West Torrance Gets Top Ranking in Preseason Poll : Preps: With the return of three All-Pioneer League players and the addition of two talented transfers, the Warriors appear to be the team to beat.

Ask high school baseball coaches to name the top teams in the South Bay this year and most have no problem listing West Torrance, Peninsula and El Segundo. After that, the picture becomes cloudy.

There are many questions surrounding the 1993 season, which begins for most area schools Friday with the El Segundo tournament. After the graduation of many standouts--most notably catcher Jason Kendall of Torrance, a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates--most teams will be relying on unproven players.

“Once the season starts, you never know what a young player will do,” said John Stevenson, beginning his 34th season as coach at El Segundo.

The following is a rundown of the South Bay’s top 10 teams. The rankings were based on a poll of coaches. League affiliation and last year’s record are in parentheses:

1. WEST TORRANCE (20-8, PIONEER)

The Warriors return three all-league players and have added two highly regarded transfers. Coach Harry Jenkins, in his third season at West after coaching Redondo for 19 years, is nearing 400 career victories.

The Warriors, the league co-champions with Torrance in 1992, will be led by junior second baseman Derek Nicholson. A strong fielder, Nicholson batted .359 with 10 doubles last season. Senior catcher Brian Belliveau, another all-league selection, provides power in the middle of the lineup. He batted .323 as a junior.

West’s third all-league player is junior designated hitter Joe Intermill. A knee injury might hamper Intermill, who batted .356 in ’92.

West’s pitching staff is led by right-handed seniors Mike Myro and Hauss Hancock. Myro has an outstanding arm, Jenkins said, and has been developing a slider. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Hancock transferred from El Segundo.

West’s other transfer, senior Dwayne Dinnocente, will start in the outfield. He played in Washington state last year.

“Our strength is in our hitting,” Jenkins said. “I would say our defense is average. And our pitching, especially the No. 1 and 2 starters, could be very good.”

2. PENINSULA (20-8, BAY)

The Panthers will rely on returning all-league pitchers Arin McCarthy and Brian Bowles. McCarthy, a right-hander, was 5-0 with a 2.50 earned-run average in ’92.

“He’s a very hard thrower with a live arm,” Coach Garry Poe said. “He’s got a good breaking pitch; he can be brilliant. He’s just looking for consistency.”

Bowles, a 6-4 right-hander, was 5-3 in ’92. The junior’s strength is the ability to throw a variety of pitches.

“He’s got good command of the fastball, curve and changeup,” Poe said. “He’s a really good, competitive athlete who understands pitching.”

Junior Brian Hogentogler, an all-league infielder in ‘92, will move to center field to make room for senior shortstop Masaki Shimoda, who played on the junior varsity in ’92. Seniors Tim Akins and Scott August will compete for playing time at first base, but both are capable of playing other positions.

With nine returning players from a team that reached the 5-A Division quarterfinals, Peninsula hopes to find playing time for everyone.

“It’s a real opportunity for the team,” Poe said. “Having talented players at the same position is a nice problem to have.”

3. EL SEGUNDO (27-3, PIONEER)

Coach Stevenson welcomes the Eagles’ move to the Pioneer League after two years of lopsided victories and inferior competition in the San Fernando Valley League.

“I’m looking forward to it, and the kids are looking forward to it,” Stevenson said. “We’ve always competed well with the teams in the South Bay.”

El Segundo returns three all-league players, led by senior second baseman Jim Zambarelli, who batted .388 with four home runs and 26 runs batted in during ’92. Junior Ryan McClosky, who moves from the outfield to catcher, batted .375 and drove in 17 runs in ’92. Outfielder David Scanlan provides speed for the Eagles; he stole 12 bases last season.

Senior right-hander Jamin Kear, who pitched only 18 innings in ‘92, is the pitcher Stevenson hopes will become the leader of a young staff. Juniors Dan Croxall, Bill Brown and David Reed will also vie for innings.

“Our young pitchers are very talented,” Stevenson said. “There should be a dogfight for innings.”

4. BANNING (15-9, PACIFIC)

Syl Saavedra, in his sixth year as coach, thinks this is the quickest team he has had. He hopes team speed and the return of Pacific League co-player of the year Carlos Garibay will propel the Pilots to the league title.

Garibay, a left-hander who was selected to The Times’ South Bay all-star team as a junior, had an 11-2 record and 1.14 ERA in 85 2/3 innings last season. He also batted .341.

“He’s just tremendous,” Saavedra said. “He’s the kind of kid who can play anywhere. He just keeps working to get better.”

Senior right-hander Mario Soto will be counted on to provide balance in Banning’s pitching staff.

5. REDONDO (19-8, OCEAN)

Although the Sea Hawks graduated their top two pitchers from last year’s league championship team, they had a successful summer league season and are expected to be contenders again.

Coach Tim Ammentorp said all-league first baseman Rick Janssen, a left-handed batter, should provide power in the lineup and take advantage of the short right-field dimensions at Redondo.

Catcher Kevin Keating, called by Ammentorp “as good a catcher as there is in the area,” was a second-team all-league selection as a designated hitter in ’92.

Junior right-hander Scott Albin is Redondo’s top pitcher. After Albin, the pitching situation is unsettled.

“We’ve got six candidates to pitch,” Ammentorp said. “We need to find someone who throws strikes. We’re inexperienced, but we’ve got some athletes.”

6. SAN PEDRO (22-4, PACIFIC)

The defending City Section 4-A Division champions return several key players from ’92. Coach Jerry Lovarov, beginning his 33rd season at San Pedro, is counting on senior left-hander Larry Cannon to lead the pitching staff. Cannon was 8-1 last year and was the winning pitcher in San Pedro’s 6-3 victory over Poly in the 4-A final.

“He throws pretty hard and has good movement on the ball,” Lovarov said.

Senior first baseman Dan O’Neil, who was named most valuable player of the championship game after going two for three with three RBIs, is back in the middle of the batting order. Other key players include senior shortstop Robbie Lukin and junior second baseman Tim Harper.

Lovarov said neither he nor his team is thinking about last year’s championship.

“This is a new team, a new year,” he said. “If what you did last year looks good this year, then you won’t (accomplish) anything this year.”

7. WESTCHESTER (19-8, WESTERN)

The Comets will rely heavily on shortstop Jose Martinez, who batted .354 with 14 stolen bases in ’92.

Coach Rod Kasparian, in his 19th year at Westchester, also needs a strong season from junior catcher Rod Washington. A three-year varsity player, Washington batted under .300 last year and will be asked to handle an unproven pitching staff led by senior right-hander Andrew Spencer, who was 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in ’92.

Kasparian said junior Henry Jones could develop into an outstanding player.

“He can pitch and play second or shortstop,” Kasparian said. “He’s a very special player. He’s going to make me a good coach.”

8. TORRANCE (16-10, PIONEER)

The graduation of Kendall, the all-everything catcher who batted .549 and led the area in doubles and triples last season, will hurt the Tartars. But Coach Jeff Phillips says Torrance has more depth at all positions than last year’s Pioneer League co-champion team.

“There’s going to be a lot of competition this season,” Phillips said.

Among the returning players are senior right-handed pitchers Bill Bynum and David Fogle and junior pitcher-first baseman Ollie Turner, a left-hander.

“Our pitchers must perform,” Phillips said. “We’ve got more depth on the team but less experience.”

9. MARY STAR (16-7, SANTA FE)

The Stars return six position players but are unsettled in the pitching department. Coach Ray Estrada hasn’t decided on a starting rotation.

“We’ve only got one returning pitcher,” Estrada said. “We’re still looking for pitching.”

The Stars shouldn’t have to look too hard to find their offense. Junior catcher Gary Sloan batted .313 with four home runs in ‘92, sophomore first baseman Joe Sulentor batted .310 with 15 RBIs and senior shortstop Chuck Ursini batted .416 with 24 RBIs. Sophomore second baseman Iggie Galaz solidifies the middle of the infield defensively and provides speed on the basepaths.

10. ST. BERNARD (14-11-1, MISSION)

According to Coach Bob Yarnall, the Vikings are a team built for speed. That’s not standard operating procedure for St. Bernard, which normally relies on power hitting.

“We have to play good defense and put the ball in play to score,” Yarnall said. “We have the speed to score runs.”

Senior right-hander Robert Cox, the Vikings’ top pitcher, was 5-4 with a 1.87 ERA in ’92.

Offensively, Yarnall expects junior second baseman Paul Lopez to be the catalyst. The switch-hitting Lopez batted .352 with 19 stolen bases in ’92.

BEST OF THE REST

Mira Costa (13-12, Ocean)--The Mustangs return all-league outfielder Mitch Gosztyla, who batted .380 with four home runs in ’92. Outfielder Scott Combs led the team in stolen bases the last two seasons. Senior right-hander Brian Zinda, 6-4 in ‘92, will be Coach Jim Beaumont’s top starter.

Hawthorne (8-16, Bay)--Coach Greg Goode will rely on the versatility of senior Gregg Waggoner to lead the Cougars. Waggoner, an all-league selection as a utility player in ‘92, has played catcher, first base and the outfield. Senior shortstop Boe Depew is strong defensively.

Carson (18-8, Pacific)--The Colts are led by shortstop Ben Padilla, who batted .382 as a junior. Andy Martinez moves from the outfield to second base after batting .368 with 23 RBIs. Senior right-hander Jason Cole, returning from a wrist injury in ‘92, is the team’s No. 1 starter.

Leuzinger (10-13, Bay)--First-year Coach Mike Whitt calls senior shortstop Gustavo Rubio “a superstar.” An all-league selection in ‘92, Whitt said Rubio “flat out crushes the ball. He is one of the big boys in the area.”

North Torrance (1-17, Pioneer)--Senior shortstop Frank Ramirez, who quarterbacked the football team and was a starting guard on the basketball team, returns after batting .526 and earning all-league honors as a junior.

South Torrance (12-10, Pioneer)--First-year Coach Scott Spector will count on junior shortstop-pitcher Paul Weeks, an all-league selection who batted .413 in ’92.