MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS UPDATE : Camarillo Stable Full With Corral in Fold

With its 7-1 victory over Royal High last week, Camarillo (12-1) leapfrogged ahead of the previously top-ranked Highlanders to No. 1 in The Times’ regional poll and No. 3 in the Southern Section Division I poll. Royal is ranked third by The Times and sixth in Division I.

Senior left-hander Mike Corral (4-1) stifled the Highlanders by throwing a three-hitter with nine strikeouts. Corral, with consecutive victories over Agoura, Thousand Oaks and Royal, lowered his earned-run average to a staff-low 0.97 and raised his strikeout total to a staff-high 28.

Question now is: Who is the Scorpions No. 1 pitcher? Early season indications pointed to junior right-hander Joe Borchard or senior right-hander Nathan Kaup, both heavy hitters in the Scorpions’ offense.

Entering the week, Borchard was 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA. Kaup was 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA and a string of nine consecutive shutout innings. But Corral’s performance against Royal clouded the issue.

“After what he’s done in his last three outings, I would say Corral is No. 1,” Camarillo Coach Scott Cline said. “But we’re not trying to go with a No. 1. We’re trying to go with a three-man rotation.”

Change of Pace

After getting outscored, 129-39, in its first eight games, Bell-Jeff (0-7-1) changed directions in a big way Tuesday.

Reyes threw a no-hitter, leading Bell-Jeff to a 2-0 victory over Murphy, even though the Guards had only one hit themselves. Reyes had the only hit--an infield single. Bell-Jeff scored both runs on Murphy errors.

Reyes, who had pitched only 10 1/3 career innings before Tuesday’s game, regularly plays first base.

“Isn’t that something?” Guard Coach Doug MacKenzie said. “He got the ball over the plate. It was a good performance. We don’t have anyone with pitching experience. We just go around the infield and then the outfield until we find somebody who throws strikes.”

Reyes needed only 81 pitches as he struck out six and walked two. He faced 24 batters--three over the minimum.

“I don’t think anyone on the team realized it was happening,” MacKenzie said. “They were really more appreciative that the team won.”

Sylmar Hit Parade

In seven seasons at Sylmar, baseball Coach Gary Donatella has learned that some things aren’t always as they appear.

Case in point: Before the season, Donatella felt that hitting would be one of the Spartans’ weaknesses. But with six starters batting .300 and above--including four at .500 or better--the Spartans have proved him an unreliable prognosticator.

“They’ve really been coming around,” he said. “We spent a lot of extra time on hitting [because] I thought we wouldn’t be quite as potent as we have been.”

Potent is an understatement. Sylmar has outscored opponents, 79-10, in the last six games and broken into The Times’ top 10 regional poll this week at No. 7.

Manny Ortiz is leading the charge, batting .524. Chris Ruley, Mario Rodriguez and Javier Ruelas are each batting .500.

Baseball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

Mid-Valley League--Canoga Park wins the early nod for unluckiest team in the conference. The Hunters were 2-4 in league play heading into Wednesday’s game, losing one-run games to Sylmar, Poly and North Hollywood. Said Coach Jim Smith: “We’re just a couple of mistakes away from being 5-1 [in league play], but that’s the way it goes I guess.” . . . Reseda’s two-game winning streak came to a screeching halt last week against Sylmar. The Spartans outscored Reseda, 21-3, in two games.

East Valley League--Poly, Sylmar and North Hollywood are three of six area City teams playing in the Bishop Gorman tournament in Las Vegas that begins today. Sylmar has finished second in the round-robin tournament for the past two years, based on record and number of runs allowed. . . . Perhaps Sylmar’s six-game streak of scoring in double figures should be attributed to left fielder Manny Ortiz, who broke into the starting lineup, well, six games ago. Ortiz’s .524 average is leading the team. “We shook up the lineup and he stuck,” Coach Gary Donatella said.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--Granada Hills would be in trouble if not for starting pitcher Jessie Carranza. He leads the Highlanders with a 1.81 earned-run average in 31 innings, but his ERA in conference games is 0.35. “When he starts, we’re OK,” Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh said. “When anyone else does, we’re in trouble.” On Tuesday, Carranza had his best game yet, throwing a one-hitter against Taft. . . . Kennedy outfielder Josh Miranda leads the conference with a .481 average. Kennedy joins West Valley League teams Chatsworth and Taft in the Bishop Gorman tournament in Las Vegas that begins today. The Golden Cougars open against Carson City in the Dole Classic on Monday at Cal State Fullerton. . . . Cleveland catcher Casey Roth leads area City players with seven doubles.

West Valley League--The expanded Birmingham tournament begins Saturday and continues through next Thursday at various sites around the Valley. The tournament has expanded to 32 teams and includes schools as far away as Barstow and San Clemente. Games will be played at six sites Saturday: Cleveland, Granada Hills, El Camino Real, Grant and Birmingham and Franklin Fields in Encino. . . . Taft has had only two hits in the last three games.

Southern Section

CHANNEL

Hueneme, which began the season in a shambles and with only one returning starter, has knocked off league rivals Oxnard and Ventura and is on the rise despite a 2-10 record. Sophomore pitchers Chris Neri and Lee Lewis have gained skill and confidence after early season poundings. “[Neri]’s grown up a lot in a short time and he’s more at ease,” Viking Coach Reg Welker said. “He looks you in the eye now and shows people he’s in charge. Before, I’d go out to the mound and it looked like the other team was in charge of him.” Junior second baseman Victor Navarro is the team’s comeback player of the year. Navarro played in one varsity game as a freshman before becoming academically ineligible last season. This season he has gotten on base more than 55% of the the time as the Vikings’ leadoff hitter and is batting .461 in league play.

FOOTHILL

Frustration continues for a Burbank team that can move runners around the diamond. The Bulldogs stranded 10 runners and twice left the bases loaded in a 6-2 loss to Hart. “That’s our biggest stat,” Coach Frank Des Enfants said. “We keep hitting it right at somebody.” . . . Hart has no such problem. Even without injured sluggers Brian Baron and Mike Bland, the Indians have eight players batting .300 or better. . . . Burroughs catcher Tim Cates roughed up Simi Valley, going eight for 12 with three doubles and six runs batted in during a weekend doubleheader. Cates raised his batting average from .294 to .464. . . . Slumping Canyon (1-9, 0-5 in league play) received a blow last week when one of its top hitters, Ryan MacDonald (.304 average), quit the team. “He just decided he didn’t want to play anymore,” Coach Scott Willis said. “We didn’t get into any reason.”

FRONTIER

Santa Paula senior Carlos Torres has benefited from not hitting in the games in which he pitches. “He thinks he should get a hit every time and when he doesn’t we don’t want him carrying that frustration over to the mound,” Coach Henry Jacinto said. Torres and Paz Olson-Pacheco have been Santa Paula’s top pitchers. The Cardinals have used four catchers this season but now seem set with tough-minded junior Clayton Alamillo. “He’s got black and blue forearms because we make him do bad-ball drills all the time,” Jacinto said. Erstwhile catchers Rocky Frutos and Daniel Forhan have battled injuries but remain in the lineup, Frutos in the outfield and Forhan as the designated hitter. . . .

Calabasas outfielder Brian Fatur, who couldn’t break into the Coyotes’ stacked starting lineup in 1995, is having a big season. At week’s start, the 5-foot-9, 153-pound junior was batting .548 with 10 stolen bases. . . . Moorpark has developed a strong one-two pitching punch of juniors Justin Ames and Kevin McMullin. Ames pitched a five-hitter against Santa Clara last week, striking out 10 and walking one. Tuesday, he pitched a one-hitter against Santa Paula but lost, 3-1. But while Ames was a known commodity, McMullin has risen from last season’s garbage-time reliever to this season’s No. 2 starter.

Junior second baseman Ryan Yoshiwara and sophomore shortstop Zach Greene are both playing well, and Moorpark Coach Scott Fullerton marvels at Greene’s lateral movement. “His range is phenomenal. I’ve never seen a high school kid cover more ground,” Fullerton said. “He plays soccer so he’s got great feet and he surrounds balls that other guys have to dive for.” . . .

Nordhoff Coach Steve Blundell blames his team’s lackluster record on poor chemistry. “The kids just haven’t played well together,” said Blundell, whose team earned its first league victory Tuesday with a wild 14-10 decision over Malibu. “They’re struggling to learn about intensity and unity. At Fillmore one of our guys hit a great home run and no one even reacted.” Four of the Rangers are playing baseball for the first time since youth baseball and Blundell said they and others have sometimes been intimidated. “They see other teams with crisp infield warmups and pitchers who throw the fastball to set up the curve and it gets to them,” he said. . . . Todd Turner has four home runs after three years out of baseball.

GOLDEN

Sophomore third baseman Jason Gorman of Palmdale is battling for a starting job. He certainly helped his cause last week, going three for four with a home run, two doubles and seven RBIs in a victory over Desert. He also scored three runs. . . . Antelope Valley, a preseason favorite to win the league title, suffered 2-1 losses to Crespi and Quartz Hill last week. The Antelopes managed only three hits in the two games, all by shortstop Kevin Barlow. Said Coach Ed t’Sas, “It’s a good thing we brought him along.” . . . Quartz Hill let one get away--not a game, but a player. Sophomore right fielder Joe Maier transferred to Highland and has reached base safely in every game this season. Last week he had two home runs, a triple and seven RBIs. He has a slugging percentage of .882. . . . Highland got a big lift last week from Dan O’Haver, who threw nine shutout innings in two games, walked nobody and threw only 62 pitches.

MARMONTE

Camarillo’s Rodell Desamparo was moved to the leadoff spot this season and has flourished. Desamparo, who batted second last season, had six hits in eight at-bats last week to raise his batting average to .459. He has drawn a team-high nine walks and has an on-base percentage of .708. . . . Royal players have spent much of this week answering questions. The Highlanders’ loss to Camarillo was their first after 10 consecutive victories. “A lot of people come up and ask, ‘How’d you guys lose?’ ” Coach Dan Maye said. “We were a little overconfident, maybe.” Royal (11-1), which defeated Agoura, 13-4, Tuesday, does not play again until Wednesday in the opening round of the Santa Barbara tournament. . . . Thousand Oaks and Westlake are on the road in out-of-town tournaments this week. Thousand Oaks (10-6) won its first three games in the Las Vegas Durango tournament. Westlake (6-6) defeated Mira Mesa, 14-0, on Monday in the opening round of the San Diego Lions tournament before losing to Granite Hills, 15-1, Tuesday.

MISSION

Only a freshman, first baseman John Pucinelli of Notre Dame has a team-high five doubles and is batting .296 with 10 RBIs. . . . Sophomore Bruce Greenwood of Chaminade made the most of his promotion last week from the junior varsity by pitching 6 1/3 hitless innings in relief in the Eagles’ 14-3 nonleague victory at Taft (Calif.). Greenwood has an 0.84 ERA over 8 1/3 innings. . . . The Eagles’ staff ERA is 0.87, thanks largely to the effectiveness of starters Chris Gray (3-1, 1.56 ERA) and Gabe Crecion (1-0, 1.27). Chaminade’s Jason Giovannettone raised his region-leading stolen base total to 19 with five steals last week. Giovannettone, who has a team-high 18 walks as the Eagles’ leadoff batter, has an on-base percentage of .523 to complement a .333 batting average. Chaminade is ranked eighth in Division I. . . . Alemany Coach Tim Browne isn’t keen on keeping pitching statistics. “No pitcher in the program has an ERA lower than my cholesterol level,” Browne said. The Indians, league champions last season at 11-1, entered the week winless in four league games.

PACIFIC

Senior Jesse Mitchell of Crescenta Valley, an integral part of last season’s league-champion team that was 19-4 overall, appears to be pulling out of an early season slump. Mitchell, who batted .410 last season, was six for nine last week, including a double and three RBIs to raise his average from .286 to .400. Senior Brian Bishop, a transfer from L.A. Lutheran, has earned a spot in the Falcons’ rotation with consecutive victories over Arcadia and Hoover. Bishop, a 6-3, 175-pound right-hander, pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts against Hoover and had five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings against Arcadia. Bishop, who did not play last season, missed the first five games this season because of bursitis in his right shoulder. . . . Hoover raised the height of its right-field fence--302 feet from home plate--from 22 to 30 feet this season. The fence didn’t prevent Glendale’s Phil Onsaga and Ryan Noll from launching towering home runs over it in Tuesday’s 14-3 victory. Onsaga’s second home run of the season easily cleared the fence and landed on the front lawn of a home across the street.

SANTA FE

After hounding him all season, St. Genevieve Coach John Yakel finally persuaded Vince Okumura to cut down on his swing. The result was a 143-point jump in Okumura’s batting average, from .320 to .463. Okumura went nine for 11 in three games last week after altering his approach to hitting. “It didn’t take a genius to fix it,” Yakel said. “It was just a matter of getting him to change. He’s pretty stubborn.” . . . The Valiants have hurt themselves in the field this season. Their .894 fielding percentage is driving Yakel, and his pitchers, crazy. “I could live with a .110 batting average if our fielding percentage was .990,” Yakel said. “Our pitchers don’t like our infielders very much right now.”

TRI-VALLEY

St. Bonaventure senior Danny Harrison has returned to pitch for the Seraphs after battling an arm ailment for three weeks. An all-league and all-Ventura County selection last season, Harrison picked up a victory over Villanova last week, striking out 10 and walking two and yielding one hit and no runs in five innings.

Softball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

East Valley League--It was only the team’s first conference victory of the year, but Poly--and junior pitcher Mary Casillas--won’t soon forget it. Behind Casillas’ one-hitter, Poly upset Sylmar, 3-1, Friday and promptly headed for the water jug to christen their unsuspecting pitcher. “They nailed her pretty good,” Coach Paul Siegel said. “[But] she loved it.” Casillas faced just two batters over the minimum.

Mid-Valley League--Sylmar, a 4-A Division perennial power, has lost two of its last three games against 3-A Division also-rans, leaving Spartan Coach Chuck Miller more than a little frustrated. “We’ve hit the pitcher at Camarillo, Hart and Chaminade, but we play Van Nuys, Poly and Grant and can’t hit the ball,” he said. “It drives me nuts.”

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

West Valley League--Taft is struggling again this season, but Coach Jim Lutz sees improvement in discipline and attitude, which has led to more competitive games. One big influence is freshman shortstop Sara Cartee, who leads the Toreadors in hitting (.474). “She is going to be a real player,” said Lutz. . . . El Camino Real didn’t have a home run before Friday. Now Ramona Shelburne and Kristen Gutekunst have hit home runs in consecutive games.

North Valley League--Kennedy’s Sandra Durazo and Jessica Creith of Granada Hills are more than just the two dominant pitchers in the league, they are two of the top hitters as well. Durazo leads the Golden Cougars with a .538 average. Creith is hitting .379.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Despite missing the first two weeks of the season while deciding whether to play softball, Rian Standley of Verdugo Hills is leading area City players with six home runs, including five in the past week. . . . Melanie Wood struck out 39 of a possible 42 outs in two conference games, but lost the Garfield tournament final to Banning, 7-0. Against Franklin on Tuesday, Wood struck out 16 batters.

Southern Section

ALPHA

L.A. Baptist is off to its best start since 1983, the year it won a Southern Section title. The Knights (7-2) already have eclipsed last season’s victory total of six and two players are chasing school records. Pitcher Megan Petersen, who has a 0.60 ERA, is challenging the school record of 0.40 set by Laura Hoyt in 1983.

CHANNEL

Ventura Coach Felix Cortez said the Cougars (3-10, 1-4) have left the bases loaded an average of twice a game over the last several weeks. “Our team is experienced but we’re just not getting the job done,” Cortez said. “We’re going up there hoping and wishing for a hit instead of being determined to get one.”

FOOTHILL

Canyon entered the week on a four-game losing streak. Cause of the tailspin: the team’s top four hitters--Tammy Hughes, Kelly Adams, Danielle Fiddler and Karly Andrade--produced only one hit in three games. Also, Coach Larry Mohr was forced to use junior varsity pitchers with Fiddler and Lisa Villasenor troubled by injuries. . . . Hart’s softball team is just as fearsome as its baseball team. Both squads have eight players batting .300 or better. . . .

Saugus third baseman Chris Gill, a notorious power hitter and a two-time All-Valley selection by The Times, is batting only .233 with no power stats thus far. What gives? Coach Ron Hilton is not sure, but he plans to move Gill back into the familiar No. 4 spot in the lineup, instead of No. 3. “I want her driving the ball,” Hilton said. . . . Since moving from right field to catcher, Jill Passafiume of Saugus has thrown out four consecutive base stealers. . . . Before the start of league play, Valencia Coach Donna Lee promised, “We’re going to win a couple in league, you can count on that.” The Vikings (4-11), a first-year varsity team, entered the week tied for first at 1-0. They have won three of their past four games.

GOLDEN

What team couldn’t use a freshman like Jodi Cox? In Quartz Hill’s 5-4 victory over Victor Valley last week, Cox doubled, tripled and drove in three runs, including the tying and winning runs.

MARMONTE

You don’t need to tell batters in this league how dominating the pitching is this season. The proof is well documented in their quickly dwindling averages. Before the start of league play, 35 players were batting .300 or better. But after the first four league games, only 12 of those batters have remained above .300. . . . Camarillo was knocked off The Times’ top spot in the rankings this week after losing to Simi Valley, 1-0. With all but one player returning from a team that finished 24-7 last year, Camarillo Coach Nichole Victoria had hoped the Scorpions would go undefeated this season. But she isn’t sure the team she watched Tuesday is the same team. “It was just a completely different team,” Victoria said. “You’d think there was someone else in their uniforms, it was so bad.” Although it is just the first setback for the Scorpions, Victoria hopes it isn’t a trend. “I think it really woke them up because after I got through with them, they stayed a half hour more and talked about it themselves,” she said. . . .

Simi Valley’s upset of Camarillo might be of critical importance come playoff time. Newbury Park, Camarillo and Thousand Oaks appear to be contenders for the league title, and with only four league teams guaranteed spots in the playoffs, Simi Valley and Westlake need to score upsets to advance. . . . Simi Valley’s four errors against Newbury Park last week in its 3-1 loss was uncharacteristic of the Pioneers’ defense. Take away the Newbury Park game and Simi Valley has committed only five errors in 73 innings. . . . Where would Westlake be without Kelly DeArman? The senior left-hander leads the team with a .421 batting average and a 0.67 ERA. Her 11 RBIs lead the league.

MISSION

An eight-game winning streak by Alemany (10-3) was snapped with Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Arcadia in the final of the High Desert tournament. The Indians are idle until a league matchup with Flintridge Sacred Heart on April 16. That should give designated hitter Tina Curcio time to recover from a pulled leg muscle. Curcio leads the Indians with a .429 batting average and eight RBIs. Sophomore Kim Deiner has thrown every pitch this season. In 82 innings, she has 47 strikeouts and an 0.43 ERA. . . . Sophomore Stephanie Urman of Louisville recorded three victories last week, pitching 26 innings without allowing an earned run as the Royals improved to 5-4 with their fourth consecutive victory. Urman (5-4) recorded shutouts against Village Christian and Notre Dame. . . . Pitching-rich Chaminade has a staff earned-run average of 0.44 and 41 strikeouts in 62 innings. Freshman Maureen LeCocq has not allowed an earned run in 13 innings but is 0-2.

PACIFIC

Sophomore Danielle Ferreira of Crescenta Valley (10-2) pitched her eighth shutout of the season, beating Glendale, 12-0, on a one-hitter Tuesday. . . . Glendale has 11 triples, four by Jennifer Gomez.

RIO HONDO

Linda Ables has become the third La Canada third baseman. The Spartans lost starter Siarra Geer to a knee injury after two games, then Sunny Park, Geer’s replacement, had to quit the team at her father’s request after nine games. Coach Tom Parker gave the job to Ables, who played second base for the Spartan junior varsity last season, and she has responded with no errors and a .273 batting average in eight games. . . . Tara Howard has pitched every inning of every game for the Spartans (9-4) so far. She has a 3.57 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 15 walks in 88 innings.. . . Parker called his team’s 7-6 loss to Monrovia on March 26 “the worst game we have played all season.” The Spartans made six errors, had a passed ball, and a wild pitch allowed the game-winning run to score.

TRI-VALLEY

St. Bonaventure hit bottom March 7 when it lost a nonleague game to Channel Islands, 7-6, in eight innings. All of Channel Islands’ runs were unearned. St. Bonaventure shortstop Clare McNamara committed seven errors and the Seraphs dropped to 1-6. Since then, St. Bonaventure has rallied behind the pitching of senior Brandi Cook, who entered the week having walked only 15 batters in 78 innings. . . .

When Oak Park beat La Reina on Tuesday it was the Eagles’ first victory over the Regents since 1989 and only the second in the 15-year history of the program. The 1-0 loss ended La Reina pitcher Jen Baltruzak’s string of scoreless league innings at 70. Baltruzak had begun the streak during the 1994 season.

Contributing: Dana Haddad, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, Paige A. Leech, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.