Meredith’s Arm Gives SCC Baseball an Edge

The Southern California College baseball team, which narrowly hung on to finish second in the Golden State Athletic Conference and was second-seeded in the NAIA District 3 playoffs, has one main advantage in the playoffs that start today: pitcher Ryan Meredith.

Meredith, who was named the district player of the year, had an earned-run average of 1.46, more than a run better than the next best ERA in the district. Meredith, a junior from Trabuco Hills High, is 11-3 and has struck out 112 and walked 46 in 123 innings.

The Vanguards (28-22) open the playoffs against third-seeded Point Loma Nazarene (32-17-1) at 11 o’clock today at Azusa Pacific. Top-seeded Azusa Pacific (33-7-1) will play No. 4 The Master’s (28-20) at 3 p.m.

SCC Coach Charlie Phillips said he is confident the Vanguards, who lost to Azusa Pacific in the final game of the playoffs last season, have as good a chance to win as any team. “We have the top pitcher in the conference,” Phillips said. “If he’s on, we have a shot. The key is to win the first game and get in the winners’ bracket.”

The Vanguards have the third-best team ERA (3.97) in the district, behind Point Loma Nazarene (3.44) and Azusa Pacific (3.66).

Phillips said the Vanguards will depend on four pitchers beside Meredith: sophomores Jeff Beckley and Rob Fisher and seniors Matt Imus and Mike Weinstein.

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Baseball honors: SCC infielder Al Contrera joined Meredith on the first-team all-district team. Contrera, a senior from Irvine, led the district in hits (70), runs (47), was tied for second in home runs (11) and was third in batting average (.374). Ted Wieczorek, a junior first baseman who batted .348, was the only SCC player to be named to the second team.

Christ College Irvine was represented by senior Mike Crumrine and Gary Sussman, who were first-team selections, and junior Dan Davis, who was a second-team pick.

Meredith, Wieczorek, Crumrine and Contrera made the all-conference team.

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SCC softball: The Vanguards have a chance to avenge two of their more one-sided losses of the season when they play host to Hawaii Pacific in the NAIA Bi-District II tournament, which starts today with a doubleheader. The winner of the three-game series advances to the NAIA national tournament, May 19-22 in Columbia, Mo.

SCC (40-17-2) lost to Hawaii Pacific (29-9) by scores of 6-1 and 11-2, during a trip to the Islands in March.

Hawaii Pacific was ranked sixth in the final NAIA national poll; SCC, which is 23-0 at home this season, was ranked No. 14.

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Carrie Nelson, a sophomore outfielder for SCC, was named the NAIA national player of the week after helping the Vanguards to their first district title. Nelson was four for nine with a triple, two runs, two runs batted in and a stolen base in three SCC victories.

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Panther finales: The Chapman baseball and softball teams each ended eras on a positive note last weekend.

The baseball team, which struggled in its final season as an NCAA Division I independent, beat USC, 12-7, in its final game Sunday in Los Angeles. Corey Giuliano picked up the victory, his 10th of the season, and the Panthers finished 22-32.

The softball team completed its final California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season by winning four of five games in the CCAA round-robin tournament. One of the victories was against first-place Cal State Bakersfield, which entered the tournament as the second-ranked team in Division II. The Panthers (27-23, 12-13), whose only loss (5-3) was to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, finished in third place in the conference.

All Chapman teams will compete as independents at the non-scholarship NCAA Division III level next season.

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Still waiting: The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has not announced a decision about whether to admit Chapman, which has applied to join the NCAA Division III conference for the 1994-95 school year. The conference’s faculty athletic committee voted last Thursday and passed on a recommendation to the school presidents, said Ralph Amey, the committee chairman.

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NAIA track and field: Christ College Irvine’s Genevieve Graff pulled a surprising double at the District 3 championships last weekend at Azusa Pacific. Graff, who was district champion in the 1,500 in 1991 and holds the district record for the event, hadn’t planned to compete this season after helping the women’s basketball team to its second consecutive NAIA national tournament bid.

Graff changed her mind, and despite training only about a month, she won the 1,500 and 3,000 meters at the district championships. In the 1,500, Graff made up about 10 meters on Biola’s Elizabeth Onymbu in the final 20 to win in 4 minutes 41.24 seconds, a time that qualifies her to compete in the national championships. She won the 3,000 in 10:26.31, six seconds shy of the qualifying time.

But Graff won’t compete at the May 20-22 meet at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, because CCI does not fund a track and field program.

SCC high jumper Ed Bowling will be in Canada. Bowling, who had already qualified for nationals with a 6-foot-11 mark, won the district title with a personal-best 7-0 1/4. Bowling, who jumped 7-0 when he was at Canoga Park High, made three attempts at 7-2, brushing the bar on his third try.