CHATTER: MOUSTAKAS AND TAYLOR HONORED BY CAL-HI SPORTS.

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writer

Chatsworth High shortstop Mike Moustakas and Valencia softball pitcher Jordan Taylor have been named state junior players of the year by Cal-Hi Sports.

This is the second year in a row Moustakas has been the player of the year for his grade, and the third consecutive year a Chatsworth player has claimed the top honor for the class of 2007.

Moustakas, the City Section Player of the Year, hit .427 with 47 RBIs and a school-record 14 home runs. He has a school-record 28 home runs and 117 RBIs in three seasons with the Chancellors.

Taylor, the Southern Section Div. I co-player of the year, set an area record with 416 strikeouts, becoming the 22nd player in state history to surpass the 400 mark. The Michigan-bound Taylor was 26-5 with a 0.13 ERA and 20 shutouts.

Moustakas, Chatsworth third baseman Matt Dominguez and Agoura catcher/pitcher Robert Stock made the 32-man roster of players invited to the USA Baseball Junior National Team trials.

The candidates for the 18-under national team were selected from participants at last week's Tournament of Stars in Joplin, Mo.

Stock, who has played for the 16-under Youth National team the past two years, was a member of the American Amateur Baseball Congress team that won the tournament title Sunday with a 10-6 victory over the USA Stars, for which Moustakas played.

Calabasas graduate Kristen McVitty, who begins competition in the qualifying draw at the Wimbledon Junior Championships on Thursday, was selected girls' player of the year by the Southern California Tennis Association at its recent awards banquet.

McVitty won the USTA winter national 18-under title in January and plans to play at Virginia.

Thousand Oaks 15-year-old JT Sundling, who teamed with Tesoro of Las Flores' Nicolas Meister to capture the 18-under doubles title Sunday at the 104th annual Southern California Sectional Championships, shared boys' player of the year honors with Woodbridge of Irvine's Michael McClune.

Thousand Oaks graduate Sam Querrey, who passed up an opportunity to attend USC to play professionally, was one of two recipients of the Evelyn Houseman Lifetime Sportsmanship Award.

Malibu graduate Kelly Stewart, entering her sophomore year at Princeton, was the other honoree.

College of the Canyons quarterback Marcel Marquez (Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks) has signed a football scholarship at Sacramento State.

Former Hart of Newhall baseball standout Chris Valaika made his professional debut last week and his first hit was a home run. Valaika, a third-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds this year out of UC Santa Barbara, finished Thursday's game 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored for rookie-level Billings (Mont).

Another Foothill League product, Casey Mulligan of Valencia, also got his first professional hit Thursday. Mulligan, this year's Foothill League Player of the Year, went 1 for 4 in his second game with rookie Johnson City (Tenn.) of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Chatsworth High right-hander Josh Ravin, the top local high schooler selected in this year's baseball draft, has signed with the Cincinnati Reds. Ravin was drafted in the fifth round after going 6-2 with a 2.68 ERA for the City Section finalists.

-- Erik Boal and Gerry Gittelson contributed

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