A Sporting Chance

By BENJAMIN EPSTEIN

May 29, 1997 12 AM PT

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Meet all your sporting needs, and get in a little batting practice to boot, at a cluster of gigantic specialty outlets at McFadden Plaza in Santa Ana. Gustatorial pleasures, including an exceptional Peruvian restaurant, await nearby.

AFTERNOON: 1 2 3 4 5

The Baseball Academy is a 10,500-square-foot facility offering instructional leagues, mini-hitting camps and private instruction (about $30 per half hour). The pro shop carries equipment and baseball memorabilia; there’s also a snack shop. Automated batting cages can be rented by token ($1.25 for 20 pitches) or by time ($3 for five minutes, $15 for 30 minutes); teams get discounts. On the slowest speed possible, my 9-year-old son smacked 18 out of 20. I smacked . . . not a one, a whopping 0 for 20! (Those who can’t, write.)

At Roger Dunn Golf Shops, golf isn’t just a metaphor for life, it is life. On the shelves are golf clocks, golf mugs, Par-B-Q (a golfer’s barbecue utensil kit), books on golf antiques, golf jigsaw puzzles, golf toilet paper and the golf edition of Monopoly.

Balls at this duffer’s paradise include glow-in-the-dark golf balls, “experienced” golf balls and exploding golf balls, described as the “funniest golf gag ever.” Interactive highlights include a computerized club-fitting center, a putting green and Pebble Beach virtual golf. A cup of tees is $1.99.

Ultra Bikers Dream might spawn a new sport: competitive drooling. Is that a motorcycle or is that art?

Check out a model called “Riding the Wind”: The 1995 black and blue-pearl bike by Ultra Kustom Cycles features an Indian motif and a price tag of $65,000. (Most of the motorcycles in the shop go for $25,000 or less.) Other intriguing merchandise includes Harley-Davidson ties (no longer an oxymoron) and Harley-Davidson Christmas note pads. Oh, and handcuffs. For $13.95.

Water Ski World carries traditional water skis as well as wakeboards and tubes. Wakeboards are like surfboards attached to a boat. Despite a “cockpit” on some tubes, they require no talent at all: “Hop in, hang on,” a salesman said.

REI features outdoor gear and clothing for biking, kayaking, camping, skiing and climbing. REI members (basically repeat customers) earn year-end rebates. The store carries such not-so-peripheral merchandise as topographic maps and guide books and sponsors outings and instructional courses. Climbers can test new gear or break in new shoes on a climbing wall open Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

LATE AFTERNOON: 6

The Wine Club offers a huge selection of wine and beer at fair prices. It also offers the chance to try before you buy at a self-serve wine-tasting bar featuring palate-cleansing bread and cheese; 2-ounce wine samples go for 10% of bottle price, with dozens of bottles out at any given time. Also available for purchase are an array of caviars (American sturgeon $6.99 per ounce, beluga $25.99) and Big Butt Cigar Co. boxer shorts ($13.99).

DINNER: 7

Korikancha alone is worth the trip. On the menu are ocopa, an appetizer of sliced potatoes with creamy walnut sauce and sliced boiled eggs ($5); pato a la nortena, duck stew with spicy onion salad, served weekends only ($8.50); olluquito con carne, Peruvian potatoes with shredded beef ($8.50); jalea, fried fish, squid and potatoes with onion-tomato salad ($13.50); and pescado a lo macho, Peruvian seafood topped with fried fish ($8.75). Among the desserts, don’t pass up mazamorra morada, purple corn pudding with pineapple and dried fruit ($3.50). Beverages include chicha morada, a red corn and pineapple punch ($1.25). The bread dip involves peanuts, potatoes and peppers. Our server, Juan Jose Aranguri, divulged little more: “My grandmother’s secret,” he said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1. The Baseball Academy

1430 S. Village Way, (714) 835-9031

Open Mon.-Fri. 3-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. noon-8 p.m.

2. Roger Dunn Golf Shops

1408 S. Village Way, (714) 558-0074

Open Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

3. Ultra Bikers Dream

1420 S. Village Way, (714) 835-8464

Open daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

4. Water Ski World

1430 S. Village Way, (714) 667-0331