Plaisance Steps Down as Coach

Mike Plaisance, football coach at Village Christian High for 20 years, has resigned.

Plaisance built the Crusaders’ program into a perennial Alpha League playoff participant. The Crusaders made the playoffs 16 times, including three semifinal appearances. His teams were 126-78-3 and won two league championships.

“Twenty years is time,” said Plaisance, who will remain as dean of students at Village Christian.

No replacement has been named.

BASEBALL

* Gregg Zaun, former St. Francis High catcher, was traded Tuesday to the Kansas City Royals by the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named or cash.

Zaun, 28, played last season with the Texas Rangers and was traded to the Tigers in a nine-player deal that sent Juan Gonzalez to Detroit.

He joins Jeff Suppan, former Crespi pitcher, and Derek Wallace, former Chatsworth pitcher, on the Royals’ roster.

* Zach Dwight, Little League baseball’s Good Sport of the Year, and Kristen Jackson, a Chaminade High girls’ soccer player who has recovered from a serious illness, will throw out the first pitches Saturday on opening day at Woodland Hills Little League.

Ceremonies begin at 8:15 a.m.

* Pitcher Ryan Gunches, from El Camino Real High, picked up his first college victory for Northwood University on Monday, striking out seven and allowing four hits in a 12-2 victory over Curry College. Northwood is an NAIA Division II team in Midland, Mich.

* Barry Matthews, from Crespi, is batting .419 with a 10-game hitting streak and has a 3-0 pitching record for Gonzaga.

GOLF

* Sophomore Jonathan Feuerhelm of Alemany finished fifth at an American Junior Golf Assn. tournament in Houston last weekend.

Feuerhelm shot 79 and 75 at the 6,900-yard Kingwood Golf Course.

VOLLEYBALL

* For the second consecutive week, Pepperdine (12-1) was ranked No. 1 in the men’s coaches’ poll.

Cal State Northridge (5-9), swept by Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara last week, dropped three spots to No. 13.

BASKETBALL

* Ryan Logan of Grant has been selected player of the year for the Sunset Six League.

Joining him as on the all-league team are Kevin Baird of Verdugo Hills, Mike Charleston of Grant, Jammie Harris of Canoga Park, Kenny Hauser of North Hollywood, Sef Vargas of Poly and Richard Wright of Hollywood.

TRACK AND FIELD

* Juniors Anita Siraki of Hoover High, Porchea Carroll of Rio Mesa and Chadd Smith of Camarillo will compete in the Nike Indoor Classic at the University of Indiana on Sunday.

Siraki, who finished fourth in the national cross-country championships in December, will run in the girls’ two-mile in the meet that will include elite competitors from across the nation.

Carroll, fourth in the girls’ 100 meters and eighth in the long jump in the state championships in June, will compete in the 60-meter dash and long jump.

Smith will compete in the boys’ high jump after winning the San Diego Indoor Games with a career best of 6-9 in January.

* Sprinter Jason Lovell, who was expelled from Taft High for disciplinary reasons last year, is back at Cleveland.

Lovell clocked 49.2 in the 400 as a Cleveland freshman before transferring to Taft as a sophomore. He could compete in the Cavaliers’ meet against Franklin on Friday if he is declared academically eligible based on his home-study transcripts.

WATER POLO

* Jason Falitz of Burroughs chose Long Beach State over California Tuesday.

Falitz, The Times’ player of the year last season, is the region’s all-time leading scorer.

* Senior Jeanine Jackson of Harvard-Westlake was selected Southern Section Division III player of the year after leading the Wolverines to their fourth consecutive Mission League title and a runner-up finish in the section.

Rich Corso of Harvard-Westlake was chosen coach of the year.

Senior Rachel Burkons and junior Courtney Quinn were selected to the Division III team. Senior Cami Kliner and junior Paloma Slezak were selected to the second team and senior Melissa Lo and freshman Emily Ceasar were chosen to the third team.