AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL / JEFF FLETCHER : Igou Comes Back From Break to Make Best Pitch

Now that he’s rested, Van Nuys East left-hander Rich Igou is giving hitters he faces a chance to rest. They walk to the plate, swing the bat a few times, then walk back to the dugout.

Igou, who pitched 93 1/3 innings during the spring at Notre Dame High, took several weeks off from pitching after the high school season. He went to Mexico for a week, and to Fresno for a few days, where he pitched three innings in the state’s North-South All-Star series.

Since his return to the mound in American Legion play, Igou has 39 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. He is 3-0 with a 1.03 earned-run average. In his last two appearances, he struck out 17 in seven innings against Burbank South and 10 in seven innings against Valley North.

“I guess a lot of it is location,” Igou said. “The fastball has been working pretty good. I’ve been getting a lot of (strikeouts), but I don’t know if I’m throwing any better.”

He’s pitching well at a better time, though.

Igou has been pitching lately in front of Kansas City Royals’ scouts. The Royals drafted Igou almost as an afterthought last month--in the 63rd round--but they seem more interested in signing him now.

National cross-checker Guy Hansen, a former major league pitching coach for the Royals, watched Igou pitch Sunday against Valley North.

Igou, who is 6-foot-3, was intent on playing for the University of San Francisco a few weeks ago, but now. . . .

“I’m not sure, now that (the Royals) have thrown this at me,” Igou said. “They said they might come in with third-round money.”

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Slugger: First, Woodland Hills West’s John Novak wants everyone to know that his shoulder, which bothered him on and off for years, is fine.

“That’s a thing of the past,” Novak said. “It feels as strong as it ever did right now.”

Novak was used mostly as a designated hitter last season at Pierce College because he couldn’t throw. Now he plays the outfield and throws without pain. More impressive is what he does at the plate.

Novak had a two-for-eight slump last week and his average dropped to .552. He also has 13 doubles, two home runs and 27 runs batted in. He hit a three-run home run for the West team Sunday in the District 20 All-Star game.

A 1993 graduate of El Camino Real High, Novak credits his offensive exploits this summer to facing predominantly high school pitchers after playing junior college baseball in the spring.

“It’s a lot easier,” he said. “I haven’t seen the quality of pitching I did at the JC level. There are some decent pitchers, but overall the quality isn’t as high.”

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Add All-Star: Players from the Antelope Valley provided most of the highlights for the West in its 11-3 victory against the East in the District 20 All-Star game.

Antelope Valley South’s Eric Cole had two hits and Quartz Hill’s Kyle Goss had a double.

The game’s best pitcher was Quartz Hill’s Will Wallace, who pitched three scoreless innings.

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Unearned loss: The District 20 All-Stars gave up three unearned runs and lost, 3-2, to a team from Union, N.J., on Thursday.

Antelope Valley South’s Chris Tapia went three for three, but was also involved in a gaffe in the third inning. Tapia and Jim Landress misplayed a fly ball, allowing it to drop and lead to Union’s first run.

The error spoiled an otherwise good performance by Newhall-Santa Clarita’s Lucas Solomon, who struck out five in two innings.

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New format: The Southern California Legion champion will be determined at a tournament Aug. 4-7 in Upland. No state tournament will be played this year because of renovations to the facility in Yountville, where the finals are usually held.

The Area 6 champion, the Area 5 champion and two teams from Area 4 will play a double-elimination tournament. Area 4 has two teams because it is the host.

The winner advances to the Southwest regional tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.

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Legion lines: The District 20 regular season ends Sunday, with the four division winners plus six wild-card teams advancing to a double-elimination tournament beginning Tuesday. District 16, which has no postseason tournament, will continue its season until July 24.

The District 20 champion, plus the top two teams from District 16, will advance to the six-team Area 6 playoffs July 28-31 at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium. . . .

Van Nuys East’s Justin Bunch doubled in the District 20 All-Star game, then went three for four with three RBIs later that day in Van Nuys East’s 10-3 victory over Valley North.

Van Nuys South’s Marc Scorza had two hits in the All-Star game, and two more in Van Nuys South’s 6-4 victory over San Fernando. . . .

American Legion night at Dodger Stadium, scheduled for last Saturday, was canceled because only 23 of 300 tickets the Dodgers provided were sold.

The 23 ticket-holders attended the game against the New York Mets, but there was no recognition of American Legion. The Dodgers made the other 277 tickets available to the public.