An open field

Mike Sciacca

Barring rain wreaking havoc this weekend, the 2004 prep baseball

season will get underway with four local teams playing in tournament

action beginning Friday.

Below is a capsule look at each of the four local teams:

Marina Vikings

League: Sunset

Head Coach/Year: Paul Renfrow/21st

2003 Record: 24-7 overall; 11-4 league

2003 CIF results: Division I champion

Returning Starters: Adam Rodriguez, CF, .302 avg., all-league,

Sr.; Justin Sellers, SS, .323, all-league, second-team All-CIF, Jr.;

Brooks Walling, P, 2.78 ERA, 7-1 record, .236 avg., all-league, Sr.;

Brian Ward, C, .180 avg., Sr.

Key Newcomers: Brandon Parillo, P/OF, 2.53 ERA, 8-0 record, .362

avg., transfer from Kennedy, Sr.; Matt Candlish, P, Sr.; Luis

Gonzalez, OF, Jr.; Jared Gray, 3B, Jr.; Patrick Murray, 1B, Jr.;

Chris Torres, 2B, Jr.; Torion Rayford, OF, Jr.; Danny Gonzales, Inf.,

transfer from Los Alamitos, Sr.

Outlook: With several pieces in place from last year’s CIF

Division I championship team, plus an infusion of two transfers, one

letterman returning from injury in 2003 and five players up from

junior varsity, Marina is a strong favorite for the Sunset League

title and should make another strong run toward a title repeat. The

Vikings begin the season Friday against Katella in the tough Loara

Tournament.

“We have a good nucleus returning from last year’s championship

team,” Renfrow said. “The players coming up from JV helps replace

some of the seniors lost to graduation. Two transfers help give us

some added strength offensively and defensively. Pitching should be

good. The concerns are always the same, and one is how all the

different personalities will blend together. We will contend for the

top three spots in the tough Sunset League.”

Edison Chargers

League: Sunset

Head Coach/Year: Matt Mosiello/Fourth

2003 Record: 24-5 overall; 13-2 league (champion)

2003 CIF Results: Reached second round

Returning Starters: Tommy Palica, P, league rookie of the year,

Jr.; Nate Mitani, 2B, Sr.; Jake Duehring, Sr.; Chris Grubb, C, Sr.;

Danny Higgins, P, Sr.; John Timoti, OF, Sr.; Wes Knight, 3B, Sr.

Key Newcomers: Garret Degrazio, SS, Jr.; Andrew Mozeleski, C, Jr.;

Valle Fluss, P, Soph.; John Ward, P, Soph.; T.J. Marcin, P/OF, Soph.

Outlook: Defending Sunset League champion Edison, which opens its

season Friday against University in the first round of the Loara

Tournament, will field a youthful but talented team. Among the

returning starters is Mitani, a third-year starter.

“We are young but have some guys that know what it takes to win,”

Mosiello said. “We have seven sophomores on the roster and they will

have to mature quickly. We are very optimistic and think that we can

play with anybody -- when we play like we can. We just don’t have

room for error. It should be another great year in the Sunset League

and I think it is a wide open race.”

Ocean View Seahawks

League: Golden West

Head Coach/Year: Aaron Kavanagh/First

2003 Record: 23-4 overall; 11-1 league (champion)

2003 CIF Results: Reached second round

Returning Starters: Robert Purpura, 2B/SS/P, .267 avg., 4.67 ERA,

Jr.; Jeff Roth, SS/P, .357 avg., 1.87 ERA, Jr.; Joe Jameson, 3B/P,

.427 avg., Sr.; Josh Roth, OF, .154 avg., Sr.; Derek Walsh, OF/P,

.279 avg., Sr.; Carter “Bear” Wurts, 1B/OF, .528 avg., Sr.

Key Newcomers: Brett Burda, INF/OF, Sr.; Matt Hughes, 1B, Jr.;

Alex Burnett, OF/P, Jr.; John Vega, C, Jr.; Geoff Klein, C, Soph.;

Jason Walker, INF/P, Soph.

Outlook: Defending Golden West League co-champion Ocean View

begins a new era with first-year head coach Kavanagh, who began his

coaching career as a freshman assistant at Mater Dei. Kavanagh is no

stranger to Ocean View, however, as he has been with the program for

the past four years, the last three as varsity pitching coach. Ocean

View begins the season Friday at Los Amigos, then entertains former

Golden West League rival Tustin on Saturday.

“This team should be pretty good this year,” Kavanagh said. “Top

to bottom, the lineup is pretty strong, with most of them able to hit

the ball out of the park at any time. Plus, we have a couple of

strong bats on the bench. The pitching staff is young and untested in

real games, but has a lot of raw talent. The defensive squad is

solid, led by Derek Walsh in centerfield, and two young catchers.”

Huntington Beach Oilers

League: Sunset

Head Coach/Year: Benji Medure/Fourth

2003 Record: 11-15 overall; 3-12 league

CIF Result: Did not qualify

Returning Starters: Colin Balester, P, all-league, Sr.; Nathan

Keadle, P, all-league, Sr.; Hank Conger, C, Jr. Olympic team member,

Soph.

Key Newcomers: Jordan Hargrave, P/OF, Sr.; Justin LaTempa, P, Jr.

Outlook: Solid pitching among a strong group of returners should

benefit the Oilers, who open the season Friday at the Newport Elks

Tournament.

“We have a solid pitching rotation and good corps of returners

with two years of experience,” Coach Benji Medure said. “I feel, for

the first time in a while, that we can compete for the league title.

Our league is one of the toughest in Southern California. Our

schedule is tough, but we aren’t backing down from anybody.”