BASEBALL

Precocious, coltish, exuberant. Delmon Young of Camarillo fits every description of a talented freshman.

Original, however, he is not.

Young is the brother of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Dmitri Young, who starred at Rio Mesa High from 1988-91. Dmitri was probably the best freshman ever from the region, batting .420 with 37 hits, seven home runs and 29 runs batted in.

Until Delmon came along. An outfielder with a tremendous arm, he became the first player to appear in the Area Code Games before his freshman year.

He has lived up to billing, batting .456 with 41 hits, nine doubles and 33 RBIs.

“We started the season batting Delmon sixth or seventh in the lineup, but now he bats fifth,” Camarillo Coach Scott Cline said. “The first month of the season he was a freshman. Now he’s a veteran. He makes solid contact almost every at-bat.”

Delmon only has to look to his brother’s statistics for formidable career goals. Dmitri ranks among all-time state leaders in hits (159), RBIs (127), runs (137), doubles (36) and home runs (29).

Delmon will carve his own way as a pitcher. This season he is 3-0 with a 1.56 earned-run average in 22 innings.

“As great as Dmitri was in high school, Delmon could surpass that,” Cline said.