to fight Mexicali’s Oscar (The Ghost) Lopez in a 10-round main event at the Country Club in Reseda on July 21. Flores, a lightweight (138 pounds), is 24-2 with 16 knockouts. Lopez is 19-6 with 10 knockouts.

Baseball

Taft High’s Stacy Kleiner said he will not sign with the San Diego Padres, who drafted him in the 10th round. Kleiner, a catcher who signed a letter of intent to play baseball for UNLV next season, said he might also forgo the scholarship to UNLV and play for Valley College. Kleiner, who batted .427 with 16 stolen bases, is a two-time All-City Section 4-A Division selection.

Diving

Three area divers qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Festival on July 28-Aug. 1 in San Antonio, Tex. Janae Lautenschlager, 22, of Northridge qualified on all three boards--one-meter springboard, three-meter springboard and 10-meter platform. Nancy Janik, 32, of Simi Valley, is entered in the one-meter and three-meter. Simi Valley’s Ricky Wood, 20, is scheduled to compete on the three-meter and the platform.

Surfing

Cal State Northridge freshman Jason Ekinaka won the College National Bodyboarding Championship last week in San Clemente.

Ekinaka is the first Northridge surfer to earn a national title.

Basketball

Mike Johnson, Burel Ford and Kenny Williams have been added to Coach Doug Michelson’s basketball coaching staff at Valley College. Johnson is a former assistant at Oxnard and Moorpark. Ford played at Adrian College in Michigan, and Williams was an assistant at North Hollywood High. Michelson became men’s coach after directing the women’s program for six years.

Bowling

Ron Winger of Tarzana is in second place heading into today’s finals of the $75,000 Wyoming Valley Senior Open in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Jimmy Certain of Huntsville, Ala., who had two games of 299 Wednesday to run his total to 10,186, leads Winger by 99 pins.