BASEBALL : Canyons’ Mohney Makes Unscheduled Appearance

Who was that guy keeping score in the Canyons dugout at Moorpark College on Tuesday?

Why, it was Canyons Coach Len Mohney, who is recovering from surgery. Today will be Mohney’s first official day back at the Valencia campus since he underwent surgery on his large intestine two weeks ago, but he couldn’t resist sneaking out to the yard a couple of days early.

“I was incognito,” Mohney said. “Andy Allensworth ran the club. I just kept score and kept a low profile. . . . well, I did yell a little bit.”

Mohney had good reason to yell. Leading, 4-2, going into the ninth inning, Canyons starter Jeff Ward gave up a leadoff double to Moorpark’s Von Herron. Herron went to third on a grounder by Rod Stillwell. Ward then struck out power-hitting Dan Russell and walked Ed Hall. Chris Zavatsky then relieved Ward and got the final out. Canyons won, 4-3.

“Ward pitched a fantastic game,” Mohney said. “Always does.”

Ward is 6-0.

Big bats: Three Cal Sate Northridge players, Tim Rapp, Lenn Gilmore and Jim Vatcher, are among the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. leaders in several categories.

Rapp is second in batting at .402 and is also in the top 10 in hits (45), doubles (12), triples (3) and runs batted in (32). Gilmore leads the conference in hits (55) and is in the top 10 in batting (.382), runs scored (37), doubles (13), home runs (9) and RBIs (37). Vatcher leads the CCAA with 40 runs scored and is among the leaders in hits (48).

Goose eggs: Stanford pitcher Jack McDowell, a projected No. 1 draft choice from Van Nuys, broke the Pac-10 Conference record for career shutouts Friday with a nine-inning, 13-strikeout win over USC.

McDowell held the Trojans to two hits as the Cardinal beat USC, 4-0. The shutout, McDowell’s sixth, was also his second straight 13-strikeout performance, tying his own record.

McDowell, a 6-5 right-hander from Notre Dame High, is 5-1, 4-0 in the Pac-10. He will be on the mound Friday when conference rival UCLA plays at Palo Alto.

For his efforts, McDowell was named conference Player of the Week.

Mismatch of the year?: It might be Canyons against anyone in the Western State Conference.

The Cougars’ 4-3 win over Moorpark on Tuesday was their 16th in conference, 23rd overall. Canyons is 16-0-1 in the WSC, the tie coming in the second game of a doubleheader with Oxnard. Oxnard (11-3-1, 18-4-1 overall) is in first place in the WSC’s Northern Division.

“I don’t want this to sound cocky,” Mohney said, “but our guys basically have it wrapped. I hope that doesn’t sound cocky, but we’d have to lose almost all the rest of our games and someone, Moorpark or Santa Monica, would have to win all of theirs. And Moorpark and Santa Monica still have to play doubleheaders on the road.

“Of course, I’ve seen crazier things happen in a baseball race.”

Last add Canyons: Canyons moved up a spot to fifth in this week’s Southland poll and the accompanying media release says the Cougars are “up and coming.”

Up and coming?

Until the second game of its doubleheader against Oxnard on Saturday was called a tie because of darkness, Canyons (20-3-1) had won 17 straight games and was 14-0 in the WSC.

Still, the defending state champion doesn’t have what it takes--whatever it is--to top the poll. Apparently, it’s taking the poll people longer than Canyons to forget about the Cougars’ season-opening loss to top-ranked Cerritos (22-4, 14-3 in conference).