AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

By STEVE HENSON

Feb. 23, 2000 12 AM PT

No one is saying Jon Cuccias’ pitching success for California came through underhanded means. But the day he dropped down to a sidearm delivery changed the course of his career.

Cuccias went to Crespi High, where Coach Scott Muckey has turned several overhand throwers into venomous sidewinders.

Cuccias, a senior, should become Cal’s all-time leader in appearances. He has 95 appearances. The school record is 109.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander was 2-0 with three saves and earned-run average of 3.38 in 33 appearances as a freshman.

Cuccias is 5-4 with six saves in 135 2/3 innings in his career.

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Steve Henson

Steve Henson is a breaking news and enterprise reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He previously served as an editor and reporter in the Sports department. Henson was a leader in digital-only newsrooms from 2007-19 as a senior editor and columnist at Yahoo Sports and as senior editor at the USA Today Sports Media Group. This is his second stint at The Times, having covered the Dodgers and UCLA as well as doing enterprise, investigative and features writing from 1985-2007. Henson was awarded first place in sports features in 2023 and in 2021 by the L.A. Press Club. He has been honored several times by APSE — most recently in 2023 and 2021 — and also by the California News Publishers Assn., the Football Writers Assn. of America and U.S. Basketball Writers Assn.

AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

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