Leppard Revitalizes Simi Valley in Colonial Tournament

A high-kick delivery can be intimidating. A tricky pitch can induce an awkward swing. And a fastball that pops the catcher’s mitt is always a nice feature.

As any successful pitcher can attest, however, control is the key to victory.

Hitting spots is the difference between champagne baths and early showers. Keep the ball down, and the earned-run average also will sink. Get the ball up, and the warning track will have to be dragged by the third inning.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Trevor Leppard was named the most valuable player of the prestigious Colonial tournament in Orlando, Fla., last week. Not only did he hit his spots, the Pioneer reliever was given the ball in the right spots.

Leppard (pronounced Lep-PARD), a junior right-hander, came to the rescue of Simi Valley High’s ailing pitching staff like an ambulance with sirens blaring.

Leppard won all three games in which he appeared and led the Pioneers (12-5) to their second Colonial title in four tries. Leppard’s three wins tied a tournament record.

He picked up Simi Valley when the Pioneers had sunk to the lowest point in their recent history. On April 8, two days before Simi Valley departed for Florida, the Southern Section ruled standout pitcher Bill Scheffels ineligible because of a violation of transfer rules. The Pioneers lost three games that day; they forfeited two victories in which Scheffels had pitched and dropped an 6-5 decision to Agoura, which entered the season with a 14-game league losing streak.

“It was the worst we’ve ever been down,” Coach Mike Scyphers said. “We had reached our lowest point.”

The Pioneers came back with an 8-6 win over Newbury Park the next day but found themselves in trouble again April 14 in a first-round game of the Colonial tournament.

Winter Park (Fla.) held a 5-2 lead and had loaded the bases with none out in the second inning when Leppard, used solely as a short reliever in four previous appearances, was summoned from the bullpen. He retired the Wildcats’ No. 3 hitter on a pop fly and induced the cleanup hitter into an inning-ending double play.

“They have bases loaded with no outs and two or three pitches later we’re out of the inning,” Scyphers said. “That was the turning point in the game.”

Leppard retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed only one hit in six innings of Simi Valley’s 8-7 win.

The next day, Leppard worked 2 2/3 innings of one-hit relief as Simi Valley went nine innings before dispatching Whiteville (N.C.), 11-10. The loss snapped Whiteville’s 32-game winning streak.

Bill Treadway’s one-hitter the following day provided Leppard with a much-needed break during Simi Valley’s 3-1 win over Lakeland (N.Y.) in a semifinal.

In the final Saturday, Leppard combined with Treadway on a 10-inning, one-hitter in Simi Valley’s 1-0 win over Boone High of Orlando (23-4). Leppard pitched four innings of one-hit relief, striking out five.

In the tournament, Leppard allowed three hits in 12 2/3 innings. He struck out 11, walked seven and had an ERA of 1.10. Leppard has allowed 18 hits in 24 innings this season and has 31 strikeouts.

Leppard (6-foot, 175 pounds), a backup middle linebacker on the football team last fall, does not possess overwhelming size or an overpowering fastball (82 m.p.h.)., but he utilizes pinpoint control and a no-nonsense attitude to baffle hitters.

“I really don’t think about anything else out there but throwing strikes,” Leppard said. “I just want to get ahead of the hitters.”

His confidence is as impressive as his control. Although his debut in the tournament was a bases-loaded, no-out situation, Leppard did not waver.

“I wasn’t thinking about getting out of the jam by allowing just a run,” he said. “I was there to shut them down, and I didn’t expect them to score.”

Leppard brings a winning approach to any situation, according to Scyphers. For instance, a teammate handed Leppard the controls to a video football game last week in which he faced a sizable deficit against Simi Valley assistant Brian Maloney.

Maloney appeared to secure a victory with a touchdown in the waning moments, but Leppard smiled. “You left me with too much time, coach,” he said. “I’m going to beat you.”

Sure enough, Leppard engineered a game-winning drive. “He knew he was going to win,” Scyphers said. “That’s the way he is on the mound too.”