FRESHMAN MAKES IMPACT FORMER HART STAR VALAIKA AN EARLY BLOOMER AT UCSB.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Chris Valaika was drawing raves from his UC Santa Barbara baseball coach before the Hart High of Newhall graduate played his first game for the Gauchos. Valaika's fielding, hitting and hard-working-but-humble attitude were praised as being just what the team needs to improve on last year's losing record.

Midway through his freshman season, UC Santa Barbara has plenty of reason to be pleased with Valaika. In addition to being a sure-handed starting shortstop, Valaika has been a consistent contributor to one of the Big West Conference's best-hitting teams. He raised his average to .311 with two hits in Tuesday's 15-7 victory over Loyola Marymount.

Valaika also had six doubles, a triple and three home runs with 15 RBI entering this weekend's three-game series against Sacramento State.

This weekend's series is the Gauchos' final tuneup before opening Big West play next weekend. UC Santa Barbara entered the series with a 17-10 record, six consecutive victories and a .315 team batting average that ranked second behind Cal State Fullerton.

--Susdorf sidelined: Not much has been able to slow former Hart standout Billy Susdorf during his junior season at UCLA, but a knee injury has done the trick. It's expected Susdorf will not return for a month.

Susdorf injured the knee sliding into third base a few weeks ago. When the pain persisted and got worse, an MRI revealed a fractured patella.

The outfielder had started the Bruins' first 21 games and was one of the team's hottest hitters. His .338 average and seven doubles remained team highs entering this weekend's Pacific-10 Conference-opening series against No. 1 Stanford.

--What a relief: Valencia graduate Kyle Wilson gives UCLA another valuable contributor from the Foothill League. The junior reliever entered the weekend having yet to allow an earned run in six appearances this season. The right-hander had 11 strikeouts and three hits allowed in eight innings.

Wilson had a career-high four strikeouts in two shutout innings of one-hit relief Tuesday at San Diego State, a game the Bruins lost 5-1.

--A first: Phil Tognetti, Hart's record holder for season victories, earned his first career save for Michigan on Saturday against Oakland in the Michigan Classic.

Tognetti, who was a regular in the starting rotation last year as a sophomore, was 1-0 with one save and a 4.76 ERA entering this weekend's Big 10 Conference opener against Minnesota.

--Hot-hitting Haag: Fresno State senior infielder Ryan Haag, another Hart product, entered the week ranked 10th in the Western Athletic Conference in batting. His .328 average was third best among the Bulldogs.

Haag also had seven doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI during Fresno State's 12-19 start.

--On a roll: Claremont had won five of its past six games entering this weekend's series against Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference leader Cal Lutheran. Two young Foothill League products have contributed to the Stags' success. Ian Feldman, a freshman catcher out of Hart, appeared in 14 of the first 28 games, batting .375. Valencia product Brett Erickson is a sophomore first baseman.

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com

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Ex-Hart standout Billy Susdorf, a junior outfielder at UCLA, is expected to be sidelined for another month with a knee injury.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer