Evening star., 1941-03-31
Coach Sees Western,
Tech and Eastern
As Sharp Rivals
Youths Who Performed
With Legion Juniors
Strong Candidates
BY GEORGE HUBER.

Central Highs baseball Vikings
are q crew without home this year,
and that's only the beginning OF
their worry. Coach Jack Ray, gen.
orally regarded as the ace schoolboy
diamond mentor in this section,
isn't Gloomy Gus when it comes
to summing up his seasons pros
poets, but he will admit that the
Vikings are far from cinch to re-
peat as interhigh champions.
AS he sees the coming race, West
ern, Tech and Eastern figure to be
strong contenders All have good
crop of leftovers from last year,
while the Vikings have only three
letter men. That's not much of a
start, but at the same time it isn't
as bad as it would seem because some
good prospects have turned out for
preliminary drills in the Central
gym.
Re-SOd Central Field.
That's where the Vikings are prac-
ticing right now until Ray can OBJ
tain a field. Centrals is being re-
surfaced. 1t is about one-third COM
pleted and even when the final spade
of sod is laid the baseballers can't
use it until the grass is settled. That
means there will be no home games
for the Vikings this season, except
one on the annual field day in May
From the gymnasium drills. Ray
thinks he has a fair line on who
will play what. He does need
couple of sluggers and hopes to I'M
cover one or two when the team has
had some batting practice. The
Vikings are several weeks behind
other schools at this point because
of their handicap and consequently
the opening game, originally sched-
uled against Western on April 9, has
been shifted to May q by mutual
agreement between the schools.
Central's first interhigh game now
will not be played until April 25
against Roosevelt. There will be a
couple of practice tilts before that.
Viking letter men are sam Di
Blasi-also a football and basket
ball star-at third base; Zello Lagos,
catcher, and Charles Kligman, q
second-string pitcher last year who
automatically moves up to the No.
! spot.
Played With Legion Juniors.
Among the leading candidates
are a couple Of boys who played
with the championship Sergt. Jasper
Post in the American Legion Junior
League last year, Paul Sapourn and
Ned Brogan. Both are good hitters.
Sapourn is slated for second base
or shortstop. while Brogan is headed
for the outfield Ray also has two
capable lads after the first-baSe
post In Bob Hill and Art Kakeris.
Both are left-handed. If Hill
doesn't get the first-base job, he
probably will 60 to the outf1eld.
Another after an outfeld job is
Lenny Citrenbaum, but nothing will
be definite until Coach Ray sees
how the boys hit. Catchers besides
Lagos are Bob Troll and Harry
Jsmison, both of whom figure to
be back for next years team. If
one sized up as first stringer,
Lagos would be released to the out
field and his hitting would be a
help.
Ray has fair crop of pitchers
behind Kligman and will keep them
all. They should be around next
year. too, so Central seems all set
on the mound for some time to
come. Candidates are Manual
Avencena, Harry Wolfe, Norman
Wilkinson, Jake Stein and Aaron
Weisenberg. Stein is the only
southpaw In the lot Wolfe and
Wilkinson were Sergt. Jasper boys
hast year, while still another former
American Legion Junior is Weisen-
berg, who played with Fort Stevens.