HIGH SCHOOL CLOSE-UPS

BASEBALL

ROBERT DICKMANN

MARC SUNGA

Srs., Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

Then: Dickmann was called up to the varsity at the end of his freshman year and was a starting outfielder and the leadoff hitter his sophomore season, when he hit .357. He added closing responsibilities last season, when he earned first-team All-Mission League honors. Sunga was used sparingly as a utility player as a sophomore, hitting .347, then took over as the starting catcher last season, when he hit close to .300.

Now: Though Dickmann has only become a regular starting pitcher this season, his future appears to be on the mound. The left-hander signed with UCLA in November. He is 3-1 with a 1.17 earned-run average and 35 strikeouts in 24 innings. Sunga went eight for 12 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in to earn most-valuable-player honors at the Chino tournament, where the Knights (7-5) won the title. Sunga, a solid defender, is hitting .452 with six home runs, 17 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Quote: “Much of the success we have this season will likely be because those two had good years,” Coach Tom Dill said. “They’re kind of carrying the team right now.”

Dan Arritt

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SOFTBALL

TIFFANY HUFF

Jr., Saugus

Then: Made immediate impact as a freshman catcher, batting .300 with 12 runs scored and 11 runs batted in, and showed power potential with three home runs. However, the team forfeited eight victories and missed the playoffs. Huff was hardly a factor as a sophomore when she broke her ankle in a scrimmage and sat out 17 games. Still, in 20 at-bats she hit .300, drove in two runs, and Saugus (20-6) was beaten in the Division I quarterfinals by champion Riverside Poly, 1-0.

Now: A well-rounded hitter in the leadoff spot, she delivered her fifth homer of the season on Tuesday, scored her 19th run and drove in her 18th. Huff is batting .659 for Saugus, ranked 19th in the Southland, and it’s the first time in her three seasons that Coach Rich Perez feels as if he’s not at odds with fate. “We’re better because we learned to play without her last year, and now with her, we’re stronger at nine positions, not just one,” said Perez, who returned six starters to the lineup. Against Garden Grove Pacifica and Santa Ana Mater Dei, Huff had two hits apiece.

Quote: “Basically, when I’m batting, I try not to think about anything mechanical, because if you don’t have it by the time you’re up at the plate, you’re not going to get it,” Huff said. “So I think about what pitch I want to hit, not the pitch that she’s going to throw.”

-- Martin Henderson

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BOYS’ TENNIS

BLAKE MULLER

Sr., Santa Barbara

Then: Won the Channel League singles title as a freshman but suffered a fractured vertebra as a sophomore and sat out all but two matches. Last season, he won the league singles title and advanced to the Southern Section singles championship match before falling to Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Kaes Van’t Hof. Muller beat Sam Tadevosian in the third-place match of the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships in June and played on the USTA Junior Davis Cup team in July.

Now: Muller, 6 feet 2 1/2 , has combined a powerful serve and forehand, an excellent crosscourt backhand and an improving net game to earn a tennis scholarship to Stanford. He is 16-1 in sets for Santa Barbara (14-0, 4-0), ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, and won four singles matches and helped win four doubles matches as the Dons won the Corona del Mar/National High School All-American Invitational title on March 26.

Quote: “He’s a great competitor,” Coach Steve Geremia said. “Even when things are kind of going against him and maybe aren’t looking too good, we still think things are going good.”

-- Lauren Peterson