NOTEBOOK : Magnolia Nearing Rare Title

How long has it been since Magnolia won an Orange League championship in baseball? Thiiisssssss long.

Or to put it in numerical terms, 12 years--the 1982-83 season. Last year, Magnolia tied Savanna for third in league at 7-8 and finished 10-12 overall.

But the Sentinels have an excellent chance to end that streak of futility. First-year Coach Manny Rodriguez, who played second base at Magnolia from 1985-88, has the Sentinels atop the league at 8-1, 11-4 overall.

Rodriguez’s formula for success is simple: Don’t beat yourself. Magnolia has committed 17 errors in 15 games but none in the last six, and has turned 16 double plays. Despite little power--only two triples and two doubles--the team batting average is a healthy .331. The Sentinels also run well, with 32 stolen bases.

“(Doing) the little things has meant a lot. That’s the reason why we’re winning,” said Rodriguez, who won two junior varsity titles to help earn the promotion. “The only way we’re going to win is with defense and pitching. We’ve gotten both.”

The Sentinels aren’t loaded with with great players, but have a potential star in junior Josh Reding, who is 6-0, 0.50 (three earned runs in 42 innings) with six complete games in six pitching appearances, and is batting .454 (20 for 44) with nine runs batted in and 11 stolen bases.

“Now everyone in school is coming up to us,” Reding said. “Before, people didn’t seem to care that much about baseball here; but I think we have opened some eyes.”

Others having big seasons are second baseman George Silva (.400, 12 RBIs), infielder Joe Camarillo (.353), and third baseman James Penner (.333).

And this team figures to be around for a while; four of the starters are sophomores (though one, Rich Michaelson, is injured). Rodriguez has only five seniors, to go along with three juniors and seven sophomores on his roster.

“The kids are on mission,” Rodriguez said. “They are not getting too high or low. We’ve talked about now long it’s been since Magnolia won league, so they are excited about it.”

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Kennedy’s Charlie Marino got the 100th hit of his career Friday against Cypress, a game in which he also broke the school career record for home runs by hitting his 12th.

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Cypress standout Bobby Brito, who is commanding fear and respect from Empire League and other county pitchers, is chasing a pair of county records.

The junior catcher already has 10 home runs, putting him three behind Fullerton’s D.C. Olsen, who hit 13 in 1990. Brito also has walked 29 times; the record (county and Southern Section) is 38, shared by Esperanza’s Tom Redington with Bob Brooks of Redondo and Darren Haworth of Palos Verdes.

Other county records being pursued:

* Runs batted in: Mater Dei’s Mike Hessman has 31. (Jim Austin had 40 playing for the Monarchs in 1988).

* Stolen bases: Orange’s Art Bell has 28. (Jeremy Anderson of Liberty Christian had 39 in 1991 and ‘93).

* Victories: El Dorado’s Ryan Jamieson is 9-1. Western’s Andy Messersmith was 15-3 in 1963.

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What’s it take to be a successful pitcher for the top-ranked softball team in Orange County (and the No. 2 team in the state)? Foothill Coach Joe Gonzalez knows. He recounts an early-season experience:

“Our team serves a pitcher well: We chart everything, we call every pitch, we pride ourselves on good defense, we get a computer printout after each game,” Gonzalez said. “Our freshman, Lindsay Fossatti, was a little nervous before her first varsity game; I told her this is a great place to pitch, that she’s playing with a veteran team, our philosophy is defense, and all you have to do is go out there and make sure you don’t get drilled.”

Fossatti is 5-0 on the year; junior Marie Gieron is 12-2.

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Esperanza’s Jon Engel won the La Puente Nogales golf tournament last Wednesday, shooting a two-over 73 at Montebello Country Club. The senior helped Esperanza finish fifth.

* Don Turnbull and staff writers Chris Foster and Martin Henderson contributed to this story.