A SEASON TO REMEMBER; LANCASTER'S HEWSON COMES OUT OF NOWHERE TO STAR AS A SENIOR.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer

Mike Hewson was so dominating in just his first year as a baseball starterat Lancaster High, who knows how good he'll be?

Hewson, representing the East in the 23rd annual Bernie Milligan All-Star Game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stengel Field in Glendale, has come a long way. The shortstop never played Little League because he was diagnosed as an overactive child, so his parents wanted him to concentrate on school.

After one season of Pony League baseball, Hewson was cut from the junior varsity as a freshman and managed one hit for the JV as a sophomore. He made varsity as a junior but didn't play regularly until midseason, finishing with a .376 batting average after filling in at third base when injuries depleted Lancaster's infield.

Hewson leaped into prominence this season with a .513 batting average, three home runs and 29 runs batted in. The left-handed hitting shortstop made first-team All-Golden League and plans to play for Antelope Valley College.

``It's taken a lot of hard work to have such a good senior year,'' Hewson said. ``There was no way I wanted to be a .250 hitter. That's why I worked all summer long. It was just something I had to do.''

Hewson lifted weights and ran wind sprints, trained privately with hitting instructor Perry Husband and fielded countless practice grounders from his father Jim.

``Michael Hewson has developed a lot,'' Lancaster coach Doug Martin said. ``This was his first year as a starter and he really just grew up. He was our biggest strength and one of the best players I've seen here in four years.''

Hewson is aggressive at the plate, so much so that he had zero walks in 76 at-bats; he struck out nine times. He was batting close to .600 for much for the season before a minor slump in the last few games.

Hewson kind of sneaked up on opponents who knew more about Lancaster's other top hitters such as Eric Sundberg, Justin Rethwisch and Mike Brown.

``I'd never even heard of Mike Hewson until this year,'' Highland coach Mike Van Cheri said. ``Then there he was, making first-team all-league. He's a left-hand hitting shortstop with power, and that's a good guy to have.''

Ann Hewson, Michael's mother, said baseball helped her son grow up.

``Michael was always a hyperactive child, but when he first played Pony League in eighth grade, he learned how to be a man,'' his mother said. ``He learned how to be responsible for his actions and he learned to take direction. By the end of his first season, I thought he was good enough to make the all-star team, but nobody knew who he was.''

After he represented Lancaster High in the Larry Lake Rotary All-Star Game at Lancaster Municipal Stadium last Sunday, people are starting to know who Hewson is. The Bernie Milligan appearance should solidify his status as one of the year's biggest success stories.

``I'm very excited to be playing in a game like this,'' Hewson said. ``I'm where I'm at now because I saw where I was before, and I knew I could do a lot better.''