GOOD HITTING OR GOOD PITCHING? : A.V.-PALMDALE GAME TESTS MAXIM.

Byline: Dave Desmond Daily News Staff Writer

It is an offense that would make even the Colorado Rockies envious.

Palmdale High School's baseball lineup features eight players batting at least .365.

``They've got the strongest hitting lineup in the entire Southern Section,'' said Antelope Valley coach Ed t'Sas, whose team will attempt to cool off the Falcons' hot bats today at Palmdale in a key Golden League game between traditional rivals.

``I don't see anybody better than Palmdale. Just about anybody in that lineup can hurt you.''

The contest could prove to be a classic matchup between quality pitching and hitting.

Antelope Valley figures to send hard-throwing senior Sean Douglass to the mound in a game that should determine whether the slugging Falcons can stay in the title race or if the Antelopes will run away with it.

Antelope Valley (12-7, 5-0) is attempting to capture its first league title since 1994 and third in the '90s. A victory today would give the Antelopes a commanding three-game lead in the loss column over second-place Palmdale (11-7, 4-2) with six to play.

A Falcons victory would close the margin to a half-game in the standings.

``There's no doubt that, if we're going to win a league championship, this game is very important,'' Palmdale coach Randy Lintemoot said.

Beating Antelope Valley will not be an easy task.

The Antelopes have yielded only 70 runs in 18 games, an average of 3.7 per game, and limited Palmdale to a season-low total for runs in a 5-4 A.V. victory on April 2.

Douglass, expected to be picked as high as the first round of this June's major league draft, enters with a 3-1 record and 2.40 ERA.

If he gets in trouble, t'Sas will have plenty of ammunition in his bullpen.

Brian Scoles is 2-1 and has a league-best 1.45 ERA. Jeremy Holiday, who beat Littlerock on Wednesday, is 7-3 this season and 28-18 in his four-year varsity career.

``The old rule is that good pitching beats good hitting, and they certainly have good pitching and experience on the mound,'' Lintemoot said. ``But if our bats are on fire, it's going to be tough on them too.''

The Falcons' bats have been sizzling throughout a season that already has seen them score 229 runs in 18 games, an average of 12.7 per game.

Among the hot bats in the Palmdale lineup: J.J. Rosati (.509); Cory Briggs (.493); Kevin Harmon (.426); Brian Stien (.407); Zeb McDaniel (.393); Jason Gorman (.389), Alex Suarez (.375) and Manny Yanas (.365).

Without No. 1 starting pitcher Sean Zontman, who has missed much of the season with shoulder problems, Palmdale will look to either Briggs (2-0) or Harmon (2-2) to pitch against the Antelopes.

Only Brandon Sadler (.375) is batting higher than .300 for Antelope Valley, which is hitting .258 and averaging four runs per game.

Antelopes third baseman Kevin Barlow established a school record Wednesday when he collected his 121st career hit, and center fielder Eric Mobley leads the league with 12 stolen bases.

``Our offensive numbers may not be as good as Palmdale's, but we've always felt that we can bang with anybody,'' t'Sas said. ``Someone different is always contributing.''

Such was the case in the April 2 meeting between the teams at Antelope Valley.

Palmdale led 4-3 entering the seventh, but Douglass' two-out run-scoring hit tied the game and Mike Seward followed with an RBI single for the 5-4 victory.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) STIEN

BARLOW