A 15-Win Season? -- Kentridge High Expects Another Baseball Title

If Kentridge High School doesn't win another South Puget Sound League Puget Division baseball title this spring, Coach Mark Swofford probably will blame himself.

He's the first to admit the Chargers have all the ingredients to repeat as division champions - experience, solid pitching and depth.

``It's one of those seasons where you just try not to screw them up, I guess,'' said Swofford, in his second season as head coach. ``We've got everybody back, and more. We're just going to be strong. It should be a good year. . . . I expect to win the vast majority of our games. I think we're looking at a 15-win season like we had last year.''

Others around the SPSL agree with Swofford's assessment.

``Kentridge should walk away from things and be one of the strong teams in all of it,'' Auburn Coach Brad Sprague said.

The same is being said of Federal Way, which is expected to repeat in the South Division.

``I think Federal way has got all the tools,'' Jefferson Coach Jim Gard said. ``I think they'll be tough.''

Curtis won the Sound Division crown last season and is mentioned among the contenders again along with Auburn and Rogers, which tied for second place. Kent-Meridian and Jefferson both should be improved.

Kentwood had the second-best record, 15-3, in the SPSL last season, but wasn't one of the league's three postseason representatives. That's because the Conquerors are in the same division as Federal Way, whose sole blemishes on a 16-2 record were losses to Kentwood. Only the division winners advance to the state playoffs.

The Conquerors have a new head coach, Kurt Phelps. With only four returning starters, they're a bit of an unknown this season, but have a winning tradition.

Decatur hopes to challenge Kentridge in the Puget Division along with Puyallup.

SOUTH DIVISION

-- FEDERAL WAY - The Eagles lost their top two players from 1990, pitcher Floyd French (now at Edmonds Community College) and third baseman Jeff Wagner (in the Philadelphia Phillies organization). But they return four all-division performers, seniors Jeff Range (second base), Danny Graham (pitcher/outfield), Milt DeAsis (center field) and Mike Sugg (first base/pitcher). They have another returning starter, senior Steve Poler, who moves from left field to third base.

Sugg batted .484 last season and had a league-high 28 runs batted in. Range, who sported a .429 average, led the league in home runs with five and was second in runs scored (30). Graham batted .396. DeAsis hit .361 and was successful on all 19 of his stolen-base attempts.

Federal Way picked up one of the top returning pitchers in the league, junior Curt Nelson. As a sophomore at Decatur, he was 3-1 with a 1.35 earned-run average, striking out 41 in 31 innings.

Sophomore Duane Dinnocente starts as the team's No. 2 pitcher, at least until Graham gets into shape after basketball season. Senior Mike Landry also could be a starter, with Sugg and Poler available for relief duty.

Landry will start in right field. Rounding out the lineup are juniors Jamie Wright at shortstop and Justin Hendrickson at catcher. Sophomore Mark Sandwith also could see time at short or second, while senior Steve Martell is the backup catcher.

Coach Gary Mogensen is guardedly optimistic.

``We could be good, and then we couldn't,'' he said. ``I think our strengths are going to be our pitching and our hitting. Defense is going to be OK, but it's not there yet.''

Mogensen said the Eagles could be as strong as they were last season, when they lost in the opening round of the playoffs to eventual champion Fort Vancouver. The key, he said, is staying healthy.

-- KENTWOOD - Phelps, who coached the junior varsity the past four seasons, speaks modestly about the aspirations of his young team.

``I've coached most of these guys, which is helping me,'' he said. ``I know what they can do, but they're inexperienced, except for the returners. I just want to mold them together and hope they get along and have fun.''

Top pitcher Chad Holm (now at Gonzaga University) and outfielder John Sutey (in the Detroit Tigers organization) are among the key losses. The top returning player is senior Jamie Hansen, who was 4-0 last season as Kentwood's No. 2 pitcher. When he's not on the mound, he starts at third base.

Seniors Scott Swanson and Mark Cowan, both returning outfielders, are next in the rotation. Phelps said he hopes for additional pitching help from senior Charlie Glenn and juniors David Graves and Chris Rahm.

Senior Tony Jones, a two-year starter in the infield, is the other returner. He will play shortstop most of the time, although he can move to second base.

Sophomore Brent Stinson is slated to start behind the plate. Other key newcomers are junior Eric Anderson (first base) and senior Jeff Nemeth (second base). Graves will start in center field with junior Mike Moses available to fill in at any outfield spot. Senior Paul Davis will be a utility player.

PUGET DIVISION

-- DECATUR - Seniors Mike Sommer (center field) and Dan Pratt (first base) are the only full-time starters back, but Coach Gary Holmboe is confident about his team's prospects.

``We've got a good, competitive group,'' he said. ``I think we've got a good chance (to win the division). We could do it.''

Most of the starters are up from the junior varsity, which went 15-3 last season.

``They know how to win,'' JV Coach Lance Baker said. ``It's just a matter of getting it done at the varsity level.''

Senior outfielders Matt Leamer and Jason Stiles, the only other lettermen back, both currently are sidelined with sore shoulders. Juniors comprise most of the rest of the team.

With the loss of Nelson, Decatur's top pitching prospect is junior left-hander Jason Carter. Rounding out the bullpen are juniors Pat Holmes, Justin Mentink and Ken Wohlhuter.

``Game experience is what we lack,'' Holmboe said. ``Carter is the only pitcher we've got with game experience, and that was with the JV.''

Holmes also plays third base, with Mentink at short. Senior Matt Gadsby will be at second and junior Darren Case behind the plate. Left field is a battle between juniors Ryan Anthony and Jeff Burray. Dustin Larson, another junior, is in right.

The Gators have excellent team speed and will test defenses, Holmboe said.

``We're going to score some runs,'' Holmboe said. ``The secret behind us is whether we can get our pitching to hold up.''

-- KENTRIDGE - The Chargers lost two key players - pitcher/third baseman Tony Owens and outfielder Chad Marek - to injuries early last season, but both are raring to go as seniors, according to Swofford.

Owens was the team's No. 1 pitcher, while Marek was hitting in the No. 3 spot. Without Owens, Dave Boone and Jeremy Woolman stepped up to lead the pitching staff. Boone was 5-3 with a 1.49 ERA and Woolman 6-1 with a 1.69 ERA. Junior Andy Martin also will pitch some innings.

Boone, who batted .328 last season, plays left field when not pitching and Woolman plays first base.

Junior Warren King, a .302 hitter last season, returns at shortstop and Swofford said he's impressed with sophomore Roger Bledsoe at second. Junior Ryan Brown, another injury victim last season, steps in to catch, with senior Bob Sterling as a backup. Sterling likely will be the DH when he's not behind the plate.

SOUND DIVISION

-- AUBURN - Pitching is the key for the Trojans, who lost Ryan Kyle (4-2, 2.13 ERA) to graduation.

``We'll be pretty competitive in our division,'' Sprague said. ```We'll be up toward the top. If we get our pitching working for us, we'll be OK.''

Senior Casey Olson returns from a 5-2 season with a league-leading 62 strikeouts, but he had shoulder surgery in October and isn't up to full speed yet. Juniors Brandon Pillow and Aaron Scarlett will carry much of the early pitching load.

The Trojans received another blow when junior Chris Hess, who was second in the league in RBI last season, moved out of state. Most other players are back.

Seniors Lance Kyle (first base), Danny Paradis (second base) and Tim Strike (third base) return to anchor the infield, along with junior Denny Wilson (shortstop). Senior catcher Cliff Pratt is up from the JV.

Senior Steve Kelly, who batted .484 last season, anchors the outfield in center with Olson in left and junior Ryan Tranholt in right.

-- JEFFERSON - Seniors dominate the Raider team, including returning starters Blake Ellison (catcher), Rick Fredrickson (first base) and Dan Rydell (shortstop, moving from third).

``We should have a better baseball team than we've had,'' said Gard, whose club was 3-15 last season. ``We should do OK.''

Key position players up from the junior varsity include Sean Magra (second base), Eric Masters (third base), Dave Sharp (left field) and Ed Wells (center field). All are seniors along with Brent Manning and Don Bennum, who also will see some outfield time. Junior Tyson Peters will also roam the outfield.

The top two pitching prospects, junior David Johce and senior Ryan Emerson, played JV ball last season. With Kent Edginton, senior Rob Rodford could be a factor if he solves his inconsistency problems, Gard said.

-- KENT-MERIDIAN - The Royals should be improved from last season, when they went 7-11, but could be a year away from major success.

``Next year we're going to be hard to handle,'' said Ron Dick, who moves up as head coach after two years as an assistant and 18 seasons at Kent Junior High.

Five sophomores started last season and are back - catcher Rob Hanson, shortstop Brent Fenster, left fielder Bart Knoll, second baseman Chris Schlecht and center fielder Josh Watanabe.

Pitching is one of K-M's biggest concerns. Senior Brian Saw is the only pitcher with varsity experience. He was 1-6 with a 5.61 ERA last season. Senior Dwayne Oliver is another prospect along with Knoll, senior Jamie Sage and junior Jason Taylor.

``As the old saw goes, we'll go as far as our pitching takes us,'' Dick said.

Oliver, Sage and Saw will rotate at first base, while the outfield will be a mix of Knoll, Watanabe, Bart Talover, Leon Tolentino and Adam Day. Dick also expects key contributions from senior Dylan Webb once he recovers from an ankle injury.