Leppard Shines in Tough Spot for Simi Valley, 8-6

The word of the day for the Simi Valley High baseball team Thursday was relief, and the Pioneers spelled it “Leppard.”

Relief pitcher Trevor Leppard held host Newbury Park to one hit in 5 2/3 shutout innings to help lift the Pioneers (10-3 overall, 4-2 in league play) to an 8-6 Marmonte League baseball victory.

On offense, Simi Valley was led by first baseman Aaron Fischer, who went two for four with a double, a home run and six runs batted in.

Fischer, who has been slowed by a sprained left ankle, gave the Pioneers the lead for good in the fourth inning with a three-run homer over the left-field fence. It was his fifth home run of the season and his fourth in four games.

The Pioneers came into the game fresh off a loss to Agoura that dropped them to second in the league standings. And when Newbury Park’s David Lamb drilled a three-run homer in the second inning to give the Panthers an early 6-2 lead, it looked as if Simi Valley might be headed for a second consecutive loss.

Newbury Park (6-6, 3-3) bullied Pioneer starter Chris Devlin for six runs and seven hits in 1 2/3 innings before Leppard (3-1) came on to restore order.

Leppard, a junior right-hander who had pitched three innings Wednesday, retired the first 11 batters he faced. Only three Newbury Park runners reached base during Leppard’s stint.

“I kept expecting him to run out of gas, but he didn’t,” Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers said. “He was getting ahead of hitters and (the Panthers) were swinging at a lot of first pitches, so he didn’t have to throw a lot of pitches.”

Newbury Park starter Bryant Fick (2-3) also had a rough time, giving up seven runs and six hits in four innings. But the Panther bullpen also provided some relief in the person of Jason Patterson, who held the Pioneers to one run and one hit in the final three innings.

“Simi Valley battles so much, you never breathe easy until seven innings are in the book,” Newbury Park Coach Gary Fabricius said. “We are not playing good ball right now and you can’t expect to win in the Marmonte League unless you play seven innings of good ball.”

The Pioneers leave today for Florida and the Colonial baseball tournament. Both Scyphers and Fischer said Thursday’s win, on the eve of the trip, was an important confidence booster.

“We did not want to get on that plane with our heads down,” Scyphers said.

Added Fischer: “This give us some big momentum going into Florida.”