Locker Rooms Are Off-Limits

Even Superman had a phone booth to change in, but no dressing rooms were available for the four City teams Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

While eight Southern Section teams enjoyed the use of two locker rooms on Saturday in four section title games, those rooms were off-limits to their City counterparts.

City Section field manager Terry Stoller said he was informed Thursday afternoon that equipment belonging to the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies, who begin a three-game series tonight at the stadium, was in the locker rooms.

The umpires on Thursday changed in a training room. Chatsworth and South Gate dressed in the Dodger batting cage beneath the stands and Wilson and El Camino Real changed in a hallway.

El Camino Real Coach Mike Maio, who has coached in six City title games, said his first five teams were given locker rooms.

“I don’t think we’ve ever played here when the Dodgers were in town,” Maio said. “But where you dress shouldn’t affect how you play.”

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Starting pitcher Kurt Birkins of El Camino Real said he will meet today with Loyola Marymount baseball Coach Frank Cruz to discuss a possible scholarship.

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All eyes were on the sky Thursday as low, dark clouds moved across the Valley. Bright blue skies with only cloud wisps, however, greeted the teams at game time.

“I was worried this morning,” El Camino Real assistant Dave Siedelman said. “The rumor going around was that we’d play Friday at either Pierce [College] or Birmingham [High].”

City Commissioner Barbara Fiege said the section’s contingency plan had the teams squaring off Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

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Chatsworth assistant Chuck Hatfield is also an area commissioner for American Legion baseball. He said the Chatsworth Legion team will face a full schedule beginning this weekend.

“They’ll play 26 [regular-season] games in 30 days,” Hatfield said. “But some of the older boys have elected not to play. They played through August with Legion last year and then started again with school in September.”

Hatfield said Tom Morefield and Bryan Gant will play Palamino League with the Sylmar Stallions, the organization’s defending national champions. Various other players will miss games because of vacations or baseball camps and Hatfield said six or seven junior varsity players will move up during Legion season.

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Quote of the day: “Every game he tells me he’s ready to come in and pitch if needed.”

--Siedelman, the Conquistadores’ pitching coach, on an offer reiterated Thursday by Dan Fishman, grandfather of Shaun Fishman, a standout last season.

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Chatsworth Coach Tom Meusborn said he discussed composure with his players before the game. He hoped to avoid a situation similar to the one last Saturday at Dodger Stadium when Westlake High’s Ethan East was ejected in the Southern Section Division III title game for cursing an umpire.

“I said it’s a big-league ballpark and let’s make sure we handle ourselves in an appropriate manner no matter what obstacles appear,” Meusborn said. “I wanted to make sure we stayed calm.”

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El Camino Real’s Maio was effusive in praise of Birkins, who went the distance in the Conquistadores’ 5-2 victory in 10 innings.

“He throws a four-hitter, gets the big hit and doesn’t lose his composure,” Maio said. “That what a great player does.”

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Staff writers Tris Wykes, Michael Lazarus and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this notebook.