Confident McNeely Hitting Like a Pro

Talk about emulating your hero. Mike McNeely, Cal State Northridge utility player turned feared slugger, says St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ron Gant is his favorite major leaguer.

At 5 feet 9, McNeely is built something like Gant, and in his stance he wiggles his bat from a vertical position like Gant.

Lately, McNeely, a senior who hit only two homers in a reserve role last season, is pulling home runs over the left-field fence like Gant.

McNeely hit five home runs last week, including three in a 23-4 victory over Albertson (Idaho) College on Sunday. He also homered against Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

After getting only 45 at-bats last season, McNeely was told by Coach Mike Batesole that he wasn’t in the plans for 1998. Batesole’s tune changed when baseball was cut then subsequently reinstated last summer and most returning players and recruits found other programs.

McNeely, who played primarily third base last season, has won the starting job in center field. He is batting .393 and has a team-high 19 runs batted in for the Matadors (9-6).

“I’m glad I was welcomed back and my confidence is really strong,” McNeely said. “I want to play all the time and keep helping this team exceed expectations.”

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Northridge takes the momentum of four victories in a row and eight in its past 10 games into the Rawlings Spring Training tournament in Phoenix today through Sunday. Games are played at major league spring training sites.

The Matadors play Grand Canyon today, Northwestern on Friday, Northern Iowa on Saturday and Santa Clara on Sunday.

Expect plenty of runs. Northridge is batting .321, and has allowed opponents to bat .315. Matador pitchers have an astronomical earned-run average of 7.19, but Northridge hitters have pinned an ERA of 7.81 on opposing pitchers.

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Several former local high school baseball stars are off to excellent starts at the collegiate level.

Freshman Joe Borchard (Camarillo) is batting .385 and has started nine of 11 games as the designated hitter for Stanford, which plays UCLA this weekend in Westwood. Freshman Tyler Dersom (Chaminade) is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA as a middle reliever for UCLA.

Freshman Ryan Hamill (Chaminade) has hit four home runs as a designated hitter for Nevada Las Vegas.

Freshman Robert Hirsh (Crespi) is hitting .423 as a starting outfielder for Loyola Marymount.

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Cal Lutheran plays host to Pomona-Pitzer in a women’s basketball game Friday that likely will decide the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.

Cal Lutheran (14-7, 9-1) holds a 1 1/2-game lead over the Sagehens (15-7, 7-2) in conference action. The Regals have one SCIAC game remaining after Friday, Pomona-Pitzer has two.

A victory gives Cal Lutheran its third SCIAC title in four seasons.

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One reason the Regals are challenging for the conference title is their free-throw proficiency.

Going into a game against Occidental on Tuesday, the Regals were shooting 73.5% (347 of 472) from the free-throw line, by far the best among SCIAC teams.

Three Regals were shooting 80% or better: Freshman guard Lexi Miller, 92.3% (24 of 26); freshman forward Hilarie Jones, 87.1% (27 of 31) and junior center Missy Rider, 81.8% (72 of 88).

“Our team spends a lot of time on it,” Cal Lutheran Coach Tim La Kose said. “At the end of practice, we shoot sets of 20 and they have to make 80% before they can quit.”

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Senior guard Johnny Allen’s 133 assists going into an SCIAC game against Occidental on Wednesday rank 11th in Cal Lutheran’s single-season list.

Allen entered the game averaging 6.33 assists. At a slightly higher rate, he could challenge the school’s single-season record of 162 assists established by Mark Caetecker in 1980-81.

The Kingsmen have three games to play.

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Sophomore guard Kristin Phillips of Antelope Valley set a school record with nine three-point baskets last week in a 78-71 double-overtime Foothill Conference victory over Desert.

Phillips, who finished with a game-high 28 points, also set a school record with eight three-pointers during regulation. Andi Boswell held the previous record with seven, set in 1995.

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Canyons forward Maxine Unverferth was selected Western State Conference player of the week after scoring 64 points and grabbing 30 rebounds in three games. Unverferth averages 13.9 points a game.

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Staff writers Fernando Dominguez, Steve Henson, Vince Kowalick and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this notes column.