St. Genevieve’s Kite Finds a Winning Number

Bobby Kite, a senior catcher at St. Genevieve High, lost his duffel bag outside his house last week a few minutes before the Valiants played Providence.

Kite thinks he put the bag--which contained his uniform--on top of his car before he and teammate Pedro Gutierrez drove off to run a last-minute errand.

Yet it wasn’t in the street when he returned for it. And Kite, delayed while he retraced his steps, wasn’t at the field when the game began.

When Gutierrez showed up at the field to explain what happened, Coach Scott Smith dispatched someone to call Kite at home.

“I told him to stop looking and to get over here,” Smith said. “I’d loan him my uniform.”

Smith surrendered his uniform, No. 25, to Kite, who after insertion into the game had two hits and a sacrifice fly to lead St. Genevieve to a 7-2 victory.

He was just getting warmed up.

In a 3-2 victory over St. Anthony three days later, Kite made his first varsity start as a pitcher and did not allow a hit in four innings, walking four and striking out two. He was three for three with a double and a home run.

“We’ve got a No. 9 (Kite’s uniform number) on order,” Smith said. “But he might not be wearing No. 9 again.”

He’s back: Jason Smith, Newbury Park’s senior center fielder whose spleen was ruptured in a collision with a teammate during a scrimmage Feb. 23, will be back in uniform today against Camarillo.

Smith, a returning starter, was the most valuable player of the football and soccer teams this school year.

“Jason’s been running three miles a day and playing basketball, so he came to the conclusion he’s ready for baseball,” said Linda Smith, his mother.

Holy no-nos: Adam West, who by no coincidence is nicknamed “Batman,” has gotten himself out of yet another jam. This time his secret weapon is an 80-m.p.h fastball.

West, a senior left-hander who is 2-2 with a 1.44 earned-run average, threw just four innings last year and drew little interest from college recruiters. Yet he was impressive in a winter league and tossed a no-hitter against Camarillo last Friday.

West has struck out 34 in 24 1/3 innings this season and has been offered a scholarship by Loyola Marymount.

Same old song: Last season, Camarillo entered Marmonte League baseball play with a 5-1 record, but won only four of 12 league games and finished 11-13.

The Scorpions are repeating last season’s collapse; they are 7-1 in nonleague games but have not won any of their four league games and are 7-5.

“I think we’re better than we were last year, but the league is also better than last year,” Coach Jack Willard said. “It’s like you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses and I’m not sure that we are. We just have guys right now that we thought would produce but haven’t produced as well as I hoped they would.”

Bernstein lives: Simi Valley catcher Steve Bernstein transferred from Royal, where Coach Dan Maye intended to use him in right field. Bernstein, however, felt that his future was as a catcher.

In the first meeting of the league rivals this season, Bernstein had two hits, two runs batted in and stole a base.

“I was real nervous early, but that kicked out and I was ready to play,” Bernstein said. “I heard a little bit of stuff from the crowd, but nothing major.”

Bernstein is hitting .389 at Simi Valley with a team-leading nine stolen bases.

“I really wanted to catch, and that chance wasn’t there at Royal,” he said. “Everybody told me that if I wanted to get somewhere, I had to come to Simi Valley. It was real hard, because most of my true friends are at Royal, but I’m glad I transferred.”

Six-inning rule: Burroughs lost road games to Hart, 3-2, and to San Gabriel, 5-4, last week after leading entering the seventh inning.

Burroughs Coach Terry Scott is proposing some rule changes to prevent it from happenning again.

“We’re either going to start playing six-inning games or maybe always bat last and quit playing away games,” Scott said.

Diaper derby: Chatsworth Coach Tom Meusborn and his wife Mary had their first child last week on a day the Chancellors played at Granada Hills.

“It was the first time I’d ever missed a game as a player or a coach,” Meusborn said.

Meusborn’s assistant, Steve Thompson, coached the team while Meusborn waited . . . and waited . . . and waited at a local hospital. Meusborn admits it was awfully hard to pass on attending the game.

“At about 3 o’clock I thought, ‘Well, they’re starting now,’ ” said Meusborn, 30. “At about 3:20, I thought, ‘Well, the first inning should be over by now.’ ”

His wife finally had a son Shawn later that evening. Good thing, because Meusborn already had painted the baby’s room blue.

“We didn’t know,” he said. “I just guessed right.”

It turned out to be a a big week for new additions at the homes of defending section champions. Montclair Prep Coach Walt Steele and his wife Robin had their first child on Friday, a girl named Taylor.

Chatsworth won the City Section 4-A Division title and Montclair Prep won the championship in the Southern Section 1-A Division.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Steve Henson, Kirby Lee and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.