MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS UPDATE : From the Socks Up, Wold’s Game Is a Hand-Me-Down

Chatsworth High junior pitcher Greg Wold is a bit of a throwback.

Wold and senior catcher Micah Berger are the only starters to still show part of the white sanitary socks under the baseball stirrups. The rest of the Chancellors go along with the recent trend of showing no sock at all.

Wold, who is 5-1 this season with a 1.87 ERA, occasionally uses a sidearm delivery and off-speed pitches to frustrate batters. Wold’s tactics are eerily similar to a former Chatsworth pitcher. In fact, he closely resembles the 1972 West Valley League player of the year.

“We are almost identical the way we pitch,” said Steve Wold, Greg’s father and a former Chatsworth standout. “But I think he has the potential to go farther because he has the fastball.”

Steve Wold gave up baseball after playing for Cal State Northridge in 1976, then turned to Little League coaching.

Appropriate, since Steve Wold played on the first Northridge team to qualify for the Little League World Series in 1967. Steve Wold’s coach was his father, Glen.

Like Steve, Greg Wold plays second base when he doesn’t pitch.

When he makes a mistake, Greg is sure to hear about it from Steve, who watches Chatsworth games intently.

“He gets on me about anything,” Greg Wold said. “I go three for four, he gets on me about the ground ball I hit to third. But I’ve learned everything from him.”

At the Chatsworth alumni game earlier this spring, father and son faced each other for the first time. Greg hit a sacrifice fly off Steve and Steve grounded out to Greg later in the game.

“He’s 41 years old and he was still tough,” Greg Wold said. “We took it easy on each other.”

Above Average

As unlikely as it seems, the Reseda baseball team is batting a Valley Pac-8 Conference-high .410, according to Coach Mike Stone, but the Regents are just 8-6 and struggling to retain first place in the Mid-Valley League.

Six Regents are batting above .450. Three of those players are among the region’s top five hitters in the large-school division, including Brian Menkin, who leads the area with a .659 average.

Opposing coaches have asked again and again, how can these batting averages be legitimate? How can a team hit so well and lose so often?

But Stone contends that the batting averages he reports each week are correct. To answer all of the naysayers who accuse him of doctoring his statistics, he points to his pitching staff’s 6.05 earned-run average as the reason for all of the losses.

“And if they don’t like those averages then I’ve got another average that will blow them away, too,” Stone said. “The team grade-point average is 3.3.”

Who’s the Boss?

An unusual season has evolved into a soap opera for the Buena softball team.

Things were off-kilter from the start. School officials scrambled in January to hire Coach Peter Shedlosky, a former Nordhoff football assistant and youth league softball coach, after former coach Sharon Coggins left suddenly to start a program at Santa Barbara City College.

In March, the Bulldogs, defending Channel League champions, were weakened when ace Nicole Greathouse elected not to play softball.

On April 2, senior pitcher Kelly Carr quit the team in the middle of its game with Hueneme after she was removed with a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning. Carr is the third player to quit the varsity this season. Two others quit when asked to play on the junior varsity.

In Carr’s absence, her freshman sister, Amber, has become Buena’s top pitcher. Last week she lifted the Bulldogs (11-7, 6-3 in league play) to upsets of Westlake and Channel League-leading San Marcos.

Wednesday, Kelly Carr and her father, Tracy, were scheduled to meet with Buena Athletic Director Joe Vaughn to explain her departure and voice complaints about Shedlosky. Tracy Carr said he would ask Vaughn to fire the coach.

Meanwhile, Shedlosky has allowed Kelly Carr to remain in the program as a junior varsity assistant, which means that on many afternoons she is a field away from her former teammates.

“It’s a different feeling; I see how [Shedlosky] runs practices and I don’t approve,” Kelly Carr said. “I miss the girls but not him.”

Amber Carr and Shedlosky agree that relations between them have been strained since Kelly left the team.

“I don’t talk to [Shedlosky] a lot, only when he comes up to me,” Amber Carr said. “I just ask questions, like when I want to know who’s pitching the next day.”

Stay tuned.

No Crying in Softball

More theatrics broke out at the Calabasas-Santa Paula softball game Monday at Calabasas.

With Santa Paula leading, 1-0, in the fourth inning, first-year Calabasas Coach Debbie Thomas visited the pitching circle to speak with junior starter Christy Culver, the Coyotes’ top pitcher.

Thomas said that before she could talk to Culver, the pitcher burst into tears, handed her the ball and walked off the field. Culver kept going all the way back to the school, nearly a quarter of a mile away, and did not return.

“I’m standing in the middle of the field with a ball in my hand and no pitcher,” Thomas said. “I couldn’t believe it. I had to ask the umpire for a moment to collect my thoughts.”

Thomas then brought in Kelli Sargent, a standout first baseman and the team’s second pitcher, but Santa Paula held on for a 4-0 upset.

Tuesday, Thomas suspended Culver indefinitely after meeting with school officials, and submitted a written report on the incident. She said she expects to meet with Culver and her parents later in the week.

Baseball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

East Valley League--Sylmar is easily the most-impressive team in the conference with an undefeated record in league play and six players batting .371 or better, but the Spartans don’t admit to having all the answers. “We still haven’t found a real DH,” Coach Gary Donatella said. “And I’ve tried about five guys.” Those five candidates should take a lesson from teammate Ralph Velazco, who after starting the year with just three hits in 20 at-bats has raised his .150 average more than 200 points to .371. Velazco (6-0), a senior right-hander who has struck out 42 in 40 innings, has 20 hits in his last 42 at-bats. “He’s stinging the ball a little now,” Donatella said. . . . Poly and Sylmar will face off in a two-game series next week. Poly, which trails the Spartans by a game, will need at least one victory over Sylmar to stay in contention for the league championship. . . . Hey North Hollywood, Merrill Dunn could use some help. Dunn (3-3), the Huskies’ ace pitcher, lost a 3-1 decision to Sylmar Tuesday after North Hollywood committed four errors, which led to three unearned runs. The Huskies have scored only two runs in Dunn’s last three starts, losses to Kennedy, Poly and Sylmar.

Mid-Valley League--Reseda and Van Nuys faced off last week for a two-game series and the games couldn’t have been more different. In the first game Tuesday, the teams combined for just nine singles. Two days later, with “winds blowing some 40 miles an hour” according to Reseda Coach Mike Stone, there were 26 hits--11 for extra bases. . . . Four triples, including two by sophomore Angel Barajas, couldn’t help Van Nuys overcome six errors against the Regents and the Wolves fell, 10-7.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--It was probably a good thing Kennedy had to face archrival Granada Hills last week. The Golden Cougars didn’t let down after a busy spring break week that culminated in a third-place finish in the Fullerton tournament. “These guys are always ready to play,” Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado said. Kennedy pulled out 9-8 and 6-1 victories. . . . Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh, still in a season-long search for a starting pitcher to supplement Jessie Carranza, may have settled on shortstop Jarrod Penwarden. Penwarden was impressive in relief in the Birmingham tournament and started Wednesday’s loss to Kennedy, lasting four-plus innings. . . . Cleveland first baseman Vince Kolbe has only played in half of the Cavaliers’ games after transferring last month but is second on the team in runs batted in with 15. . . . San Fernando pulled into a third-place tie with the Highlanders by beating Carranza, 3-1, Monday. It was only the second loss of the season for the senior right-hander. . . . Kennedy right fielder Fernando Centeno must not take many pitches. He leads the region with 80 at-bats.

West Valley League--After failing to get out of the second inning last week against Chatsworth, El Camino Real left-hander Mike Conn fared much better Monday against Birmingham. Conn held the Braves hitless for 4 1/3 innings in an 8-2 victory. . . . Taft, which traditionally has trouble with Chatsworth, suffered again Monday, when the Chancellors took sole possession of first place with a 16-4 victory. Frank Dipoma had four hits and Tim Wiegand and Danny Phillips each had three. . . . Birmingham will make up its postponed game with Kennedy the final week of the season.

Southern Section

ALPHA

Village Christian Coach Brian Gibson had to dig deep into his bench to find a catcher for the Crusaders’ game against L.A. Baptist on Tuesday. Starting catcher Brian Agnor was suspended for a game after being ejected for taunting during a game against Maranatha last week and backup catcher Adam Davis had to sit out with back spasms. That left Mike Gallegos, who hasn’t caught since Little League, to handle the pitchers. Gallegos, who also pitches for the Crusaders, allowed two passed balls and the Knights had three stolen bases against him, but Gibson was encouraged. “For having never caught before he did a good job,” Gibson said. “It was good for Mike. He has a lot more respect for his catchers now.”. . . L.A. Baptist has a team batting average of .393, which includes seven regulars hitting over .400. Ed Jung leads the way at .524 (22-42) and Seth Barkley is at .500 (26-52).

FOOTHILL

Coaches have been buzzing about Burbank shortstop Freddy Sanchez. Some consider him the best player in the league, and now he’s proving it. Sanchez, who was batting .250 less than a month ago, has been on a tear. He has raised his average to .419, with 18 of his 25 RBIs coming in the past three weeks. . . . With a team batting average of 3.47 and an earned-run average of 2.91, Hart is 9-0 and in championship form. . . . Shortstop Nate Wright of Saugus is 13 for 13 in stolen-base attempts.

FRONTIER

Santa Clara continues to befuddle first-year Coach Mike Kincaid. Seven of the team’s 10 seniors were benched several weeks ago after skipping practice and going to an amusement park, and Kincaid said other team members have shown little to no enthusiasm for the game. “I look across the field and the other team’s players are at the fence talking and screaming and getting into the game,” Kincaid said. “I don’t get that from my team. There are seven or eight guys who want to play but the others are just out for a good time. I’m all for that but I think it’s more fun to win than to lose.” . . On the positive side, Saint center fielder Vince Herrera has almost completely recovered from an early-season shoulder injury and threw a Malibu runner out at home last week. Later in that game however, Herrera, the team’s cleanup hitter, stranded a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh inning as Santa Clara lost by a run. . . . Kincaid said the Saints’ top player has been senior shortstop/pitcher Andy Super. Pressed into service on the mound when Herrera was hurt, Super will now pitch every second game. When he pitches, starting catcher Frank Avevalo moves to shortstop and sophomore Adrian Maciel, recently promoted from the junior varsity, catches. Maciel, who got his opening when his seven teammates skipped practice, starts in left field when Super returns to shortstop. . . . Moorpark lost to Malibu, 6-5, Monday in a 10-inning game at Malibu. The Sharks, who last season often fielded as if the ball might bite them, did not commit any errors and Lee Ferris scattered 13 hits in a complete-game effort. . . . Moorpark ace Justin Ames relieved starter Kevin McMullin in the seventh and walked in the tying run. Ames struck out a Malibu hitter with the bases loaded for the apparent final out of the 10th inning but catcher Mike Pierce dropped the ball and the winning run scored from third. “It stings but my hat’s off to Malibu, they played their hearts out,” Moorpark Coach Scott Fullerton said. . . . Moorpark has found a quality third starter, junior Tim Heinrich (1-1). The 5-foot-10, 170-pound right-hander beat Nordhoff on Monday and gives the Musketeers depth behind Ames and McMullin. “[Heinrich] played JV last year and I don’t think he threw an inning,” Moorpark Coach Scott Fullerton said of Heinrich, who allowed five hits and two earned runs in six innings and lost to Glendale in a tournament game in his first appearance. “But he’s got three legitimate pitches and he’ll work on his velocity for next year.” Heinrich got Monday’s start in place of McMullin, who is nursing a sore shoulder.

GOLDEN

Antelope Valley slugger Sean Douglass has snapped out of a slump just in time to help the Antelopes to a 13-8 mark. Douglass was batting only .147 after 12 games (five for 34), but since then he has gone 11 for 27 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. His home runs both came in a 7-4 victory over Palmdale last week. Coach Ed t’Sas said both traveled about 410 feet, clearing the right-center-field fence. . . . Bryan Garcia of Quartz Hill has 13 hits in 16 at-bats, with 10 RBIs in that span. Garcia has a record of 3-0 and ERA of 0.00.

HIGH DESERT

Paraclete was hoping to shake up the league standings by beating first-place Kern Valley (15-0, 5-0) last week, but it didn’t happen. The Spirits (7-8, 3-2) outhit Kern Valley, but made six errors and couldn’t get a favorable call. “You don’t want to hear about the umpires,” Coach Mike Fulmer said. “It gets worse the further you go up. We’ve got Bishop next week.” Ouch. . . . Because of an injured rotator cuff, senior second baseman Bill Kneifl hasn’t been able to play defense and has missed several games. Good thing he can still bat. Kneifl carries a .458 average.

MARMONTE

If there is an early choice for player of the year for Camarillo--perhaps for Ventura County--it is senior Nathan Kaup. Kaup, a third baseman and pitcher who has signed with Oklahoma State, raised his RBI total to 27 last week to move ahead of teammate Joe Borchard. Kaup is batting .462 and also leads the Scorpions with four home runs, 24 hits and 13 stolen bases in as many attempts. Kaup is 3-0 with a 1.59 earned-run average in 22 innings. Reliever Tom Trejo of Camarillo has made 12 appearances and is 4-0 in 19 1/3 innings. Trejo, a senior right-hander, recorded victories over Santa Paula and Ventura in the Ventura tournament. Camarillo’s 9-8 loss to Simi Valley on Friday snapped the Scorpions’ 15-game winning streak and left Coach Scott Cline and his charges with a harsh reality: “We’re human,” Cline said. . . . Simi Valley, winner of eight in a row entering Wednesday’s game against Newbury Park, has found a leader--senior Billy Castonguay. Castonguay was four for four, including a three-run home run against Camarillo. Senior right-hander Al Broyles, a transfer from Riverside, has been dubbed “Big Al” by Pioneer teammates. Broyles (6-2, 195), a linebacker in the fall, plays catcher and pitcher and has a 5-1 record. . . . Shortstop Jack Wilson of Thousand Oaks remains sidelined because of fatigue. Initial tests for mononucleosis were negative but Wilson was scheduled to be retested this week. Coach Bill Sizemore said it is “90%” certain that Wilson, who is batting .385 with 11 RBIs, will not return. Right fielder Mike Lauer has replaced Wilson at shortstop and sophomore David Perry has moved to right field. Sophomore Ryan Earl, academically ineligible the first half of the season, has joined the Lancers’ already deep pitching staff. Nine pitchers have seen duty for Thousand Oaks, five of whom have logged at least 10 innings. The Lancers have only two complete games. Said Sizemore: “I use my bullpen.”. . . Chuck Berrington’s first week as Westlake Coach has gone smoothly after former coach Dave Wilder was dismissed last week and subsequently arrested on suspicion of grand theft. Berrington, promoted from the junior varsity, began by shaving three inches off the pitching mound, reducing the height to 10 inches. On Friday, the Warriors rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to defeat Agoura, 7-3. Berrington described players as upbeat after their first practice together. “They walked out of there tired and happy,” he said. Berrington demoted freshman outfielder Kevin Howard to reserve status. Howard, Berrington said, is talented but needs developing. “I said to him, ‘Kid, you’re the future of this program, but I think you’ve been rushed along a little too quickly,” Berrington said. Howard, a left-handed batter, likely will be used as a pinch-hitter, Berrington said.

MISSION

St. Francis is 8-8-1, but the Golden Knights can beat anyone with Paul Diaz on the mound. “They’re a different team when he’s pitching,” Chaminade Coach Denny Barrett said. Diaz, a senior right-hander in his third varsity season, is 5-2 with 57 strikeouts and a 1.71 ERA in 49 innings. Opponents are batting just .194 against him. Diaz deftly shuffles a fastball, change and slider, has good control, and has four complete games to tie Jon Cuccias of Crespi for the league lead. Diaz had 11 strikeouts in Friday’s 3-2 victory over the Celts. He had 10 strikeouts against Chaminade. Diaz has drawn interest from USC, UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount, which has offered him a scholarship. “They wanted him to sign early,” St. Francis Coach Bob Evans said. “He’s an intelligent pitcher who knows how to set up batters.” If only Evans could find a reliable No. 2 pitcher. No other pitcher has an ERA below 4.00 and the staff ERA is 4.45. St. Francis is idle this week. The team is awaiting the return soon of catcher Dan Sereno, who broke his left wrist a month ago. Sophomore Jim Hemming has filled in for Sereno and is batting .362. Sophomore Matt Blaney is batting .396 and leads St. Francis with 13 stolen bases. . . . Junior right-hander Brian Felten of Crespi has emerged as a formidable No. 2 starter, compiling a 5-0 record with a 1.75 ERA. However, Felten complained of soreness this week in his right shoulder. Said Coach Scott Muckey: “We let a guy throw overhand and, Boom!, he gets a sore arm.” . . . Notre Dame catcher Steven Bruce tagged out two baserunners trying to score on the same play during last week’s nonleague doubleheader sweep at San Luis Obispo. The lead runner delayed advancing from second on a fly ball that went off the fence, resulting in a logjam at the plate. Bruce tagged one runner sliding inside the line, the other sliding outside. Bruce’s play preserved an 8-8 tie in the sixth inning. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Coach Tom Dill said. Notre Dame won, 12-8, in nine innings.

PACIFIC

Reliever Billy Huddleston of Crescenta Valley recorded the seventh save of his career last week against Glendale. Huddleston, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior right-hander, notched his third save of the season by striking out four of seven hitters in preserving a 3-2 victory. Huddleston, who had four saves last season, has not allowed a run in five appearances this season, a total of seven innings. “He’s got a great temperament,” Coach Tony Zarrillo said. “Nothing seems to bother him.” Not even a sore back, it seems. Huddleston considered surgery before the season to alleviate persistent pain but decided against it.

TRI-VALLEY

St. Bonaventure seniors and identical twins Donny and Danny Harrison entered the week with the same number of runs (21) and hits (26). However, Danny had three more at-bats and a .448 average to his brother’s mark of .473. . . . Oak Park is down to 12 players but after Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over second-place Fillmore, the Eagles are leading the league by 1 1/2 games. The team returned one starter, and was hurt early when Vaughn Corley, last year’s top pitcher, decided not to play. Then, ace-to-be Scott Christensen developed arm troubles and has not been a factor. Eugene Holdgrafer, the team’s starting catcher and cleanup hitter, was declared ineligible last week. “When the team’s on the field there’s not much conversation in the dugout,” Coach Bill Springman said. . . . Springman said he is not counting on Christensen to return and that the Eagles will fight on with only two true pitchers, sophomores Jeff Roberts and Jeff Smith. “[Christensen’s injury] is a mystery to me,” Springman said. “If he wants to pitch and feels he is able, he’ll tell me.” With Holdgrafer out, center fielder Dan Wasserman has been moved behind the plate. Left fielder Ali Sheei has moved to center and left field is manned by committee. . . . Despite the attrition, Springman said this has been his most enjoyable season of coaching in a career that includes time at the college level. “These kids have overachieved so much,” Springman said. “I don’t know how we’ll do in the second half [of the league season] but I like going to war with them. If we can stay up there it will be an amazing accomplishment.”

FREELANCE

Montclair Prep Coach Ken Smith missed the Mounties’ victory over Cornerstone Christian Monday. Smith has been battling mononucleosis for several weeks and has lost 25 pounds since the beginning of the season. Assistant Greg Patterson directed Montclair Prep.

Softball Notes

City Section

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--Granada Hills has lost three consecutive games by 1-0 scores. The Highlanders (7-8), who advanced to the City Section final last year, still should make the playoffs.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Northwestern League--Elizabeth Llewelyn and Rian Standley each went five for five as Verdugo Hills crushed Eagle Rock, 29-1, Monday. Catcher Jodi Kent homered in consecutive games Monday and Tuesday, a 13-0 victory over Franklin.

Southern Section

ALPHA

Village Christian Coach Mike Vail thinks his team deserves more respect. The Crusaders (15-4) have victories over Glendale and Oak Park, but remain unranked in the Southern Section Division V poll. “Nobody will believe in us,” Vail said. “We haven’t lost to a Division V team. Oak Park and L.A. Baptist were rated and we beat them both.” The Crusaders defeated L.A. Baptist, 2-0, on Tuesday behind Jackie Aranda’s no-hitter to take sole possession of first place in the Alpha League. . . . L.A. Baptist second baseman Kristin Shaw has handled 19 chances without making an error.

FOOTHILL

This is the tale of a slumping team: In each of the first four innings of Tuesday’s loss to Valencia, Burbank’s leadoff batter reached third with one out or less. Burbank (4-13, 1-4) was shut out by the Vikings, 6-0.

GOLDEN

Antelope Valley was a preseason favorite, but dropped 11 of its first 17 games and found itself in the middle of the standings instead of at the top. Why? Antelope pitchers have issued too many bases on balls and the defense averages four errors a game. “It’s tough,” Coach Mike Vargas said. “We’re finding we have to earn everything.”

HIGH DESERT

Pitcher Vicki McKay gave Paraclete Coach Margaret Neill a “perfect” birthday present Saturday. The junior right-hander pitched a perfect game in an 8-0 victory over Santa Paula in the second round of the Desert Diamond tournament in Lancaster. Only one of 21 batters hit the ball in the air. Only one traveled out of the infield. Said Neill: “I’m not so sure that the rest of the team knew. I didn’t think [McKay] even knew until the last out was recorded. Then she turned around and said, ‘Thanks, guys.’ McKay had only four strikeouts, but she was never behind in the count. First baseman Jessica Jackson had 15 putouts. Kristal Nessa had two hits and two stolen bases and scored three runs. Nessa had a good week, raising her batting average from .317 to .351.

MARMONTE

With the second half of league play underway, coaches are taking stabs at where they’ve been and where they think they’ll finish. Camarillo Coach Nichole Victoria, who said her Scorpions have pulled themselves out of a mini-slump after falling a game out of first place, has chosen the high road: “Maybe we’re gonna work our way back up to the top and stay there,” she said. Meanwhile, Newbury Park, which has lost two of three games, is atop the league standings and not exactly boasting about it. In fact, Coach Mike Morgan said if he could, he might trade places with some other team, like Simi Valley: “I’d just as soon not be the front-runner,” Morgan said. “I’d rather be the Simi Valley that’s sneaking up on everybody.” Simi Valley, which surprised with its 6-2 record in the first round of league play, may no longer be a well-kept secret. Tuesday, the Pioneers committed three errors and lost to Royal, 5-2.

Camarillo senior first baseman Jessica Ziese, who batted .369 last season and was voted the league’s player of the year, is hitting a paltry .200, but Coach Nichole Victoria said not to count her out. “She’s clutch. That’s who I want in the box when we need it,” Victoria said. “She’s hitting the ball really well, she’s just very unlucky right now.”

Thousand Oaks scheduled league makeup games against Simi Valley and Agoura this week, meaning that the Lancers will play six games in six days. After four league games during the week, the Lancers will finish with San Marcos in a first-round game of the Thousand Oaks tournament Saturday and follow up against either Camarillo or Hoover.

The most-interesting game in the first round of bracket play in the Thousand Oaks tournament is Camarillo against Hoover at noon at Los Cerritos Park in Thousand Oaks. In another tournament game, Westlake and Simi Valley will face off for the fourth time this season. The Pioneers are 2-1 against Westlake.

Newbury Park, the No. 2-ranked team in the region, will be without six or seven starters this weekend in the Thousand Oaks tournament because half the team is going to the prom. For the second consecutive year, the tournament has conflicted with the prom. Last year Morgan coerced the girls into playing the early tournament game and bailing out on the second. But he said he isn’t trying to bully anyone this year because the girls have too many other things on their minds during the game and it seems useless. “They have to have their nails done, their hair done, all that,” he said. Junior varsity players are expected to take their places.

Kristi Fox, who signed a letter of intent with Virginia two weeks ago, also took recruiting trips to Michigan and Oregon State and an unofficial trip to Cal State Long Beach, but opted to play for the least-regarded school in softball circles. “They’re going to let me play another position besides pitcher,” said Fox, who plays third base for her travel team in the summer.

PACIFIC

Tina Kinney (11-4) of Hoover registered four victories last week. Kinney continues to pitch despite being hampered by back pain. “Some kid pulled a chair out from under her,” Coach Debbie Rinder said. “They were both fooling around.” Kinney was all business last week, recording league victories over Glendale and Crescenta Valley, then defeating Moorpark and Righetti in the Thousand Oaks tournament.

RIO HONDO

The battle for the league title gets closer by the day. Temple City (6-1) leads, but La Canada (6-2) and San Marino (6-2) are close behind. La Canada has split with both San Marino and Temple City and will play each one more time. “Temple City has got to be the favorite,” Spartan Coach Tom Parker said after his team beat the Rams, 2-1, on Tuesday, handing them their first league loss. “But our kids are very confident.” . . . Ty Peterson started at third base for the Spartans on Tuesday when regular third baseman Linda Ables couldn’t play because of a 102-degree fever. Peterson became the fourth Spartan to start at third this season. Ables had been starting for Sunny Park, who quit the team. Park replaced Siarra Geer, who was lost for the season with a knee injury. “It’s been the year from hell,” Parker said. “We can’t seem to get settled.”

TRI-VALLEY

St. Bonaventure lost 1-0 games last week to Fillmore and La Reina. Coach Craig Thompson found the narrow margins to be encouraging. Thompson said the Seraphs lost to La Reina twice last season by 10-0 scores. St. Bonaventure needs to win at least one and probably both of its remaining games against La Reina and Fillmore to make the playoffs. . . . The Seraphs have been carried by senior ace Brandi Cook, a converted shortstop who Thompson said has really only one pitch. “She’s been pitching on a wing and a prayer the last two years and she’s done a wonderful job; nothing bothers her,” Thompson said. Still, the coach is looking forward to next season, when he expects several youth league pitchers to enter the school. “We’ll have multiple pitchers and we can actually call a game then,” Thompson said. . . . St. Bonaventure center fielder Tomi Dombrowik who earned all-league and all-county honors last season, has thus far been dreadful at the plate and deadly in the field. Thompson said Dombrowik threw out La Reina runners at third and home plate last Tuesday but entered the week batting .154. . . . At week’s start, nine of Oak Park’s 17 games had been decided by a run. After losing four of those close games in a week earlier in the season, the Eagles are 3-1 in their last four such games. On the other side of the coin, Oak Park routed league cellar-dwellers Bishop Diego and Carpinteria by a combined 29-0 last week.

Golf Notes

If Hart and Westlake are the best teams in the area, as many contend they are, Monday’s match between the two did little to determine who is better. The Indians (14-1) posted a 388-391 victory over the Warriors (23-1), but it only served to even the season series at 1-1. Westlake defeated Hart, 324-327, on March 14. The schools play in different Southern Section regions, so they can settle the score if both, as they are expected to, advance to the Southern Section team final on May 13. . . . The medalist in the Hart-Westlake matchup surprised everyone. The match was actually a three-way, and Notre Dame’s Kevin Coghlan shot a three-over-par 75, one shot ahead of the pack. . . . After suffering their first loss, the Warriors blistered the first Marmonte League tournament on Tuesday. Five Westlake golfers finished in the top 10 as the Warriors won by 47 strokes over second-place Newbury Park. . . . Brian Vranesh returned for Granada Hills on Monday after sitting out for a month because of academic probation. Vranesh, who Granada Hills Coach Joe White considers a favorite to win the City Section tournament, was fifth best on his team and ninth overall with a 14-over-par 86 at Knollwood as the Highlanders defeated Chatsworth, 405-418.

Swimming Notes

Thousand Oaks freshman Alexis Sowa has made a big splash this season. Sowa won the 6 and 11 dives at the Thousand Oaks Invitational last Saturday, defeating defending Marmonte League champion Tracy Thall of Westlake. Sowa and Thall set All-American standards in the 11-dive event. Sowa finished with 487.65 points and Thall with 456.45. . . Newbury Park senior Charles Law, who won the 11-dive event, has broken the Marmonte League points record three times this season, bettering the standard set by former Royal standout Ryan Wells. . . The Granada Hills girls, led by Stephanie Shapiro (200 and 500 freestyle) and the Van Nuys boys, led by Hadi Jorabchi are the favorites after going undefeated in dual meets and the East Valley League preliminaries Monday. The finals are at Valley College Monday at 2 p.m. . . . Birmingham is the West Valley favorite.

Tennis Notes

Another year, another Foothill League championship for Burbank. The Bulldogs (17-1) have wrapped up their ninth in a row and hope to make a run in the Division III playoffs. The potential for a Southern Section title looks good after a 10-8 victory over San Marino, which was ranked No. 1 at the time. Coach Clyde Richards typically builds his teams from scratch. This season is no different. “We don’t have career tennis players; we just play during the season and then go back to the classroom,” he said. “Our strategy is doubles. We take volunteers for singles.” . . . Watch out for Granada Hills in the upcoming City Section 4-A tournament. The Highlanders (12-1, 9-1) wrapped up the Northwest Valley Conference title with a 5-2 victory over defending champion Taft and are gunning for a No. 2 seeding behind defending City champion Palisades.

Track and Field Notes

Boys: When Miguel Fletcher of Alemany ran 21.06 seconds to win the 200-meter dash in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday, he not only moved into second on the all-time region list in the event, but inched closer to the region sophomore record of 20.97 set by Quincy Watts of Taft in 1986.

A tight hamstring kept Ronney Jenkins of Hueneme out of the Mt. SAC Relays. Jenkins, defending meet champion in the long jump, set a Ventura County record of 24 feet 9 inches to finish third in the Arcadia Invitational on April 13. He followed that with a 24-2 effort in a meet against Buena and San Marcos two days before Mt. SAC, but experienced some soreness in his leg. “We just didn’t want to take any chances at this stage of the season,” Coach Bill Hayes said.

Birmingham Coach Scott King was as surprised as anyone last Friday when the Braves had to come from behind to defeat El Camino Real, 65-62, for their 70th consecutive dual-meet victory. Birmingham led, 37-13, after six of 15 events, but El Camino Real won the next six events to take a 54-50 lead and send a scare into King. “We had a lot of breakdowns in certain events and they did a good job taking advantage of them,” he said.

Birmingham’s last loss in a dual or triangular meet came in 1987 when a Poly team coached by King defeated the Braves and Fremont. King took over at Birmingham the following season. . . .

Newbury Park defeated Royal and Westlake on Tuesday to complete its first undefeated regular season since the school opened in 1968. The Panthers were 11-0 in dual- or tri-meet competition this season, with a 7-0 mark in the Marmonte League.

Girls: The Canyon 6,400-meter relay team of senior Kellie Stigile, junior Julie Harris, sophomore Brandi Plasschaert and freshman Lauren Fleshman moved to ninth on the all-time state list in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday when they ran 21 minutes 12.74 seconds to finish third behind teams from Mexico (20:35.34) and Yucaipa (20:47.92). The foursome also moved to fifth on the all-time region list behind three teams from Agoura and one from Alemany.

Hurdlers Michelle Perry of Quartz Hill and Frances Santin of Taft finished 1-2 in an invitational heat of the 300 lows at Mt. SAC. Not only had they set school records of 44.17 and 44.40, but they’d emerged from the race without any major cuts, scratches or bruises. Perry fell after hitting a hurdle in the Arcadia Invitational on April 13 and inadvertently took out Santin. “We talked about that before the race,” Perry said. “I told her I was sorry.”

Simi Valley defeated Camarillo and Channel Islands on Tuesday to conclude the regular season with a 6-1 record in Marmonte League competition, but the Pioneers will be without Wendy Habsch when the league finals are held May 3. Habsch, a senior exchange student from Belgium who has season bests of 46.54 in the 300 low hurdles, 7 feet 6 inches in the pole vault and 16-9 in the long jump, sprained her ankle while pole-vaulting in a meet last week and will be in a cast until May 8. “The doctors told her that she hadn’t suffered any ligament damage,” Pioneer girls’ Coach Roger Evans said. “But they put her in a cast anyway as a precautionary measure.”

Ami Desai of Thousand Oaks set a school record of 9-4 in the pole vault against Agoura on Tuesday and moved into a tie for sixth on the all-time region list.

Chaminade junior Liz Giltner equaled her best in the high jump for the fourth time this season Saturday when she cleared 5-8 in the Mt. SAC Relays.

Ventura junior Nicole Campbell, sidelined for two weeks by a leg injury, probably will miss the Ventura County championships at Camarillo High on Friday. Campbell, fourth in the 800 in last year’s State championships, is expected to run in the Channel League finals on May 3.

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