Sports : BEST OF WEST?

Ever since West Torrance suffered a 3-1 defeat to La Quinta in the Southern Section Division III baseball championship game last year, expectations have been lofty.

So far this season, those expectations have been meet.

The Warriors (21-5) were regarded as the top team in the South Bay at the start of the season and are ranked No. 7 in the Southern Section Division I. They also lead the Bay League at 11-1.

Of course, it’s easy to be optimistic when you have the Warriors’ hitting and pitching depth. West has eight players batting above .400 in league play and two pitchers who have combined for a 15-2 record.

The offense is averaging nearly nine runs a game.

“The hitting has always been there,” fifth-year Coach Harry Jenkins said. “We really don’t send a weak guy up to the plate.”

Junior catcher Tony Cosentino is batting .550, junior designated hitter George Delgadillo is at .450 with a team-leading six home runs, senior pitcher Kirk Bolling is batting .400 and senior infielder Jimmy Yates is at .380. Yates has signed a national letter of intent to attend Pepperdine and Bolling is deciding between USC and Cal State Fullerton.

The Warriors also have perhaps the best one-two pitching combination in the South Bay in junior John Lockhart and Bolling. Lockhart is 8-0 with an 0.79 earned-run average and Bolling is 7-2 with a 1.16 ERA. West also has a dependable third starter and reliever in senior David Delgado (4-2).

West struggled early, in part because of a challenging nonleague schedule.

“Having tough games early lets you see if you can compete against the best and I think they showed they could,” Jenkins said.

The biggest question appears to be whether the Warriors can successfully make the leap from Division III to Division I. Jenkins thinks they can.

“We have a lot of playoff experience, so a lot of the kids know what it’s like,” he said. “We certainly have some Division I type players. I think we’ve played pretty consistent all year long. If we can string it out a little longer, I think we have a real good chance.”

AROUND THE TRACK

Perennial power Morningside High again leads the list of area teams competing in the Division III track and field prelims at 4 p.m. Friday at Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

The Monarchs have won five consecutive girls’ titles and the boys have won three in a row. Both teams appear in good position to repeat. Morningside was in top form at the Ocean League finals last week.

The girls are led by hurdlers Nicole Thomas and Rori Kelly, who took the first two places in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles in the league finals. The Monarchs also figure to excel in the sprints and relays.

In the boys’ division, Morningside is led by Michael Turner in the 110-meter high hurdles and the long and triple jumps. He won all three events at the league finals last week. The Monarchs’ Peter Suggs is a contender in the 400-meter run.

Other top South Bay boys in the Division III meet include Chad Morton of South Torrance in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, Derek Loudenback of Mira Costa in the 800 meters, and Ricky Boyer of Serra in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump.

Another traditional power, Hawthorne, will send a strong contingent into the Division I meet at noon Saturday at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Among the leaders for the Hawthorne boys is Robbie Hughes in the 110 high hurdles and the 300 intermediate hurdles. The Cougar girls are led by hurdler Hannah Cooper in the 100 and 300 hurdles.

Peninsula’s strength once again is in the distances paced by Kenny Goodrich in the boys’ 1,600 and 3,200 meters, and Molly Mehlberg in the girls’ 1,600 and 3,200. The boys meet will also feature Aaron Williams of Leuzinger in the shotput and Andre Hilliard of Torrance in the 100 and 200 meters and long jump.

Top finishers advance to the Southern Section Divisional Finals May 20 at Cerritos College.

SECOND SEASON

One lengthy streak has ended but another is very much alive for the Harbor College baseball team.

Although Harbor’s run of nine consecutive titles in three different conferences has ended, the Seahawks have advanced to the state community college playoffs for the 10th year in a row.

The Seahawks (26-18), who finished in third place behind Cerritos and East Los Angeles in the South Coast Conference, have been seeded 11th in the Southern California regional and will visit sixth-seeded Hancock (29-15), the Western State Conference runner-up, in a best-of-three opening round series in Santa Maria.

The teams will play a single game at 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader, if necessary, at 11 a.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the regional finals next week in Fresno.

Friday’s game will mark the first time since 1989 that the Seahawks have had to travel for the opening round. They would be host again if not for a 9-4 loss to Long Beach City in their South Coast finale last week.

As a team, the Seahawks are batting .294 and have five starters batting above .300. The leaders are sophomore first baseman Dave Martinez at .425 and freshman third baseman Steve Rawson at .367.

Rawson is the team leader in six offensive categories, including home runs with nine, runs batted in with 36 and hits with 55. The pitching leader is sophomore Rich Condon, who is 7-3 with a 3.01 earned-run average.

SPOILER

The Loyola Marymount baseball team hopes to play the role of spoiler when it concludes its season against rival Pepperdine in a West Coast Conference series Sunday and Monday in Westchester.

The teams play a doubleheader at noon Sunday and a single game at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Pepperdine needs a victory to clinch the WCC title. Loyola (22-31, 12-15), which dropped two of three games to second-place Santa Clara last week, is a game behind the University of San Diego (13-14) in a battle for third place in the WCC.

Loyola, which beat UCLA, 8-3, last week, has been led by junior first baseman and pitcher Andy Collett and sophomore shortstop Marc Mirizzi. Collett is batting .325 and leads the WCC with 11 home runs and 50 RBI and Mirizzi is batting .338.

PASSED UP

For the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s softball team, the best wasn’t good enough.

The Toros (32-16) completed regular-season play with a .667 winning percentage, the best in the program’s history, in its first season under Coach Stephanie Fleischaker.

But Dominguez Hills had to settle for No. 5 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings and was passed up in favor of Sonoma State (36-13) in a bid for its first playoff berth since 1989.

The Toros defeated Sonoma, 6-2, at the Cal State Hayward tournament in April in the only meeting between the teams. The NCAA selection committee apparently was swayed by the fact the Cossacks won their final 16 games, including eight last week.

The Toros should be strong next season as they return eight of 10 starters, including sophomore pitcher Tamara Sagert and junior shortstop Kim Guerrero.

Sagert, who had a 31-15 record, established five single-season records including shutouts with 14. Guerrero was the team’s leading batter with a .403 average.

MEMORY LANE

Former players from the old-time minor league Hollywood Stars, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres and Sacramento Solons will gather for the 10th annual reunion of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Carson Civic Center, 801 E. Carson St.

There will be displays and sales of memorabilia, a get-acquainted session with guests in the morning, slide show of former Pacific Coast League stadiums and a panel of former ballplayers in the afternoon.

“Before major league baseball moved West beginning in 1958, the Pacific Coast League was a primary sports attraction for more than half a century,” said Richard Beverage, who founded the Historical Society. “Many fans still remember those days and want to relive memories of the outstanding minor league baseball played in the PCL.”

There were 350 members and guests, including 30 former players, at last year’s reunion and similar numbers are expected Saturday. Admission is free. Information: Beverage at (714) 524-0939.

MISCELLANY

Many of the top youth and high school prospects in the state will compete in four youth basketball games Saturday at South Torrance High.

The event starts with the 4 “D” Stars playing Slam ‘N Jam at 4 p.m. in a matchup of the state’s top 12-and-under teams. In addition, it will be the 4 “D” Stars national team vs. the South Torrance freshman at 5, the 4 “D” Stars junior varsity vs. South Torrance upperclassmen at 6:15 and Chadwick vs. Rolling Hills Prep at 7:30.

Admission is $4 for adults or $2 for children under 13. Information: Rey Henry at (310) 320-1346.

RECRUITING

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s basketball team has added another top prospect with the signing of 6-foot-2 center Michelle Coleman of Cerritos College to a letter of intent.

Coleman, who averaged 16 points, 11.6 rebounds and three steals last season for the Falcons, made the all-state and All-South Coast Conference first teams. Dominguez Hills previously signed 5-10 guard/forward Lameshia Pittman of Harbor College and 5-9 guard Devyn Johnson of Morningside High.