Powerful Battery Sparked Westlake’s Assault on Record Book

Hitters ruled the diamonds of Ventura County this season, but pitching and defense distinguished one team as a gem.

Westlake High tied a county record by posting 28 victories and the Warriors set 35 school records along the way. The team’s strength was its pitching staff--led by pitcher of the year Mike Eby--and its defense up the middle, anchored by catcher Mike Lieberthal, the player of the year.

“It was a fabulous year, just a dream year for all of us,” said Rich Herrera, the coach of the year. “We had great camaraderie and a great spirit.”

Westlake (28-2) was ranked second in the nation by USA Today and No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports most of the season. The Warriors were elevated to No. 1 by USA Today the day their season ended in a loss to Marina in the semifinals of the Southern Section 5-A Division playoffs.

“The loss hurt, but in the long run, I think we’ll remember the good times most of all,” Herrera said.

Good times for Rio Mesa (18-6-2), the Channel League champion, came primarily when the team was at bat. Nine Spartan players batted better than .300 and all four all-county selections topped the .450 mark.

Dmitri Young, a Rio Mesa junior and a three-time all-county choice, gave Lieberthal a strong challenge for player-of-the-year honors. Young led county players with a .589 average and he is closing in on several Southern Section batting records.

“Dmitri is the most complete player I’ve ever seen in high school,” Rio Mesa Coach Rich Duran said.

Despite losing all-county pitcher David Soliz, the Spartans should dominate next season: Young and fellow all-county choices Mike Mitchell (first base) and Jon McMullen (third base) all return.

Thousand Oaks (11-9) was another team with a lineup full of strong hitters. Five regulars batted .397 or better--Brent Christenson, Billy Hall, Ryan Kritscher, Lance Martin and David Skeels.

Although shoddy defense forced Thousand Oaks to back into the playoffs as the third-place Marmonte League qualifier, the Lancers scored 32 runs in three playoff games. The team’s finest moment came in a second-round game against Rolling Hills in which the Lancers came back from a 10-1 deficit with nine runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to win, 12-11.

“Our performance in the playoffs proved we belonged there,” Coach Jim Hansen said.

Third baseman Rich Naranjo batted better than .400 for Royal (16-11), which finished second in the Marmonte under first-year Coach Dan Maye. Strong defense and the emergence of transfer pitcher Ed Smith helped win several close games down the stretch.

“We came together as a team and everybody contributed,” Maye said.

Buena (20-6-2) continued its winning program under Coach Stan Hedegard. Sam Arroyo gave the Bulldogs an unbeatable pitcher and outfielder Ryan Denger, first baseman Jason Isaacs and catcher Ryan Webster provided consistent offense.

Agoura (15-10), a non-Ventura County team, dominated the Frontier League, and St. Bonaventure horned in on Fillmore’s traditional dominance of the Tri-Valley League. The Seraphs and the Flashes each posted 13-2 league records.

St. Bonaventure was led by Kevin Zoll, the league’s player of the year and a second-team all-county choice. Zoll batted .549 and posted an 8-4 pitching record with a 1.21 earned-run average.

* SECOND-TEAM CHART: C14