COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: SUMMER BASEBALL SUMMONS AREA PLAYERS.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

When Freddie Prinze Jr. went to the mound a troubled college pitcher and soon joined the Philadelphia Phillies in the film ``Summer Catch,'' summer baseball was on the map.

Several local college players are back at it, some in Alaska, others in the Midwest and a couple just up the coast. Here is a quick look at some of their progress so far:

Two former Hart High teammates, UCLA's Billy Susdorf and Michigan's Phil Tognetti, are playing for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Coastal Collegiate League. Susdorf, a versatile player at UCLA, was hitting .310 with nine RBI in 22 games for the Foresters. He also threw 2 2/3 innings in one relief appearance.

Susdorf pitched and hit in his freshman season at UCLA, but he was strictly an outfielder and designated hitter as a Bruins sophomore. He hit .310 with 10 homers and drove in 40 runs. He earned honorable-mention All-Pacific-10 Conference honors.

Tognetti has made five starts at Santa Barbara and has a 2-1 record and 3.46 ERA. He has 20 strikeouts with only four walks in 26 innings. He was one of Michigan's top starters last season, finishing 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA in 14 games. He made 10 starts and threw a pair of complete games for the Wolverines.

Kyle Wilson (Valencia) has made seven appearances for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League. The UCLA sophomore has been Peninsula's closer and has three saves, a 1-1 record and 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

Wilson has yet to make a big impact at UCLA. He showed promise as a freshman but made just seven appearances last season and pitched 11 2/3 innings.

Mike Miller (Hart) of Cal State L.A. is playing outfield for the Rochester (N.Y.) Honkers in the Northwoods League. Miller had a big game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks with two hits and a run scored. He reached base four times and was hitting .246 with two RBI.

Last season at Cal State L.A., Miller hit .325 with four homers and 21 RBI.

Art Ortiz (College of the Canyons/Lancaster High) was hitting .167 in limited action for the Alaska GoldPanners of the Alaska Baseball League.

Eric Posthumous (Hart) is pitching for the Northern Ohio Baseball Club in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League.

Brandon Montemayor (Hart/College of the Canyons), a transfer from Clemson, is also in the Great Lakes League as a catcher for the Youngstown (Ohio) Express. Montemayor will play at Louisiana-Lafayette next season.

--More Bauer to you: Weber State's quarterback situation appears to be wide open entering the Wildcats' fall practice schedule. In the mix is College of the Canyons transfer Kyle Bauer (Valencia).

Weber State returns 2002 starter Tate Bennett, but Bauer had plenty of reps in spring practice. He went 5 for 8 for 61 yards in the first major spring scrimmage and was the star of the spring Purple/White Game.

He was 7 of 10 for 100 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Justin DeFour.

``Tate has the experience, but he will have to earn his keep,'' Wildcats head coach Jerry Graybeal said. ``We will have a good quarterback battle with Tate, Kyle, Ian Pizarro, Jeff Fowler and Parker Morrill. They will make each better in every practice.''

Bauer, who guided the Vikings to the Southern Section Div. III championship game before losing to rival Hart, was the state's premier junior college quarterback last season. California's offensive player of the year threw for 3,109 yards and 36 touchdowns.

--All-Star summer for Summers: Shari Summers, who helped Valencia reach the Southern Section Div. II girls' soccer final and will play at Stanford, participated in the McDonald's All-American all-star game last month in Charleston, S.C.

Chris Cocoles, [phone]

chris.cocoles(at)dailynews.com