The Teams : Monarchs Open Season 6-0, Are Team to Beat : For Mater Dei’s Bob Ickes, Make That Twice in a Lifetime

Bob Ickes, Mater Dei High School’s baseball coach for 14 years, thought three years ago that he had a team that comes along once in a lifetime.

The Monarchs were ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today for most of the season and finished 24-2. Five players went on to Division I college programs.

“I thought I’d only be fortunate enough to have one great team,” Ickes said. “But I might have another.”

MATER DEI

1 Mater Dei has opened the 1988 season with six consecutive victories and is coming off an impressive four-game sweep in the Newport Elks tournament in which the Monarchs scored 52 runs.

Mater Dei, the top-ranked team in The Times’ preseason poll, has five left-handed batters in the starting lineup and three strong right-handed pitchers.

“We’re hitting the ball real, real well,” Ickes said. “Our team average must be well above .350.”

Right fielder Jim Austin has missed two games but is batting .571 with 13 runs batted in. First baseman Joe Ciccarella provides the power; he has 3 homers and 10 RBIs. The Monarchs’ ninth hitter, sophomore second baseman Lionel Hastings, is batting .462 with eight RBIs.

“We’ve got talent, but what I really like about this team is that everyone gets along and enjoys coming to practice every day,” Ickes said. “They remind me of that ’85 team.”

Junior pitchers Tony Pena (2-0) and Brian Frankel (2-0) and senior Bill Brockschmidt (1-0) are all tall right-handers with good control.

Ickes may get a bonus if pitcher Char Ruppel receives a doctor’s release to join the team. Ruppel threw a one-hitter as a sophomore but did not pitch last season when he developed elbow problems.

“The most pleasant surprise has been the play of our infield,” Ickes said. “We graduated our second baseman, shortstop and third baseman, and I thought it would be a problem replacing them.

“But with the exception of a breakdown against Estancia in the Newport Elks tournament, we’ve played very good defense.”

The Monarchs more than made up for some fielding lapses against Estancia by scoring 15 runs in one inning in a 20-15 victory.

ESPERANZA

2 Granted, the Aztecs (4-3) already have lost three games and are batting only .248 as a team, but there’s too much talent here to overlook.

Esperanza’s double-play combination of second baseman Doug Saunders and shortstop Jason Moler is the best in the county. Saunders is batting .580, but Moler, who also pitches, has been struggling.

“Jason threw a two-hitter against Long Beach Jordan and lost, 4-3,” said Mike Curran, Esperanza coach. “We’ve been experiencing some growing pains.

“Everybody ranked us No. 1, and I think they underestimated the loss of Tom Redington, Bart Goldman and Brent Bish. Redington signed with the Atlanta Braves, Goldman is at UC Irvine and Bish is at Cal State L.A. Those were three very good players.”

Esperanza won the Southern Section 4-A title in 1986 and was the runner-up to Lakewood last season. The Aztecs batted .368 in their championship season and .340 last year, so the .248 mark this season is very uncharacteristic.

“We’ve seen some good pitching, and everybody has been sky-high trying to beat us,” Curran said. “At this point, we’re still trying to find ourselves.”

Don’t be surprised if Esperanza finds itself in a third straight championship game before the season is over.

EL DORADO

3 The Golden Hawks (7-1) have shown that they can score runs, averaging seven per game, but they also have allowed a lot of runs in nonleague play.

“We played five games in six days, so you have to expect that,” said Steve Gullotti, El Dorado coach. “I used eight pitchers, and when we get to league play, I’ll be using three.”

The three players who are expected to do most of the pitching are juniors Pete Janicki (1-1) and Matt Luke (0-0) and senior Kevin Schula (1-0). Luke, a left-hander, threw four shutout innings against Huntington Beach.

The Hawks’ top player, outfielder Chris Facione, has only 4 hits in 20 at-bats but showed signs of ending his slump with a home run and single against Servite.

Third baseman Chris Olsen and right fielder Greg Fife are quality players, and Schula provides added offense as a designated hitter when he’s not pitching.

“We have three or four players struggling, so I’m real happy to be scoring runs,” Gullotti said.

HUNTINGTON BEACH

4 Easily the surprise team of the season, the Oilers (9-1) have won more games than anyone in the county with some timely hitting and lots of hustle.

“We don’t have a lot of power, so we’ve had to rely on aggressiveness and team speed,” said Coach Mike Dodd. “I’ve used a lot of pitchers, and they’ve all gotten the ball over the plate.”

Dodd said designated hitter Chance Agnew carried the team through the final three games of the Loara tournament with his hitting, and second baseman Gerad Cowhorn is batting about .400.

Right-handers Dominic Alvarez (2-0) and Chad Phillips (2-0) are the mainstays of the pitching staff. Alvarez was an all-league selection as a junior, and Phillips came within one out of pitching a no-hitter against Arlington. Relief pitcher Ken Pope has been the team’s most valuable player in nonleague play with several key saves.

“We’re having a lot of fun,” Dodd said. “I’ve never had a team quite like this. You get the feeling that we can come back in any situation and find a way to win.”

MISSION VIEJO

5 How well are things going for 5-0 Mission Viejo? In a doubleheader sweep of Villa Park last week, leadoff hitter Eric Ekdahl hit the opening pitch for a home run.

The Diablos’ second hitter, Derek Gingerich, hit his third pitch for a home run. When the Diablos’ No. 3 hitter, Matt Balsz, got to the plate, he shouted to Coach Ron Drake at third base, “What sign are you giving down there?”

Drake kept a deliberate low profile entering the season, and the Diablos responded by winning four straight with a .308 team average and some excellent infield play.

Troy Kopp (2-0) has made a successful transition from third base to the mound and is the team’s backup catcher. Kopp was the starting quarterback for Mission Viejo’s South Coast League championship football team. Chris Boger (2-0) also has pitched well.

“I didn’t have a single player who had pitched in a varsity game, so the big question mark was pitching,” Drake said. “We were 19-5 in the summer, so I had a good feeling about this team.”

CANYON

6 The Comanches (4-1) tied with Villa Park for the Century League title last season, and seven starters return, including left-handed pitcher John Cummings.

Cummings is a major-college prospect with a good fastball and curve. He struck out 76 batters in 55 innings as a junior and struck out 11 against Colton last week.

Shortstop Joe Furukawa, an outstanding defensive player, is a switch-hitter who also is receiving attention from colleges and scouts. Furukawa has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average.

The most versatile player on the team is Scott Myers. Myers serves as both a starter and reliever and also plays first base. Canyon is strong up the middle with catcher Tom Merchant, second baseman Dan Puskas and center fielder Chris Rodwick returning.

“Our strength is our experience,” Coach Hi Lavalle said. “I don’t believe in preseason polls, but we should be a good team.”

The Comanches will have to be good to be competitive in the Century League. Canyon opens with Villa Park, Foothill and Santa Ana in league play.

“There were some outstanding juniors in the league last year,” Lavalle said. “I think 15 juniors made the all-league team, and it looks like they’ve all improved this year.”

WESTMINSTER

7 Westminster (5-2) has strength on the pitching mound. Starters Ryan Klesko, a junior left-hander, and Brian Stubbs, a junior right-hander, both have a season of varsity experience.

Klesko is considered one of the best pitchers in the Sunset League. He was 4-2 last season with 4 saves and had 73 strikeouts in 50 innings. Stubbs was 8-4 with a 2.45 ERA. He had only 29 walks in 69 innings. Klesko and Stubbs are each 2-1 with a save this season.

“They should be able to get some kids out this season,” Coach Ken Ostrowski said. “They proved they could do the job last season, and they have done nothing but get better.”

The pair are backed by Brett Grebe, who had a 1.77 ERA on the junior varsity last season.

Ben Mendoza, who hit .394 as a junior last season, is starting in center field. Jim Slagle, a junior who hit .308 last season, has moved from the outfield to third.

SERVITE

8 Last season, Servite (4-2) started 18-1 but finished a half-game behind Bishop Amat for the Angelus League title.

The Friars have one of the top returning players in the county in center fielder Mike Robertson, but thus far, Robertson has been getting very few pitches to hit.

“He’s walked 11 times and been hit by a pitch twice in five games,” said Mike McNary, Servite coach. “He’s getting real anxious at the plate and has started swinging at bad pitches.”

Opposing pitchers have had the luxury of pitching around Robertson because the Friars have been inconsistent at the plate. Infielder Tom Szymanski has been the only regular who has hit well; he opened with seven straight hits in three games.

Szymanski, who has eight stolen bases, has played second, shortstop and third base and has a 1-0 record as a pitcher. Catcher Brian Criss, a returning first-team all-league selection, threw out 12 consecutive runners in the playoffs last year.

Third-year starting pitcher Craig Barkley and 6-foot 6-inch, 210-pound senior Andy Croghan are the mainstays of the pitching staff. Barkley threw a no-hitter through six innings against La Quinta in his most impressive outing this season.

The Friars lost their best power hitter, designated hitter Mike Petko, two weeks ago when he transferred to Katella.

“We’ve got plenty of sticks (good hitters) and we’re strong up the middle,” McNary said. “I’m looking for consistency.”

LA QUINTA

9 Pitchers Mike Wilson and James Marquez combined for 22 wins and were named most valuable players of the Garden Grove League as juniors.

Wilson, one of the top pitchers in the county, was especially sharp in a 5-1 victory over Sunny Hills in which 51 of his 79 pitches were strikes.

“When Mike’s on the mound, we’re a top 10 team,” said Dave Demarest, La Quinta coach. “When he’s not, we struggle. There are probably 10 or 12 teams in the county who could beat us on a given day.”

Outfielder Jerry Arneson and catcher Mark Dion are also proven veterans who will spark the Aztecs (3-2). La Quinta is well-coached, and sound fundamentally and rarely makes mistakes, qualities that are Demarest trademarks.

LOS ALAMITOS

10 The Griffins (4-1) are averaging nine runs per game with six returning starters in the lineup.

“We’re playing as good as we can,” said Mike Gibson, Los Alamitos coach. “We have a lot of guys returning, but it’s not like we won 20 games last year. We were 12-14.”

The battery of pitcher Winnie Wolf (2-0) and catcher Greg Pirkl (.688 and 13 RBIs) has been impressive. Wolf, a junior left-hander, has an excellent curve. Pirkl (6-5, 225) is big and strong with 11 hits in his first 16 at-bats.

Outfielder Mike Kelly and second baseman Tony Muser also have played well. Muser, one of the county’s top juniors, opened with seven hits in 10 at-bats and is 1-0 as a pitcher.

“We beat Dana Hills, University and Fountain Valley, but I’m not certain how strong they are,” Gibson said. “We also scrimmaged Huntington Beach and beat them twice.

“Everyone is conceding the Empire League to Esperanza and El Dorado, and based on their tradition, I go along with that. But I think we have a good shot at the league title, too.”

Others to watch: Foothill, Santa Ana, Ocean View, Irvine, Saddleback, Valencia, Capistrano Valley and Villa Park.