NO HITS IN FINDING SCV BASEBALL TEAM.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- When baseball fans sit down after singing ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'' the crowd is usually feeling pretty good -- winning or losing.

But as the final innings drag on, if the home team looks bound for defeat, the seventh-inning optimism quickly fades.

The same thing could be happening in Santa Clarita, where a ``home team'' of local businessmen has had little luck in landing an independent-league team.

Craig Duswalt, the leader of the effort, has made his pitch to prominent residents. And he's heard from eager sports fans.

``Every day, people come up to me,'' Duswalt said. ```What's happening with the baseball team? What's happening with the baseball team?' But it's just a slow process.''

Still he holds out hope -- which is good because time never runs out in baseball. It's not over till the last out.

Duswalt has pushed back his target date for the first time a pro team plays its home game in Santa Clarita. He still wants to land a team in the Golden Baseball League -- the same independent league where Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco have played out the twilight of their careers.

But because of the difficulty in using the baseball field at College of the Canyons, where state law prohibits beer sales, the project is on ice. Opening day in Santa Clarita won't be before June 2008, Duswalt said.

Duswalt, who runs the talent agency Peak Models & Talent with his wife, still has support from fellow business people. His team of advisers includes Kevin Malone, former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Don Fleming, community leader and owner of Valencia Acura.

``There was a ton of excitement in the beginning,'' Fleming said. ``And then when we looked into it and it became more difficult to find a place to play, then some of the excitement quite frankly had waned. ... My enthusiasm has waned.''

Malone, who has lived in Santa Clarita since 1998 and co-owns Mercedes-Benz of Valencia, also acknowledged setbacks for the project.

``I think it's hit a juggernaut,'' he said. ``It's in a holding pattern.''

As an alternative to College of the Canyons, Duswalt suggests that the city acquire land to build a new stadium in the area of Newhall undergoing redevelopment.

Phil Ellis, chairman of the Newhall Redevelopment Committee, said the idea of building a stadium at 13th Street and San Fernando Road has been discussed. But it's not part of the city's development plan for the Newhall neighborhood. Instead, plans call for a mix of homes, park space, hotel rooms, offices and industrial space.

Like a line drive into Fenway Park's ``Green Monster'' fence, the Santa Clarita pro baseball project seems to have hit a wall.

But the uphill effort is well matched to the scrappy nature of the Golden Baseball League, which in its short history has established itself as an unusual kind of independent league.

The league wants to eventually welcome Santa Clarita.

``The sooner the better, because the league is going to continue to grow and expand,'' said Commissioner Kevin Outcalt. ``Santa Clarita will always be a very attractive market. Because it's baseball passion. The high schools are all top level ... there, they have tremendous youth baseball programs.''

Baseball lore is full of stories about small-town baseball. The Golden Baseball League is an organization that fits with that tradition of ``out of left field'' happenings on the diamond.

The league welcomed Canseco, 42, out of retirement, and he surprised critics by showcasing his knuckleball pitch. It didn't work that well for the former major-league slugger.

Last year, it had a team of traveling Japanese players called the Samurai Bears, who played all their games ``away'' -- 90 games in 96 days -- shuttling between hotel rooms.

The league has vaguely defined plans for international play. Outcult wouldn't go into details, other than saying it would be more ambitious than major-league teams' trips to Toronto to play the Blue Jays.

The ``anything can happen'' element is what Malone likes about the league. The city mayor could get an at-bat, or a celebrity could run out there, Malone said.

Duswalt grew up on the East Coast, and said minor-league baseball is more entrenched there than it is out West. He said he wants to bring a team to town for his three young sons.

But the work of getting a team is a slow go -- and it will take money.

Rick Gould, director of parks, recreation and community services for the city, said his division hasn't talked to Duswalt in more than six months. And he hasn't seen a formal proposal to get a team.

``In general, the city has had some interest in a minor-league team off and on over the years,'' he said. ``But because there's no proposal it's kind of hard for us to react to it.''

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