PRO BASEBALL / STEVE ELLING : Loretta Makes 2 Short Stops Before Settling in Stockton

If it’s Tuesday, this must be . . . Bakersfield?

Shortstop Mark Loretta sometimes has trouble with his bearings. Things have been a little blurry since he signed in June with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Loretta, a 1989 graduate of St. Francis High, first spent a few days in Chandler, Ariz., working out some kinks at Milwaukee’s rookie-league facility before embarking on his professional career.

“They wanted to make sure I was still in shape,” Loretta said.

He was, and more importantly, his suitcase had some wear and tear left on it too. Loretta was shipped off to Helena, Mont., of the Class-A Pioneer League. He stayed one week.

“They don’t really give you a reason,” he said. “They just say, ‘Go there and do your best.’ ”

He was then dispatched to Stockton of the Class-A California League, where he is finally establishing some roots. Stockton, the Brewers’ highest Class A affiliate, could be his final destination of 1993. “Hopefully, I’m through moving,” he said. “I think I may be here for the summer, at least.”

Then again, who knows? Loretta, an All-American who graduated from Northwestern in June, batted .321 in six games at Helena before the jump to Stockton, skipping the organization’s middle-level Class A team in Beloit, Wis., of the Midwest League.

He’s moved around. But his career compass definitely seems to be heading north. In 38 games at Stockton, Loretta is batting .331 with two home runs and 18 runs batted in, solid production from a middle infielder.

Loretta, drafted in the seventh round after his senior year, had a breakthrough season last spring at Northwestern. A four-year starter at second base and shortstop, he was named to the All-American teams of Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball magazines after batting .408 with 20 stolen bases and 34 RBIs in the leadoff position.

His career average at Northwestern was .343. He led the team in 11 offensive categories in 1993 and once went 22 games without committing an error.

“He’s got the best glove I’ve seen in this league,” Purdue Coach Steve Green said. “I’d like to have five Lorettas on my team.”

Despite the Wildcats finishing 27-27, Loretta was selected the Big Ten Conference player of the year, a first for a Northwestern player.

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Return ticket: In retrospect, maybe it was the kiss of death.

Rich Aude, a Chatsworth High graduate and a first baseman in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, had just been promoted to triple-A Buffalo when a club official at double-A Carolina said: “We figure we won’t see him again until next year--when he’s playing for Pittsburgh and they come here for an exhibition game.”

It’s no surprise that team representatives in Carolina were yodeling his praises. Aude had set a single-season club record for home runs (13) before he was called up.

Well, Aude is back in double A, though it isn’t because he was a disappointment at the next level. In 21 games at Buffalo, Aude batted .375 with four homers and 16 RBIs. In fact, he homered in his first game, against Indianapolis on July 7.

When Buffalo first baseman Russ Morman came off the disabled list, Aude was sent back to Carolina to ensure that he played every day, a club official said.

Morman (.347) is the only player in the Pittsburgh chain with a higher average than Aude (.319), who leads the organization in home runs (19) and RBIs (70).

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Check mates: Aude’s former Chatsworth teammate, outfielder Joel Wolfe, was promoted from Oakland’s Class A affiliate in Modesto to double-A Huntsville, Ala., on July 16. Wolfe was leading all Oakland minor leaguers with a .350 batting average.

In a poll conducted by Baseball America, Gregg Zaun, who played with Loretta at St. Francis, was voted the best defensive catcher in the double-A Eastern League. Zaun plays at Bowie, Md., in the Baltimore Orioles’ chain.

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Black cloud: Rain, rain, go away.

Outfielder Pat Bryant sparkled like a sunbeam for 2 1/2 weeks for the Class-A Columbus Red Stixx of the South Atlantic League. In fact, it took a rainstorm to stop him.

Bryant, a 1990 graduate of Cleveland High and an All-City Section pick, hit safely in a team-record 19 consecutive games. The streak ended July 23 when he was limited to three at-bats in a rain-shortened loss to Augusta.

Bryant, who bats leadoff, is hitting .266 and leads all minor league players in the Cleveland Indian organization with 35 stolen bases.

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Walks in the park: Right-hander Erik Hiljus has held South Atlantic League opponents to a paltry .221 batting average. More often than not, that hasn’t been enough. Hiljus, a starting pitcher for the Class-A Capital City Bombers in Columbia, S.C., is playing on a team with a .234 average, which partly explains why his record is a lackluster 5-7.

The other reason--which won’t surprise those who remember Hiljus (6-5, 213) from his Canyon High days--is walks. In 112 1/3 innings, Hiljus has allowed 88 hits and fanned 123, the top strikeout total among all minor leaguers in the New York Met organization.

He also has 85 walks, so an average of 1.54 batters reach base each inning. His ERA is 4.25 and he has thrown 10 wild pitches.

Yet in many ways, Hiljus, whose fastball ranges up to 90 m.p.h., seems to have rounded the corner.

“He’s matured a lot, everything from having better work habits to paying more attention to conditioning,” said Dave Jorn, the team’s pitching coach.