A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN : COUPLE TURNS BASEBALL INTO FAMILY SPORT.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

Pardon Bob and Donna Ruggieri if they're in a hurry. The meter is running.

The Thousand Oaks couple and their five children are immersed in Little League. With five players, a manager and a team mother in the household, the Ruggieris run a veritable taxi service from home to practice and games.

And they claim no complaints.

``We love every minute of it,'' said Bob, a 43-year old real estate agent/real estate consultant/loan officer/Little League coach/father. ``We really have a lot of fun.''

Donna concedes she wasn't much of a sports buff while growing up but now finds she's an avid fan.

``With so many kids playing, you're almost forced to,'' she said. ``But it's a lot of fun.''

The Ruggieris are the Brady Bunch of the Conejo Valley.

Bob and Donna met seven years ago when he was a soccer coach and she was the team's team mother. Donna had three children from a previous marriage while Bob had two of his own. They also were neighbors.

They married in 1990.

``We sold both of our houses and bought our own home,'' Bob said.

The children range in age from 8 to 12, and all play in the Conejo Valley Little League.

Mike and Adam, both 12, are the oldest and play with the Phillies in the Major League. Next comes 10-year-old Jeff and 9-year old Alex, teammates for the Minor National Dodgers. Nine-year-old Nicole just started playing this year and is a member of the International League Dodgers.

If all of that sounds a little bit confusing, imagine trying to coordinate daily practice and game schedules. The Ruggieris generally find themselves at the Little League park or on the practice field six of seven days a week.

``We would never be able to do it without Donna,'' said Bob of his wife, who makes up monthly schedules and ferries the kids to games and practices.

Bob coaches Alex and Jeff's team.

``The league gives the manager the option of being able to have his son play on his team,'' said Bob, who wanted Jeff to play in the Minor National League with Alex. ``I ended up having to give up my first- and second-round draft choices, but we were able to keep them on the same team.''

Alex is a catcher and might be the best athlete in the family. His father thinks it has to do with all the sports he watches on television.

``When he was 14 months old he'd grab the TV remote and switch channels until he found any kind of sporting event,'' Bob said. ``It didn't matter if it was baseball, basketball or bowling. He'd watch it. And if there wasn't any sports on, he'd literally start bawling.''

Nicole, the rookie ballplayer in the family, took up the sport during the winter when Alex needed a practice partner.

She's developed into such a fine player that her coach often uses her as a role model for other players: ``If you can play as well as Nicole, you'll be OK.''

Her reason for deciding to play is pretty simple.

``I just got tired of sitting on the bench watching my brothers play,'' Nicole said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color) Donna and Bob Ruggieri of Thousand Oaks with Little Leaguers Nicole, Alex, Jeffrey, Adam and Mike.

Evan Yee/Daily News