Apparently a little cold can really heat...

Apparently a little cold can really heat up one’s game.

Verdugo Hills High first baseman Matt Ward had a mild cold last week, so Coach John Vera kept him in the dugout on defense and inserted him as the designated hitter in a Northern Conference game against Hollywood.

Ward responded by having the game of his career. He went four for four, including three homers and a double.

After the game, Vera was a bit curious. “I wonder what will happen when he’s healthy,” Vera said.

Two days later, Vera got his answer. Ward went hitless in three at-bats.

Offense: Grant, Monroe and Poly each have eight players batting .300 or better. . . .

Simi Valley’s Aaron Fischer has four home runs and 13 runs batted in in his past four games. He had one home run in the Pioneers’ previous 10 games.

Pitching: Trevor Leppard of Simi Valley gave up one hit and no runs in 8 2/3 innings of relief last week. Leppard had no decision in three innings of a 6-5 Pioneer loss to Agoura on Wednesday, but he earned the decision in an 8-6 win over Newbury Park on Thursday after throwing 5 2/3 innings of one-hit relief. Leppard retired the first 11 batters he faced. Newbury Park’s Jason Patterson allowed Simi Valley one run and one hit in three innings of relief in the same game. . . .

Van Nuys’ Jaime Chacon has given up only four earned runs in 23 1/3 innings. Chacon, the Wolves’ top pitcher, has struck out 20 but has walked 17.

Softball: Krista Gomez leads Alemany in virtually every offensive category: at-bats (49), runs (24), hits (29), doubles (four), triples (two), home runs (two), stolen bases (12), RBIs (18) and batting average (.592). Gomez, who set the Southern Section 3-A Division career record for home runs last season with 16, is closing in on another. Gomez’s 18 home runs place her fifth on the all-time list. Charter Oaks’ Gina Karpinski set the record of 23 homers in 1982-86.

Boys’ volleyball: Monroe’s Jean Maquesemay took advantage of two five-game matches last week to post big numbers. Maquesemay had 36 kills and 12 blocks in a win over Birmingham. He was even tougher against Van Nuys, with 40 kills, 13 blocks and 11 aces, but the Vikings lost. . . . Steve Cha of Grant had 27 kills and 14 blocks in a four-game win over Sherman Oaks CES and he recorded 24 kills in a four-game win over Poly last week.

Camarillo set a school record for hitting with 72 kills in a five-game Marmonte League win over Thousand Oaks on March 31. Brady Andresen led the Scorpions with 22 kills. . . . Hye Kwon of Birmingham needed only three games Wednesday to compile 53 assists as the Braves swept Canoga Park . . . . Dan Nash had 31 kills and Jeff Fischer added 72 assists for Chatsworth in a four-game victory over Kennedy last Monday.

Track and field: The Thousand Oaks girls’ 400-meter relay team of Wendy Wendelstein, Lisa Gillette, Heather Hanger and Marion Jones moved to 10th on the all-time regional list when it timed 47.88 seconds to finish fifth in the Arcadia Invitational on Saturday night. . . .

Fillmore runners have the region’s top marks this season in four events. Nikki Shaw heads the regional list in the girls’ 800 (2:12.66) and 1,600 (4:53.85), and Maribella Aparicio has the top time in the 3,200 (10:46.16). Joel Lopez leads the boys in the 800 with a time of 1:54.10.

Regional Baseball Top 10

Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Lst. Rk Wk Team League Record 1 2 Channel Islands Marmonte 14-1 2 3 Hart Foothill 11-1 3 9 Notre Dame Mission 9-2-1 4 7 Taft West Valley 9-2-1 5 5 Granada Hills North Valley 9-3 6 6 Buena Channel 8-2 7 1 Simi Valley Marmonte 9-5 8 8 Alemany Mission 10-4-1 9 NR Royal Marmonte 8-3 10 4 Crespi Mission 9-4

NR--Not ranked.

Statistics current through Sunday.