Simone Follows Unbeatable Trend

R.J. Simone (8-0) is attempting to become the fourth Hart High pitcher in four seasons to finish the season undefeated. Jason Edwards (11-0), Andrew Lorraine (9-0) and Kevin Foderaro (8-0) accomplished the feat in 1988, ’89 and ’90.

Simone has a 1.71 earned-run average and 87 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings. He has 71 strikeouts in seven victories during Foothill League play and he has pitched 62 2/3 of Hart’s 108 innings in league competition.

Pitching: Brothers Robert and Rick Mena of Providence had an unusual pitching double last week. Robert, a freshman, pitched a two-hitter and struck out 12 in a 6-2 victory at Avalon on Friday. The next day, Rick, a junior, also had a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts in another 6-2 victory over Avalon. . . .

In Simi Valley’s 8-4 win over Thousand Oaks last Wednesday, Pioneer pitcher Brian Vasey went to a three-ball count on 11 batters and retired seven of them.

Offense: Harvard and St. Genevieve combined for eight home runs, four by each team, in Harvard’s 16-11 victory Friday. There were no other extra-base hits. Harvard’s Bobby Mason, who had one home run entering the game, hit three. He drove in seven runs and was walked in his fourth at-bat. The next batter, Rian O’Meara, hit a grand slam.

Mason is tied for second on the Southern Section list for home runs in a game behind Carey Windes of St. John Bosco, who hit four against St. Anthony in 1985. . . .

Andy Saltsman of Crescenta Valley hit his eighth home run of the season in a 13-4 win over Hoover last week. Saltsman broke the school record of six set last season by Brendan Cowsill. . . .

Thousand Oaks’ Ryan Kritscher has struck out only three times--none swinging--in 65 at-bats this season and has struck out only five times in 107 at-bats the past two seasons. Kritscher is batting .446 and has 36 runs and a region-high 36 stolen bases. . . .

Westlake, which finished 10-14-1, scored more runs this season (a school-record 221) than it did a year ago (200) when the team finished 28-2 and reached the semifinals of the Southern Section 5-A Division playoffs. . . . Monroe went 21 games this season without the benefit of a home run. But Noel Toledo’s shot against Canoga Park last week ended the drought. . . .

Newbury Park senior Jason Cash, a nephew of former major leaguer Dave Cash, finished the season with a 21-game hitting streak. . . .

St. Genevieve junior Sergio Ramos hit safely in all 10 league games and 16 of 19 games this season. He finished the season with a 12-game hitting streak. Ramos batted .444 in 54 at-bats. . . .

Antelope Valley third baseman Peter Holt has a .308 average, but he batted .375 in Golden League play. . . . Antelope Valley has no player listed among the region’s leaders for runs batted in, but the Antelopes have a balanced attack. Todd Barnes has 17 RBIs, followed by Jeff Whiteford (16), George Boykins (15), Jack Cox (14) and Chad Eberhardt (14). . . .

For Mike Muncy of Camarillo, 12 of his 23 hits have gone for extra bases. Simi Valley’s Tyler Nelson has 32 hits, 11 for extra bases. Rio Mesa’s Mike Mitchell has 10 doubles and seven home runs among 34 hits. Rio Mesa’s Dmitri Young has 17 extra-base hits among his 31 hits. . . .

Young, a four-year starter whose .419 average is well shy of his .588 average last season, does not have the highest batting average on Rio Mesa’s team. That distinction belongs to Mitchell, a senior first baseman who is hitting .466. . . .

Rio Mesa junior Jon McMullen has driven in 31 runs with just 24 hits. . . . Simi Valley’s Steve Bernstein has the same number of hits (31) as RBIs (31), and Nelson, Bernstein’s teammate, has driven in 35 runs with 32 hits.

Records: Thousand Oaks broke the 1988 school record for runs in a season last week and has scored 198. The old record was 189. The Lancers are averaging 8.25 runs a game, a pace that would break the school record. . . .

Nelson hit two doubles Friday, giving Simi Valley 64 for the season and tying the 1986 school single-season record. Vasey and Bernstein each notched his 12th double last week, breaking the school record of 11.

REGIONAL BASEBALL TOP 10

Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Last Rk Wk Team League Record 1 1 Simi Valley Marmonte 21-4 2 2 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 17-6-1 3 3 Sylmar East Valley 19-6 4 4 Poly East Valley 22-3 5 5 Channel Islands Marmonte 15-5 6 6 Chatsworth West Valley 17-6-1 7 8 Rio Mesa Channel 17-6 8 9 Burbank Foothill 16-5 9 NR Kennedy North Valley 16-8 10 10 Montclair Prep Alpha 17-3

NR--Not ranked.