AREA 6 AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Conejo Double Play Finishes Woodland Hills, 6-5

Relief pitcher Nick Brown of Conejo trudged to the mound with the American Legion playoff game on the line Saturday. Upon his arrival, he heard a familiar line from his coach.

Nothing like a vote of confidence, sort of, to put starch in a guy’s shirt.

“I told him we’d love him if he wins and hate him if he loses,” Coach Craig Sturges said. “Either way, it’s his game all the way.”

Said Brown, deadpan: “He always says that.”

But Brown had the final say in Conejo’s 6-5 win over Woodland Hills West in a third-round game of the Area 6 tournament at Moorpark College.

Conejo (37-4) advances to today’s final round, which begins at 11 a.m., and will again face Woodland Hills. Woodland Hills, which followed the loss to Conejo by edging Camarillo, 11-10, in an elimination game Saturday, must defeat Conejo twice today to advance to the state tournament next week in Yountville. Conejo needs only one victory to advance.

With a runner on first and Conejo holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, Brown was summoned to replace Tony Siegel, who had walked Justin Stark to lead off the inning. Stark moved to second on a ground out and took third on Sean Boldt’s single to left. Brown then walked Kent Cote to load the bases and move the winning run into scoring position.

However, Mike Smith--who had two hits--grounded to the mound. Brown turned a double play via the plate to end the game and was promptly swarmed by his teammates.

Boldt stymied Conejo for four innings before his defense failed him in the fifth. West committed two errors in the inning as Conejo scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead. Boldt struck out eight in seven innings and allowed four hits, three of which came in the error-plagued fifth.

“He is the first guy we’ve faced this year that absolutely shut us down, period,” Sturges said. “We really couldn’t do a thing with him.”

West, however, did something against Conejo starter Adam West in the eighth, scoring three runs to tie the score, 5-5. Boldt and Dan Cey had hits in the inning, and right fielder Brent Christenson overran Cey’s single, allowing a run to score and Cey to scoot to third. Siegel relieved and fired a wild pitch to the screen, allowing Cey to score with the tying run.

In the Conejo ninth, Jeff Olin beat out a grounder up the middle and moved to second on a ground out. With two out, Ryan Kritscher--who had a 32-game hitting streak ended Friday--found himself in an 0-and-2 hole against reliever Terry Morrow (9-3). After taking a pitch just off the plate for ball one, Kritscher singled to drive in Olin with the go-ahead run. Sturges admitted that he had pumped his own right arm in a strike-three motion on the previous pitch.

“I had him rung,” Sturges said.

But this time around, the bell tolled for Woodland Hills.

In other games:

Woodland Hills West 11, Camarillo 10--With a runner at third and two out in an elimination game, center fielder Boldt tracked down a line drive to right-center by Camarillo pinch-hitter Jeff Flores for the final out.

Woodland Hills (25-10) blew a 5-0 lead and trailed, 6-5, after seven innings. West scored six times in the eighth to take an 11-6 lead and reliever Tad Miyoshi (3-0) managed to hold off Camarillo--barely.

Greg Lederman had three hits and drove in four runs for West. Mike Mitchell singled, tripled and homered for Camarillo (26-10).

Camarillo 8, Westchester 7--In the morning elimination game, Camarillo left fielder Mitchell threw out the tying run at the plate for the final out to hold off Westchester.

With two runs over, the bases loaded and Westchester trailing, 8-6, with two out in the top of the ninth, Derek Person singled to left. Mitchell fielded the ball and threw out Jimmy Hubka at the plate.