OCC’s Clark, Fullerton’s Cruz Sign With 49ers

Long Beach State baseball Coach Dave Snow announced the signing of Ryan Clark of Orange Coast College and Jeffrey Cruz of Fullerton College.

Clark, a sophomore first baseman from Fountain Valley High, batted .365, with a team-high 17 home runs and 59 runs batted in. He was named second-team All-Orange Empire Conference.

Cruz, a junior left-handed pitcher who played at Servite, was 7-5 last season with an 5.16 ERA in 14 appearances for the Hornets. He was drafted in the 36th round of the 1999 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

* Cal State Fullerton outfielder Spencer Oborn, who hit in 37 consecutive games this season, second baseman David Bacani were named Wednesday to the American Baseball Coaches Assn.’s All-West District team.

Oborn, who already had earned NCAA Division I All-American honors and was the Big West Conference’s player of the year, was a first-team selection. Bacani was named to the second team.

MOTORSPORTS

* All American Racers of Santa Ana announced that Alex Barron will be replaced by Gualter Salles for the next three races in the CART FedEx Championship Series.

Team owner Dan Gurney said the change was not a reflection of Barron’s performance.

BASKETBALL

* Irvine Valley’s Robert Griffin has committed to play basketball at Division II Missouri Western State, according to Laser Coach Jerry Hernandez.

Griffin, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard who played at Tustin High, helped lead the Lasers to a 20-13 record during the 1997-98 season. He was named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference and the team’s co-most valuable player.

After the 1998 season, Griffin signed to play at Division I University of New Orleans, but sat out to concentrate on his studies.

SOFTBALL

* Saddleback pitcher Tara Kroener has committed to Colorado State to play softball. The Orange Empire Conference’s player of the year for the last two seasons and was selected as the state pitcher of the year.

Shortstop teammate Anne Skidmore has committed to the University of San Diego. Skidmore, from El Toro High, earned all-conference honors in both seasons.