BASEBALL BEAT : YOUNG WONDERS.

Two games into the Little League District 40 playoffs, Woodland Hills' group of 11- and 12-year-olds have been nothing short of spectacular, outscoring the opposition 38-0.

Junior Garcia, a 5-foot-9 first baseman/pitcher, is 6 for 6 in the tournament. In the opener, he hit four home runs, including two grand slams in the first inning.

``I was surprised because he was telling us in the dugout before the game he was getting nervous and was afraid of striking out,'' teammate Garrett Feig said.

Woodland Hills coach Jim Hock might want to make sure Garcia is nervous before every game the way he has been hitting.

Woodland Hills figures to start facing tougher competition, starting with today's 5 p.m. game against Canyon Country West at Encino. Canyon Country's Jared Clark can hit the long ball like Garcia.

But Woodland Hills has top hitters throughout its lineup. ``We've been practicing really hard,'' Feig said.

Schultz is back

The happiest coach at the American Legion All-Star game on Sunday had to be Loyola Marymount's Frank Cruz. He's the one who signed Cleveland High pitcher Mike Schultz to a national letter of intent. Now Schultz, 6-7 and 170 pounds, has become a dominating pitcher.

He beat first-round draft pick Jon Garland twice as a senior. He pitched two shutout innings in the Bernie Milligan All-Star Game. He pitched two shutout innings in the Legion All-Star game. This summer, he's 5-0 with an 0.74 ERA. And the scariest thing is he's not even close to reaching peak form. He doesn't turn 18 until November.

``I guess I'm just maturing and getting stronger,'' Schultz said. ``I feel I have a lot of improvement to go.''

For three years, people waited for Schultz to start beating top teams. Not until this season did he finally make the jump.

``He had it kind of easy,'' Cleveland assistant coach Jim Mills said. ``Everybody thought this tall guy was going to be somebody and when he didn't get respect, he stepped it up.''

Said Schultz: ``I just feel like I'm dominating now. Before, I was equal. Now I feel they can't hit me.''

Now it will be Cruz basking in the glory of getting to work with a pitcher who could be an NCAA Division I star in the coming years.

Still a whiz

Evan Lovett is going into his junior year at UCLA. So how can he still be playing Legion ball? The answer is he graduated from Monroe High when he was just 16 in 1995 and doesn't turn 19 until Sept. 2. He had a 4.4 grade-point average and 1350 SAT score his senior year.

``He's only out there because he absolutely loves it,'' teammate John Wilson said.

Lovett is one of the top pitchers for Panorama City and played in the Legion All-Star game.

He has a difficult time convincing people about his college background.

``A lot of people don't believe me,'' he said. ``They go, `Yeah, right. You can't be in your third year at UCLA.' I have to pull out my driver's license and student I.D.''

Etc.

It's UCLA vs. USC: Last Tuesday was the first day college coaches could start contacting seniors-to-be. Monroe pitcher John Ennis could be involved in a UCLA vs. USC recruiting derby. Both Bruins coach Gary Adams and Trojans coach Mike Gillespie made calls to the Ennis household.

Waiting for reinforcements: Woodland Hills West (17-5) will have played 12 games without three key players - infielder Woody Cliffords and pitchers Kurt Birkins and John Koegel. They have been on the road playing for an AAU club team. They're due back this week. Without them, Woodland Hills West has been showing off three top young players who were stars for El Camino Real's JV team last season - sophomores Conor Jackson and Sean McElroy and junior Brian Somoza.

Players on the rise: He was a pitching phenom in Little League, but Chaminade High's Nathaniel Dunlap has become a standout shortstop this summer in Legion ball. Dunlap, a junior, made the District 20 All-Star game. He has come up with some terrific plays in the field for West Hills.

Studio City North pitcher Ivan Hernandez, a junior at Sylmar High, attracted attention with a 14-strikeout performance last week. ``He can be pretty good,'' Sylmar coach Gary Donatella said.

Key player: Watch closely the development of Westlake left-hander David Williamson. The Warriors could be one of the top three teams in the area next season, but they need Williamson to become a top pitcher.

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Photo

PHOTO Woodland Hills' Junior Garcia hit four homers in a recent Little League game.

Joe Binoya / Special to the Daily News