PREP WRAPUP / ROB FERNAS : Resurgent Carson Has 10-Game Win Streak

In recent years, Carson High’s baseball team normally had trouble getting through a week without a loss.

Going a month without a defeat was unheard of. Until now.

The Colts have not lost a Southern-Pacific Conference game since March 8, when Banning’s Mike Busby blanked them on three hits, and they own a 10-game unbeaten streak heading into the pivotal part of the schedule.

“We’re on a roll,” Coach Marty Blankenship said.

Many consider it a surprising roll.

At a school known for its strong athletic program, baseball traditionally has been the weak link. Carson has not won a league baseball title since Bob Ezell coached the Colts to the Marine League championship in 1974.

A confident Blankenship believes the drought is about to end.

“I think it’s going to be our year,” he said.

With six games remaining, Carson (11-3-2 overall) leads the Pacific League by 1 1/2 games with an 8-1-2 record. But Banning (8-3), Gardena (6-4) and San Pedro (6-4-1) are all within striking range. The challengers each get a crack at Carson in two-game series over the next three weeks, starting Tuesday when the Colts visit Gardena.

It’s an exciting time for Blankenship, who hasn’t had much to look forward to during his four years as Carson’s head coach.

“We’re having a great time,” he said. “It’s about time, especially after last year. That was really frustrating.”

The Colts languished through their worst season under Blankenship in 1989, finishing 7-14 and placing last in the four-team Pacific League.

This season’s turnaround can be traced to several factors, but perhaps the most important is a talented group of underclassmen. Carson starts only three seniors and will return nine players next year.

“We finally got a group of kids who are working together,” Blankenship said. “Most of them have played together for a long time. It’s paying off.

“I think our success has a lot to do with the kids we have. Half the team has a legitimate 3.0 grade-point average or better. We didn’t lose anybody to academic ineligibility. When they come out to the field, it makes it that much easier to coach them.”

The Colts’ strengths are a potent offense (they are hitting .344 as a team after unloading on Dorsey, 6-1 and 15-6, this week), a tight defense and good team speed (39 steals in 48 attempts).

An average pitching staff has survived on depth.

“We’re lucky to have four or five pitchers who can give us four to five innings,” Blankenship said. “Pitching is the key. If our guys are throwing strikes, then our defense is going to keep us in the game.”

Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and second baseman Ed Lovato form the backbone of Carson’s defense. The two seniors have committed just two errors each, and have contributed to nine double plays in 11 conference games.

“I don’t think there are a finer pair of middle infielders anywhere in the South Bay,” Blankenship said.

Offensively, Rodriguez boasts a heady .602 on-base percentage and leads the team with a .512 batting average (21 for 41), 23 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 19 RBIs. Lovato is hitting .385 with 13 RBIs.

Of the underclassmen, sophomore outfielder David Mauney shows the most promise. He raised his batting average 22 points this week to .382, and is tied with Rodriguez for the team lead in triples (two) and home runs (three). He has 14 RBIs.

Much like Carson’s season, the emergence of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Mauney, the team’s fastest player, has been a surprise.

“He’s been a blessing for us,” Blankenship said. “We kept him on the team for his raw talent, hoping that being around varsity players he would learn what they’ve learned. He’s adjusted really fast.”

Two others who have made major contributions to Carson’s turnaround are junior third baseman Sal Garcia (.300) and pitcher-first baseman Marco Martinez, a left-handed junior who improved his conference record to 3-0 Wednesday by pitching a three-hitter in a 6-1 victory over Dorsey.

Since losing to Banning, 7-0, more than a month ago, Carson has posted an 8-0-2 record. Momentum seems to be on the Colts’ side heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.

Blankenship, though, knows it can change if his team doesn’t stay focused.

“I don’t know how long this is going to last,” he said, “but we want to ride the wave as long as we can.”

Blankenship said Carson’s winning record is a direct result of the work performed by assistant coaches John Gonzales and Scott Griffee in practice.

“There’s no way one guy can coach and have success like this,” he said. “Our drills break the team down. Scott has the outfielders, John takes the infielders, and I take the pitchers and catchers. We organize the practices where we can maximize everything.

“We’ve seen tremendous improvement with this break-down system. We try implementing certain things: books, videos. What works we keep; what doesn’t work we take back to the drawing board.”

Carson’s last league champion baseball team in 1974 starred two pitchers with familiar names.

The ace was Rod Van Lue, younger brother of Narbonne Coach Nick Van Lue, and the Colts’ No. 2 pitcher was DeWayne Buice, the former Angel reliever.

Rod Van Lue posted a 10-0 league record, while Buice was 3-1.

“We went to the playoffs almost every year back then,” said Ezell, who coached Carson in 1968 and 1970-78. “We had some good ball players.”

Ezell guided Carson to two appearances in the L.A. City championship game, but the Colts lost both times by 5-4 scores, to Gardena in 1968 and to Cleveland of Reseda in 1977.

Blankenship’s wife, Kathy, coaches the Banning softball team, which meets Carson at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday at Scott Park in Carson in a showdown for first place in the Pacific League. Both teams are 6-0.

Carson is coached by Rosie Martinez, who played for Blankenship at Banning in 1979.

Thanks to Centennial, there is a tie for first place in the Ocean League baseball race. The Apaches upset Culver City for the second time this season, 3-2, on Friday, forcing a tie for first between Mira Costa and Culver City, both with 6-2 records.

Centennial is in fourth place at 4-3.

“Centennial is scary,” said Mira Costa Coach Jim Beaumont, whose team hammered West Torrance, 15-8, on Friday. “They have a couple of athletes. I don’t know how they beat Culver City, but I’m glad they did.”

Torrance third baseman Antone Williamson made his 100th varsity hit a memorable one Friday, belting a solo home run in the sixth inning of the Tartars’ 14-4 Bay League victory over Inglewood at Sentinel Field.

Williamson, a junior who is batting .544 this season, is on a pace that threatens the Southern Section career hit record of 147 established by Scott Davison of Redondo in 1985-88.

Torrance and Rolling Hills, both 6-2, are tied for second place in the Bay League, one game behind Beverly Hills. Palos Verdes dropped into third place after suffering a 4-1 upset loss at the hands of Leuzinger.