Thousand Oaks Dims Newbury Park’s Title Hopes

Although it should have been Thousand Oaks High’s moment, it was not. Even though the Lancers’ 11-9, eight-inning victory Friday at Newbury Park clinched a Southern Section 5-A Division playoff berth, it was the losers who commanded the attention.

Newbury Park, only a week ago on the verge of galloping to its first Marmonte League championship in a dozen years, pulled up lame when it should have been charging to the wire.

“I think we can kiss the league championship goodby,” Newbury Park Coach Gary Fabricius said while delicately holding a birthday cupcake in one hand. “But our goal was to make the playoffs. I think that may be the only bright spot.”

The Panthers (17-4-3, 8-3 in league play) will make the playoffs, but first-place Simi Valley is assured of no worse than a tie for the title. Newbury Park had knocked off the defending league-champion Pioneers twice to move a half-game in front of Simi Valley (20-3, 9-2) with three games left. But after consecutive losses, Newbury Park trails the Pioneers by a game with one left.

“I think that’s probably what the problem was,” said Fabricius, who turns 31 today. “These kids thought they had it won and could just show up and hit. But we had to play defense, too.”

Ah, the defense. Two errors and a misplayed ball in the outfield contributed to the five unearned runs Thousand Oaks scored in the eighth inning. The crushing blow was Jud Schlimgen’s two-out, bases-loaded liner to left field. Brian Smith misjudged the ball, which rolled to the fence as three runs scored.

Those runs made Eric Greene’s three-run homer in the bottom of the inning all the more tantalizing. John Bushart, the last of five Thousand Oaks pitchers employed, got the final two outs.

Thousand Oaks had 15 hits against starter Jeremy Dewey, who didn’t make it through an inning without giving up at least one hit. Chris Grodell had three hits and Schlimgen, Todd Lang, Brian Sturges and Lance Martin each had two.

The Lancers did not have a lead until the eighth. Newbury Park led, 4-0, after two innings, and, 6-4, when Danny Madsen hit a two-run homer in the fifth. Madsen had two hits, as did Greene and Chris Marsden. Jeff O’Brien had three.

Thousand Oaks rallied to tie the score, 6-6, in the sixth. After Schlimgen’s single, a walk to Lang and an error loaded the bases, Martin and Grodell followed with run-scoring singles.

“We came over here with the idea to win one game to make the playoffs,” Thousand Oaks Coach Jim Hansen said. “I hate to do it to Newbury Park, because I’d sure rather do it to Simi Valley, but we’ll take it.”

The Lancers have a shot at Simi Valley in Wednesday’s regular-season finale.