Season of surprise

First-year Arbor View team stands out in Northwest

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Traditionally one of the strongest divisions in Southern Nevada high school baseball, the Sunset Region's Northwest Division may provide some surprises this spring as some of the stronger squads in the league lost key players to graduation, two teams have new coaches and its newest member, Arbor View, started its first season off like its program had been around for years.

If there is a clear-cut favorite in the Northwest, Centennial (26-12 last year), coached by Charlie Cerrone, would have to get the nod. After losing to Sierra Vista in last year's state championship game, the Bulldogs return 11 seniors.

Seniors Jared Noa, Aaron Friend, John Matey, Tyler Lavigne and Jake Seifman give Cerrone a solid nucleus to build around. If the Bulldogs can find some pitchers to replace the five who graduated from last spring's squad, Centennial will be a very tough team to beat.

Noa, who also starred for Centennial's football and basketball teams, is one of four returning starters and can have an impact on any game with his bat.

In two games against Silverado, the Las Vegas Review-Journal poll's top-ranked team in March, the Bulldogs were pounded 11-1 and 12-1. But against No. 3 ranked, then-undefeated Basic on March 30, Centennial defeated the Wolves, 2-1, handing Basic its first loss before beating the Wolves again the following day.

In short, a lot of things would have to go wrong for the Bulldogs not to secure one of the Northwest's four playoff berths.

Fighting Centennial for the top spot in the division should be perennial powerhouse Cimarron-Memorial (20-11), coached by Mike Hubel. Despite losing star pitchers Mark Willinsky (Santa Clara University) and Jordan Muir (Brigham Young University) to graduation, the Spartans are always a force in the division and with seniors Alex Crumins and Matt Schmidt and juniors Travis Feiner, C.J. Amaya and Zach Walters back, Hubel should have more than enough talent to earn a playoff spot.

Palo Verde (14-15), under the direction of first-year coach Paul Churchfield who replaced Mike Besser, also should be in the thick of the Northwest race once the team starts to jell under its new manager. Mike Smith -- who signed to play football at the University of Nebraska -- and his big bat return along with Lane Kirby, Dustin Crespo, Will Juhnke, Dexter Ramsey, Dylan Hepworth, Matt Cooper, Jordan Ratliff, Tyler Burt and Felipe Gamez, giving the Panthers more than enough punch to be in the upper echelon of the league.

Smith started the season out tied with Basic's Kylee Hash for the home run lead with five and had 17 RBIs to go with his robust .500 batting average.

Despite finishing a game under .500 last season, Palo Verde still qualified for the playoffs and with some new focus this spring, should expect to play in the postseason again.

The early surprise of the season not only in the Northwest but in all of Class 4A baseball was the hot start of first-year school Arbor View (9-4), the only team in the division to be ranked (No. 9) in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's March 30 Top 10 poll. Led by 1982 UNLV graduate and longtime assistant coach Gary White, the Aggies enjoyed something few teams at new high schools in Sin City seldom experience in their programs -- a winning start.

White, who as a player and coach for the Rebels has been a member of five NCAA tournament teams and also has worked as a professional scout for the last 19 years, said he wasn't shocked by his team's early success.

"Believe it or not, I'm not surprised," White said. "These kids were committed and they bought into the system. From the first day of practice, the kids came out every day and worked extremely hard."

White, who gave major credit to his experienced coaching staff for helping the Aggies get off to their nice start, employs a simple philosophy for his team and said he did not discuss past reputations of other teams or the fact that it's usually tough for teams with no seniors to win.

"I take it with the kids one day at a time," he said. "We try to make sure we do the little things right. I tell them they're playing against the game. At this level, confidence is important."

White also preaches solid defense and strong pitching, something his Aggies seemed to be getting after committing just 11 errors in the first 12 games and allowing just 37 runs in 70 innings.

"That is the main reason for our good start," White said. "We're pitching and we're playing defense."

The 49-year-old White -- who credits Jerry Goyenche, Rick Down, Rod Soesbe, Fred Dallimore and current UNLV skipper Buddy Gouldsmith for helping him develop -- plans on making the Arbor View baseball program into one of the premier squads in Las Vegas.

"I would like to build this program into something special," he said. "I want these kids to understand they have something very special here."

Leading Arbor View to its early notoriety was junior Mike Blazek, who sported a 3-0 record on the mound with a 0.88 ERA along with a healthy .467 batting average.

"Michael Blazek has got some talent," White said. Blazek threw a two-hit shutout in a win against No. 10 Durango earlier this year. "He plays hard and is a real student of the game."

Besides Blazek, Arbor View starts juniors Dustin Hobbs (3-1) and Brandeis Truman (3-0, 1.37 ERA) on the mound. Hobbs, also the starting quarterback on the Aggies football team, started the season batting .429 with 18 RBI and four home runs, the latter two totals leading the team as of press time.

Besides Blazek and Hobbs, who plays third base when he's not pitching, Arbor View also received some early offensive production from juniors Greg Gloria (.500, 12 RBI), a utility player who White said is always in the lineup; first baseman Steven Hindle (.462), who White said "has improved a lot" since the fall; second baseman Logan Marchant (.529, 13 RBI), who White said was "one of our most steady players" and has played every inning; and center fielder Robbie Garvey (.375, 10 RBI, two HRs), who "can run down any fly ball," according to White.

Besides getting the varsity program at Las Vegas' newest high school started off on the right foot, junior varsity coach Lamonte Scurry was following White's lead and had the JV Aggies out to an 8-2 start.

If White and crew can stay healthy and confident and keep pitching and hitting the ball consistently, then a playoff berth or even a league title is not out of the question. After beating Cheyenne in its first Northwest Division game ever, Arbor View lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Palo Verde on March 31 as the Panthers' Kirby fanned 15 Aggie batters.

Cheyenne (15-17), led by first-year coach Joseph Spano, returns eight starters but lost a great deal when Southern Nevada Player of the Year Robert Mills graduated and signed with the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky.

Seniors Bryce Thurston, Kyle Blalock and Mick Walker give Spano some talent to build around. A playoff spot is not out of the question for the Desert Shields.

Coach Steve Barnson and his Shadow Ridge team (11-15) return just one starter and have four freshmen and sophomores on the 14-man roster, so experience is a big issue for the Mustangs. Seniors Alex Laughlin, Eric Smith and Shane Cole and juniors Bryce Pittsenbarger and Kody Dillard give Barnson a strong core to build around, but a 2-10 overall start reveals that the Mustangs have their work cut out for them.

Mojave (7-13-1) and coach Clemente Vargas return just two starters. The team is in the unenviable position of trying to compete in a very talented division. Senior Matt Sweat (.400) is the most talented returnee and will have to get a lot of help from his Rattler teammates if Mojave is to make some noise this season.

Arbor View's White, who also coached at Bonanza (1990-91) and Chaparral (1985-87), talked about playing in the Northwest Division.

"People talk about Durango, Sierra Vista and those teams, (Bishop) Gorman ... they were real strong last year and they're very strong this year," he said. "But Centennial is a good ball club, Cimarron is a very good ball club, Palo Verde is a very good ball club. Cheyenne, we beat them 8-0, but our guy pitched better than their guy. But I still think they're a good ball club. I think we are in as tough a division as any league in the city."

Northwest Division play continues today when Cheyenne hosts Shadow Ridge at 3:30 p.m., Centennial welcomes Mojave at 3:30 p.m. and Cimarron plays host to Palo Verde in a pivotal league game at 3:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, White's Arbor View squad welcomes Cimarron at 3:30 p.m., Mojave hosts Shadow Ridge at 3:30 p.m. and Centennial hosts Cheyenne at 3:30 p.m.