Yells of ‘Ya Bum, Ya’ at Lanark Park Are for Real Bums, Not Ballplayers

For Canoga Park, the road to another City Section 4-A Division championship begins today at home--Lanark Park, that is, the Hunters’ home field. Canoga Park, the defending champion, plays host to Granada Hills in the first round of the playoffs.

Home for the Hunters, however, isn’t sweet home. It’s where the derelicts roam. Where the bums and the drug pushers play. Where seldom is heard an encouraging word from Canoga Park Coach Horace Consolo--or anybody else, for that matter.

“I hate the place,” Consolo said. “The infield is hard as a rock, the spectators are walking up and down the field, they sell drugs all around the damn place, everything else. It’s a bad environment.”

It was in that environment last year that Canoga Park right-hander Mike Kerber pitched a six-hitter against Granada Hills to post a 3-0, second-round playoff win. Kerber (3-3) is scheduled to start today, and Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh understandably isn’t pleased--with facing Kerber or playing at Lanark Park.

“A baseball field is supposed to have infield grass and it’s supposed to be free of bums,” Stroh said. “It’s all dirt, there’s no pitcher’s mound. We’ve played on a mound all year, so it’s certainly an aspect we don’t like. It’s difficult to bunt on dirt. It’s lousy. It’s a lousy place to play the game of baseball.”

Consolo, who will retire after his first season as coach, says that chalking the field is one chore he will not miss. But should Canoga Park win and North Hollywood defeat Kennedy, the Hunters will play at home again in the second round. And Consolo will be making another chalk in the park.

“Unfortunately, we could play here again,” Consolo said. “Notice I said, ‘Unfortunately.’ ”

Lancer limos: Thousand Oaks Coach Jim Hansen thinks that dealing with other teams is difficult enough in the Southern Section 5-A playoffs without having a senior prom to worry about, too.

The Lancers lost in the first round to Ocean View, 15-10, several hours before Friday’s prom with, according to Hansen, visions of stretch limousines and fancy boutonnieres dancing in their heads.

“They were so damn anxious to get to their limousines they didn’t have their heads screwed on,” Hansen said. “You can go out and have a very, very expensive date any night of the week.

“If you can ever get to a CIF final it’s something you will remember for the rest of your life. Which is more than you can say for most dates.”

Add Lancers: Friday’s loss clouded an exceptional season for catcher Mark Skeels, who will attend Stanford next season on an academic scholarship and try out for the Cardinal team as a walk-on.

Skeels started at second base but moved behind the plate after catcher Russell Kellogg dislocated his shoulder just before spring break. Skeels batted .456 and had 5 doubles, 5 home runs and 18 RBIs. He also was strong defensively.

“To adjust and adapt to the position like he did was a tremendous credit to him,” Hansen said.

Westlake replacement: Since baseball Coach Dennis Judd announced his resignation May 12, Westlake Athletic Director Bob Fisher has received 15 inquiries regarding the job opening. But Fisher greets each caller with bad news--it is a walk-on position. Of Westlake’s 45 coaches, 36 are walk-ons.

“Every once in a while a coach comes to me and says there is a strange guy walking around the PE office,” Fisher said. “It usually ends up to be the tennis coach or something.”

Fisher would like to find a replacement for Judd by June 17, the start of summer vacation. He will take applications until June 1. Judd, who was 39-36-1 in three seasons, was Westlake’s fifth coach since the school opened in 1978. His predecessors were Tom Petlin, Bob Sisco, Andy Andreoli and current Royal Coach Mike McCurdy.

Candidates to replace Judd are varsity assistant Chuck Berrington and Brad Johnson, the freshman head coach.

Rerun: One week after winning the 5-A League golf tournament, Taft’s David Solomon finished second to El Camino Real’s Jason Gordon in last week’s City Section finals at Griffith Park.

It didn’t exactly set a family precedent.

Solomon’s older brother, Marshall, won the 5-A title last year and finished second to North Hollywood’s Tac Tharp in the City final.

Marshall followed his brother’s foursome the entire round.

Ball Hawks?: Highland Hall Coach Dave Desmond treated his team to an outing at Dodger Stadium last week and little did he know that it was a precursor of things to come.

While sitting in the right-field pavilion, members of the team managed to get Montreal Expo reliever Bob McClure to toss a ball in the stands.

But during the scramble for the ball, the Hawks booted it. “A guy one row down got it,” Desmond said.

Strike One.

No problem. McClure was still within earshot and he lobbed another souvenir to the ball-Hawks.

Clank. Strike Two.

“The guy right next to the first guy ended up with that one,” Desmond said.

McClure again reloaded--with the same result. The ball bounced into another group of fans.

Boot. Strike Three. See ya.

Two days later, Highland Hall committed seven errors in a 14-9 loss to Claremont in a first-round Southern Section Small Schools Division playoff game.

Said Desmond: “I should have known.”

Softball: Saugus enters the second round of the Southern Section playoffs today against visiting Laguna Hills.

The Centurions (14-8) defeated Notre Dame and powerhouse pitcher Becca Berline, 1-0, in 10 innings in the first round.

Saugus pitcher Cathy Lewis (9-5) drove in the game’s only run, pitched a three-hitter and had 13 strikeouts.

“Cathy did something she hasn’t done all year,” Coach Ron Hilton said. “They’d get a runner in scoring position and then she’d bear down and end the inning with a strikeout.

“She ended seven innings with strikeouts.”

New life: It did not take long for Mike Herrington, a Hart assistant football coach, to bounce back. One week after losing out to Burbank’s Dave Carson for the head coaching position at Hart, he was hired to coach at Bellflower.

Herrington, an assistant at his alma mater for eight years, will bring his brothers Dean and Rick to his new job.

“It’s going to be a strange feeling to leave Hart, but I have no regrets, no grudges. I just wanted an opportunity to show what I can do,” he said.

Herrington, 30, faces a big change. At Hart, the Indians often won four games in a month. Bellflower has won four games in the past two years. Bellflower has no weight room, no booster club and has not made the playoffs since 1980.

Finding players who can throw and catch the ball will be his first priority.

Herrington plans to use a wide-open offense similar to the one at Hart.

“There’s some pretty good talent there,” he said. “I’m just anxious to get started.”

Staff writers Tim Brown, Steve Elling and John Lynch contributed to this notebook.