Westlake Makes Do With a Makeshift Lineup, 14-0

Although four of its starters are on a cruise ship returning from Mexico, the Westlake American Legion baseball team found smooth sailing Saturday in a 14-0 win over Conejo in a District 16 game at Westlake High.

Westlake’s four cruisers--Bob Grandpre, Todd Thompson, Mike Goldstein and Mike Maggiora--will not be back in the lineup until Monday. They have been on a graduation trip for a week, but their absence didn’t sink Westlake as Mike Eby pitched a three-hit shutout and John Stephens drove in five runs to even the team’s district record at 3-3.

“June is always tough because you have graduations and all-star games and it creates some confusion with your lineup,” Westlake Coach Chuck Thompson said. “It’s like that every year, so you just have to learn to live with it.”

Eby, who will be a junior at Westlake High, retired the first eight batters he faced and did not allow a hit until Mike McNellis singled up the middle in the fifth. Eby, whose fastball has been clocked at only 76 m.p.h., relies on control and the location of his breaking pitches.

He struck out five and walked five to improve his record to 1-2.

“Everything was working real well,” Eby said. “I had a pretty good curveball and I had a little more on my fastball than I usually do.”

Eby, Westlake’s No. 2 starter behind Grandpre, impressed his coach.

“It was, by far, his best game of the season.” Thompson said. “He’s just a youngster. He’s working on his speed, and, when he gets it, he will be an excellent pitcher.”

Westlake took a 1-0 lead when Stephens led off the first inning with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Mike Suarez’s sacrifice fly.

Westlake collected three more runs with two out in the second when Brian Smith and Scott Heflin hit back-to-back singles and Stephens followed with a home run over the left-center field fence.

Westlake extended its lead to 6-0 in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Suarez and Derek Tamburro. Westlake turned the game into a rout with seven runs in the seventh on just three hits, one a two-run triple by Stephens.

Stephens, promoted from No. 9 in the batting order to leadoff amid the lineup shuffle, finished 3 for 6 with a double, triple, home run and he also scored three runs.

“He had a big day. Maybe we should rethink where he’s at in the lineup,” Thompson said.

Suarez was 2 for 3 and drove in three runs. Heflin and Jamie Misco each had two hits in Westlake’s 14-hit attack.

McNellis, Scott Haffner and Todd Lang each singled to account for Conejo’s hits.