Simi Valley 3rd Baseman Hankins Faces Surgery After Ankle Injury

Ryan Hankins of Simi Valley High, one of the region’s top baseball players, will undergo surgery after suffering a torn ligament in an ankle, Coach Mike Scyphers said Tuesday.

Hankins suffered the injury in a collision with a teammate last week and will be sidelined “four to six weeks,” Scyphers said.

Hankins, a third baseman who batted .362 as a freshman last season, was playing shortstop when he collided with junior second baseman Britten Pond.

“Losing Ryan really hurts,” Scyphers said. “He’s as slick as you can be at third and he was crushing the ball at the plate. He’s going to be missed in a big-time way.”

Hankins will be replaced by senior Pat Queenen.

Simi Valley, favored to win the strong Marmonte League, will open the season Friday at 2 p.m. against L. A. Banning in an El Segundo tournament game at Simi Valley.