THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Kovacic Chases Dream at Granada Hills

It was only a preseason scrimmage, but the fans in the bleachers at Poly High were giving Granada Hills pitcher Steve Kovacic a lot of lip. “Traitor!” they yelled as Kovacic made his way from the mound to the dugout.

During his next turn at-bat, Kovacic hit a home run over the left-field fence, quieting the fans and reinforcing a dream he had held for nine years.

Kovacic was 7 years old and sitting in the stands at Dodger Stadium the day Granada Hills High beat Poly in the 1978 City Section championship game.

Kovacic’s older brother, Joe, played for Poly and Steve remembered thinking that someday he, too, would wear a uniform and play for the title.

Kovacic grew up in North Hollywood, which is Poly Country, so when it came time to leave Madison Junior High and enroll in secondary school last year, he set about to make his dream come true. He enrolled at Granada Hills.

“I’m at Granada because I wanted to go to a good school and play for a good coach in a program where I had a chance to learn some things,” Kovacic said.

Kovacic, a junior who plays second base when he isn’t pitching, is batting .476 with 10 runs batted in for traditionally powerful Granada Hills, which is off to an uncharacteristic 5-4 start. Meanwhile, Poly isn’t exactly mourning the absence of Kovacic. The Parrots, The Times’ top-ranked team in the Valley, are 12-1

But Kovacic has no regrets about his decision.

“I’m glad for the guys at Poly because I played with most of them for most of my life,” said Kovacic. “But this was the right choice for me. I’m learning a lot and I’m happy.”

There were times last year, however, when Kovacic had to fight through disappointment. City Section rules allow a student who has moved to within a new high school’s boundaries to participate in sports, but only if the student has moved with his parent(s) or legal guardian. Kovacic had moved to Granada Hills with his brother and sister-in-law and discovered that he would be ineligible to play in his sophomore year.

“Coach (Darryl) Stroh talked to me when he found out I was ineligible and said it was my decision whether I wanted to stay or go back to Poly,” Kovacic said. “He said I could practice with the team and that I would be able to contribute later on.”

Kovacic’s play has thus far been one of the bright spots for the Highlanders. He even hit a grand slam against San Fernando.

“We just haven’t been hitting in the right situations,” said Kovacic, who expects to make his Dodger Stadium fantasy a reality before he’s through at Granada Hills. “I think we’re going to start turning things around. I still think we have a good chance to win the City title.”

But Poly may have a better one.

Spring break: Earlier this season, Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers kept getting these pesky phone calls. Not that the calls were especially harassing, it’s just that some guy kept teasing Scyphers about returning to Orlando, Fla., to defend Simi Valley’s title in the Colonial Classic Easter Tournament, which begins Monday.

“I must have said no to them 30 times, but they were getting all over me to come back to defend the title,” Scyphers said. “I finally said ‘What the heck, let’s go back there and have some fun.’ ”

When Scyphers confirmed that the Pioneers would return, he never thought the team would begin its title defense with a record of 12-1.

“They’ve really responded,” Scyphers said.

Add Simi: Shawn DeLaittre,aTimes All-Valley selection as a junior forward on the Simi basketball team, has quit the baseball team to devote more time to his specialty.

Times staff writers Steve Elling and John Lynch contributed to this story.