Bob Dejardin

It happened so quickly that Don Sparks didn't have time to say goodby to Bob DeJardin, his good friend and long-time teammate. When the phone rang in Sparks' hotel room in Canton, Ohio, at 7 a.m. Wednesday, the voice on the other end was telling Sparks to pack his bags for nearby Columbus. He was being called up to triple-A. "It had no notion it was going to happen," Sparks said.

It happened so quickly that Don Sparks didn't have time to say goodby to Bob DeJardin, his good friend and long-time teammate. When the phone rang in Sparks' hotel room in Canton, Ohio, at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday several weeks ago, the voice on the other end was telling Sparks to pack his bags for nearby Columbus. He was being called up to triple-A. "It had no notion it was going to happen," Sparks said.

It happened so quickly that Don Sparks didn't have time to say goodby to Bob DeJardin, his good friend and long-time teammate. When the phone rang in Sparks' hotel room in Canton, Ohio, at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday several weeks ago, the voice on the other end was telling Sparks to pack his bags for nearby Columbus. He was being called up to triple-A. "It had no notion it was going to happen," Sparks said.

It happened so quickly that Don Sparks didn't have time to say goodby to Bob DeJardin, his good friend and long-time teammate. When the phone rang in Sparks' hotel room in Canton, Ohio, at 7 a.m. Wednesday, the voice on the other end was telling Sparks to pack his bags for nearby Columbus. He was being called up to triple-A. "It had no notion it was going to happen," Sparks said.

The Newport Harbor High School baseball team has been besieged by injuries of late, including No. 1 pitcher Jon Dishon who will be lost for the season because of illness. It's gotten so bad that Coach Wayne Heck has had to call up junior varsity players and make junior Tom Mahoney, a kid Heck describes as being, "six-foot-two and a hundred pounds," his top pitcher. What Mahoney lacks in weight (he actually weighs 165 pounds) he makes up for with a variety of off-speed pitches.

Pitcher Jon Hulshof and catcher Anthony Follico of the Mater Dei High School baseball team have been selected as Co--Most Valuable Players of the Year by the Angelus League coaches. Hulshof, Orange County's winningest pitcher, completed the regular season with a 12-1 record and a 1.85 ERA, while Follico batted .432 with 5 homers and a county-leading 38 RBIs. The coaches' team: First Team C--Chuck Graham (St. Paul) .463, Sr.; Carlos Salazar (Bishop Amat) .318, Jr.

Chris Gallego hit a three-run home run to highlight a nine-run fourth inning as UC Irvine defeated Chapman College, 9-2, in a non-conference baseball game at Hart Park Tuesday. The Anteaters sent 14 men to the plate in the fourth with Gallego's home run and a two-run single by Don Nicholson driving in five of the nine runs. Gabby Rodriguez (1-1) pitched 6 innings, giving up five hits. He struck out two. Rob Wolkoys hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for the Panthers.

After establishing an impressive track record for first-round picks, the New York Mets thought they had discovered another star when they made Loyola Marymount University junior Chris Donnels their top selection in 1987's amateur draft. Hubie Brooks (1978), Tim Leary (1979), Darryl Strawberry (1980), Dwight Gooden (1982), Shawn Abner (1984) and Gregg Jefferies (1985) were Met first-round selections who reached the major leagues within three years of being drafted.

Mater Dei High School remained undefeated in both overall and Angelus League baseball play with an 11-0 rout of Pius X at Mater Dei Saturday behind Mike McCarthy's two-hitter. McCarthy (2-0) held the Warriors to two singles and struck out nine batters in seven innings. Bob DeJardin went 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI, and Chris Gill went 2 for 4 to lead the Monarch offense. With the win, the Monarchs raised their league record to 5-0 and their overall record to 11-0.

Ted Flores singled to score Anthony Follico in the bottom of the eighth inning and give Mater Dei High School's baseball team a 7-6 win over Santa Ana in the championship game of the Santa Ana/Newport-Mesa Tournament Saturday at Mater Dei. Follico led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a walk to Rich Albert. Mike Kelly had a bunt single to load the bases and give Flores the opportunity for the game-winner.