BASEBALL BEAT : A WEEK OF GRAND SLAMS.

Grand slams are supposed to happen on rare occasions, but there were seven hit last week. Hart's Chris Wright started the barrage with two against Saugus. Kennedy's Jon Garland had one, as did Westlake's Kevin Howard, Chaminade's Chris Martinez, Granada Hills' Jon Bringuier and El Camino Real's Kirt Birkins.

``Man, that's amazing,'' Hart coach Bud Murray said. ``It must be a juiced ball.''

No, try poor pitching. ``I think pitchers are just throwing the same pitches up there,'' Murray said.

Wright almost had a chance for a third grand slam in the same game. And what would Murray have done if that happened? ``I would have bought him a six-pack of cola,'' he said.

Showdown in Mission

One of the best pitching matchups of the season is set 3:45 p.m. today when Chaminade's Chris Gray (5-0, 0.69 ERA) faces Crespi's Brian Felten (6-1, 1.70) at Valley College in a battle for first place in the Mission League.

Gray and Felten have both accepted scholarships to Loyola Marymount. ``I'll be looking at him as a guy from an opposing team wanting to beat him, then after the game, I can look at him as my teammate,'' Gray said.

Felten got to know Chaminade's Gray, Ryan Hamill and Martinez at the Stanford camp last summer. ``I know where not to put the ball for Hamill,'' he said.

Felten also learned about Hamill's prodigious eating habits. ``He eats a lot,'' Felten said. ``He's on some nutrition diet. We ate what they gave us up there and he's not too picky.''

Going Hollywood

For someone who was once cut from the Westlake freshman team, Jeff Boyle sure looks like an unlikely ace pitcher. ``He's the No. 1 guy for the next two years,'' Warriors coach Chuck Berrington said.

Boyle was 11-0 on the JV team last season as a sophomore after his father joked that he'd buy him new speakers for his car if he went out for the team.

``He looks like `Joe Hollywood' with a gold necklace and earring,'' Berrington said. ``He's always in my doghouse.''

But Boyle is 3-1 this season and changing his ways. He no longer wears his hat backward and the earring is coming off. ``I'm getting sick of having an earring,'' he said.

Berrington admires Boyle's tenacity. ``He's proven to me on game day, he's ready to go,'' he said. ``He's good on the mound and doesn't let anything bother him.''

Etc.

Hot hitters:Saugus' Chris Mayberry has hit home runs in four straight games. Burroughs' Tommy Perez has 11 hits in his last 13 at-bats, including five home runs. Camarillo's Jeff Bannon has eight hits in his last 10 at-bats.

Injured:Simi Valley outfielder David Krewson suffered a broken nose when hit by a pitch last week against Thousand Oaks.

Sophomore to watch:Granada Hills sophomore Jon Bringuier is a player on the rise. He's batting .360 and has shown signs of terrific power.

Calabasas duo:Calabasas' Brian Fatur has 81 career hits, two short of breaking the school record. Catcher Josh Goldfield has thrown out 27 of 32 runners trying to steal over the last two seasons.

Thanks, mom:It pays to have a mother who's a principal. Just ask Chatsworth first baseman Mike Kunes, whose mother, Joanna, is principal at Madison Middle School in North Hollywood. Kunes tagged along with other Madison students last Saturday, getting a free ticket to the Dodgers-Astros game.

Unusual ejection:A Chaminade JV player was ejected from a game against St. Francis for throwing pea gravel at the St. Francis first baseman. ``Thou shall not throw pea gravel through the fence,'' athletic director Ed Croson said.

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Photo

Photo: MVP payoff

Calabasas' Brian Fatur, left, and Cory Briggs of Palmdale, right, received bats from Jim Easton, president of Easton Sporting Goods, for earning MVP honors in the Daily News Invitational.

Phil McCarten / Daily News