Now Olson Is a Pain to Batters

Watching left-hander Jordan Olson of Crescenta Valley High pitch without pain is quite a sight.

Olson lost velocity on his fastball last season during the playoffs because he was suffering from severe back pain. He relied more on toughness and his outstanding curveball to lead the Falcons to the Southern Section Division I title.

Healthy again, Olson is a much different pitcher. He’s off to a 2-0 start after defeating San Gabriel and Glendora, teams expected to win league championships. He has struck out 22 batters in 12 innings while walking only three and giving up six hits. The only two runs scored against him were home runs.

“He was pretty nasty,” Coach Phil Torres said. “Everybody’s last impression of him was of that bad back, just flipping the ball up there. He was in the mid-80s throwing free and loose. People are in for a rude awakening.”

Crescenta Valley (4-1) won the Glendora tournament championship, proving it has every intention of defending its Division I title. The Falcons demonstrated impressive pitching depth, using three different starters. Kevin Rinder, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound senior right-hander, suffered the lone defeat, giving up two unearned runs in a 2-0 loss to Charter Oak.

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All-West Valley League infielder Conor Jackson of El Camino Real made his debut at shortstop Saturday against Chaminade. Sidelined for two months because of a broken wrist, Jackson played flawlessly in the field. He was a third baseman last season.

“I was very impressed with him defensively,” Chaminade Coach Scott Drootin said. “We know what he can do hitting. With the few plays I saw him make, he proved to me he can play shortstop at the next level.”

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Staking an early claim for best player in the Marmonte League, Michael Falco of Agoura is nine for 14 with seven runs batted in and two saves as a reliever.

Falco, a center fielder, signed with Pepperdine last November. He has already thrown out two runners attempting to score from second on base hits.

“He can do everything,” Agoura Coach Bruce Beck said.

Marmonte League play begins Friday with no clear favorite. Five teams have a shot at the championship--Newbury Park (5-0), Westlake (4-0-1), Agoura (3-1-1), Royal (3-1-1) and Thousand Oaks (3-2).

Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks have the pitching, Agoura and Royal have the hitting and Westlake has some excellent young players starting to develop.

The best opening game is Royal at Newbury Park.

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Conference action begins today in the City Section. Sylmar (4-1) has made impressive strides toward becoming a City title contender because of improved pitching depth.

All-City pitcher Ivan Hernandez delivered on Saturday when he struck out 12 as Sylmar defeated previously unbeaten Rio Mesa, 7-3, in the Blue Division championship game of the Westside tournament.

But what encouraged Coach Gary Donatella most last week was the performances of pitchers Greg Ramos and Ivan Lopez. The development of Ramos, a sophomore, and Lopez, a junior, could enable Donatella to take some of the pitching burden off of Hernandez.

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Birmingham has received an unexpected boost from freshman catcher Jose Carrillo, who’s seven for 14 with eight RBIs. He has thrown out five of nine baserunners trying to steal second.

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Matt Harrington of Palmdale is recognized as the top junior pitcher in the Antelope Valley, but not far behind is the other Matt--Matt Parris of Paraclete. Parris, a 6-3 right-hander, struck out nine and walked two in a 4-1 victory over San Fernando. The previous week, he struck out 13 in an 8-0 victory over Cleveland.

“He goes right at you,” San Fernando Coach Armando Gomez said. “He’s legit. He makes you chase bad pitches.”

In 15 2/3 innings, Parris has allowed one earned run while striking out 25 and walking four.

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There’s good news and bad news from Harvard-Westlake’s opening two weeks. The bad news is the Wolverines (2-3) made 27 errors in five games. The good news is junior left-hander Chad Garson is 2-0 with 15 strikeouts in 11 innings.

Harvard-Westlake faces top-ranked Notre Dame (5-0) twice this week in Mission League play. The Wolverines are 0-12 against Notre Dame since 1993.