Lure of Coaching Pac-10 Program Might Snag Braswell

Assorted tales from the “As the Ball Bounces” files . . .

Leave it to Beavers to pull such a stunt.

The rascals might strip Cal State Northridge of arguably its best coach by luring Bobby Brasell to Oregon State.

Braswell says he’s not sold on leaving Northridge and the ever-improving men’s basketball program he has built.

He says a significant pay increase, more than double the $96,000 he makes with the Matadors, is not the biggest selling point to replace fired Eddie Payne in Corvallis.

Neither is returning to the Pacific Northwest, where Braswell spent four seasons as an assistant at Oregon before coming to Northridge.

But coaching in the Pacific 10 Conference, with the challenge of reviving a once-powerful program, is the hook that might snag him.

That’s one heavy-duty line the Matadors won’t be able to cut if the biggest fish in their pond is reeled in by outsiders.

None of this, though, is unexpected. Braswell’s stock continues to rise and it’s only a matter of time before Oregon State or someone else takes him from Northridge.

For Braswell, the timing is right. He is coming off his best season and has gained national prominence. And, in the fickle business of coaching, it’s what you’ve done lately that counts most.

So Braswell soon could be headed for Oregon State, to tussle with the big boys, and that would be a tremendous boost for the Beavers.

And a major blow for Northridge.

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Remy McCarthy, men’s basketball coach at Moorpark College, deservingly was chosen co-coach of the year in Southern California.

He took the Raiders to the state semifinals last weekend in Stockton and got every ounce of effort from a team that wasn’t overly athletic.

There were much more talented teams, including L.A. City, which was ranked No. 1 in the state but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sequoias.

City’s coach, Mike Miller, shared co-coach honors with McCarthy.

But perhaps a better choice than Miller would have been Valley’s Doug Michelson, who guided the Monarchs to within a basket of the title game.

Neither McCarthy’s nor Michelson’s team was expected to reach the semifinals. Miller’s much-ballyhooed squad should have reached the final.

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As usual, the Antelope Valley softball team is off and flying.

The Marauders started 9-0 and are 11-3 entering the Fresno tournament Saturday and Sunday.

“Their togetherness and cohesiveness are helping us win,” said Gene Pagliaro, in his 13th season coaching the Marauders.

Not to mention the bats of Kristi DiMarco and Amber Slaton, and the pitching of right-handers Mikki Goldwater and Marciea Ball.

DiMarco, a center fielder, is batting .538 with three home runs, 12 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases. Slaton, a first baseman, is batting .457 with seven doubles. Both are headed for Mississippi on scholarship.

Goldwater, a sophomore, is 6-1 with a 0.80 earned-run average and Ball, a freshman, is 5-1 with a 0.58 ERA. Ball is a power pitcher, Goldwater relies more on finesse.

“One of the big things is all these girls like one another,” Pagliaro said.

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Pagliaro is excited about the $446,000 softball complex being built on campus and due for completion in May, a little late for this season.

“It’s going to be top of the line,” Pagliaro said. “We’ve been waiting 13 years.”

The complex includes two batting cages, an electronic scoreboard, actual dugouts and a state-of-the-art draining system.

The Marauders now play home games at a park.

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Rain is not a baseball coach’s or a groundskeeper’s best friend.

That is, unless the coach’s team is being hammered and it’s not an official game yet. Then they pray for a monsoon.

Foul (insert giggle here) weather once was a source of consternation for junior college coaches, whose pitching staffs were thin.

But region coaches were fortunate during the recent storms in the Southland, with most teams able to play scheduled games.

“It wasn’t as bad as it appeared,” Pierce Coach Bob Lofrano said. “The rain would knock out practices, but not games. We would get the fields ready, and at least we played.”

The Brahmas have only one game to make up and some teams, including Ventura and Oxnard, were never affected.

“We are on schedule,” Ventura Coach Don Adams said. “I don’t know how we did it.”

Lofrano said a new rule in the Western State Conference also helped eliminate the fear of playing games without front-line pitchers.

This season, WSC teams can’t play more than four games in a week.

“There were times we were playing five and even six games [in a week],” Lofrano said.