Prep ball swings into season

Mike Sciacca, Independent

The 2002 high school baseball season officially opened this week with

teams holding their first practice on Monday as preparations began for

season openers scheduled for the first weekend in March.

Edison will be out to defend its CIF Division II title, Ocean View has

several senior starters back and should make another run toward a playoff

berth while a youthful Huntington Beach team and a seasoned Marina squad

will be looking to return to the postseason.

Below is a look at each of the four local high school baseball teams:

SCHOOL: EdisonNICKNAME: ChargersHEAD COACH/YEAR: Matt Mosiello

(second)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Dave Tallman; Steve Lambright

LEAGUE: Sunset

2001 RECORD: 22-8-1

LEAGUE FINISH: 10-5 (second)

CIF PLAYOFF RESULTS: Won CIF Division II championship

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2001

LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 1985

RETURNING STARTERS: Jeff Gilmore (P, 8-2, 1.85 ERA, Sr., first team

ALL-CIF, first team All-Sunset League); David Huff (P, 9-2, 1.61 ERA,

Jr., first team All-CIF, first team All-Sunset League); A.J. Martinez

(CF, .400 avg., Sr., second team All-CIF, second team all-league); Cory

Vanderhook (C, .330 avg., second team all-league); Marcus McCutcheon (LF,

.350 avg., Sr., second team all-league); Chris Brannen (2B, .240 avg.,

Sr.); Jared Shwam (RF, .323 avg., Jr.).

TOP NEWCOMERS: Tommy Grady (P, Jr.); Matt Cline (SS, Jr.); Nate Mitani

(Utility, Soph., transfer from Mater Dei).

OUTLOOK: Mosiello welcomes back two of the county’s top pitchers in

Gilmore and Huff. The addition of Grady could give the Chargers a solid

rotation.

“We have solid pitching and defense,” Mosiello said. “If we get big

hits when we need them then we will be very competitive. If Tommy Grady

can build off of all his success in other sports, he will play a huge

role.”

SCHOOL: Huntington Beach

NICKNAME: Oilers

HEAD COACH/YEAR: Benji Medure

ASSISTANT COACHES: Cory Burton; Craig Dadelow; Ben Titus

LEAGUE: Sunset

2001 RECORD: 14-12

LEAGUE FINISH: 5-10 (fourth)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 1998

LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 1995

RETURNING STARTERS: Lee Csenar (P, 6-4, 1.94 ERA, Sr., first team

All-Sunset League); James Tomasick (P, 4 saves, Sr.); Dustin Eremita (2B,

.354 avg., Sr.)

TOP NEWCOMERS: Kris Harmon (P, Jr.); Nathan Keadle (P/RF, Soph.).

OUTLOOK: Although he will field a young squad, Medure feels that his

team’s strength lies in its pitching.

“We are a young, scrappy team with nothing to lose,” he said. “We work

hard every day to improve and I feel we are going to surprise people. We

have solid pitching, which is 70% of winning.”

SCHOOL: Marina

NICKNAME: Vikings

HEAD COACH/YEAR: Paul Renfrow (19th)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Bob Harmon; Mark Ward; Jeff Sellers

LEAGUE: Sunset

2001 RECORD: 11-14

LEAGUE FINISH: 4-11 (sixth)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 1997

LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 1976

LAST CIF TITLE: 1990

RETURNING STARTERS: Matt Costello (3B, .388 avg., Sr.); Mike Gorham

(SS, .200 avg., Jr.); Jacob Luque (IF/OF, .208 avg., Jr.); Jason Jordan

(IF/OF, .200 avg., Jr.)); Jon Greeley (OF, .281 avg., Sr.); Eric Sadahiro

(IF/OF, .206 avg., Sr.); J.J. Valicenti (P/OF, .238 avg., Jr.).

NEWCOMERS: Wes Etheridge (P/INF, Jr.); Danny Gagliono (P/INF, Sr.);

Daric Barton (INF, Jr.).

OUTLOOK: With several returning starters doting the lineup, Marina

should improve upon last year’s 11-14 record and sixth-place league

finish.

“We return a lot of starters and players with playing experience and

we should be an improvedteam overall,” Renfrow said.

SCHOOL: Ocean View

NICKNAME: Seahawks

HEAD COACH/YEAR: Steve Barrett (14th)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Bob Gibbs (19th); Aaron Kavanagh (second)

LEAGUE: Golden West

2001 RECORD: 17-10

LEAGUE FINISH: 7-5 (third)

CIF PLAYOFF RESULTS: Upset Corona del Mar; lost second round to

Chaminade

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2001

LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 1991 (then in Sunset League)

LAST CIF TITLE: 1998

RETURNING STARTERS: Joe Lococo (C, .400 avg., all-league, Sr.); Phil

Hann (P/SS, Jr.); Shawn Mitchell (SS/2B, Sr.); Russell Strong (P/1B,

Sr.); Ryan Yoakum (1B/3B, Sr.); Mike Wentworth (OF, Jr.); Ryan Shaw (P,

Sr.).

TOP NEWCOMERS: Derek Walsh (CF, Soph.; Mike Collier (P/1B, Jr.); Joe

Jameson (RF/3B, Soph.); Grant Theophilus (P/OF, Jr.); Kenny Welch (OF,

Jr.); Steve Christy (C, Jr.); Mike Knowlton (P, Soph.).

OUTLOOK:

Barrett, who guided Ocean View to its only CIF title in 1998, welcomes

back a solid senior nucleus. One new addition to the varsity is sophomore

center fielder Derek Walsh, who was named freshman MVP last year.

“This is a very cohesive group that is very coachable with a good work

ethic and attitude,” he said. “We are much more solid defensively than

our last three teams. We have good pitching and are solid behind the

plate with Lococo.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.