Dan Heim

Administrators at San Fernando High did not have to look far to find a replacement for baseball Coach Steve Marden. Their man was right there, in the same physical education department, no less. Dan Heim, the school's junior varsity coach for the past 12 seasons, was named Tuesday to succeed Marden. With Heim, San Fernando has both an on-campus coach and continuity in the program. "That's the guy we wanted all along," said Paul Swanson, the school's administrator in charge of athletics.

Administrators at San Fernando High did not have to look far to find a replacement for baseball Coach Steve Marden. Their man was right there, in the same physical education department, no less. Dan Heim, the school's junior varsity coach for the past 12 seasons, was named Tuesday to succeed Marden. With Heim, San Fernando has both an on-campus coach and continuity in the program. "That's the guy we wanted all along," said Paul Swanson, the school's administrator in charge of athletics.

Outside hitter Jason Lee of Westlake High has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Loyola Marymount. Lee, a 6-foot-6 two-time All-Marmonte League selection, chose the Lions over Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State. Softball Former Westlake High pitcher Kellee Murphy (24-6) of St. Joseph College in Maine has received honorable mention on the NAIA All-American team. Baseball San Fernando High Coach Dan Heim has resigned after three seasons for personal reasons.

Former Venice and University High assistant Armando Gomez was named varsity baseball coach at San Fernando. Gomez replaces Dan Heim, who resigned last month after three seasons. Gomez, 28, was City Section 3-A co-player of the year in 1986 after leading Venice to three consecutive 3-A titles. He played one year at San Diego State before transferring to Cal State Dominguez Hills. "I was looking for a chance to start my own program," Gomez said.

After playing four baseball games in five days during the Birmingham tournament, effectively exhausting their pitching, the San Fernando High and Birmingham baseball teams played out an unlikely event on Wednesday--a pitching duel. San Fernando's Julio Sandoval walked away smiling and Birmingham's Alberto Flores sat dejected in the dugout after the Tigers defeated the Braves, 5-3, in a Blue Division semifinal at Birmingham High.

Cleveland '93 RECORD OVERALL LEAGUE 6-14-1 5-12 * COACH YEAR Steve Landress 3rd * TOP RETURNEES YR POS Eric Elzy Sr. P Anthony Williams Sr. P Junior Brignac So. SS * TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS Casey Roth So. C Kevin Delgado So. 3B Wesley Bateman Jr. CF/P Michael Schultz Fr. P Johnny Lopez Sr. 2B Shaun Brickhandler So. 1B Greg Walters So. LF OUTLOOK Youth will be served at Cleveland--Landress doesn't have a choice. Fortunately, several of the six sophomores who likely will start are good ones.

Sylmar High third baseman Chris Ruley is tall, burly and looks like a throwback player. Even more so, now that he uses a wooden bat. After experimenting with it in practices and games, Ruley decided to use his 34 1/2-ounce Louisville Slugger full time in a game against Reseda last week. The wood rewarded him with two hits in three at-bats, raising his batting average to .306. Nearly all high school players use aluminum bats. "The wood has been feeling good in my hands in practice," Ruley said.

Senior Julio Sandoval threw a no-hitter Friday, lifting the San Fernando High baseball team to a 6-0 victory over Palmdale in a San Fernando Valley tournament game at San Fernando High. Sandoval went the distance, striking out five. San Fernando Coach Dan Heim said he believes it is the first no-hitter by a San Fernando player in at least 20 years. Adrian Rizo had a two-run single in the first inning and Chris Montano had a run-scoring triple in the third for the Tigers (1-0).

For a team that struggled with pitching and defense last year, 1996 might just be a bit different for San Fernando High. Although Julio Sandoval's control wasn't perfect--walking six batters--the senior right-hander was the first pitcher in the region to throw a no-hitter this season, shutting down Golden League champion Palmdale, 6-0, Friday in a San Fernando tournament game. "I felt like I was going to have a good game," Sandoval said. "My curveball was breaking really well."

Camarillo High's second-place finish to Royal in the Marmonte League baseball race earned the Scorpions their first playoff appearance since 1985--a year Camarillo Coach Scott Cline, the Scorpions' shortstop that season, will never forget. Camarillo won the league championship and advanced to the Division I final against Fountain Valley at Anaheim Stadium. A tie game with two out and a runner at third in the bottom of the seventh inning came down to a ground ball to Cline.