HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION PREVIEWS : MARMONTE LEAGUE : Agoura

COACH: Bart Morefield, 3rd season

LAST SEASON: 7-17; tied for 7th in league at 3-11.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Chargers have many players capable of playing multiple positions, so Morefield figures to shuffle the lineup. A strength is above-average pitching. Senior right-hander Jason Warren, a second-team all-league selection last season who was 5-7 with 58 strikeouts and a 3.13 earned-run average in 76 innings, is the likely No. 1. Joining him are senior right-handers Joe Smith, who pitched and played first base, and Josh Markiewicz (.264 batting average), who will pitch and play outfield. Junior right-handers Brian Burris and Dean Turner, both hard throwers up from the junior varsity, figure to do their share. “We haven’t figured it all out yet,” Morefield said. Junior center fielder Kevin Sass batted .355. The remaining positions are filled with several of last season’s reserves. Senior Chris Vicioso started occasionally at first base and outfield. Senior Bryan Bartlett will play third base, and seniors Jason Sarff and Josh Brashier are outfielders. Brashier also might pitch. Sophomore outfielder John Dalrymple hit a home run for his first varsity hit. Sophomore catcher and switch-hitter Matt Gershon, who batted sparingly last season, will enter the lineup. Newcomers include sophomore Mike Dianella and freshman Chris Cicuto.

OUTLOOK: Agoura should have better-than-average pitching, but defense is a question mark. Many starting positions are still up for grabs. Warren, Markiewicz, Sass and Smith will provide leadership. “Our goal is to battle for the playoffs,” Morefield said.

Camarillo

COACH: Jack Willard, 4th season

LAST SEASON: 13-10; 6th in league at 6-8.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Willard claims the Scorpions will have one of the best outfields in Ventura County. The anchor is senior center fielder George Lopez, an All-County selection who batted .306 last season. Junior Jake Spahr (.258), who moves from first base to right field, and sophomore Matt Buttell, a right-hander who will do some relief pitching, solidify things. “Our outfield will be the strength of our team,” Willard said. Senior Colby Keener, who moved into a starting role late last season and batted .288, is among the county’s best catchers. Junior shortstop Bennett Wutkee is improved. All of the above are returning starters. Junior Robert Smith, who batted better than .400 to lead the junior varsity, can play outfield and catcher and will be used as a designated hitter. Senior Jeff Milford and junior Erik Jue are dueling for the second base job. Junior Jay Nirenberg, the school’s quarterback, will play first base. Either senior Greg Raap, a reserve last season, or talented freshman Nathan Kaup will play third. The pitching staff is green. Senior right-hander D.J. Moss, who logged all of two innings, is the only returning varsity member. Freshman left-hander Mike Corral has plenty of talent and could emerge as the staff ace. “He just understands how to pitch,” Willard said. Junior right-hander Aaron Hanel is up from the junior varsity.

OUTLOOK: Pitching is a glaring weakness. Good thing the defense appears solid. “We really have not pitched well over the past couple of years,” Willard said. “We’ve had some moments, but as far as getting anything consistent, we’ve struggled with that.” Some telling statistics: Camarillo logged only five complete games last season and the staff’s strikeout leader had only 29. Both totals were league lows. Camarillo will join Simi Valley in the High Sierra tournament in Reno in April.

Channel Islands

COACH: Al Tarazon, 1st season

LAST SEASON: 21-7; tied for second in league at 9-5.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Raiders have a big hole to fill on the mound. Lost to graduation is right-hander Angel Aragon, the Ventura County pitcher of the year. Aragon, now at Cal State Long Beach, recorded 10 of the team’s 21 wins, and others who graduated accounted for nine more. The staff’s best is junior right-hander Rene Sanchez, who was 2-1 with a 5.38 ERA in 18 innings. Senior right-hander Cesar Puga had a 5.21 ERA in 15 innings of relief. Junior right-hander Victor Bernal was ineligible last season. Senior Peter Hernandez, who batted .333 before suffering a broken finger, will start in center field and be used as a reliever. Returning in the field are senior second baseman Sam Monroy (.300), who will bat leadoff, and junior third baseman Ysidro Alfaro (.328), who is improving rapidly and will bat third. Senior Fred Griscavage, a reserve last season, “is like a brick wall” at catcher, Tarazon said. However, Griscavage batted only .214. Senior shortstop Bobby Peterson (.286), a utility player, and senior left fielder Adrian Castellon move into starting roles. Junior first baseman James Rodriguez, ineligible last season, is an excellent defensive player and the team’s best power hitter. Senior right fielder Brian Ortiz batted .266 in limited duty.

OUTLOOK: Tarazon, formerly coach at Pasadena High of the Pacific League, will stress defense and aggressive offense. “My philosophy is: Put as much pressure on the opponent as possible,” he said. That will translate into plenty of attempts to steal. “We’ll be quick,” he said. Hitting could be a weakness. Channel Islands will defend its title in the Westside tournament.

Newbury Park

COACH: Gary Fabricius, 7th season

LAST SEASON: 13-11; 4th in league at 8-6.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior shortstop David Lamb (6 feet 2, 165 pounds), the American Legion’s national player of the year last summer for World Series champion Newbury Oaks, has signed with Pepperdine and is ranked third nationally among high school players by Baseball America magazine. Lamb, a switch-hitter, batted. 297 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in last season but hit .452 in American Legion play. “All he’s gotta do is relax and play ball,” Fabricius said. Senior right-hander Tim Farris (7-3, 2.52 ERA) is the staff ace and also will play either first or third. Junior Keith Smith, who will seek a Division I scholarship as a quarterback in the fall, moves from second base to outfield and will remain the leadoff batter. Smith also has expressed a desire to pitch and Fabricius is listening. “We clocked him at 85 m.p.h.,” the coach said. Junior Richard Adams, a varsity running back, will join Smith in the outfield. Senior Daniel Kadosono, a utility player and designated hitter, is among the team’s best hitters. Newcomers include junior right-hander Ray Clinton, who was 7-1 for the 17-2 junior varsity. Sophomore Kesley Anderson was the junior varsity’s No. 2 pitcher and junior Jeff Bennett was the starting catcher. Infielders include Adam Greenberg and Shawn Adams. Greenberg is a senior, Adams a junior. Outfielders include senior Stuart McGugan, juniors Brian Collins and Trevor Coville, and sophomore Bill Sperry, a transfer from Thousand Oaks.

OUTLOOK: Lamb is the class of the county, and Farris is among the league’s best pitchers. The Panthers, however, with only four seniors, have an inexperienced supporting cast. “We think we have a good mix to be competitive,” Fabricius said. “We’re gonna be among the top three.”

Royal

COACH: Dan Maye, 4th season

LAST SEASON: 20-7; 1st in league at 11-3.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The graduation of catcher Shane Slayton (.529, eight home runs, 49 RBIs) and shortstop Dave Landaker (.546) creates a void in both power and leadership. Experience lies in the outfield. Senior Eugene Strojek (.275, 12 stolen bases), recovering from off-season knee surgery, moves from center to right. Senior David Brown (.293, 12 RBIs, nine steals), a three-year varsity member, moves from left to center. Junior left fielder Brian Fernandez moved up from the junior varsity with five games remaining. Senior third baseman Mike Wolford batted only .225 but is a solid third baseman. Senior Brian Del Monte moves into a starting role at first base. Junior shortstop Joel Mellinger is a newcomer to the school, and second base is up for grabs between seniors Donald Martinez and Jack Kocur, a standout water polo player who has not played baseball since his freshman year. Junior utility player Mike Boggs, a transfer from Chaminade, can play infield, outfield and pitcher and can be used as a designated hitter. Senior right-hander Keith Loitz (1-0, 4.33 ERA in 19 innings), who made 11 appearances, is the only returning pitcher. Junior right-handers Maki Kramer and David Vicari, up from the junior varsity, are both reliable, Maye said. Senior Charlie Maciel was Slayton’s backup, but sophomore Bennie Lemos, the starter on the frosh-soph team, is challenging for the catching job.

OUTLOOK: Royal is inexperienced, but the newcomers are very good, Maye said, and next season they will be even better. “Right now, we’re trying to get everybody used to playing with each other,” he said. “The biggest obstacle is figuring out who is going to be our leader.” Royal won the league title last season by virtue of two forfeits by Simi Valley.

Simi Valley

COACH: Mike Scyphers, 15th season

LAST SEASON: 17-11; tied for second in league at 9-5.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: From dugout to bullpen, the Pioneers, ranked second nationally by USA Today, are bulging with talent and experience. Senior right-handers Bill Treadway and Trevor Leppard, and hard-throwing junior right-hander Bill Scheffels return to head a staff unmatched by any area team. Treadway (6-1, 2.86) has 17 victories in his career. Relief ace Leppard (7-3, 3.67) has drawn the interest of several Division I schools. Scheffels (6-feet-3, 190) was 2-1 last season before being declared ineligible after transferring from Alemany. Also itching to pitch are junior varsity graduates Nathan Celusta, who hurled a no-hitter last season, and Kary Kozlowski, both right-handers. “There just won’t be enough innings to go around,” Scyphers said. Seven position players return. Senior center fielder Kevin Nykoluk, Cal-Hi State sophomore and junior player of the year, batted .422 with team-high totals of 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. Senior right fielder Aaron Whitley (.412) scored a team-high 30 runs. Senior left fielder Jason Alcala (.341) played in every game. Around the horn: third baseman Ryan Hankins (.428), shortstop Ryan Briggs (.358) and second baseman Britten Pond (.364)--all returnees. Senior Scott Miller, Hankins’ backup last season, moves to first base where he will split time with Scheffels. Senior catcher Jason Houchen saw considerable action last season.

OUTLOOK: On pitching alone, the Pioneers could be overpowering. But the addition of a solid and experienced defense and an explosive offense justifies Simi Valley’s national ranking. Then there’s tradition: Simi Valley has won eight league titles under Scyphers, including five in the last eight years. Last season, the Pioneers were 23-5 on the field and finished first. However, Simi Valley forfeited two games because of Scheffels’ ineligibility. The Pioneers then were stripped of the league title for using another ineligible player.

Thousand Oaks

COACH: Jim Hansen, 19th season

LAST SEASON: 4-21-1; tied for 7th in league at 3-11.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior center fielder Jamal Nichols could be the fastest thing in spikes on any area diamond. Nichols batted .311 last season and also played for the Newbury Oaks team that captured the American Legion World Series championship. “He might be the best athlete in the league,” Hansen said. Three other starters return: senior right fielder Andy Wilson (.236), junior shortstop Matt Elam (.295) and senior Clint Harris, who will pitch, play first base and be used as a designated hitter. Harris batted .325 and was 1-7 on the mound. The Lancers had trouble finding a good catcher last season, but they now have two to choose from: senior Buzzy Ketchum, a part-time starter who is recovering from an ankle injury, and senior Brad Cohn, a transfer from Camarillo who also will be used as a designated hitter. Senior Josh Silverstein (.290) will play third. Junior Jason Bazo will play in the outfield and junior Greg Aguilar will play second base. Harris, the No. 1 pitcher, might serve as closer. Starters could include junior right-hander Peter Lauer--a starting guard on the basketball team--sophomore right-hander Tim Baron, senior left-hander Brian Downing and senior right-hander Ryan Glass.

OUTLOOK: Thousand Oaks has a long way to go to be a contender, but the Lancers appear to have solidified their defense. Pitching is the biggest question mark; Lauer and Baron are untested.

Westlake

COACH: Rich Herrera, 5th season

LAST SEASON: 13-10; 5th in league at 7-7.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Only four players return, one a starter. So, competition is keen for starting jobs. “We tell our seniors they’re not guaranteed a spot, they have to earn it,” Herrera said. “And we have some pretty good juniors battling for spots.” Returnees include senior catcher Brew Johnson, who started toward the end of the season and batted better than .300. Johnson also will be used as a designated hitter. Seniors Jason Ickovitz (second base), Jason Teahan (outfield) and Rob Murray (first base) move into starting roles. Senior outfielder Steve Klein, a transfer from L.A. Baptist, is promising. “He might do some damage,” Herrera said. Other newcomers include junior shortstop Scott Morris, junior third baseman Charlie Hirsh and junior outfielder Brandon Zimmerman, all good players up from the junior varsity. Junior catcher Joe Pagnelli will see plenty of action. Junior first baseman Mike Hayes was the junior varsity’s best hitter. The pitching staff is green but promising. “It’s the strongest part of our team,” Herrera said. Right-handers Chris Flanagan (junior) and Todd Singleton (sophomore) are the likely starters and junior Rick Davidson is the reliever.

OUTLOOK: Westlake is about as inexperienced as Herrera can remember. But he is confident. “I honestly think we can battle for third place,” he said. “The key will be our defense.” It could stand improvement. The Warriors made 77 errors last season.