Prep baseball: Spreading the word

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Since he teaches across town at Costa Mesa High,

Estancia baseball coach Doug Deats has neither the time nor opportunity

to recruit players on the Eagles’ campus. So, he merely lined up someone

who can.

Estancia football coach Dave Perkins, whose son A.J. will be a junior

infielder for the Eagles, has been recruited to, well, help recruit.

The early results are the promise of potentially enough players to

field two teams, a luxury the program did not have last spring.

“He’s not Casey Stengel, but he knows baseball,” Deats said of the

elder Perkins, who grew up loving the game in the now-defunct Harbor Area

Baseball program. “He’s been out (at practice) for a week and he’s done a

great job. He has a great rapport with the kids.”

Among Perkins’ recruits are senior football standouts Andy Romo and

Jeremy Valdes, who can rely upon excellent athletic ability and work

ethic to help brush off the rust of not having played baseball at least

the last two seasons.

In addition to the newcomers, Deats welcomes seven returners from last

year’s 9-14 squad, which finished 2-10 in the Pacific Coast League.

Deats, last year’s Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa District Coach of the

Year, will count most heavily upon senior Armando Ortiz. The four-year

varsity performer earned second-team All-PCL laurels as a junior, when he

hit .320 (24 for 75) and scored 19 runs. He’ll play shortstop when not

pitching and Deats is leaning toward making him his leadoff man, to

ensure the maximum number of at-bats. A pitcher more than a thrower,

Ortiz logged 65 1/3 innings last spring. He was 4-6 with a 4.39 ERA and

struck out 45 while walking only 12.

Brent Davis, a senior catcher, will also see some mound duty, though

Deats said he has limited pitching experience.

“He’s one of our better athletes, so he’ll have to compete on the

mound for us,” Deats said. “He has a fastball, curve and change-up and

he’s learning every day.”

Davis is also tentatively slated for the No. 3 spot in the order. He

hit .284 last season with two homers, six doubles and 18 RBIs.

Senior Justin Lund is the early favorite to assume the cleanup spot.

He hit .304 (21 for 69) with 10 RBIs as a junior center fielder, but

could also be utilized at third base this season, Deats said.

Junior J.D. Goff will start in the outfield after hitting .288 and

scoring 12 runs as a sophomore. Along with Romo, an All-PCL running

back-receiver, Goff provides some speed, which Deats plans to utilize.

“We’ll run a little bit,” said Deats, who believes his team lacks the

power to hit the long ball. “With the new bats (they can be only three

ounces lighter than the length of the bat, as opposed to five ounces last

season), We may not hit many homers. We hit five last year and we may

drop to zero this year.”

A.J. Perkins, whom Deats also credits for helping convince some of his

peers to lend their talents to the team, is back after starting all but

one game at second base last season. He had 14 hits and nine RBIs last

year and could play second or third this spring.

Juniors Jordan Hart and Casey Gates are additional returning starters.

Hart, who had 15 hits and six RBIs as a sophomore, will play first and

also provide a left-handed arm to the pitching staff.

Gates, who played third last season, will spell Ortiz at shortstop

when the latter pitches. He scored nine runs last season, when he hit in

tough luck (six hits, but only four strikeouts). He could hit second in

the order.

Deats hopes Romo, who played baseball as a freshman, can develop

quickly enough to play second base, allowing Perkins to shift to third.

Valdes, as well as his brother Mitch Valdes, a junior, should help out

in the outfield. Deats has praised both for their positive attitude and

willingness to work.

“As long as I can have 12 guys chomping at the bit to get to the field

every day and improve, this will be a fun season,” Deats said. “I think I

have that this year.”

Deats said as many as 17 players showed up to practice last week and

he hopes to add a couple more to be able to field a second team. If not,

he’ll try to get the youngsters as much experience as he can on the

varsity level.

C.K. Green, a senior leader on last year’s team, will either coach the

lower level team or assist Deats with the varsity.

Juniors Paul Flori and Gustavo Avila will provide depth for the

Eagles, who scrimmage Garden Grove today. The Eagles open Friday by

hosting Santa Ana in the first round of the Foothill-Costa Mesa

Tournament.

Estancia roster

Armando Ortiz Sr.

Brent Davis Sr.

J.D. Goff Jr.

Jordan Hart Jr.

A.J. Perkins Jr.

Andy Romo Sr.

Casey Gates Jr.

Justin Lund Sr.

Mitch Valdes Jr.

Jeremy Valdes Sr.

Paul Flori Jr.

Gustavo Avila Jr.

Coach: Doug Deats