Crest Division Baseball Capsules

BELLEVUE -- 1991 RECORD - 4-12, fifth in Crest; 5-12 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Bob Stoddard, first year. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - C Tim Skelton, sr.; IF Jim Pugh, sr.; CF Jamie Svenson, jr.; SS Phil Hemion, sr.; P/1B Jon Haralson, sr. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - OF Brad Jefferson, so.; P/OF Jacob Brediger, so.; P/1B Aaron Jackson, jr.; 2B Jim Gregson, jr. -- OUTLOOK - Bellevue's strengths and weaknesses can be summed up with two statistics from a recent one-run nonleague game: 13 stolen bases, 13 walks by Bellevue pitchers. The result: a 10-9 loss to Renton. Bellevue baserunners should find little trouble finding plate to score; if pitchers can find plate, Wolverines could contend for one of three playoff spots in division.

INTERLAKE -- 1991 RECORD - 9-7, tied for first in Crest; 12-10 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Bob Haynes, fourth year, 29-34. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - 2B John Wick, sr.; 3B/P Mickey Mounger, sr.; 1B Scott Terhaar, sr.; OF/P Derek Stepanian, sr.; SS Erik Peterson, sr.; P Matt McPoland, sr.; OF Paul Ticen, jr.; C Jeremy Reinhardt, sr.; OF Mark Bergman, sr. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - OF Jeff Cole, jr.; OF/P Chris Caponigro, jr.; 3B Nate Torpey, sr.; OF/P Denny Kirkwood, jr. -- OUTLOOK - The Saints return the entire starting lineup from the division champ, including four three-year starters. Among them is ace pitcher Stepanian. With all that experience, solid pitching, good speed and depth, Interlake should challenge for another division title.

ISSAQUAH -- 1991 RECORD - 9-7, tied for first in division; 11-11 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Pete Wilkinson, fourth year, 22-38. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - 2B Dan Desmond, sr.; 3B/P Jason Uberuaga, jr.; C Aaron Slagle, sr.; P Brian Boyden, sr.; C/1B Dan Jones, sr.; P/3B Jay Griffiths, sr.; P Scott Sorensen, so.; P Jeff Sutherland, jr. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - CF Chris Newton, sr.; RF Danny Nance, sr.; 3B Brad Kinnish, jr.; LF Pat Roberts, jr.; P Jeff Beaton, jr.; OF Ted Snow, sr.; SS Jason Probala, jr. -- OUTLOOK - Desmond leads a lineup that returns three returning all-Crest players. Experience and strong pitching will key Issaquah's division title run. All-new outfield is untested variable.

MERCER ISLAND -- 1991 RECORD - 6-10, fourth in division; 6-13 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Terry Taylor, third year, 19-21. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - P/RF Kevin Frey, sr.; C/1B Josh Fauske, sr.; 2B Tom Baumgartner, sr.; 3B Houston Thompson, sr.; P Peter Treyve, sr.; SS Matt Hale, jr.; P Adam Roodman, so. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - C Pete McLean, so.; 2B Pete Baker, jr.; 1B/OF Bobby Fielder, jr. -- OUTLOOK - Islanders lost most of pitching staff to graduation and will use a mostly inexperienced rotation. Strong defense will help any solid pitching efforts. MI is division darkhorse.

NEWPORT -- 1991 RECORD - 3-13, last in division; 3-17 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Lee Migliore, fifth year. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - P/IF Jason Crume, jr.; OF/IF Zeth Donahue, jr.; IF Gerry Fierling, sr.; IF/P Jeff Fontaine, jr.; C Mike Hansen, sr.; OF Adam Kietzer, sr.; IF Dave Pennington, jr.; P Mark Snyder, jr.; OF Chadd Thomas, sr.; IF/P Greg Volland, sr. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - IF/P Jeff Bilanko, sr.; IF/P Brian Dawson, sr.; OF Chris Dixon, so.; OF/P Steve Kirchoff, so.; P Kelly Raber, sr. -- OUTLOOK - Todd Hollandsworth - a third-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers last spring - is gone, but almost everyone else is back for the Knights, including top two pitchers: Snyder and Crume. Will win more games than last year, but that won't take much. Experience and school's strong baseball tradition (prior to '90s) will put Newport on the third-fourth fringe in playoff-berth hunt.

SAMMAMISH -- 1991 RECORD - 8-8, third in division; 8-9 overall. -- HEAD COACH - Dirk Van Matre, first year. -- TOP RETURNING PLAYERS - P/SS/CF John LeRoy, jr.; C Paul Philbin, sr.; P/SS Joe Stoddard, sr.; 1B/P Jason Courter, sr.; OF John Poulson, sr. -- KEY NEWCOMERS - 2B Steve Schupbach, so.; 3B Brett Sharon, so.; CF Kevin Ingram, so.; RF Shane Crawford, jr.; SS Alex Michel, so. -- OUTLOOK - Strong pitching and strong defense up the middle make Sammamish a strong contender for a playoff berth. -------------------------------

CREST DIVISION COACHES' POLL -- Predicted order of finish for the KingCo Conference Crest Division baseball race, based on survey of Crest coaches, with total points (first-place votes in parentheses). Coaches weren't allowed to rank their own teams # . Five points were awarded for a first-place vote, four for second place, etc.

Interlake (4) 20 . Issaquah (1) 17 . Sammamish 14 . Bellevue 10 . Newport 9 . Mercer Island 5 .

# -Bellevue Coach Bob Stoddard didn't participate because of unfamiliarity with the other teams in the division. ------------------------------

CROWN DIVISION COACHES' POLL -- Predicted order of finish for the KingCo Conference Crown Division baseball race, based on survey of Crown coaches, with total points (first-place votes in parentheses). Coaches weren't allowed to rank their own teams. Five points were awarded for a first-place vote, four for second place, etc.

Juanita (5) 25 . Redmond 17 1/2 . Woodinville 14 1/2 . Lake Washington (1) 13 . Inglemoor 10 1/2 . Bothell 9 1/2 .