Section Needs More Practice on Penalties

Breaking rules in the Southern Section does not always guarantee punishment. Or at least that is the way Upland baseball Coach Mike Alonso sees it.

Alonso is still fuming about an incident involving his team and San Luis Obispo during last week’s playoffs. The schools met in a Division II semifinal Tuesday, won by San Luis Obispo, 7-2.

The game was played at Cuesta College, the site San Luis Obispo chose as the designated home team. During the semifinal round, section rules require that the home team play at a site other than where it usually plays or practices.

Because the field is supposed to be a neutral facility, Alonso was a little surprised when he saw San Luis Obispo practicing at Cuesta College the day before their game.

“Since Monday was a holiday, I decided to take my team up there a day early,” Alonso said. “We drove by the college to take a look at the field, and there was San Luis Obispo having a team practice. I knew it was against the rules. I knew what they were doing was wrong.”

Alonso called his athletic director, Jim Drake, who in turned called the section office Tuesday morning to lodge a complaint.

Although San Luis Obispo admitted conducting the illegal practice, section officials decided to remedy the situation by moving the game to another neutral site.

“We’re about playing games, not having forfeits,” said Bill Clark, Southern Section assistant commissioner. “We felt by moving the game that San Luis Obispo would lose the advantage of having practiced on the field.”

The game was to be moved to Arroyo Grande High, 15 miles from Cuesta College. But Alonso nixed the idea, saying he had hundreds of fans en route who would not have known about the change of plans.

Thom Dimmitt, San Luis Obispo’s athletic director, said his school made a mistake and that Coach Dale Overland would be dealt with by administrators. The Tigers lost to La Habra Sonora in the title game Saturday at Anaheim Stadium, 7-2.

Clark also said that if Upland had lodged its complaint closer to game time, San Luis Obispo probably would have had to forfeit, because there would have been little or no time to come up with a viable solution.

That fact upset Alonso even more. “A rule was broken and nothing was done,” he said. “What kind of values are we teaching the players when we don’t punish someone who did something wrong? This tells them it’s OK to do what you want.”

Alonso cited a recent incident involving the Camarillo softball team as proof that the section is not always consistent in enforcing its rules.

Camarillo was removed from the playoffs two weeks ago after it was discovered that its coach, Darwin Tolzin, held a batting practice on the Sunday before its quarterfinal game against Santa Barbara San Marcos on May 23.

Sunday practices are against section rules. Camarillo had to forfeit its 3-0 victory against San Marcos, and Tolzin was fired last week.

The section loses credibility when it is not consistent in its rule enforcement. San Luis Obispo should have been removed from the playoffs.

*

It does not get much better for a high school senior than to hit a home run in Dodger Stadium.

Just ask Kevin Serr, a senior at Granada Hills Kennedy, who hit a three-run blast last Thursday to give his team a 3-1 victory over Carson in the City Section Division 4-A final.

With no score in the fifth inning, Serr knocked the fastball from Carson’s Scott McClaskey over the 370-foot sign in left field.

“It’s the greatest moment of my life,” said Serr, who had hit six home runs before Thursday. “The best feeling on earth.”

Still suffering from flu, Serr skipped a team party after the game.

“I went home because I didn’t feel good,” he said. “I replayed the game in my head and went to sleep.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll

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

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Fountain Valley SS I 26-3 1 2. Fontana SS I 25-3 2 3. Millikan SS I 23-3 4 4. Bishop Amat SS I 27-4 3 5. La Quinta SS III 28-3 5 6. Kennedy City 4-A 26-4 6 7. Ayala SS I 23-6 7 8. Mater Dei SS I 20-6 8 9. Sonora SS II 24-4 14 10. Marina SS I 21-7 10 11. Calabasas SS IV 25-1 11 12. Temecula Val. SS II 25-4 9 13. Gahr SS II 21-5 12 14. San Marino SS IV 25-1 NR 15. San Luis Obis. SS II 23-6 15 16. Glendora SS II 21-7 16 17. Arcadia SS I 20-7 17 18. Katella SS I 20-9 18 19. S. Margarita SS III 22-8 19 20. Lakewood SS I 20-7 20