A.V. TEAM SEEKS COMMUNITY FUNDS : MARINERS GEAR UP FOR TRIP TO CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

The Antelope Valley Mariners have earned the right to compete in the Junior Olympics age 9-and-under national baseball championships this summer.

Whether the AAU traveling team will make it to the competition in Sherwood Ark. is up in the air.

The Mariners are trying to raise $20,000 to send players, coaches and parents for the tournament which will be held July 26-Aug. 3. This month, the group is collecting aluminum cans and has plans for a car wash and bowl-a-thon.

Mariners' coach Jim Blechen has also started an extensive letter-writing campaign to potential sponsors.

Through contributions and a jog-a-thon last month, the squad raised enough to buy uniforms. But Blechen said the Mariners are still far short of the $800 per player needed to go to the tournament.

``We're hoping the community will rally around us the way Northridge did around their team when they went to the Little League World Series,'' Blechen said.

The Lancaster resident did not quite know what to expect when he started the Mariners in 1994 to give youth in the Antelope Valley the opportunity to play year-round.

The organization has expanded to six teams, ranging from age 9 and under to 15, and has become a full-time endeavor for Blechen, 33, a supermarket retail clerk and father of three sons.

``I'm founder, president, coach and manager,'' Blechen said. ``It's been a lot more than I thought would happen and wanted to bite off as far as insurance, recruiting managers and ordering equipment. But it's too important to the kids for me to quit.''

Blechen, whose eight-year-old son Chuck plays shortstop and second base, began recruiting players for his team in September by passing out flyers at shopping centers, holding tryouts and scouting leagues in Quartz Hill, Palmdale, Lancaster and Rosamond.

Blechen's hustle has resulted in the lone age 9-and-under team in the AAU's Southern Pacific Association, which encompasses Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Orange counties, and an automatic berth in the Junior Olympics.

By comparison, the Mariners' age 10-, 11-, 12-, 14- and 15-and-under teams must play in SPA/AAU qualifying tournaments to earn a berth in the national championships.

Antelope Valley's age 9-and-under team includes Selwyn Young, son of Seattle Mariners' scout Selwyn Young. Other members are Ryan Babineau, Milt Davis Jr., Cody Dee, Kyle Eveland, Nathaniel Forte, Moses Garcia, Kyle Hogan, Corey Neave, Tim Sabadin, Jarrod Sammet and Eddie Reyes.

Blechen wants to add at least three more players by the end of the month.

``When you play as many as three games a day, you need a lot of players,'' Blechen said. ``Depth is what wins tournaments.''

The lack of age 9-and-under teams in Southern California has forced the Mariners to play against age 10-and-under teams to get games under their belt. In fact, the Mariners' age 9-and-under team has beaten Antelope Valley's age 10-and-under competition in tournament play this year.

Blechen has high hopes for the Mariners in Arkansas. . .if they are able to make the trip.

``Something great is going to happen,'' Blechen said. ``I just hope we can see it at the end.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) The Antelope Valley Mariners 9-and-under team is eligible to compete in the Junior Olymoics.

(2) Tim Sabadin drops the ball as Corey Neave slides safely at practice. The team is trying to raise $20,000 for their trip.