Sharts, Laker Continue Power Struggle at Simi Valley

Like a couple of gunslingers from the Old West, Scott Sharts and Tim Laker of Simi Valley High have been holding a long-range shooting contest with their great equalizers made, in this case, of aluminum rather than polished steel.

A duel with 35-inch Eastons instead of Colt .45s . . . spitting sunflower seeds instead of chewing tobacco . . . hitting bullets over fences as a way of gunning down opponents, if not each other.

In the first inning of Wednesday’s 14-6 win over Newbury Park, Sharts hit a three-run home run over the fence in right-center to tie the school record of eight in a season. Laker followed an inning later with a three-run blast to left for his seventh home run. It’s been that way all year as the pair continue a game of can-you- pop -this in an effort to capture the team record for homers in a season.

“It’s kind of a friendly competition,” Laker said. “But I’ll tell you, we’d both like to get it.”

With Sharts and Laker as the hot hands, Simi Valley (17-2, 7-0 in league) scored three runs in the first inning and six in the second to take a 9-1 lead. The battle to become the school’s top gun, it seems, is a healthy one for the team. The rest of the Marmonte League teams, however, might be feeling a little gun-shy.

“It seems like each time one of them hits one, the other guy follows,” Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers said. “They both seem to be sticking right in there together.”

And sticking it to opponents.

Sharts finished with six runs batted in and Laker was the winning pitcher as Simi Valley--ranked No. 1 in The Times Valley poll--won its 20th consecutive league game.

The home run by Sharts broke a brief power slump in which the 6-6 junior had just four singles in his past 14 at-bats. Sharts went without a hit in Simi Valley’s third-place finish at the Colonial Tournament in Florida last week.

“It was nice to get back to the confines of our own park,” Scyphers said. “In Florida, the wind was blowing in most of the time, and we knew we wouldn’t be hitting too many balls out of that yard.”

The Simi Valley corral was more than OK on Wednesday. Darren Lloyd hit a two-run homer in the second, his third, and Greg Gerber added his fourth, a two-run shot in the Pioneers’ three-run fifth that gave the Pioneers a 14-5 lead.

Losing pitcher Jeff Berman (3-4) allowed nine runs in 1 innings as Newbury Park fell to 8-11-1, 2-4-1 in league.