MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS UPDATE : Cline Would Like to Throw Out Playoff Memory

Camarillo High’s second-place finish to Royal in the Marmonte League baseball race earned the Scorpions their first playoff appearance since 1985--a year Camarillo Coach Scott Cline, the Scorpions’ shortstop that season, will never forget.

Camarillo won the league championship and advanced to the Division I final against Fountain Valley at Anaheim Stadium. A tie game with two out and a runner at third in the bottom of the seventh inning came down to a ground ball to Cline.

“Routine grounder,” Cline said.

Cline’s throw to first pulled Travis Willis off the bag and Camarillo lost, 3-2.

Cline, who was charged with an error, was due to bat leadoff in the eighth inning.

“At the time, it hurt a little bit,” Cline said.

Cline, however, already had earned a championship ring that year as quarterback of the last Scorpion team to win a Southern Section title.

Baseball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

East Valley League--Junior right-hander Merrill Dunn of North Hollywood did it to Sylmar instead of Poly. Dunn (4-4), one of the best pitchers in the conference with an 0.95 earned-run average, did not pitch against Poly last week, but got the nod two days later against Sylmar. Poly lucked out. Dunn threw a three-hitter and struck out seven to beat the slumping Spartans and take them out of the league title hunt. Poly beat Grant, 9-1, on the same day and clinched the title outright. . . . Poly and Sylmar, the league’s top two teams, are assured playoff berths. North Hollywood could receive an at-large bid.

Mid-Valley League--Reseda’s Brian Menkin won two games as a pitcher last week, allowing nine hits and striking out 14 in 10 innings. But perhaps the more remarkable pitcher is teammate Matt Rutter, who started last week against Canoga Park, was pulled in favor of Alberto Saenz and Menkin, but came back in the 10th to earn the save. “That’s something you don’t see very often,” Coach Mike Stone said. “How many times does the starting pitcher end up getting the save? . . . Reseda left no doubt which team deserved the league title. The Regents had 15 hits (two more than their average) against Monroe on Tuesday in a winner-take-all league title game. . . . But tip your hat to the Vikings, who had only two returning starters from last year’s league title squad.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--Granada Hills’ 4-1 victory over Cleveland on Monday might have been the biggest of the season for the Highlanders, who were hoping to grab one of the four at-large spots in the City Section 4-A playoffs. Jessie Carranza, who has pitched in 21 games this season, gave up five hits and struck out six. . . . The most-disappointed conference coach is San Fernando’s Dan Heim. The Tigers were 8-1 in nonconference games, but 4-13 in the conference. “When the games didn’t count, we sure played well,” Heim said. . . . Want another sign that top-ranked Kennedy’s offense is running smoothly? The Golden Cougars have seven players with at least 20 runs batted in.

West Valley League--El Camino Real junior Shaun Fishman nearly defeated Taft single-handedly Monday. The right-hander struck out 10 and walked one while giving up five hits. At the plate, Fishman was four for four with an intentional walk. All four hits were for extra-bases. . . . There is no question Fishman has been the league’s hottest pitcher. In his last five league games, Fishman is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA with 33 strikeouts and four walks in 35 innings.

Southern Section

ALPHA

L.A. Baptist wrapped up its fourth consecutive league title with a 10-5 victory over Village Christian last Thursday and is the top-seeded team in the Division V playoffs. The Knights (21-4) have a 14-game winning streak and will play host to Whitney in a first-round game Friday.

FOOTHILL

Coach Frank Des Enfants vows that Burbank will be a stronger team next year--certainly stronger from the left side of the plate. The Bulldogs failed to hit a home run to right field in their home park this season. The distance in straightaway right is 244 feet. . . . Speaking of short fences, Burroughs also has a small park. Antelope Valley Coach Ed t’Sas sounded eager upon hearing that the distance in right at Burroughs is 275. The Antelopes will play at Burroughs on Friday in the first round of the Division II playoffs. Burroughs Coach Jose Valle gasped upon hearing about Antelope pitcher and power hitter Sean Douglass, who stands 6-5, wears Size 17 shoes and is growing every day.

FRONTIER

Calabasas co-Coach Scott Drootin is not overjoyed that his team will have been idle for more than a week when it opens the Division IV playoffs Tuesday. The Coyotes, who won their second consecutive league title, play the winner of a Friday wild-card game between Pacific and Bassett. With a solid defense and six strong hitters, the key for Calabasas will be its pitchers other than senior ace Tanner Trosper (8-1). “One of our young pitchers has to step up,” said Drootin of a group that includes Justin Erickson, Eric Eisner, Ricky Stockton and Matt Jackson. “It’s going to be quick hooks right on down the line, one guy for three innings and out.” All in all, Drootin doesn’t quite know what to expect from a team that won 19 games but also lost to lowly Taft. “Whatever happens, I won’t be surprised,” he said. “If we lose the first game or win all five. . . . that’s fine because we weren’t supposed to be that good this year.” . . .

Moorpark Coach Scott Fullerton said the Musketeers will leave at 9 a.m. Friday for that afternoon’s wild-card game at Atascadero. “Lotta frequent bus miles in that trip,” Fullerton said. Moorpark does not have an easy postseason road. Should the Musketeers win Friday, they would have to travel Tuesday to play Rio Hondo League champion San Marino, which has been one of the division’s top teams all season. “We’ll play it one pitch at a time and chalk it up as great playoff experience,” Fullerton said. Senior Evan Garcia is the only Musketeer with playoff experience, having been called up in 1994 when Moorpark was eliminated in the second round.

GOLDEN

Too bad Highland’s Jacob Stanwood can’t play in one more game. The senior third baseman was one hit short of tying two school records set by Tom King in 1994. King finished with 37 hits and a .500 batting average. Stanwood batted .493 with 36 hits. Coach Mike Van Cheri said Stanwood would have finished at .500 with one more hit. . . . Palmdale faltered down the stretch, losing a bid to make the playoffs. But the Falcons’ future is bright with Mike Arellano and Jason Gorman returning next year. They led the team with batting averages of .357 and .355.

MARMONTE

Senior right-hander Santos Mummey of Thousand Oaks, The Times’ Ventura County pitcher of the year in 1995, has been effective down the stretch and will start for the Lancers at Peninsula in the first round of the playoffs Friday. Mummey (6-2, 1.01 ERA) has won his last four league starts and has an 0.92 ERA in league play. “Basically, he’s on a roll,” Thousand Oaks Coach Bill Sizemore said. “He gets ahead of the batters, gets a lot of ground balls.”

MISSION

Crespi Coach Scott Muckey has named junior right-hander Brian Felten as the Celts’ starter Friday at Lakewood. Felten has not allowed an earned run in 21 innings of league play. Felten is 7-1 overall with a 1.24 ERA. “He’s our hot guy,” Muckey said. “Actually, he’s been good all season.”

PACIFIC

Crescenta Valley (14-10), which won four of its final league games to finish third, will attempt to continue its streak by knocking off Marmonte League champion Royal (23-2) on Friday in the playoffs. Senior shortstop Jesse Mitchell batted .521 in league play and senior right-hander Brian Bishop, a transfer from L.A. Lutheran who will start Friday, emerged as the Falcons’ ace. Bishop is 6-1 with a 1.58 ERA in 44 1/3 innings. Senior left-hander Adrian Mendoza (7-1) is the probable starter for Royal. . . . Not only did Glendale (19-3) claim its first league championship since 1988, the Dynamiters set a school record with 13 league victories. Glendale was 12-3 in 1988. Glendale’s “Twelve Angry Men,” a nickname adopted because the team has only 12 players, have been joined by four new members, promoted from the junior varsity for the playoffs by Coach Spiro Psaltis.

TRI-VALLEY

Oak Park won its third consecutive league title and hosts Paraclete on Friday in a Southern Section Division V first-round game. The Spirits are the No. 3 team in the High Desert League. The Eagles remain thin, however, and Coach Bill Springman admits another injury could decimate his team. “Depth is really important in the postseason and we haven’t had that all year,” Springman said. “We do have some guys who are a bit tender, some sore arms, but you have to put that stuff behind you at this time of year.”

Scott Christensen, penciled in as the Oak Park ace before he suffered an arm injury, returned to the mound last week and threw two innings after a layoff of almost two months. “We may use [Christensen] as a closer because he was comfortable in that role last year,” Springman said. “If we can get to the fifth inning with [starters Jeff] Smith and [Jeff] Roberts, than we’re in good shape.”

FREELANCE

Josh Percell hit his area-leading ninth home run in Montclair Prep’s final regular-season game, a 15-4 victory over Marshall. The Mounties play Monrovia in a Division IV wild-card playoff game Friday.

SMALL SCHOOLS

Matt Nesse of Viewpoint set a Southern Section record for triples in a season with 11. Nesse, who will be playing next year at Emory College, an NCAA Division III school in Atlanta, batted a school-record .657 in the regular season. He also set school records with 45 runs and 46 hits. . . . Ricky Eisenberg of Coutin is batting .760. His 38 hits include 10 doubles, six triples and four home runs.

Softball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

East Valley League--No team in the conference had a better turnaround than Van Nuys. The Wolves went from a one-victory season in 1995 to 12-7 this season with five returning starters. Van Nuys even had a playoff victory over Crenshaw before losing to Westchester, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.

Southern Section

CHANNEL

Buena eased into third place and the league’s final automatic Division I playoff berth last week with a 10-run-rule victory over Hueneme and a 4-2 downing of last-place Oxnard. The Bulldogs open the postseason Friday at Downey and Coach Peter Shedlosky said good defense and the team’s speed will be crucial to advancement. Most of those fast feet patrol the Buena outfield, made up of freshman left fielder Kim Stetler, junior center fielder Robyn Peet and junior right fielder April Miller. “We didn’t steal that much because there are quite a few good catchers in our league and because we’re good at slapping runners along,” Shedlosky said. “But it’s nice to have it because we don’t have a really dominant pitcher.” Miller and Peet, the team’s leadoff and No. 2 hitters, have on-base percentages of .473 and .469.

GOLDEN

Quartz Hill might have gotten the worst possible draw in the Division III playoffs for a team that tied for its league championship. The Rebels (15-9) face second-seeded St. Lucy’s in Friday’s opening round. “They are probably the only team more upset than we are,” Quartz Hill Coach Coy Ray said, noting that it is not often that a team seeded No. 2 has to face a first-round opponent that finished 8-2 in its league. “You never know how these things are going to turn out,” Ray said. . . . Palmdale would have been a decent choice for an at-large berth in the playoffs, considering it finished with a 17-10 record, losing seven games by one run and three in extra innings. “All year long we never got the breaks; we never got the calls,” assistant Pete DiMarco said. “But the future still looks bright.” . . . Highland Coach Glenda Potts did not list first baseman Andrea Wintermute on her preseason prospectus this year, but she never figured Wintermute would become the team’s second-leading hitter (.370) and lead the team with seven doubles and 17 RBIs. “She surprised us,” Potts said. “She’s just a power hitter.”

MARMONTE

Westlake ended its disappointing season in the sweetest way possible. The Warriors upset Camarillo, 3-2, and spoiled the league championship for the defending champion Scorpions. Westlake’s upset gave Newbury Park the title outright. Newbury Park, which faces Dos Pueblos on Friday, was seeded third in the playoffs, and Camarillo, seeded No. 4, will face Los Altos in the first round. . . .

For the sixth consecutive year, four league teams advanced to the playoffs. Considering that there are two teams each in the upper and lower bracket of the Division I tournament, there is a good chance it could be an all-Marmonte final. At least that was something talked about this week at the all-league selection meeting. “We were saying it would really be nice if two of us were in the final,” Simi Valley Coach Suzanne Manlet said. . . . The league batting champion through the regular season is Camarillo’s Brooke Rutschman, who is batting .438. Only Rutschman and Thousand Oaks’ Erika Hanson (.404) batted above .400. . . .

It’s no secret how Newbury Park, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley got into the playoffs: superb pitching. The combined ERA of pitchers Kristi Fox (15-3) of Newbury Park, Cindy Ball (9-1) and Melanie Richardson (9-1) of Camarillo, Jennifer Sharron (16-7) of Thousand Oaks and Lori Tande (10-9) of Simi Valley is 0.38.

MISSION

Chaminade Coach Steve Harrington is hoping the third time is the charm for the Eagles, who play at El Segundo in a playoff opener Friday. El Segundo defeated Chaminade, 4-0 and 5-3, in a nonleague doubleheader this season. Chaminade (14-13) reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season after a six-year drought. Freshman pitcher Maureen LeCocq (9-7), who has thrown 106 of the staff’s 185 innings, will start with Kelly Durkin (3-1) slated for relief. LeCocq also leads Chaminade with a .301 batting average.

PACIFIC

Crescenta Valley finished the regular season with a 20-6 record, the second consecutive season the Falcons have had at least 20 victories. The Falcons open the Division II playoffs against Sunny Hills, which competed with Crescenta Valley in the Woodbridge tournament. “We were in the same bracket, but they went one way and we went the other way,” Crescenta Valley Coach Alan Eberhart said. “I wish I paid more attention to them.”

FREELANCE

Montclair Prep is seeded fourth in the Division V bracket, the first time a Mounties girls’ team has been seeded in any sport, according to Coach Greg Reece.

Golf Notes

After assessing his team’s third-place finish in the Southern Section championships, Westlake Coach Dave Costley still has the same reaction he had immediately following Monday’s tournament. “We should have won it,” he said. The Warriors finished with a team total of 379, nine strokes behind champion Santa Margarita. Ross Fulgentis, the Warriors’ best golfer, shot an 84--10 strokes above his season average. “If Ross shoots his average, we win,” Costley said. “But that’s golf. The kid has carried us all season so I suppose he’s entitled to a bad day.” Fulgentis and the Warriors will have a chance to redeem themselves at the Southern California Golf Assn. championships June 6 at the SCGA players club in Temecula.

J.T. Kohut of Westlake led the section on Monday by shooting a two-under par 70, but he gets no award for it. The section individual tournament will be played separately, on Monday at Sandpiper Country Club in Santa Barbara. . . .

Coaches in the City 5-A League wanted to find a course that players weren’t familiar with for the league championship tournament. They found one--in Oxnard. Playing the River Ridge Golf Club, only three players came in under 80. Chatsworth won the team title and Todd Golditch of Chatsworth took the individual title.

Tyler Foster of Grant won the 5-A League Top Gun tournament, a six-round tournament held throughout the season. Foster accumulated 41 points based on his finishes. Teammate Sean Oriti tied with Ben Krug of Granada Hills for second place with 36 points, but Oriti was awarded second after a one-hole playoff.

Swimming Notes

The Southern Section Division I championships were a perfect opportunity for Jennifer Parmenter of L.A. Baptist to model her new swimwear. Just before the championship, Parmenter’s coach at Rose Bowl Aquatics, Terry Stoddard, gave Parmenter an L.A. Baptist swim cap and uniform. It may turn out to be a collector’s item. L.A. Baptist doesn’t have a swim team. . . .

The biggest surprise of the Division I meet was Thousand Oaks’ Eric Shafer, who broke a 20-year-old school record in the 100 freestyle in the preliminaries. Shafer finished with third-place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle. . . .

Only three area swimmers advanced to the boys’ finals in Division III. Jamie Zwick of Buckley was fifth in the 100 breaststroke, Andrew O’Connor of Flintridge Prep was fifth in the 100 butterfly and Justin Cole of Quartz Hill was sixth in the 500 freestyle.

Track and Field Notes

Boys: Ronney Jenkins of Hueneme led long jump qualifying in the Southern Section Division II preliminaries at UC Riverside on Saturday, but the Viking senior was disqualified from the 100 after he false-started in his heat and he failed to show up for the heats of the 200. It was the second year in a row that Jenkins false-started in the preliminaries. Ventura Coach Hudson Scoggin speculated that it was not accidental. “I was down at the start and it wasn’t even close,” Scoggin said. “The starter called them to their marks and he jumped.” Hueneme Coach Bill Hayes did not dispute Scoggin’s theory and said he was very disappointed with what happened. “We had some problems last year, but we thought we had taken care of them,” Hayes said. “Apparently, we didn’t. As far as we’re concerned, [Ronney] took the spot of two kids who would liked to have run.” . . .

Randy Hurt of Rio Mesa set a school record of 14.96 seconds to win his heat of the 110 high hurdles in the Southern Section Division II prelims. Hurt’s time broke the previous record of 15.00 set by Matt Pizza in 1987. . . .

When Todd Disney and Josh Carolan of Thousand Oaks qualified for the finals of the 1,600 in the Southern Section Division I prelims last Saturday in Long Beach, it marked the third consecutive year the Lancers have qualified two or more runners for the final of the 1,600. . . .

Felipe Montoro of Hoover appears to have fully recovered from the tendinitis in his left knee that sidelined him for two weeks last month. The eighth-place finisher in the 1995 state Division I cross-country championships, Montoro had a modest season best of 4:29.9 in the 1,600 before running a personal best of 4:23.71 to place fifth in his heat of the Southern Section Division I prelims. “I was never too worried about not coming back [from the injury] in time,” Montoro said. “I felt good the previous two weeks even though I didn’t run that fast.”

Girls: A frustrating season came to a disappointing end for junior Nicole Campbell of Ventura in the Southern Section Division II prelims at UC Riverside on Saturday. Campbell, who placed fourth in the 800 meters in the 1995 State championships, dropped out of her qualifying heat because she felt faint at the end of the first lap. She missed several meets last month because of a leg injury. “I was as surprised as anyone when it happened,” Ventura Coach Hudson Scoggin said. “She looked fine for the first lap, but then she stepped off the track. She said she was getting dizzy and was afraid that she was going to pass out.”. . .

Bridie Hatch of Nordhoff appears to be hitting her stride in the 300 low hurdles at just the right time. The Ranger junior ran a personal best of 44.17 to place second in the Southern Section Division III championships last year, but her season best was 45.63 until Friday when she ran 44.36 in the Division III prelims in Long Beach. “Her dad has been working with our hurdlers this year and he said she was ready to run [in the low 44s],” Nordhoff Coach Ken Reeves said. . . .

A sore hamstring kept Taft freshman Tiffany Smith out of the 200 in the Northwest Valley Conference finals last Thursday, but she is expected to run in that event in the City Section prelims at Birmingham this afternoon. Usually, individuals must place among the top five finishers in the conference finals to advance to the City prelims, but teams are also granted one at-large boys’ and girls’ berth.

Volleyball Notes

City Section: Sylmar Coach Bob Thomsen was amazed, stunned. “This is unbelievable,” he said. And he wasn’t referring to his team’s five-game victory over defending champion Fairfax in the City Section 3-A Division semifinals Tuesday night. He was talking about transportation problems. The Spartans’ bus arrived an hour late to take them to Fairfax. Even worse, when the 2 1/2-hour match ended, the bus was nowhere to be found. The players, cheerleaders and Thomsen were all stranded until well past 11 p.m. “They’re not going to be home until midnight,” he said from Fairfax. “It’s crazy.”

Kevin Dawes had a career-high 33 kills, including 14 in the second game. The third-seeded Spartans play fifth-seeded Marshall in the 3-A final 8 p.m. Friday at Occidental College.

In the 4-A final, third-seeded Granada Hills plays top-seeded University at 5:30 p.m.

Southern Section: Fourth-seeded Harvard-Westlake has swept its way to the Division I quarterfinals and will host Esperanza on Friday. The Wolverines already have achieved one goal: They passed the first round, where they were upset last year by Dos Pueblos. “The guys are feeling pretty good about themselves,” Coach Jess Quiroz said. Especially Rick Rauth, who had 15 kills and 11 blocks against Santa Barbara. Said Quiroz: “He went in and took charge.” . . .

Third-seeded Royal travels to Huntington Beach in another Division I quarterfinal Friday. . . .

With 21 kills in a victory over San Gabriel, Tom Haight became the first Highland player to break the 20-kill mark this season. Highland, the second-seeded team in Division II, hosts Long Beach Poly in the quarterfinals Friday. “This is where we got knocked off last year,” Highland Coach Mike Bird said, referring to a quarterfinal loss to Warren. “The kids have never been past this level in any sport.” . . .

In Division III, second-seeded Campbell Hall took five games to dispose of Carpinteria in the second round. “I knew once the draw came out that we had the toughest road of anybody,” said Viking Coach Tim Jensen, who received a career-high 33 kills from Dylan Herrick. “It was a nightmare, but we showed incredible heart.” The Vikings host Capistrano Valley Christian in the quarterfinals Friday.

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