Simi Valley Bats Already in Full Swing

Simi Valley has stormed to a 10-1 start, battering opponents in the process. The Pioneers are averaging nearly 10 runs a game and are batting .376 as a team after Tuesday’s 20-1 rout of Sunnyvale Fremont in the Serra tournament in San Mateo.

Five Pioneers have scored at least 10 runs, including leadoff batter Jesse Anguiano, who has scored 21. And five players have driven in at least eight runs, led by Andy Hodgins with 14.

Anguiano is the team’s leading hitter with a .531 batting average and Terry Hill is batting .515. Hodgins (.452), Chadd Johnson (.429) and Greg Santos (.414) also have started fast.

Pitching: The only players as hot as the Simi Valley hitters are the team’s pitchers. Rich Langford pitched his second three-hit shutout in four days when he beat Serra, 9-0, Monday. The 6-foot-4, senior right-hander struck out nine and walked four. He also raised his record to 5-0, extended his scoreless streak to 16 2/3 innings and lowered his earned-run average to 0.45.

As a team, Simi Valley has allowed 17 earned runs in 77 innings for a 1.55 ERA.

Chatsworth has two potent pitchers in Derek Wallace (4-0), a senior right-hander, and Reed McMackin (2-0), a junior right-hander. Wallace has struck out 32 in 26 innings and allowed his first two earned runs Tuesday against El Camino Real.

McMackin has 22 strikeouts in 19 innings and a 1.91 ERA.

Batting: Chatsworth senior center fielder Kevin Chong is batting .556 (15 for 27) with a home run and eight runs batted in. Chong has scored a team-high 14 runs.

Chatsworth is averaging 10.5 runs a game and has outscored the opposition, 84-27. The Chancellors have hit 11 home runs in eight games.

Five Newbury Park players have reached double figures in RBIs after only 12 games. They are: Geoff Black (15), Wayne Cook (14), Eric Greene (13), Danny Madsen (12) and Brian Smith (10).

Jason Shapiro has hit safely in all eight of Taft’s games. Taft (6-2) is off to a 3-0 start in the West Valley League.

Defense: Westlake is 4-5 after winning its first two games. Much of the blame for the slide rests with the defense.

The Warriors have committed 29 errors and have made at least five in three different games. In one five-game span, Westlake made 27 errors.

In contrast, the Warriors are 3-1 in games in which they committed less than three errors.