Colonial Feud Brewing in Florida : Simi Valley to Play in Tournament Hosted by East Coast Rival

They are 3,000 miles apart and have played each other only twice. They meet but once a year--provided they each win their first two tournament games.

Nevertheless, a rivalry has developed between the Simi Valley High baseball team and Colonial High in Orlando, Fla. Simi Valley will attempt to resume that rivalry this week as the Pioneers, along with Chatsworth and Saugus, travel to Florida for the ninth Colonial Baseball Classic.

“It’s a coast-to-coast rivalry,” said Colonial Coach George Kirchgassner, who is also the tournament director. “I don’t think there’s another two high schools in the country that can claim that.”

Should Simi Valley and Colonial meet in the semifinal round, it will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal in which Colonial scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to dramatically defeat the Pioneers, 4-3.

Colonial, tournament champion in 1982 and ‘84, then advanced to the championship game and was defeated by Winter Park, Fla., 5-4.

“The championship game was us and Simi Valley as far as we were concerned,” Kirchgassner said. “To get back on the field and play our conference rival was anticlimactic.”

Said Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers: “Last year’s ending is clear in my mind. All I remember is that we were up, 3-2.”

Scyphers would rather recall the 1986 tournament, in which Simi Valley--the first and only non-Florida entry--defeated Colonial, 3-0, in the semifinal round and went on to win the tournament.

“That kind of sent a message,” Scyphers said. “By us knocking them out of their own tournament, it showed that there are some teams that play good baseball outside of Florida.”

Kirchgassner says he is indebted to Scyphers. What Kirchgassner founded as a four-team local tournament in 1980 has evolved into the most prestigious high school baseball tournament in the nation. It began with Simi Valley’s entry.

“We opened up some doors,” Scyphers said. “Each year, he’s kind of eliminated some of the weaker Florida teams and added more out-of-state teams.”

Last year, the tournament included seven teams outside Florida. This year, there are nine (16 overall) and Kirchgassner says it is the best field yet. The tournament also will be a real scout-a-rama.

“We’re talking about a lot of scouts,” he said. “And a lot of media and a lot of attendance.”

The ESPN cable network will televise excerpts of quarterfinal- and semifinal-round games as well as the championship game Saturday on a tape-delay basis.

Other California entries include Campolindo (Moraga) and De La Salle (Concord).

Other teams include Columbus, Ga.; Euclid, Ohio; Kaiser (Honolulu), Hawaii and Waltrip (Houston), Tex.

Florida teams include Colonial, Boone (Orlando), Edgewater (Orlando), Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs), Oak Ridge (Orlando) West Orange (Winter Garden) and Winter Park.

Saugus (7-2) kicks off the tournament Monday against Columbus. Jeff Bodeau (2-1) is expected to start for the Centurions. Junior right-hander Roger Salkeld is scheduled to pitch Wednesday.

Simi Valley also opens Monday, against Lake Brantley.

Chatsworth (7-1) plays Oak Ridge on Tuesday. Coach Bob Lofrano will start either Pierre Amado (3-1) or Shawn Bowen (1-0).