Confident West Enters State Playoffs Lifted by Hot Bats, Strong Pitching, Experience : American Legion: Woodland Hills team is primed for a run at a second consecutive national championship.

Power and pitching.

Take your pick. And take your time.

In the past week, Woodland Hills West has won by scores as diverse as 5-2, 14-6 and 16-7. One way or another, arm or hammer, the 1989 World Series champion rolls onward in the American Legion playoffs.

West, which has won 25 of its past 26 games and is 28-5 overall, will open play against Lakewood at 9 a.m. today in the state playoffs in Yountville, where only the weather figures to be hotter.

After losing its first-round game in the 6th Area playoffs last week at UCLA, West stormed through the losers’ bracket, winning five games in three days behind a combination of starting pitching and startling offensive production. West outscored the competition by a two-to-one margin, 68-34, and averaged 13.7 hits a game.

There are other factors. Last year, West entered the postseason with wide eyes and tight lips--and lost its first-round game in the state playoffs. After last season’s successes, West players feel they are aware of and possess what it takes to survive the long playoff haul.

“The thing about this team is the love and the hustle,” first baseman Jason Cohen said. “I’ve seen better talent--last year’s team was a little better. But this team has chemistry. We’re doing the extra things.”

West has covered the basics, too. In six area playoff games, West pitchers recorded five complete games, with five different pitchers earning decisions. The lone pitcher who didn’t go the distance was right-hander Terry Morrow, who threw 8 1/3 innings and was the winner in a 13-8 defeat of Conejo Valley.

The middle of the batting order carried most of the offensive load for West, which finished second in the state tournament last season and advanced to the Northwest regional, where it placed first. West won the Series title in Millington, Tenn., the following week.

Catcher Bobby Kim was 13 for 24 in the area tournament, with three doubles, a triple and two home runs. He also drove in 12 runs and scored 11 times.

Cohen was 12 for 26 with four doubles, 12 RBIs and 11 runs scored, and he had two four-hit games.

Third baseman Del Marine, the 1989 Legion Player of the Year, was 11 for 25 and scored 13 runs in the area playoffs. Marine was to be honored Sunday preceding the Baseball Hall of Fame enshrinement of Joe Morgan and Jim Palmer in Cooperstown, N. Y., where Marine’s Legion jersey has been on display. Marine startled Legion officials this week when he stated he’d rather remain with his teammates.

“They tried to get him to change his mind, which I don’t really understand,” West Coach Don Hornback said. “What Del’s doing is what American Legion is all about--he’s sticking by his friends and teammates.”

Three teams in the six-team, double-elimination state tournament advance to regional competition, one more than last season. Union City, which won its area title, already has been granted an automatic berth in the Western regional because it is the host team.

According to the state format, the first-place team advances to Union City and the runner-up plays in the Northwestern regional in Eugene, Ore. If Union City places first in the state tournament, the runner-up will play at Union City and the third-place team will play in Eugene. A second-place finish at state by Union City would send the champion to Union City and the third-place team to Eugene.

Regional play at Union City and Eugene runs Aug. 15-20. The World Series is Aug. 22-26 in Corvallis, Ore.