Tried, True Methods Boost Notre Dame

The Notre Dame High baseball team came into 1991 with several returning starters and high hopes. The kiss of death?

Not thus far. Instead, Notre Dame is thriving. The Knights’ 6-0 start has been built on timely hitting and good pitching--a standard formula for success on the diamond.

Catcher Lou Tapia leads the hit parade, belting out three triples, two doubles and a homer among his seven hits for a slugging percentage of .947. “If he had any speed, he’d have three more homers,” Coach Bob Mandeville said with a chuckle. “That’s how far he’s hitting ‘em. But he’s got that catcher’s speed.”

That Mandeville can needle his star senior is an indication of another facet of Notre Dame’s success. “We have pretty good chemistry on this squad,” the coach said. “The guys all really get along.”

The club has received contributions from younger players. Sophomore pitcher Chris Leveque continues to impress with a 3-0 record and a 1.02 earned-run average.

And when senior first baseman Steve Colella told Mandeville that he would be skipping baseball in his senior season, the Knights found a silver lining: Sophomore Glen Carson stepped up and he is batting .333 (five for 15).

It has been that kind of March for Mandeville and Notre Dame.

Don’t fence me in: Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado declined to utilize the temporary fence in right and right-center field this season. Too much of a “pain in the rear” to reassemble before games, he said.

But the lack of a reachable fence at Kennedy has again brought back one of the most exciting plays in baseball--the inside-the-park home run.

In last week’s loss to San Fernando, Joe Bernas and Jeff Tagliaferri each hit inside-the-park homers into the gap in right-center, where baseballs often roll approximately 500 feet to the fence along Woodley Avenue. Bernas and Tagliaferri each hit balls to the identical place in the same inning and then sped hell-bent around the bases as San Fernando tried a three-man relay.

Add Kennedy: Alvarado knew as soon as he saw the umpire flash his thumb through the air that Alvarado deserved a thumbs down for his decision.

With no out and Kennedy trailing San Fernando, 8-3, Tagliaferri ripped a line drive into right field for a sure double. As Tagliaferri rounded second, he picked up the sign from Alvarado in the third-base coach’s box and kept on running. Tagliaferri was called out as he slid past the bag, violating one of baseball’s semi-religious axioms: Don’t make the first out of an inning at third base.

“I knew I was going to hear about that one as soon as he over-slid the bag,” Alvarado said.

Especially since the opportunity for Kennedy to scratch its way back into the game immediately presented itself. The Golden Cougars strung together two hits and two hit batsmen for a run to close within 8-4, but a strikeout with the bases loaded ended the threat.

San Fernando pulled away to win, 13-4.

Last add Kennedy: After the San Fernando loss, Alvarado ordered his players to gather in left field for their customary postgame talk. Instead, players lined up on the left-field line and prepared for outfield wind sprints.

“They ran until they wanted to stop,” Alvarado said. “It was self-inflicted. They knew they had made some mistakes. . . . It made us all feel a lot better.”

Easy for him to say. Alvarado didn’t run.

Winning without starters: Poly has raced to a 6-1 record despite the absence of two starting pitchers. Senior right-hander Rodrigo Dorame has not fully recovered from a shoulder injury he sustained during football season and has yet to pitch. “We’re going real slow with him,” Coach Jerry Cord said.

Jake Loveridge, who sustainned a leg injury in a collision at the plate three weeks ago, has been making progress for a return to action this week.

How nicknames are born: When Chatsworth’s standout shortstop, Mitch Root, stepped to the plate last week against Taft after hitting a home run in his previous at-bat, a Taft student who was running the public-address system jokingly announced, “Now batting, Babe Root.”

We’ll meet again. . .: When Montclair Prep and Crespi play a doubleheader Saturday, the respective coaches will do more than exchange lineup cards. They likely will exchange a few barbs, shake hands warmly and head out for a cold drink afterward.

Mountie Coach Walt Steele and Crespi Coach Scott Muckey know each other from their Pepperdine days, when Steele was a ballplayer and Muckey was an assistant coach. “It’s the mentor against the student,” Steele said. “Muck’s my mentor.”

Muckey, however, is more worried about facing Steele’s right-handed junior, Russell Ortiz, who is off to a 3-0 start. “He’s got a pretty fine club when Ortiz is on the mound,” Muckey said.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech and Brian Murphy contributed to this notebook.