BASEBALL NOTEBOOK NEW COACH, SAME RESULTS.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

It's hard enough defending a title under normal circumstances.

The Hart High of Newhall baseball team has had plenty of added obstacles this season and it could mean the Indians have to share the Foothill League championship. How well the Indians do in defending their Southern Section title will be seen when playoffs begin next week.

Hart had already clinched at least a share of the Foothill title but was upset by Burroughs on Tuesday to set up a potential tie for first when they close the season against each other today. Hart had to adjust to playing without senior Jamie Shields for most of the season. But adjusting to a new coach has been more difficult at times than replacing last year's Division II Player of the Year.

Jim Ozella, who took over after Bud Murray retired last year, was faced with the task of getting players from a winning tradition to learn to win another way.

``He came into a rough situation with Murray leaving,'' said Indians catcher Brandon Montemayor. ``He got a team with five seniors that had been with Murray. We got used to one thing and he changed it up a little bit.

``It's been rough for the whole team. He has a different approach and a different way of teaching. I'm not saying one's better than the other, but your senior year, it's tough to change. We were expecting one thing and got something else.

``Murray was not on you as much. Ozella is on you all the time, talking all the time. Murray would show you once. It's just a different kind of strict. Murray would get in your face a little bit.''

Ozella also treats everyone as equals instead of giving seniors the leeway Murray allowed, something to which some of the older players were looking forward.

``It's been a series of adjustments,'' Ozella said. ``It's been harder on the kids than on me. I'm a grown man, I should be able to deal with it.''

Ozella admits he's had to try some things he probably won't do in the future, but he said the players have generally been receptive.

``You've gotta give Ozella credit for coming into a team that just won a CIF championship and had six or seven returning starters,'' Montemayor said. ``He was dealing with a lot. Baseball players are cocky, so he had to deal with that, and we had to also.''

--Back in the swing: Shields has appeared in four games as a pitcher, but he didn't attempt hitting until this week. He took batting practice for the first time Monday and got his first at-bat Tuesday as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Shields drove a 1-1 pitch off Burroughs pitcher Jesse Dominguez's leg. Dominguez retrieved the ball and threw Shields out at first to end the inning.

``He had a great at-bat,'' Ozella said. ``It's just too bad Dominguez's leg got in the way, he hit it hard and could have started something.''

How Shields would have responded if the ball went further is uncertain since he had not done any running during his comeback. His conditioning during rehab consisted primarily of riding a stationary bike. He ran the bases for the first time at Wednesday's practice.

Ozella isn't sure if Shields (3-1) will pitch today but said the right-hander will at least be in the lineup to bat.

--What goes around comes around: Canyon secured a playoff berth when it scored 10 runs in the seventh inning Friday to erase a 6-0 deficit and eventually win an extra-inning game against second-place Burroughs. The Cowboys learned what it's like to be on the other end of a big seventh-inning comeback in their next game. Valencia (18-7, 7-7) scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh Tuesday for an 8-7 victory over Canyon (12-7, 8-5-1).

- Staff writer Scott Magoloff contributed to this story