Fountain Valley Gets an Unexpected Wake-Up Call

The Fountain Valley baseball team, regarded as one of the most talented in the nation, stumbled in the semifinals of the Upper Deck Classic at Cal State Fullerton last week.

The Barons committed five errors and had two wild pitches in a 10-6 loss to Germantown, Tenn., on Wednesday. Germantown (19-0) went on to defeat Santa Ana Mater Dei, 6-4, in the title game Thursday.

“It is a great thing to beat the No. 1 team in the nation,” Germantown Coach Phil Clark said after the semifinal victory. “I’m proud that we could compete with Fountain Valley.”

Although Germantown was invited to the prestigious 16-team tournament, it figured to struggle against many of the West Coast’s top teams.

“I had a lot of thoughts going through my head this week, but (winning the tournament) wasn’t one of them,” Clark said.

It does not get any easier for Fountain Valley, which has the nucleus of its team back from last season, when it won the Southern Section Division I title. It plays Huntington Beach Marina twice this week in Sunset League games. Marina is coming off an impressive 4-2 victory over Westminster La Quinta in the final of the Dole Big West tournament Thursday.

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One of the oldest records in Southern Section baseball archives was in jeopardy last Friday when pitcher Pedro Flores of Sierra Vista High in Baldwin Park went after his sixth consecutive shutout.

The left-handed senior came up short, however, as host Duarte got eight hits off Flores in a 7-5 Montview League victory.

Flores, whose record dropped to 5-1 with a 1.23 earned-run average in 40 innings, was attempting to tie the record of six shutouts set by Scott McGregor of El Segundo in 1972. McGregor later went on to become a star with the Baltimore Orioles.

Sierra Vista took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Duarte answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to squelch Flores’ record bid.

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Nine finalists have been chosen in the search to replace Tom Byrnes as executive director of the CIF. Byrnes is stepping down this summer.

A 13-member search committee met last week in San Francisco to evaluate the 31 applications. The committee narrowed the list to the nine who will be interviewed Thursday and Friday in San Francisco.

The candidates will appear before six members of the CIF Executive Committee. A decision is expected before the next council meeting on May 5.

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Leon Blunt, one of the few local high school football players in recent years to attend Notre Dame, said last week that he plans to leave the school at the end of the semester.

A freshman from San Fernando High, Blunt said he was unhappy with his lack of playing time. He was a backup to sophomore quarterback Ron Powlus last fall.

“I want to play and I want to be the man,” said Blunt, who has not participated in spring practice. “I told (Coach Lou Holtz) I don’t want to sit for three years.”

Blunt said he is unsure of his future plans but already has contacted Arizona and Hawaii.

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Loyola’s Ryan Bailey, younger brother of UCLA freshman Toby Bailey, has changed his mind about accepting a basketball scholarship to the University of Portland.

Bailey, a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 23 points last season, signed with Portland in November. But he has received clearance from the NCAA rules committee to attend another school should he choose to do so.

It is not certain yet whether Bailey will try to sign with another college or enroll at an East Coast postgraduate prep school.

“My son needs another year to physically mature and explore opportunities with other schools,” said John Bailey, Ryan’s father.

Prep Notes

The first Southern California All-Star basketball game will be held tonight at 7 at the Pyramid at Long Beach State. Participants include Rico Harris of Temple City, Shomario Richard of La Puente Nogales, Arthur Lee of North Hollywood and Shaun Jackson of Santa Ana Mater Dei. A junior college all-star game will follow at 8:45. . . . Bill Whiting, who led the Chatsworth boys’ basketball team into the City Division 4-A quarterfinals in his first season, has resigned. . . . Two of the area’s top girl sprinters signed letters of intent last week. Heather Sumpter of Pasadena Muir, the defending state champion in the 100, will attend Tennessee; LaKeisha Backus of Long Beach Wilson, who has the nation’s second-fastest time in the 100 this season, chose Texas.

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Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school baseball poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Fountain Valley SS I 14-2 2 2. Millikan SS I 15-1 1 3. Bishop Amat SS I 15-1 3 4. Mater Dei SS I 13-3 7 5. Marina SS I 15-2 11 6. El Dorado SS I 15-2 5 7. Glendora SS II 15-2 6 8. Arcadia SS I 14-2 12 9. La Quinta SS III 17-3 8 10. Fontana SS I 13-2 9 11. GH Kennedy City 4-A 14-3 NR 12. Calabasas SS IV 15-0 19 13. Arlington SS II 14-3 NR 14. Lakewood SS I 14-5 17 15. Corona SS III 13-3 NR 16. South Hills SS II 13-1 16 17. Norte Vista SS III 15-2 13 18. West Torrance SS I 14-4 18 19. Westlake SS I 13-3 NR 20. Gahr SS II 12-3 20