VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : DIGEST : BASEBALL

* Rich Duran, Rio Mesa High coach for 13 seasons, has resigned.

The Spartans reached the Southern Section playoffs 10 times under Duran and won seven Channel League titles.

Duran had 10 players ecome professionals, including outfielder Dmitri Young of the Cincinnati Reds and right-handed pitcher Bobby Ayala of the Montreal Expos.

VOLLEYBALL

* Melody Eckmier, middle blocker and setter for Simi Valley High, will miss the girls’ season because she is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. Eckmier, a 6-foot-2 senior, injured the knee in April.

CROSS-COUNTRY

* The top six boys’ and girls’ teams--instead of the usual four--in the Division I races of the Southern Section championships at Mt. San Antonio College on Nov. 20 will advance to the state championships at Woodward Park in Fresno the following week.

The change was made because the number of Division I-sized schools competing in cross-country in the Southern Section has increased to 130 in recent seasons.

In comparison, there are 79 Southern Section schools in Division II, 46 in Division III, 60 in Division IV and 96 in Division V.

Because of the large number of Division I schools, the division will be split into AA and A categories at the section championships.

The top eight Division I-AA and I-A teams in the preliminaries will advance to the championships.

All 16 teams will run together in the finals with the races producing three results: those using individual finishes of I-AA runners only, those using individual finishes of I-A runners only, and those using finishes from every runner in the race to determine the six qualifying teams for the state championships.

SOCCER

* Erin Misaki, 1998 and 1999 Southern Section offensive player of the year for Hart, had a goal and an assist for Portland in an 8-1 victory over Oregon State.