Former Rolling Hills Player Kishita Taking a Worldly View of Baseball

Kirt Kishita got a taste of international baseball the past two weeks pitching for the junior national team in the World Youth tournament in Brandon, Canada.

It was an experience the former Rolling Hills High standout won’t soon forget.

“It was pretty interesting because of the different styles of baseball,” he said. “Cuba and the U.S. are good fastball-hitting teams. They hit the ball hard, but sometimes they’re really hacking. The Chinese and Brazilian teams make contact; they don’t over-swing. The Australians did a pretty good job of that, too.”

Kishita had the opportunity to study hitters from around the world during the tournament, which began July 26 and concluded Sunday. He pitched in three games, shutting out the Netherlands, 10-0, and starting the U.S. team’s 6-5 victory over Australia for the bronze medal. The Arizona recruit finished with a 1-0 record.

“Every team was aggressive,” he said.

Canada won the gold medal with a 5-2 victory over Chinese Taipei.

Kishita was one of 18 players selected to play on the junior national team from the four regional teams that competed in the Olympic Festival. The United States played 10 games in Canada.

Having arrived back in Los Angeles Tuesday night, Kishita said he plans to take it easy for a few days before deciding if he will play on the 213 area code all-star team for the third consecutive year.

The area code tournament, which is run by Major League Baseball and usually attracts the top high school-age players from the western part of the country, will be played Aug. 17-20 in Fresno.

Returning high school players who have made the first cut for the 213 area code team run by the Dodgers include catchers Jason Kendall of Torrance and Scott Poe of Palos Verdes Peninsula, and outfielder Mark Wiley of Peninsula.

For Armando Fernandez, it was a case of better late than never.

The football and baseball standout from Hawthorne High was set to play both sports at El Camino College, but those plans changed recently when he signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Cal State Long Beach.

Fernandez was not seriously recruited until he scored an NCAA-qualifying 20 on the American College Test late in June. Then, two weeks ago, the outfielder helped Hawthorne finish second behind El Segundo in the American Legion Fourth Area tournament at Blair Field in Long Beach.

Two days later, Cal State Long Beach Coach Dave Snow signed Fernandez.

“(Snow) liked what he saw,” Fernandez said. “I must have done something to catch his eye.”

The 6-foot, 215-pound Fernandez had hoped that USC would recruit him after he passed the ACT, but by then, he said, the Trojans had lost interest.

“I was waiting for USC to see what they had to offer, but I guess they had nothing,” he said. “They had previously signed a kid. That kind of bumped me out.”

San Pedro basketball Coach Jack Kordich says he tries not to let it bother him anymore. But it must hurt to watch good players leave town.

It happened last year when touted James Cotton moved into the Artesia High district after attending Dana Junior High in San Pedro. All the 6-5 Cotton did as a sophomore was help Artesia win the Southern Section Division II-A title and reach the Division II regional final. (Cotton reportedly has since transferred to St. John Bosco in Bellflower.)

Now Kordich says he might be losing two more talented sophomores who hail from Dana Junior High. One stands 6-3, the other 6-2.

“They’re strong kids,” Kordich said. “They were playing with me in the summer program. All of a sudden, they disappeared. I’ve heard they are going to Bel-Air Prep.”

Bel-Air Prep is coached by John Bobich, formerly the coach at Mary Star High in San Pedro.

“You hate to lose good kids, but I made peace with that early on (in my coaching career),” he said. “I saw it was working havoc with my mind.

“I only work with the kids that come up here. I don’t dream about what could have been and what would have been.”

El Segundo’s American Legion baseball team was eliminated early from the state tournament in Yountville, losing its first two games last weekend.

Union City rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 5-3 victory Saturday, and El Segundo was ousted from the double-elimination tournament Sunday with a 5-4 loss to Thousand Oaks. El Segundo finished the American Legion season 31-6.

The top hitters for El Segundo were shortstop Brett Newell, who was four for eight with a double and an RBI, and catcher Jeff Poor, who went two for seven with a double and two RBIs.

State champion Escondido was led by pitcher-outfielder Brian Kooiman, who was named MVP of the state tournament for the second year in a row. Escondido advances to the Western Regionals in Lodi on Aug. 14-18.

Redondo football Coach Chris Hyduke said coaching in the West Torrance Lions All-Star game last week was fun because of the many talented players.

Two of the most talented, in Hyduke’s eyes, were Serra running back Jerald Henry and West Torrance linebacker Alex Schultz. Henry’s 72-yard touchdown run in the third quarter sparked the East to a 14-3 victory.

“We contained (Henry) all night long, but once he got into the open he was unbelievable,” Hyduke said. “I didn’t realize how fast he was. He was like a jet. He impressed me.”

Hyduke was also impressed with the defensive work of Schultz, who helped the West shut out the East until Henry’s touchdown run late in the third quarter.

“Alex Schultz played a great game,” he said. “He is really a fine ballplayer. He’s quick and aggressive and moves to the ball well. He has great natural instincts.”

Schultz, who played fullback and linebacker at West Torrance, also caught a touchdown pass on a fake field goal in the Lions game, but the play was nullified because he was wearing an ineligible jersey number (63).

Schultz is headed to El Camino College. Henry was one of USC’s top recruits and is expected to play cornerback for the Trojans.

Because the Lions game was less than a week after the Shrine All-Star game, it missed out on possibly attracting some of the South Bay’s top players. That list included Carson quarterback John Walsh and Banning running back/defensive back Travis Davis.

A solution, Hyduke suggested, would be to move the Lions game to an earlier date, thus avoiding a conflict with the Shrine game for players and fans.

“I think they would have a better turnout,” he said.