HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL 2001

Preseason Top 10

*--*

RK School League 2000 Rec. 1 Westlake Marmonte 23-3 2 Kennedy Valley Mission 23-11-1 3 Chatsworth West Valley 25-2-1 4 Camarillo Pacific View 24-6 5 Hart Foothill 21-5 6 Chaminade Mission 20-7 7 Poly Sunset Six 22-9 8 Lancaster Golden 15-10 9 Moorpark Marmonte 15-10 10 Valencia Foothill 18-8

*--*

AT A GLANCE

The Proven: Westlake lost only three games last season and has the No. 1 players in the region at pitcher and catcher in Tyler Adamczyk and Mike Nickeas, respectively. Add to them shortstop Ryan McCarthy, outfielder Luke Riordan and pitchers Chris White and Tyler Carr, and you have the makings of a Division III championship team. . . . Kennedy’s only major loss to graduation was at shortstop, but Chad Shaw moves from second base and seems perfectly suited for the position. The Golden Cougars are four pitchers deep and return catcher Phil Avlas, the City co-player of the year. They face a difficult nonleague schedule, with games against Westlake, Chatsworth and West Torrance. . . . Chatsworth has so many quality pitchers Coach Tom Meusborn could flip a coin to choose among junior Joe Guntz, senior Sean Richards, sophomore Justin Cassel and freshman Jason Dominguez. Second baseman Gregg Wallis should lead the team in hitting. Ryan Barba must come through as the replacement for Matt Fisher at shortstop, and outfielders Brian Lee and Jared Halpert have to provide some offense. . . . Camarillo could challenge for the Division I title behind pitchers Jim Alstot and Delmon Young, a sophomore. Shortstop Brad Boyer, outfielders J.D. Peterson and Jacob Medina and third baseman Jeff Hamilton all could be standouts. . . . UCLA-bound outfielder Bill Susdorf, last year’s Times Valley player of the year, and pitcher Eric Posthumus, who was 8-0, give Hart plenty to build around. Pitcher Chris Burrows has done well in winter ball and sophomore shortstop Chris Valaika has looked so good that last year’s starter, Matt Moore, will move to third base. . . . Lancaster is ready to replace Palmdale and Highland as the top team from the Golden League. With nine starters back and top transfers in pitcher Jordy Carlon from Antelope Valley and outfielder Art Ortiz from Palmdale, the Eagles can be a title contender in Division II. . . . Poly has been City runner-up four times since 1978. With the left-hander, right-hander combination of Joe Hampel and Eddie Baeza, the Parrots have legitimate title aspirations. . . . Moorpark returns nine starters, including talented infielders Blake Sharpe and Chris Nealon. The Musketeers have excellent pitching depth with David Burckin, Robbie Jaegge, Evan Seibly, Sean Gates and Danny Buckley. . . . For Valencia to miss the playoffs last season despite an 18-8 record tells plenty about the strength of the Foothill League. With pitcher Richie Martin, shortstop Jimmy Rohan and a group of up-and-coming young players, the Vikings will be Hart’s biggest threat. . . . If Chaminade can play defense, a Mission League title and much more is within reach. The Eagles have top pitchers in Bobby Paschal, Sean Clark and T.J. Franco, two elite hitters in outfielder Erik Johnson and catcher Jim Milkovich, and a bunch of rising sophomores and juniors. But erratic fielding in the winter left the Eagles vulnerable.

*

The Promising: Royal could overtake Westlake in the Marmonte League if Chaminade transfer Jason Urquidez can regain the pitching form from his sophomore year. The Highlanders have their usual solid hitting lineup, led by center fielder Brian Gunn and third baseman Eric Ross. . . . Birmingham has a hitting attack that figures to score lots of runs. The key for the Patriots to challenge in the West Valley League will be whether senior Neil Morrow and sophomore Junior Garcia pitch well against top teams. . . . It’s a new era at El Camino Real, where the four-time City champions no longer have Conor Jackson. First baseman Jason Kort, All-City pitcher Greg Acheatel and shortstop Christian Hariot must step up. Freshman pitcher Chad Boyd, the son of former Poly pitcher Mike Boyd, could be an impact player. . . . Crespi drops from Division I to Division IV, but the Celts won’t be a title contender unless they develop a top pitcher. The Celts have strong defense and lots of hitters with third baseman Jonathan Oller, second baseman Dustin Slade and shortstop Dale Legaspi, veterans of last year’s Mission League co-championship team. . . . San Fernando won the Valley Mission League title last season and returns its top pitcher in Abraham Gonzalez. . . . Phil Torres is 76-24 in four years at Crescenta Valley, including three Pacific League titles. The Falcons return only three starters, but they have lots of talented young players, led by junior right-hander Kris Krise. . . . With pitchers Chris Seddon and Jake Coash, Canyon could make life miserable for opponents in the Foothill League. . . . With seven returning starters, Simi Valley could have its best team since Mike Scyphers left as coach after the 1995 season. Pitchers Jered Weaver and Steve Westerfield, first baseman Danny Turlock and outfielder Casey Belmonte lead the Pioneers.