Ryan’s Star Act Full of Hits

Baseball scouts, talent scouts, clown scouts--among your hottest prospects is junior second baseman Brendan Ryan of Notre Dame High.

“I’m 16 years old and sometimes act 12,” he confesses.

In kindergarten, he appeared in a “Saturday Night Live” skit wearing a white tuxedo, black sunglasses and slicked-back hair.

“I had this big line, ‘Well, if it isn’t Miss Linda,’ ” he said.

He does imitations of the late actor Chris Farley and “the dead guy that walks around” from “Weekend at Bernie’s.”

“I’m not really afraid to do anything in front of a crowd,” Ryan said. “Last year I was doing a scene from ‘Tommy Boy’ and the whole cafeteria was watching.”

Ryan tries to attend church every Sunday, rain or shine.

“I always promised myself I’d be an altar boy but never got around to it,” he said. “I was always afraid I’d drop the wine.”

Notre Dame Legion Coach Jody Breeden doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry when dealing with Ryan.

“He’s a goofball,” Breeden said.

Except when Ryan puts on his baseball uniform--then he is transformed.

“On the field, it’s a whole other me,” he said.

Ryan, 5 feet 11 1/2, 155 pounds, led Notre Dame in hitting last season with a .465 average. And he’s the team’s top hitter in American Legion with a .429 average. As a fielder, he has only two errors.

“This guy can turn a double play faster than anybody,” Notre Dame High Coach Tom Dill said.

Ryan wouldn’t know what to do without baseball.

“It’s life for me,” he said. “My parents tell me I could hit a Wiffle ball before I could walk.”

Now, if only the Notre Dame coaches can figure out a plan to keep track of Ryan when he’s out of uniform.

“We have story after story,” Dill said. “He’s just a handful.”

When the team went to Las Vegas last spring, Ryan was removed from the starting lineup for being late.

“I was having so much fun I lost track of time,” Ryan said.

Don’t be surprised if Ryan’s baseball friends buy him a watch instead of a glove for his next birthday present.

And he might star in the next big summer movie, “Saving Brendan Ryan.” . . .

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Sometimes little kids seek autographs of top high school athletes hoping the player will become famous. Here’s a tip: Get the autograph of senior pitcher Johnny Koegel of El Camino Real. One day he’s going to do something special.

Koegel, 17, wants to become an astronaut. He aspires to attend the Air Force Academy. He has a 4.0 grade-point average and scored a 1420 on the SAT.

“I want to pilot the Space Shuttle,” he said. “My goal in life is to put the American flag on Martian soil.”. . . .

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Jamie Shields of Hart, a junior right-handed pitcher, has a growing list of admirers.

“He’s got the best stuff in the Valley,” said one American Legion coach.

Shields made the Area Code tournament after having his fastball clocked at a reported 91 mph in Fresno. This summer, in Legion ball, he had a 6-1 record and 1.95 earned-run average with 67 strikeouts in 43 innings. He better get an answering machine to handle numerous agents and college recruiters. . . .

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More than a month ago, it was considered an upset that El Camino Real defeated Chatsworth at Dodger Stadium for the City 4-A baseball title. But El Camino Real is proving it has the best lineup in the region. Over the past three months, starting on April 6, El Camino Real has lost just five games--three to Chatsworth during the high school season and two games during Legion ball.

The Conquistadores’ talented group of young players--Conor Jackson, Matt Schwartz, Brian Somoza and Sean McElroy--has been bashing the ball. El Camino Real also has at least six capable starting pitchers. The school truly has become the region’s baseball powerhouse of the 1990s. . . .

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Among the most closely watched pitchers of the summer is 6-6 senior Scott Rice of Royal. He pitched sparingly last season because of control problems, but he throws hard and is showing signs of improvement. . . .

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Elizabeth Sun, a 5-9 incoming freshman girls’ basketball player at Chatsworth, is already being billed as the region’s No. 1 freshman prospect. . . .

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Former Notre Dame High basketball star Monte Marcaccini is passing up his senior year at Virginia to play professionally in Spain.

The 6-5 Marcaccini is one of three brothers making the most of basketball. His oldest brother, G.C., is playing in Italy. The youngest brother, Gianandrea, played at Valley College last season and has accepted a college scholarship to Southern Illinois. . . .

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Former Granada Hills quarterback Bryan Martin is the backup quarterback for the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League. . . .

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Crespi junior outfielder Brian Horwitz had three hits on Saturday for the U.S. Baseball Youth national team that beat Japan, 17-0, in Fairview Heights, Ill. He’s six for 10 in three games. . . .

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Former Monroe pitcher John Ennis, in Florida with the Atlanta Braves organization, won’t have to worry about paying for phone calls back to the Valley. As a graduation gift, family and friends gave him calling cards worth more than 300 minutes of phone time. . . .

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Former Chaminade catcher Ryan Hamill is batting .318 with eight doubles in the wood bat Alaska Baseball League. Former Cleveland pitcher Mike Schultz continues to dominate in Alaska. He has a 1.29 ERA, including 31 strikeouts in 28 innings.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.