BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: MILWAUKEE GATHERS KNIGHTS STAR MOSS.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Steve Moss will pass up a scholarship to UCLA and begin his professional baseball career in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

Moss, an outfielder from Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks, signed over the weekend and is scheduled to report to the Brewers rookie-level team in Arizona on Wednesday. He was a 29th-round pick in this year's draft after batting .403 as a leadoff hitter for the Knights.

``I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited,'' Moss said. ``It's starting to sink in at this point. I've always wanted to be a baseball player, but I never really thought I'd actually get a chance to do it. It's more like a dream than anything else.''

Moss was a four-year varsity starter at Notre Dame.

``In my 16 years, he's the best outfielder I've had,'' said Knights assistant Jody Breeden, who coached Moss again this summer during American Legion.

Although his selection in the draft was much later than he anticipated, Moss remained focused on potentially turning pro. He used a wood bat the entire Legion season in preparation for the transition to professional baseball.

``I weighed all my options,'' said Moss, who declined to say how much he signed for. ``I didn't ever think this was going to happen, but the Brewers showed a lot of interest in me and I liked what they had to say these past couple months. ... I think a lot of teams were scared away by the chances of me going to college and not being able to sign me, so they didn't pay as much attention to me. The Brewers, they did their homework.''

--Cable commits: Palmdale pitcher Jason Cable committed to Cal State Northridge. The incoming senior left-handed pitcher visited the campus Friday and accepted the Matadors offer that night. Cable went 9-1 with one save, a 3.23 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 52 innings en route to earning first-team All-Golden League honors.

This summer, he's helped Palmdale to first place in the American Legion District 20 Desert Division and a spot in the district playoffs, which begin Wednesday at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.

--C.V. finding missing pieces: The graduation of Kris Krise and an arm injury that kept Aaron Feterl sidelined throughout the high school season and again in the summer left Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta searching for pitching beyond incoming sophomore ace Trevor Bell. Left-handed senior-to-be Adam Schaller emerged as the most promising answer to the pitching void.

``He did real well for us this summer,'' Falcons coach Phil Torres said of Schaller, who is among eight Crescenta Valley players to earn a spot on the local Babe Ruth senior all-star team that is competing in the Southern California tournament this week at Arcadia.

Fellow all-stars Colt Forsythe, usually the starting catcher, and second baseman Aaron McGuinness are also in the mix of possible pitchers. The Falcons hope Feterl is also in that group.

``We're hoping Feterl will come back,'' Torres said. ``He did not throw at all during the summer, so we're hoping the rest will help. But they still can't decide what's wrong. It's really disappointing for him. He was really great last summer.''

The possibility of not having a staff as dominant as the one this spring that featured two starters with ERAs less than 1.00 is eased by the hitting of players such as Kyle Barratt. The incoming senior infielder had two doubles in the all-stars' opening-game victory Friday and he had two hits in Saturday's victory over El Centro.