Orange Forfeits 6 League Matches in Volleyball for Overage Player

Orange High has forfeited six Century League boys’ volleyball victories for using an overage player, Athletic Director Dave Zirkle said.

Southern Section rules forbid athletic competition for players who become 19 years old before Aug. 31 of the current school year. Zirkle said the player in question was 19 1/2. His age was discovered during a routine grade check last week, he said.

The Panthers were 8-2 and in second place in the league, two games behind undefeated Foothill. They drop to 2-8 and into sixth place.

Century League principals were being polled, Zirkle said, to determine if they will recommend Orange for a Southern Section wild-card playoff berth.

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Erich Allen, 25, was named Friday as the boys’ basketball coach at Costa Mesa.

Allen graduated from Trabuco Hills in 1989 and continued playing basketball at Orange Coast and Western (Colo.) State College.

He takes over for Jason Ferguson, who died of cancer in January. Criss Freeman, Ferguson’s assistant who finished the season as the acting head coach, did not apply for the job, according to vice principal Larry Carlson.

“We had a number of candidates we felt could have done a very fine job, but he had a number of qualities that we felt gave him the edge,” Carlson said. “He’s very personable, very ethical, has a very high energy level, and we feel he’s going to be a person that’s really going to meld with our young group of men.”

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Shane Lindstrom, a hole man for the El Toro water polo team, has committed to attend Santa Clara, according to his mother, Kathy.

Lindstrom also started for the Chargers’ basketball and volleyball teams. He joins his twin sister, Heather, who will attend Santa Clara on an academic scholarship.

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Steve Schenewerk, a Fountain Valley pitcher, has signed a letter of intent with Pepperdine, Baron baseball Coach Ron La Ruffa said.

Schenewerk is 10-2 with a 1.44 earned-run average this season and has 66 strikeouts in 64 innings for the Barons, ranked sixth in Orange County.

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The second California State High School Women’s Basketball game, featuring the state’s top senior girls competing in a North-South game, will start at 2 p.m. Sunday at UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

Three local athletes will be on the 10-player South squad--Woodbridge’s Melanie Pearson (UCLA), Edison’s Marie Philman (UCLA) and Mater Dei’s Melody Peterson (Stanford).

Among the other top Southern California players are Chino’s Rasheeda Clark (Colorado) and Mission Hills Alemany’s Carly Funicello (UCLA).

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USA Baseball announced an initial roster of 38 players to attend the Junior Team Trials. Included in the group are Ryan Owens of Sonora, Tony Milo of Laguna Hills and Mater Dei’s Mike Hessman and Mike Kolbach.

USA Baseball will invite 54 players to attend the trials July 21-28 in Joplin, Mo. At the conclusion of the camp, 18 players will be selected for the 1996 USA Baseball Junior Team. The team will defend its World Championship at this summer’s tournament in Cuba.