PREP BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: AGE MIX IMPROVES SAUGUS.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

An abundance of seniors looking to finish their high school careers on a high note gives the Saugus baseball team reason to believe this season will be better than a year ago, when the Centurions won just three Foothill League games.

However, some of Saugus' biggest stars during the opening week were underclassmen, leaving the Centurions even more encouraged entering next week's Foothill League opener.

Sophomore Chris Alheim pitched a two-hitter Saturday to lead Saugus to its first victory, a 4-0 win over San Pedro.

``For a sophomore to step in and do something like that is huge,'' Centurions coach Casey Burrill said.

Alheim and the other Saugus pitchers were aided by the solid defense of junior shortstop Josh Fogel, whose catches deep in the hole became a popular topic of conversation at the Westside tournament, at which the Centurions are competing through Saturday.

Senior third baseman Andy Warren made sure the younger players didn't get all the attention. He hit a home run for Saugus' only hit in the season-opening 2-1 loss to Sylmar. Senior Brian Bramer hit a three-run home run Saturday.

``We think we've got a pretty good chance,'' Burrill said. ``A lot of that is because we have so many seniors; that helps. They have something they want to prove. They want to go out on a good note. They won at the lower levels and they want to do that again. They want to show people they're better than what everyone saw last year.''

--Big hitter: If the opening weekend was any indication of what to expect from Valencia senior Joey Morelli this season, he should provide the Vikings with plenty of offense.

Morelli went 3 for 3 with a double in the season-opening victory over Highland and homered the next day against Westlake. He also had a combined five runs and two stolen bases in the two games.

Despite the efforts of Morelli and others such as Richie Martin, who homered and gave up four hits in five solid innings as the starting pitcher against Westlake, Valencia dropped out of contention in the Daily News Invitational by losing 14-5 to the Warriors.

--Here they go again: No matter how much talent Hart graduates, the Indians always remain among the region's elite. They appear to have done so again this year, despite coach Jim Ozella's preseason concerns about filling significant holes.

Hart improved to 3-0 by defeating Camarillo, the Daily News' top-ranked team, 5-4 on Wednesday in the Westside tournament.

Much of the early success stems from a pitching staff of veterans. The Indians have a staff ERA of 2.00 and senior Eric Postumus, who earned the win against Camarillo, gave up just two hits in six shutout innings.

--Washed out: A dry field has been among the hottest commodities recently as rain forced rescheduling of several games and caused practices to be altered.

``We need not to have any rain,'' Burrill said.

Tuesday's games of the Westside tournament were pushed back a day or two and Valencia's Daily News Invitational game against Kennedy of Granada Hills was rescheduled for today.

``At least everyone's in the same boat,'' Burrill said. ``When everyone hits their league games, they'll all still be getting everything together.''