CHATTER: AUTHENTIC BASEBALL OPENS TODAY.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

Today, weather permitting, is baseball's opening day.

I'm not talking about that business going on in Florida and Arizona pitting multimillionaire brats against filthy-rich whiny owners. Nor am I discussing the collegiate game with its aluminum bats, terminally long games, scores more befitting a football game and mediocre pitching.

I refer to high school baseball, the last place where it's just a game. Where eager-eyed kids lace 'em up mostly because they love it and not because they have some designs on a college scholarship or professional contract.

High school baseball's newly mowed grass and baseline chalk smells just as pleasant as in any major-league stadium. Also, you get a free box-seat view of unspoiled (or yet-to-be-spoiled) boys, in which the joy of watching an outfielder catch a ball with two hands and seeing a shortstop use fundamentals to field a grounder is exquisite....

Congratulations, Dean Herrington. You finally got the college job you sought. Now, go out and build Occidental into the power you helped build at Hart.

Congratulations, Davis Delmatoff on succeeding Herrington as Hart's offensive coordinator. May you have success, thereby proving wrong any naysayers who believe Herrington was the true mastermind of the offense....

L.A. Baptist is about 15 miles from Harvard-Westlake. There are schools closer, such as Campbell Hall, that could have held the Wolverines' Southern Section Division III-AA girls' basketball semifinal Saturday night.

Yet the reason for the site is simple: Melissa Hearlihy.

When Hearlihy coached at Alemany, LAB became the home site after the Northridge earthquake destroyed Alemany's gym. Hearlihy simply went back to an old friend....

--Deja vu: Chaminade's boys' basketball team lost a playoff quarterfinal to Centennial of Compton on a buzzer-beating shot - for the second consecutive year. Six players and coach Jeff Young endured both losses.

Young said Centennial's coaches expressed amazement at the repeat and told Young they hoped the two teams would one day meet in a final.

As for Chaminade, ``I think the kids were numb from the loss,'' Young said. He avoided talking about losing the same way....

--En garde! Chaminade of West Hills fencer Derek Snyder won a silver medal in junior men's epee at the 30th Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City. Snyder stopped practicing the epee two years ago, but he obviously didn't forget how to use it. He also finished seventh in the foil....

--College softball update: El Camino Real graduates Jacqui Goodchild and Cara Blumfield helped Boston College reach the Sunshine State Classic final. Goodchild plays second base and Blumfield is the shortstop, just like the old days.

Arizona freshman Mackenzie Vandergeest (La Reina) hit a three-run homer to help the Wildcats beat Pacific in the final of the Arizona tournament. Vandergeest homered off former Camarillo pitcher Cindy Ball. Vandergeest has started every game at catcher for the Wildcats, batting .578 with five home runs, 22 RBI and a 1.089 slugging percentage in 45 at-bats entering the weekend games....

At Michigan State, the Spartans lost their season opener 11-1 to Brigham Young, but Saugus graduate Amanda Melton drove in the lone run.

Stanford pitcher Maureen LeCocq (Chaminade) earned Pac-10 pitcher of the week honors after throwing a perfect game against Long Beach State. She also had 5 1/3 shutout innings against Michigan.

And Georgia Tech's Erin Voeltz (Westlake) was the losing pitcher in a Mardi Gras Classic pool-play game. Voeltz fell to 2-2.

Staff writer Gerry Gittelson contributed.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

KYLE KEGLEY

Senior, Thousand Oaks basketball

Kegley is the reason Thousand Oaks got past Cajon 52-50 Friday night to advance to the Southern Section Division I-AA semifinals tonight against El Toro at Westlake High at 7:30. The senior sharpshooter scored all 16 of the Lancers' fourth-quarter points, including four 3-pointers, in one of the region's most clutch performances in recent memory. What made it even more impressive was Cajon based its entire defensive game plan on stopping Kegley, who's averaging 22 points per game. Kegley was constantly fighting off two and three defenders, yet managed to shake free to deliver 16 of his game-high 27 points in the final period.

CARRIE SCHULER

Junior, Louisville soccer

Defenders are soccer's blue-collar workers. They rarely get up the field enough times to create scoring opportunities. But when Louisville sets up a free or corner kick, Schuler is usually coach Jose Perez's choice to execute.

In Thursday's 4-1 win over Oak Park in the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals, Schuler assisted on two goals, on a free kick and a corner kick. Both kicks were on the mark, allowing Megan Merritt and Jessica Hayman to score with headers.

``We practiced them since the beginning of the season, but they just seem to work,'' Schuler said. ``We have a lot of good players who can really get their head on the ball. We just seem to stay consistent with it.''

On the defensive end, Schuler helped Louisville dominate in playoff wins over Paraclete (3-0 on Tuesday) and Oak Park. They get Chaminade today.

UP AND COMER

LINDSAY LLEWELLYN

Agoura High

Llewellyn, a sophomore water polo player, set the junior varsity school record with 75 goals, six more than the previous mark. She also had 21 assists and 43 steals. She was promoted to varsity for the playoffs and has scored 11 goals, including one in Saturday's semifinal, to go with five assists and three steals.

Nominate outstanding junior varsity and middle school athletes by calling [phone].

HEAD TO HEAD

Matchup of the week:

RYAN SHAW

St. Francis, Forward

KEVIN MURRAY

Notre Dame, Midfielder

Shaw is the go-to player for St. Francis, having set the record for goals in a season each of the past three years. He has quickness and a knack for the big play - he scored two goals and had two assists in the Knights' 4-2 victory over Ganehsa on Friday in the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals. St. Francis was the Mission League champion, and Notre Dame, which is a bit more balanced offensively, was second. Murray, a midfielder who can score and defend, was a big reason why. Although he was primarily a passer in the regular season, he's turned up the scoring in the postseason with seven goals in four games. Murray and Shaw will come across one another often in this semifinal match, and expect a shootout between the two players.

3 p.m. Tuesday at Notre Dame High.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 5 boxes

Photo: (1) KYLE KEGLEY, Senior, Thousand Oaks basketball

(2) LINDSAY LLEWELLYN, Agoura High

(3) RYAN SHAW, St. Francis, Forward

(4) KEVIN MURRAY, Notre Dame, Midfielder

Box: (1) STATILICIOUS

(2) ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (see text)

(3) UP AND COMER (see text)

(4) HEAD 2 HEAD (see text)

(5) ON DECK: Highlights of the coming week