Mission Viejo Has Unexpected Help

It should come as no surprise that the Mission Viejo baseball team is in position to play for the South Coast League championship this week in a pivotal two-game series against Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley.

The Diablos, ranked No. 11 by The Times, have one of the Southland’s strongest pitching duos in Chris Jones (5-1, 0.93 earned-run average) and Steve Grove (3-4, 1.58).

But Mission Viejo (16-6, 9-2 in league) has received some unexpected contributions heading into today’s game against the visiting Cougars (16-5-1, 8-3), ranked No. 9

Senior left-fielder Pat O’Neill, who had not played baseball since his freshman year, is hitting .413 in the leadoff spot. He leads the team with 33 hits, 24 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

Sophomore right-fielder Garrett Rubio began the season on the junior varsity team, but Coach Chris Ashbach was so impressed with his swing, he called him up after six games. Rubio leads the varsity with a .475 average.

On the mound, junior right-hander Alex Meschi threw only 13 innings last season but is 5-1 with a 1.84 earned-run average this year and leads the team with 45 2/3 innings pitched.

Ashbach said he would start Jones, a Texas A&M-bound; right-hander, today and left-hander Grove on Friday at Capistrano Valley.

-- Dan Arritt

Boys’ Volleyball

San Clemente, which had climbed to the top of The Times’ rankings for the first time this season, was upset in its first match as the No. 1 team by Lake Forest El Toro, 25-23, 25-23, 10-25, 28-26, in South Coast League play Tuesday.

Nathan Bosza had 28 kills and nine blocks, Aaron Trotter had 51 assists and Cary Wicker added 11 kills for the host Chargers (9-6, 5-4 in league). The Tritons fell to 23-3, 8-1.

-- Ben Dimapindan

Boys’ Swimming

Long Beach Wilson Coach Klaus Barth began his third round of chemotherapy treatment three weeks ago since being diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2000.

Barth, who suffers from the same condition that killed former New York Met and Philadelphia Phillie pitcher Tug McGraw on Jan. 5, has been seemingly undeterred by the illness.

He has continued teaching physical education classes at Wilson and has guided the Bruins (8-0, 4-0 in league), ranked No. 5 by The Times, to the Moore League finals at 6 p.m. on Friday at Belmont Plaza, where they will try for their 22nd consecutive league title.

A former world-class swimmer specializing in the breaststroke, Barth was a member of the 1968 German Olympic team. He also competed in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon seven times, finishing fourth in 1987.

Barth’s advanced cancer was never in remission, according to Shari Barth, his wife of 30 years.

His tumor, however, had been stabilized for the last 16 months until an MRI on April 16 revealed slight growth, discovered after Barth suffered two seizures.

-- Lauren Peterson

Track and Field

Senior Dustin Deleo of Los Alamitos will attempt to continue his rapid ascent up the pole-vaulting ladder when he competes in the Sunset League finals Friday at Huntington Beach.

Deleo, who signed with UCLA last week, did not start vaulting until last year but has made great strides while being coached by 1984 Olympic silver medalist Mike Tully.

Deleo placed seventh in the Southern Section Division I final last year, when he cleared a then-career best of 14 feet 6 inches, but he has exceeded that height on numerous occasions this season.

He cleared 15-0 to win the Trabuco Hills Invitational on April 3 before raising his best to 15-9 in a dual meet five days later and to a school-record 16-2 to win the Orange County title on April 24.

The 16-2 effort moved Deleo into a tie for first on the yearly state list with senior Matt Contreras of Los Angeles Loyola and drew him to within five inches of the Orange County record of 16-7 set by Logan Odden of Huntington Beach Marina in 2000.

“To me, it’s been somewhat of a surprise,” Los Alamitos Coach Nathan Howard said about Deleo’s performances. “But Mike thinks he can go 17 feet by the end of the season.”

-- John Ortega