For the Record, Simi Valley Wins

A game or not a game? That was the question at Simi Valley High on Tuesday.

Horace Consolo, the Canoga Park baseball coach, saw his team drop a 7-6 decision. But to him it didn’t count.

“I treated it like a practice game. I played all 19 players,” said Consolo, who replaced longtime Hunters Coach Doug MacKenzie this season. “If they want a win, that’s fine with me.”

To Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers, however, a game by any other name should be played the same. “It’s a game for me and it counts as a game,” Scyphers said.

As happens every time a City Section team plays a Southern Section team in a preseason game, one team plays for a win, while the other plays for practice. For City teams, the game has no meaning and is usually played with liberal substitutions. For Southern Section teams, however, the game counts on a team’s overall record.

That difference was highlighted in the fifth inning with Simi Valley ahead, 4-2. Canoga Park’s Mike Kerber went to bat re-entering the game for his replacement, Brian Hoffman, with the bases loaded and one out. After one pitch, Scyphers pointed out to the umpires that Kerber had entered the game without announcing himself.

Originally the umpires ruled that Kerber, who Consolo had planned to have pitch later in the game, had re-entered the game improperly so Hoffman would have to bat and Kerber could not re-enter. That left Consolo visibly upset, but after a meeting with Scyphers it was agreed that Kerber could come back and pitch.

Later that inning, the Hunters tied the score, 4-4, on a bloop single to center field by Jason Scliminti that scored Adam Schulhofer.

The Pioneers (2-1) scored 3 runs in the sixth inning on 1 hit, 2 walks and 2 stolen bases.

In the seventh, the Hunters scored two runs. Schulhofer doubled and scored on a two-base error by right fielder Mike Laker. Michael Moses singled home Pete Marine but the rally ended there.