Prep Blue-Chip Baseball List Isn't State's Rosiest Ever

The state's crop of high-school baseball talent is below average and far down from last year's level when 18 athletes were drafted.

That's the assessment of Lem Elway, Anacortes High School coach and publisher of the 6-year-old Washington State Baseball Coaches Newsletter.

Elway solicited opinions and recommendations from scouts, coaches and sportswriters across the state before assembling his ``blue-chip'' list.

Elway calls this bunch the ``thinnest group of talent'' in 10 years. He isn't particularly surprised, however, because he said lean years tend to follow good years.

ELWAY'S ``BLUE-CHIPPERS'':

Jason Allor, infield, and Rich Armstrong, outfield, Mead; Scott Bate, infield, Central Valley-Spokane; Tom Benson, pitcher, Eastmont-East Wenatchee; Sean Durbin, pitcher, Bothell; Tyson Godfrey, pitcher, Aberdeen; Raymond Haley, pitcher, Tolt; Nate Holdren, infield-outfield, Richland; Ryan Ivie, pitcher, Tumwater; Randy Jorgenson, infield-outfield, Meadowdale; Brian Loucks, outfield-pitcher, Cascade-Everett; Brian Lucas, catcher, Mercer Island.

Lance Martin, catcher, Tumwater; Jason Mickel, pitcher (only junior on list), Hudson's Bay-Vancouver; Nick Morris, outfield, Mercer Island; Brandon Newell, pitcher, Nooksack Valley; B.J. Ortega, catcher, Sehome-Bellingham; Deron Pointer, outfield, Curtis-Tacoma; Glen Walker, infield, Liberty-Issaquah; Tom Walker, infield, Connell; Tim Welsh, catcher, Gonzaga Prep-Spokane; Steve White, catcher, Liberty-Issaquah; Mark Whitmire, pitcher, Charles Wright-Tacoma; and Jason Valley, infield, North Mason.

TAPLIN PICKS LSU

Cheryl Taplin, Class AA champion sprinter from Cleveland, will wear purple and gold next year but she won't be a Husky. Taplin, has decided to accept a full track scholarship to Louisiana State.

``The program best suited me,'' said Taplin, who has won five AA individual sprint events and ran on five state-title relays.

Taplin picked LSU over UCLA, UW, WSU, Kansas State and Texas A&M.

CONFERENCE AT BOTHELL

Students from all schools have been invited to Bothell High School Saturday for a free six-hour conference that will address everything from athletic nutrition to weight training, drug-avoidance and motivation.

Featured in the seminar, the brainchild of Dee Hawkes, Bothell football coach: Paul Skansi, longtime Seahawk wide receiver; Tracie Ruiz, Olympic gold medal-winning synchronized swimmer; Frank Raines, Seahawk strength coach; Russ Finke, a drug-rehabilitation expert; Vince Plaff, motivator; and Steve Tollefson, trainer.

The conference will start at 9 a.m. and include a noon break. Hawkes said students can attend for all or part of the conference.

Girl plays baseball

When the softball team at tiny Kahlotus High in Franklin County had to fold because of a shortage of players, Ariesa Ekenbarger didn't hang up her glove - she joined the boys' baseball team.

She made her debut by batting 6 for 9 in a doubleheader sweep over Waitsburg that snapped a 31-game Kahlotus losing streak.

HERE AND THERE

Eric Kelly, who coached the Pasco High football team to a 36-24 record in six seasons, resigned last week. Kelly had been under fire since January when a petition signed by 66 people seeking his dismissal was given to the district superintendent.

Connell pitchers threw a pair of no-hitters against Grandview in a Saturday doubleheader. Armando Enriquez struck out eight in winning the first game 15-0. Tom Walker had seven strikeouts in winning the nightcap 9-0.

Kamiakin of Kennewick scored 21 runs in the first inning in a recent 24-1 romp over Davis of Yakima. David Barnes of Kamiakin went 3 for 3 in the first inning. The half-inning took so long, the Kamiakin starting pitcher got up to warm up three times.

Cle Elum's scheduled home doubleheader last Saturday against River View of Finley was ``snowed out'' because of 10 inches of the white stuff.

Four former administrators were inducted recently into the Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame: Dan Inveen, AD in the Tacoma Public Schools for 13 years who previously was basketball coach at Wilson High School for 14; Wilbur ``Shorty'' Luft of Renton; Nick Scarpelli of Gonzaga Prep of Spokane; and Bob Morris of the Spokane School District.

Tyson Godfrey, blue-chip pitcher from Aberdeen, has signed a letter of intent to accept a University of Washington baseball scholarship. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has a 7-2 record with an 0.87 ERA and is hitting .388. During basketball season, he scored 39 points in one game.

New Husky track recruits: Monika Parker, javelin thrower from Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee; Laura Ganje, Curtis distance runner; Carrie Moller, Rogers-Puyallup distance runner; and Greg Metcalf, an Ephrata grad now at Central Oregon Community College who has run an 8:55 steeplechase.

The state's ``Newcomer of the Year'' is sprinter Danielle Marshall of Lake Washington High. She has been clocked in 11.8 seconds this season for the 100 meters . The transfer from Arizona is a younger sister of former UW sprinter ``Cricket'' Marshall, and assistant coach at Juanita. Danielle finished second to Camara Jones of Mountain View-Vancouver in the 100 at last Saturday's Lake Washington Invitational.

One of the state's busiest athletes this spring is Mark Burrato of Columbia River High School in Vancouver. Burrato competes on the school's golf and track teams. He went to state in golf last spring but opted for the shot put this season to help prepare for football. Then he caddied for his father, Stan, in a tournament and realized how much he missed golf. He obtained permission to compete in both sports.

Sammamish's Andy Piston threw an unusual no-hitter this week against Interlake in a 1-0, eight-inning victory. Piston had a perfect game until a one-out walk in the seventh inning. Coach Doug Williams of Sammamish said he didn't realize Piston had a no-hitter going because he was preoccupied with trying to score. Piston had lost 1-0 in eight innings to Interlake's Mike Anderson March 28.

The winning high-school team in last Sunday's Ridge to River Race from Mission Ridge outside Wenatchee to the Columbia River was the Six Pistols, with athletes from three Seattle high schools. The race has legs of downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, running, bicycling and canoeing. Winning team members: Scott Whalley, Mike Whalley, Ryland Halffman and Andy Erickson from Roosevelt; Conrad Snover from Garfield; and Nathan Toney from Seattle Prep.

Department of Unusual Scheduling: Boys' tennis is a fall sport in the South Puget Sound League, so the conference played its tournament only up to the semifinals last autumn. It will finish the tournament next week. That enables players to get some pressure competition before district and state play.