1996 Baseball Preview : Empire League

Century: 5-19-1, 1-14 in 1995. Coach: Tom Duggan (first year). Prospects: If Century is going to climb out of the league cellar, pitchers Manny Duran and Juan Flores might have to lead the way. Hitting figures to be a weakness as only two starting position players return--infielders Luis Renteria and Jason Arostigue. Duggan is Century’s third coach in three years.

Cypress: 12-14, 7-8 in 1995. Coach: Mark Steinart (sixth year). Prospects: Hitting and scoring runs will be difficult even though Cypress has the county’s best all-around hitter in catcher Bobby Brito (.500, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs). Brito figures to be a high draft choice in the June free-agent draft, but he will need help at the plate from returning starters Nate Endicott (shortstop), Matt Shelton (center field) and Jason Ball (first base). The key to Cypress’ season might be its pitching, led by junior Phil Seibel and seniors Dan Alvillar, Ryan Dinley, Robert Peelle and J.R. Johnson.

El Dorado: 20-7, 11-4 in 1995. Coach: Steve Gullotti (17th year, 272-121). Prospects: The Golden Hawks lost three first-team all-league players, but most league coaches are still picking them to challenge for the league title. The key returning players are catcher Craig Patterson (.344), outfielder Brandon Downing (.319), second baseman Mike Castillo (.300, 16 RBIs), pitcher-outfielder Dave Myers (.278, nine RBIs, 12-3, 2.70), shortstop Jerry Miller (11 RBIs) and pitcher Jordan DeJong (6-2, 3.59). The pitching staff could get a boost from freshman J.P. Frid, who is only the second freshman to play on the varsity squad under Gullotti.

Katella: 20-9, 14-1 in 1995. Coach: Tim McMenamin (12th year, 169-120-1). Prospects: McMenamin lost three first-team all-league players, including league MVP Jason Stockstill, but he returns one of the county’s better all-around players in Joe Fraser (8-2, 1.60 ERA, .360 average) and two other first team all-league players: outfielder Drake Gustafson (.396) and third baseman Hector Vazquez (.369, 25 RBIs). The problem areas could be finding a No. 2 starter (senior Cameron Flading and junior Keane Kuebnel are candidates) and finding enough bats to complement Vazquez, Gustafson and Fraser, who is being recruited by Arizona State.

Kennedy: 15-11, 7-8 in 1995. Coach: Chris Pascal (12th year, 155-115-3). Prospects: Last year was a tough transition from the Garden Grove League to the Empire League, and this season could get even tougher. Pascal could be facing one of his greatest challenges as a coach as he returns only one starter: left-handed pitcher Brad Sabol. The pitching staff consists of four players with no varsity experience: juniors Ben Molnar, George Carralejo and Steve Erwin and sophomore Adam LaMendola. Top newcomers are junior infielders Ryan Miller and Chris Caira, sophomore catcher Neal Hannifin, sophomore infielder Jack Tucker and junior outfielder Lance Funaoka.

Loara: 12-13, 5-10 in 1995. Coach: Dave Lappin (fourth year, 29-48). Prospects: Expect a big improvement over last season. One league coach picks Loara to win the league title. Lappin returns two first-team all-league players in third baseman/pitcher Jim Kirkland (.342, 15 RBIs) and shortstop/center fielder Clint Collins (.375, 13 RBIs). Also returning are outfielder Shea Milligan, first baseman/pitcher Carlos Ortiz and left-handed pitcher Aaron Koontz (3.90 ERA). If there’s a weakness, it’s defense and pitching depth. But Loara’s hitting could be strong enough to put it into contention for a playoff spot.