RARE PAIR

No one is about to compare the Chaminade High junior pitching duo of left-hander Bobby Paschal and right-hander Sean Clark to Dodger Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

But it’s fun to try.

“I have a better curveball,” Paschal joked about him and Koufax.

“I’m not afraid to go inside,” Clark said about him and Drysdale.

In truth, Coach Scott Drootin pointed out the only legitimate comparison between Koufax, who’s Jewish, and Paschal.

“Bobby ate a bagel once,” he said.

Paschal and Clark are proving as valuable to Chaminade as Koufax and Drysdale were to the Dodgers of the 1960s.

Because of its dominating pitching, Chaminade (22-3) became the first Mission League team to go through the league unbeaten since Southern Section Division I semifinalist Crespi in 1993.

Paschal (10-0) has a 0.56 earned-run average, including three shutouts. Clark (8-2) has struck out 62 and walked 14 in 52 2/3 innings and has a 1.60 ERA. They form a lefty-righty combination few teams in the region can duplicate.

“This is the best combination I’ve had,” Drootin said.

Neither Paschal nor Clark entered high school thinking they would become top pitchers.

“We weren’t really pitchers,” Paschal said. “Then, the summer between our freshman and sophomore years, it all started to click for both of us.”

They are among an outstanding group of junior pitchers already coveted by professional and college scouts.

Left-handers Jake Coash of Canyon and Alex Merricks of Oxnard could be high draft picks in 2002. Right-hander Eddie Baeza of Poly isn’t far behind. Then there are sure-fire college prospects, led by left-hander Joe Guntz of Chatsworth and right-hander Adam Geery of Kennedy.

Clark gets put in the pro prospect category because he’s 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds with a fastball clocked in the high 80s.

“He comes right at you,” Drootin said. “He’s not afraid of anybody.”

Paschal, 6-0 and 190 pounds, is similar to Randy Wolf and Jim Parque, major leaguers who were drafted out of high school but attended Pepperdine and UCLA, respectively, to prove their velocity was no fluke at their size.

Paschal is capable of following the same route.

“He can throw three, four pitches for strikes,” Drootin said. “If you think he’s going to finesse you, look out, because he’ll blow one past you.”

Clark has the ideal mental makeup for a pitcher. He’s fearless and at ease on the mound. Tough situations don’t rattle him. Three-and-two counts hardly make him sweat.

There are things that can distract him, such as a mouse in the dugout.

“It was next to me, so I climbed up on a screen and said, ‘Oh my God, it’s a mouse,’ ” he said. “I never eeked.”

Oh, yes he did, Drootin said.

“All right, I said, ‘Eek,’ ” Clark said.

Running from a mouse doesn’t make Clark more eccentric than Paschal, who has so many superstitions it’s a miracle he arrives at school each day.

Everything, from what he eats to what music he listens to, depends on how well Paschal is pitching. Lately, no one can convince him to stop wearing a lucky hooded sweatshirt in 90-degree temperatures.

“The air [conditioner] broke in our class,” Clark said. “I was in the back in shorts just dying and he’s sitting there in khaki pants with his sweatshirt. I asked him to take it off and he said, ‘I can’t.’ ”

Said Drootin: “Bobby is the most superstitious guy you’ve ever met. I’m sure he’s wearing the same lucky underwear he wore when he was 12.”

Luck has nothing to do with Paschal’s 18-1 pitching record the last two seasons. His fastball approaches 87 mph, and his much-improved curveball has helped increase his strikeout total. He has 97 in 75 innings.

“He makes hitters look silly,” Clark said.

Added Drootin: “He’s possessed to get better.”

Chaminade begins the Division IV playoffs Friday against Bosco Tech. Winning a Southern Section championship will be difficult. Division IV is filled with quality teams, headed by Bishop Amat (19-2), rated No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

But in Paschal and Clark, the Eagles have two pitchers capable of taking them to Dodger Stadium.

“Every time I pitch, there are people pumped up to beat me,” Paschal said. “I just have to keep getting better and working hard.”

Added Clark: “I’m looking forward to what lies ahead. I want to do what I can to show everybody I am legit.”

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Eric Sondheimer’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Sean Clark

Record: 8-2

ERA: 1.60

Strikeouts: 62

Walks: 14

Innings: 52 2/3

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Bobby Paschal

Record: 10-0

ERA: 0.56

Strikeouts: 97

Walks: 32

Innings: 75