Pepperdine Baseball Has Class

Buoyed by the decision of freshman catcher Dane Sardinha not to sign with the Kansas City Royals, Pepperdine’s baseball recruiting class is ranked No. 5 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Sardinha, a second-round draft choice from Kamehameha High in Honolulu, is among three drafted players enrolled at Pepperdine.

Paul Avery, a sophomore left-handed pitcher from Fresno City College, was a fifth-round selection of the Florida Marlins and Richard Sundstrom, a junior right-handed pitcher from Cypress College, was a 15th-round pick of the Cleveland Indians.

Other Pepperdine recruits include freshman right-handed pitcher Jay Adams of Peninsula High, freshman outfielder Dane Ball of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, freshman first baseman Jared Pitney of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral High, junior third baseman Greg Raymundo of Fresno City College and right-handed pitcher Brad Tucker, a transfer from Fresno State.

UCLA’s top-ranked recruiting class includes outfielder Bill Scott of Alemany High, a 21st-round pick of the Atlanta Braves.

Flying high: What might well be the entire Oxnard infield was showcased at the Southern California Junior College fall all-star game last Saturday at Loyola Marymount, an indication that the Condors should be a team to watch in the spring.

Sophomore first baseman Matt Pitstick, a transfer from Cal State Northridge, freshman second baseman Matt Pesso, who committed to Northridge before the program was eliminated for two months during the summer, and sophomore third baseman Brent Egan, a 15th-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996, all went to Royal High.

Jack Wilson, a sophomore who set school records for hits and batting average at Thousand Oaks High, plays shortstop for the Condors.

Outfielder Steve Guerrero of Valley College had two hits in the game and Pierce sophomore infielder Seth Barkley hit a home run.

BASKETBALL

Tall tales: Valley is expected to have one of the tallest men’s basketball teams in school history.

Among the big men are 6-foot-9 Leon Brisport, who was an all-conference selection last season, 6-8 Faheem Nelson, a transfer from Southern Idaho, and 6-9 Wayne Huff, a freshman from Riverside.