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CRESPI'S FELTEN CONQUERS NERVES AND LAKEWOOD.


Byline: Eric Sondheimer Daily News Deputy Sports Editor Noun 1. sports editor - the newspaper editor responsible for sports news
newspaper editor - the editor of a newspaper
 

Besides being tall, thin, superstitious su·per·sti·tious  
adj.
1. Inclined to believe in superstition.

2. Of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition.



su
 and a straight-A student, Crespi High School's Brian Felten has added the title of elite pitcher to his profile.

On a gorgeous, breezy Friday afternoon in Lakewood, the 6-foot-3 junior right-hander turned in one of the best pitching performances in Crespi history. He threw a two-hit shutout as the Celts The following pages provide lists of nations or people of Celtic origin, arranged by branch of Celtic ethnicity or language grouping:

Goidelic Celts
  • list of Irish people
  • list of Scots
  • list of Manx people
Brythonic Celts
 upset Moore League champion Lakewood 1-0 in a Southern Section Division I playoff opener.

``That was probably the gutsiest performance I've had from a pitcher - shutting out a team like this with one run to boot,'' Crespi coach Scott Muckey said.

To understand Felten's accomplishment, you have to realize the conditions under which he pitched. He was a nervous wreck nervous wreck n (col): to be a nervous wreck → estar de los nervios

nervous wreck n to be a nervous wreck → être une boule de nerfs

 all day, and understandably so. He had never pitched in a playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff
game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours"

playoff - any final competition to determine a championship
 before, let alone 50 miles from home on a foreign diamond against one of the premier programs in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . The stakes were high, not to mention the tension.

``Everybody felt it in their stomach,'' Crespi outfielder John Campanella said.

Felten gave up a leadoff triple to start the game on a ball center fielder Andy Campanella should have caught. But Felten didn't panic. He got a strikeout, groundout ground·out  
n. Baseball
A play in which a batter is put out at first base after hitting a ground ball to an infielder.
 and strikeout, stranding the runner. He charged off the mound fist raised and shouted, ``Yeah!''

He was tested again in the fifth inning. With runners on second and third and two out, he grabbed a soft line drive back to the box. Again, he left the field shouting, ``Yeah!''

``My nerves kept me in it,'' he said. ``Every inning my nerves wouldn't go away. I've never been in anything like this, a big game where I wasn't sure of myself.''

Felten met every challenge, improving his record to 8-1 and lowering his ERA to 1.08. It was his third complete-game shutout in his past four starts. He also received plenty of support. This is not the same Crespi team of early in the season, when any ball hit was a possible error. The Celts (21-7) are 17-3 since moving Brian Luderer from shortstop to catcher. They made no errors Friday, and new shortstop Chris Crawley was flawless in the field while also contributing three singles.

John Campanella drove in the game's only run in the third inning on a double off the glove of Lakewood (21-6) left fielder Augie Zepeda that scored Crawley. Campanella also hit a 430-foot triple that would have been a home run in most parks, but Lakewood's center-field fence is 460 feet from home plate.

Felten isn't overpowering, but he pitches like a college pitcher - hitting spots around the plate. His development is a triumph for Muckey, one of the area's top pitching gurus who has tutored the likes of Jeff Suppan Jeffrey Scot Suppan (born January 2, 1975, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball career
Suppan (IPA pronunciation: [ˈsup ɑn] 
 and Keith Evans.

Felten is the first pitcher Muckey has had who chews a different piece of bubble gum before every inning, then places it on the field like fertilizer. Felten said he left seven pieces of gum on the mound afterward. It's a Felten superstition superstition, an irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown. The validity of superstitions is based on belief in the power of magic and witchcraft and in such invisible forces as spirits and demons. . Muckey might want to hurry to the store and buy a box of gum for his new elite pitcher.

Next up for Crespi is a second-round game Tuesday against Royal at Valley College.

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: Felton's Last Four Starts
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No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1996, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Article Details
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Title Annotation:Sports
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:May 18, 1996
Words:549
Previous Article:GOLF ROUNDUP : MEDIATE CATCHES LEVI IN HEAT, WIND.
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