Arcadia’s baseball team has really earned its stripes

Coaches want their teams to bond, and a popular strategy is to take the players on a trip, put them together in a hotel room in Las Vegas or Hawaii and see what happens.

Then there’s the approach of the Arcadia High baseball team.

They called in the Marines.

The players were driven in January on the 5 Freeway to San Onofre within the borders of Camp Pendleton and dropped off at a state park just before sundown. They were met by seven military men, given 45-pound backpacks, and then hiked to the beach. But there were no surfboards, lounge chairs or welcoming drinks waiting for them.

In darkness, with glow sticks hanging from their necks, they had to put up tents and set up sleeping bags. They were told to separate into five-man teams named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo.

At first, the captains picked their closest friends. Then the Marines broke up the groups and put people together who didn’t know each other very well. For the next two days and nights, the players learned about leadership, discipline and teamwork.

“The kids got a sense it’s not just about them,” Arcadia Coach Nick Lemas said. “In order to accomplish something, it’s going to take a group effort.”

Camp Goalz was designed by assistant coach Vale Lopez and his friend, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Muller, who took out a business license and created the camp.

“We wanted to give the kids an appreciation of the military, why the country is free, why they get to play baseball,” Muller said.

Volunteers from the Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force offered insights and lessons to the teenagers, who were without cellphones, video games or air conditioning.

“I missed everything -- ESPN, talking on the phone, my girlfriend, my family,” senior pitcher Bryce Rutherford said.

The players had to rely on one another. At night, two-man teams took one-hour turns watching over the camp and making sure a bonfire stayed lighted. They carried around bats, but no baseball was played. Reveille was at 5 a.m.

“We wanted to take them out of the element of Arcadia and into something they weren’t familiar with,” Lemas said.

Players ate breakfast together, shared a tent and were with one another 24 hours a day. They were coached on how to walk, stand and make eye contact when speaking, with emphasis on body language. They were taught about respect, accountability and honor.

“It definitely helped us come together as a team,” Rutherford said. “We didn’t have the leadership we have now.”

Arcadia is 17-3 overall this season and leads the Pacific League with an 8-1 record.

How much their exposure to the Marines and others will help in the future remains uncertain, but there’s nothing wrong with learning a little Semper Fi.

Twin stoppers

Los Angeles Milken has never won a Southern Section sports title since the Jewish school opened 18 years ago, but the baseball team is 11-1, ranked No. 1 in Division VII, and there are identical twin brothers who are the starting pitchers and look so similar that teachers can’t tell them apart. Ben and Nathaniel Ludewig are juniors. Ben is 3-1 with an 0.82 earned-run average. Nathaniel is 6-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

“It’s just about this spring that I’ve been able to differentiate them,” Coach Chris Scarlata said.

The team also has outstanding position players in sophomore center fielder David Blazer, who has 20 hits in 35 at-bats, and junior shortstop Josh Kolker, who’s 17 for 33. Many of the players come from Encino Little League, where the team plays its home games. If the Wildcats keep winning, rabbis across Los Angeles could start filling the bleachers.

Basketball talent

There are some terrific players participating in the Battle of the Valley All-Star basketball games on Saturday at Cal State Northridge, with the girls’ game at 5 p.m. and the boys’ game at 7 p.m.

McDonald’s All-American Gennifer Brandon from Chatsworth, bound for California, leads the girls’ list. For the boys’ game, there are All-City guards Michael Williams (San Francisco) and Justin Hawkins (Nevada Las Vegas) from Woodland Hills Taft, 6-foot-10 center Bak Bak (California) from Sun Valley Village Christian and 6-7 Evan Smith (USC) from Calabasas.

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eric.sondheimer@latimes.com