HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Second Season Begins for 12 Teams

All first-round games will be played Friday.

SOUTHERN SECTION 5-A DIVISION

Glendale Hoover (11-11) at Simi Valley (21-5): Led by the overpowering Scott Sharts, Simi Valley took its third consecutive Marmonte League title with a record of 10-2. Sharts, a senior pitcher-first baseman, has a Southern Section-record 32 career home runs and has 15 homers this season, one shy of the single-season record. Sharts is batting .513 with 7 doubles and 36 runs batted in. And when he takes the mound, he is nearly as fearsome, fashioning a record of 8-0 with an earned-run average of 1.60. Simi Valley is hardly a one-man team, however. Darren Aurand (.400), Jeff Sommer (.386), Marcus Lockwood (.385) and Darin Furlong (.380) have had excellent years. Shortstop Greg Gerber anchors the defense. Coach Bob Cooper, who has led Hoover to the playoffs in 11 of the past 13 seasons, will chose between right-handers Howard Mazei (2-1) and Sean Regan (6-5). “We don’t have any standouts,” Cooper said of his team, with finished third in the Pacific League with a 7-8 record. “We’re not the team we’ve been in the past. We have a super tradition, but this season has been like riding a roller-coaster.” An afternoon at Simi Valley could be the roughest part of the ride.

Thousand Oaks (17-7-1) at Ocean View (14-10-1): Thousand Oaks, the second-place Marmonte League team with a 9-3 record, is best described as short on height and long on talent. Only pitcher Dan Chergey approaches the 6-foot mark, but all nine starters are batting over .300 and all nine have at least one home run. Shortstop Steve Sisco, the 5-8 leadoff hitter, is batting .368 and set a school record with eight home runs--a total that matches that of the entire Ocean View team. Lancer catcher Mark Skeels, the 5-7 cleanup hitter, is batting .456 with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs. Chergey, a senior right-hander, is 5-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 57 innings. Available in relief is left-hander John Bushart (6-2, 2.98). Ocean View had four players drafted and two others receive scholarships to major colleges last season. But that was then, this is . . . “a mediocre team that manufactures runs,” Coach Bill Gibbons said. “If they had told me before the season we’d be in the playoffs, I’d have done cartwheels.” Three Ocean View right-handed pitchers--Manny Lopez, Derek Ogle and Brent Woken--divide the work evenly and each pitched a shutout over one three-game stretch. Yet Gibbons said, “I’ve had some years my junior varsity staff was better.” Ocean View, which scrambled to a second-place finish in the Sunset League with a record of 8-6-1, lost shortstop Todd Bailey and 6-6 pitcher Dan Naulty, both returning starters, to academic ineligibility.

Westlake (14-11) vs. Crespi (16-9) at Valley College: Westlake had to win its last three Marmonte League games--including a victory over Simi Valley in the league finale--to sneak into the playoffs with a 6-6 record. John Chiaramonte (6-2, 3.42) and Mike Eby (6-2, 2.97) have done most of the pitching for the Warriors. Offensively, Westlake likes to run (four players have at least eight stolen bases), yet can also hit with power (six players have at least three home runs). Batting leaders include Chuck Foster (.370), Craig Cooper (.365) and Mike Suarez (.357). Cooper leads the team with six home runs and Suarez has the most RBIs with 23. Derek Tamburro has been another solid hitter, batting .321 and driving in 20 runs. Crespi, the Del Rey League co-champion with an 8-4 record, has started the same pitcher, Dan Carroll, in nine consecutive games. Carroll (11-2), a lanky right-hander, has made 20 appearances and has pitched 93 innings, allowed 39 earned runs. Behind Carroll is Chad Nichols (4-6), a hard-throwing junior who has thrown 61 innings in 18 appearances. Four players carry the Celt offense. Mark Cavaretta leads the team with a batting average of .419, followed by John Dempsey (.416), Greg Barton (.405) and Nichols (.387). Dempsey’s father is Dodger catcher Rick Dempsey.

SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A DIVISION

Don Lugo (19-7) at Rio Mesa (18-6-1): Rio Mesa has won four Southern Section championships this decade, but the Spartans weren’t even the favorite in the Channel League this season. The reason: Too many unknowns. Was freshman outfielder Dmitri Young as good as advertised? Could Robert Ayala handle the brunt of the pitching? The answer in both cases was a resounding yes. Young is batting .415, has driven in 27 runs and 15 of his 34 hits are for extra bases. Ayala has a record of 11-1, an earned run average of 2.97 and has 58 strikeouts and 20 walks in 73 innings. As a result, Rio Mesa nosed out Ventura and Hueneme to win the league title. Catcher Tim McDonnell and right-fielder Pat King are the top hitters for Don Lugo, the third place team from the Baseline League. McDonnell is batting .489 and King, the cleanup hitter, is batting .420. They each have five homers and 21 RBIs. Right-hander Sean Brashear is 6-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Schurr (11-11) at Hueneme (16-8-1): Hueneme has won seven of its last eight games. “I feel confident,” said Coach Reg Welker, “because our pitching is strong.” Sam Flores will start against Schurr. He has an 8-5 record with a 3.81 ERA. Schurr’s top hitters are catcher Adam Millan (.423), outfielder Jess Frescas (.372) and second baseman Ren Dabuet (.367). Millan has 11 extra-base hits, including five home runs, and 24 RBIs. The Spartans starting pitcher will be Sergio Osorio, a right-hander who has a 4-3 record and a 3.93 ERA. Gabe Diaz is Hueneme’s hottest hitter. The 5-6 senior has a 10-game hitting streak and is batting .460. Diaz’s on-base percentage is almost .600: He has 19 walks and has not struck out in 87 official at-bats.

Ventura (18-6-1) at Righetti (16-8): Prom night happens to fall on the night of Ventura’s first-round game. “I feel for the kids, it’s a big event and they’ll have to miss going out to dinner,” Coach Dan Smith said, “but the playoffs are a bigger event as far as I’m concerned.” Smith is hopeful the Cougars will instead feast on Righetti pitching. Ventura has six players batting better than .340, but the Cougars have had trouble against off-speed throwers. Neil St. Marie of Righetti is an expert at mixing up pitches. He also can straighten them out as a hitter. The senior left-hander has an 8-4 pitching record and batted .512 in 12 Northern League games. “We hit hard throwers well, but if we’re not patient the curveball gives us trouble,” Smith said. On the positive side, Ventura’s lineup is stacked with right-handed hitters. Outfielder Steve Dailey is batting .558 with 8 home runs, 34 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Darrell McMillin (.447), David Eggert (.446) and David Lewis (.433) also are dangerous at the plate. Left-hander Dean McMillin will be the starting pitcher for Ventura. He has a record of 6-4 with an ERA of 3.23 and 100 strikeouts in 69 innings.

SOUTHERN SECTION 3-A DIVISION

Saugus (18-7) at Santa Clara (16-3): The first time these teams met this season, Saugus won, 2-1, but Coach John Lorenzano of Santa Clara says his team is vastly improved. “We were still trying to find ourselves,” he said. Mike Teron is the Saints’ top hitter and best pitcher. He is batting .435 with 20 RBIs. As a pitcher, he is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.93 and 55 strikeouts in 40 innings. Opposing Teron will be Roger Salkeld, a hard-throwing right-hander with a 8-2 record, 1.36 ERA, and 110 strikeouts in 66 innings. Saugus third baseman Tom Dodson is batting .386 with 10 doubles, 6 homers and 28 RBIs. Center fielder Darrell Davis, the leadoff hitter, is batting .395 with 28 stolen bases. Lorenzano is apprehensive about playing a team the caliber of Saugus in the first round, and also because his team is not playing at its peak. “We’re on a down-swing,” he said. “We haven’t been scoring many runs.” Saugus coaches weren’t all that pleased to draw Santa Clara, either. “We weren’t very happy at first,” assistant Bill Bolde said, “but we figure to win a championship you’re going to have to beat a few real good teams. Santa Clara is one of them.”

SOUTHERN SECTION 1-A DIVISION

Maranatha (14-6) at Fillmore (19-2): The Flashes, the Tri-Valley League champions, are the No. 1-seeded team largely because of left-handed pitcher Willie Leighton, who would be dominant even in a larger division. Leighton is 11-0 with an ERA of 1.63, and has struck out 109 batters and walked 23 in 73 innings. Leighton plays first base when not pitching and is batting .478. Fillmore has a strong supporting cast as well. Senior shortstop Jamie Sandoval, is batting .589 and has scored 29 runs. Third baseman Jamie Alamillo, also a senior, is batting .460. Catcher Manuel Galindo (.417) and freshman outfielder Anthony Chessani (.468) are also blistering hot hitters. Fillmore defeated Maranatha, the third-place team from the Alpha League, twice in nonleague play. Rob Winder (7-2, 2.14 ERA) and Jon Hudson (5-3, 3.80) do most of the pitching for the Minutemen. Hudson is also batting .339. Marc Wilson (.345), Jeff Kliewer (.357) and Rick Herlacher (.333) are the team’s best hitters.

Big Bear (14-5-1) at St. Bonaventure (13-7): To beat Big Bear, St. Bonaventure has to beat big Mike Bonetto, a 6-1, 190-pound left-hander with a record of 11-2. Bonetto, a senior, has struck out 157 batters in 78 innings and has an ERA of 0.91. And he is batting .500. Bonetto’s losses were by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. “He only loses when the team doesn’t hit,” Coach Scott Hird said. Big Bear’s best hitters, besides Bonetto, are shortstop Damian Staricka (.408) and first baseman Robert Presby (.356). St. Bonaventure used strong hitting to finish second in the Tri-Valley League. Eric Borchard is batting a team-high .453, followed closely by Kevin Zoll (.426), Andy Wagoner (.413) and Chris Castro (.389). Borchard also leads the team with 28 RBIs. Zoll (6-3, 2.27) and Eric Tucker (4-2, 1.68) split the pitching duties.

Oak Park (11-7) at Crossroads (18-10): Oak Park, the third-place team from the Tri-Valley League, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in school history. The Eagles have a rough draw in Crossroads, the Delphic League champion and No. 3-seeded team. A long-time Small Schools power, Crossroads’ record is deceiving--most of its losses were against large schools. The Roadrunners have nine players batting over .300, led by Eric Newhouse (.444, 35 RBIs), Eddie Lample (.400, 4 home runs) and Kent Yokata (.390, 19 stolen bases). Nine pitchers have been used by Crossroads, but D. J. Sutton (7-3, 3.66) and Josh Steiger (3-0, 4 saves, 4.79) are the most-frequently used. Lample is the bullpen ace, chalking up five saves and an ERA of 1.58. Oak Park counters with a nucleus of six solid hitters: Mark Carr (.400), T. J. Humphries (.352), Jon Daley (.351), Scott Veres (.338) and Gary Silverman (.323).

SOUTHERN SECTION SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION

Grace Community (15-7) at Cate (12-1): Cate’s only loss came to Thacher last week. The Rams are led by the battery of pitcher Andrew Wheeler and catcher John Kidder. Wheeler plays shortstop when he doesn’t pitch. Grace Community’s top hitter is shortstop Chad Hankinson, who is batting .434 with 36 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. The Hawks top pitcher is Tony Saccaro, who is 8-2 with a 3.55 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 67 innings.

Thacher (9-2) at Coast Union (12-4): Thacher lost a coin flip with Cate to determine the Condor League’s top-seeded team. The Toads then got stuck playing fourth-ranked Coast Union in the first round. Thacher’s top two hitters are also its best pitchers. Miguel Hernandez is 5-2 and dealt Cate its only loss, 8-1. Rigoberto Rodriguez has a 4-0 record and pitched a no-hitter against Dunn on Saturday. Both are batting close to .500.