HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PREVIEW: AREA'S BEST BATTLE FOR NATIONAL SUPREMACY ECR, AGOURA AMONG TOP 3.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer The baseball teams at Agoura High and El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
ECR ECR Efficient Consumer Response ECR European Congress of Radiology ECR Electron Cyclotron Resonance ECR El Camino Real (Kings Highway; California) ECR Electronic Cash Register ECR East Coast Radio (South Africa) and Agoura are turning this season's challenge to be the area's best into a battle for national supremacy SUPREMACY. Sovereign dominion, authority, and preeminence; the highest state. In the United States, the supremacy resides in the people, and is exercises by their constitutional representatives, the president and congress. Vide Sovereignty. . ECR moved up to No. 2 in this week's Baseball America  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . national rankings, followed by Agoura at No. 3. Add No. 12 Chatsworth to the mix, and it wouldn't surprise if a local team claims the mythical myth·i·cal also myth·ic adj. 1. Of or existing in myth: the mythical unicorn. 2. Imaginary; fictitious. 3. national title for the third time in four seasons. ``(Rankings aren't) something we worry about,'' said ECR coach Matt LaCour, whose team is No. 1 in the Daily News' Top 20. ``Going into the season, our focus is on City (Section) and getting to the championship game and winning that. We take the same approach every year, but this year we have a target on us. ``All the rankings and everything people write, they're really nice, but we try not to focus on that too much. It's just people's opinions, and we can't control that.'' The lofty opinions on the Conquistadores come with good reason: The defending City Section champions return five starters and added preseason All-America slugger Gabe Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , who transferred from Harvard-Westlake of Studio City. Cohen, an outfielder who has signed with UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , gives ECR four players who have committed to Division I colleges. Nevada-bound Shaun Kort highlights the Conquistadores' standouts. The left-handed pitcher/outfielder was the state Junior of the Year last season after going 10-1 with a 1.18 ERA and batting .455 with 10 home runs. He is joined in the rotation by right-handers Garrett Claypool, who has signed with UCLA, and Eric Pettis, who has signed with UC Irvine. Shortstop J.P. Hollywood, a four-year starter who made only four errors last season, also has the potential to play in college. ``The team to beat is ECR,'' said Chaminade of West Hills coach Sid Lopez, who guides a Mission League title contender. ``They are nine deep. Every once in a while, teams come along like that, and it's something special.'' The West Valley League is familiar with such teams - Chatsworth claimed national championships in 2003 and 2004. The Chancellors, who lost to the Conquistadores in last year's City final and are coming off their 11th league title in 12 years, will again be a threat. They are led by preseason All-Americans Mike Moustakas Mike Moustakas (born September 11, 1988 at Chatsworth, California) is a Shortstop[1] who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball 2nd overall in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. and Matt Dominguez Matt Dominguez (born June 27, 1978 in Georgetown, Texas, United States) is a top receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Matt attended Sam Houston State for college were he was the team's MVP twice and the school's first NCAA division I-AA , both junior infielders. Agoura is home to one of the few juniors capable of drawing more attention than the record-setting duo of Moustakas and Dominguez. Chargers catcher/pitcher Robert Stock is Baseball America's reigning Youth Player of the Year. He'll show off his arm even more this season, joining a starting rotation that also features Arizona-bound Jason Stoffel. Agoura's pitchers are supported by a stingy stin·gy adj. stin·gi·er, stin·gi·est 1. Giving or spending reluctantly. 2. Scanty or meager: a stingy meal; stingy with details about the past. defense anchored by UC Irvine-bound shortstop Nick Farinacci. ``Those rankings, Stock and Stoffel have a lot to do with it,'' Chargers coach Scott Deck said. ``But we've got a lot more than that. I think we're better all-around than last year. We hit the ball better than last year. ``The big thing that'll be different this year is we'll have the bull's-eye on our back from the beginning. It'll be interesting. There's a ton of good teams around here.'' Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: El Camino Real is led by, from left, Shaun Kort, Garrett Claypool, Gabe Cohen and Eric Pettis. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer Box: (1) DAILY NEWS' TOP 20 (2) SMALL SCHOOLS |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion