1994 LOS ANGELES TIMES : All-Ventura Baseball Team

Coach: Richard Duran

School: RIO MESA

Duran guided Rio Mesa to the Channel League championship, a 21-7 record and a trip to the Southern Section Division II semifinals one year after the Spartans finished last in the league.

Student: Jason Adamson

School: MOORPARK

Position: OF

A 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior, Adamson helped Moorpark to the Frontier League championship. He hit .435 with four home runs and 24 RBIs. Adamson was a 33rd-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Student: Jeff Bennett

School: NEWBURY PARK

Position: C

Bennett caught every inning of the season for the Marmonte League champions. He hit .356 with 27 RBIs and seven home runs, including a game-winning shot against Simi Valley. He will attend The Master’s.

Student: Ray Clinton

School: NEWBURY PARK

Position: P

Clinton, the Marmonte League pitcher of the year, set a Newbury Park record for victories in a season by going 10-3 with a 1.41 ERA. He pitched a four-hit shutout against Hoover in his only playoff start.

Student: Rick Collier

School: MOORPARK

Position: IF

Collier was the sparkplug for the upstart Musketeers. The senior infielder was co-most valuable player in the Frontier League, batting .410 with 31 stolen bases and an area-high 15 doubles.

Student: Johnny Espinoza

School: RIO MESA

Position: OF

Espinoza was one of only three seniors playing for Rio Mesa, which won the Channel League and advanced to the Southern Section Division II semifinals. Batting leadoff, he hit .443, scored 31 runs and stole 10 bases.

Student: Ryan Hankins

School: SIMI VALLEY

Position: IF

Hankins was co-player of the year in the Marmonte League. He led the county with nine home runs and hit .483. A senior third baseman who played four years on the varsity, Hankins has signed with UNLV.

Student: Jason Kimble

School: BUENA

Position: IF

Kimble recovered from back problems to have a huge senior year, batting .481 with a county-high 37 RBIs. The first baseman was Channel League player of the year and helped Buena to the Division II playoffs.

Student: Maki Kramer

School: ROYAL

Position: P

Kramer was 9-1 and pitched a two-hitter in his only defeat, 1-0 to Channel Islands. The senior right-hander had a 2.02 ERA. He was also an excellent hitter, batting .347 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.

Student: Joel Mellinger

School: ROYAL

Position: IF

Mellinger played only two seasons of baseball at Royal, and he led the Highlanders in hitting both years. He hit .451 with 10 doubles and a school-record seven triples this season. He also played a solid shortstop.

Student: Dan Rodriguez

School: BUENA

Position: P

A junior right-hander, Rodriguez was 8-0 with a 1.78 ERA. He was one of two pitchers named to the All-Channel League team. Rodriguez, who has command of an assortment of breaking pitches, was 12-1 in two seasons.

Student: Rene Sanchez

School: CHANNEL ISLANDS

Position: P

Sanchez, a senior, carried the Raiders down the stretch. He beat Simi Valley on a three-hitter, Thousand Oaks on a two-hitter, Camarillo on a three-hitter and Royal on a one-hitter. He finished 6-2 with an 0.86 ERA.

Student: Keith Smith

School: NEWBURY PARK

Position: IF

Better known as an All-State quarterback, Smith, a senior, excelled as a baseball player, hitting .352 with 19 stolen bases. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Tigers. Smith pitched and played shortstop.

Student: Richard Soliz

School: RIO MESA

Position: P

Soliz, a junior left-hander, was 8-1 with a 1.53 ERA in his first varsity season. He won both of his starts in the playoffs, including a nine-inning shutout of second-seeded Hart in the Southern Section Division II quarterfinals.

1st-Team All-Stars Invited to Times’ Awards Ceremony

Players selected to the All-Valley and All-Ventura County baseball and softball teams are invited to a Times’ awards brunch Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills. The guest speaker is Rich Hill, baseball coach at University of San Francisco who formerly coached at Cal Lutheran.

SECOND-TEAM ROSTER

Pos Player School Yr C Steve Arneson Rio Mesa Jr. IF Greg Aguilar Thousand Oaks Sr. IF Jake Brown St. Bonaventure Jr. IF Matt Elam Thousand Oaks Sr. IF Joseph Jauregui Santa Paula Sr. IF Johnny Olivares Channel Islands Sr. OF Rich Adams Newbury Park Sr. OF Shawn Fossen Royal Jr. OF Chad Snyder Rio Mesa Jr. P Brad Burnett St. Bonaventure Sr. P Brian Garrettson Moorpark Sr. P Kary Kozlowski Simi Valley Sr. P Monty Moritz Buena Sr.

*Player: Steve Arneson Comment: Second in county with 31 RBIs. All-Channel League. Hit .376. Player: Greg Aguilar Comment: Lancer second baseman batted .373 and stole 23 bases. Player: Jake Brown Comment: Hit county-high .493. Tri-Valley League player of year. Player: Matt Elam Comment: Shortstop hit .356, stole county-high 33 bases. Good glove. Player: Joseph Jauregui Comment: All-Section pick batted .450, with seven triples, 25 steals. Player: Johnny Olivares Comment: Hit .397, five homers. Game-winning homer vs. Simi Valley. Player: Rich Adams Comment: Batted .384, with three homers, 14 RBIs. All-Marmonte League pick. Player: Shawn Fossen Comment: First-year starter hit .426. Had three triples, four homers, 23 RBIs. Player: Chad Snyder Comment: Hit .379, with eight doubles, three triples for Section semifinalist. Player: Brad Burnett Comment: Allowed 33 hits in 60 1/3 innings. Was 7-1, 1.97 ERA. Player: Brian Garrettson Comment: Right-hander led Musketeers with 9-0 record, 2.37 ERA. Player: Kary Kozlowski Comment: Only loss in quarterfinals. Was 8-1, 2.40 ERA. Hit .356. Player: Monty Moritz Comment: Right-hander led area with eight saves. Was 4-5, 1.27 ERA.