1993 TIMES BASEBALL: All-Ventura County Team : PLAYER & PITCHER OF THE YEAR : Charged-Up Battery : Bill Scheffels: Getting outs was in with the unflappable Simi Valley right-hander.

Go ahead, try to rattle Bill Scheffels.

Give it your best shot. The Simi Valley High pitcher dares you.

Esperanza found firsthand how unflappable Scheffels--The Times’ Ventura County pitcher of the year--is under pressure. The Aztecs appeared poised for a huge inning in the top of the first against Scheffels in the Southern Section Division I championship game at Anaheim Stadium.

Despite giving up only one hit to the first three batters, Scheffels surrendered three runs because of errors. The Aztecs’ Nos. 4, 5 and 6 hitters were due up with a 3-0 lead, none out and hungry for the kill.

Scheffels worry? Not for a second.

“I just concentrated on what I had to do,” he said. “I had to get outs.”

He did exactly that.

Scheffels retired the heart of Esperanza’s lineup to end the threat. Moreover, he allowed only two more Aztecs to reach base the rest of the game.

However, Scheffels’ courageous outing was not enough. The Pioneers’ offense never got untracked in the 3-0 defeat.

Still, Scheffels impressed.

“Bill pitched a great game,” Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers said. “We just didn’t play catch behind him.

“He was a great pitcher for us all season and he will be great for us next season.”

Indeed.

The junior right-hander was the dominant pitcher on the county’s premier staff.

Scheffels, 18, was 11-2 with a 1.16 earned-run average. Using a variety of wicked off-speed pitches and a crackling fastball, Scheffels struck out 67 in 72 innings.

He pitched the only no-hitter in Pioneer history, beating Pittsburg (Calif.), 4-0, in the first round of the High Sierra Classic on April 13 in Reno. Former Simi Valley standout Scott Radinsky, who is in his fourth year with the Chicago White Sox, had four one-hitters in 1986.

“I’m all business on the mound,” Scheffels said. “I go right at the hitter and challenge him . . . give him my best stuff.

“I try to strike out every batter. I feel like I’m going to win every game.”

Scheffels’ mind-set comes from pitching for such a gifted team. Perennial area power Simi Valley had its best season, earning a No. 1 ranking in the nation by USA Today for much of the campaign.

Being part of a staff that lost only one game en route to the Marmonte League title (13-1) and four games all season (27-4) encourages confidence. Scheffels never worried about the guys around him.

“I wouldn’t have won one game if it weren’t for my teammates,” he said. “I just threw the ball up there and let my defense do it for me.”

Scheffels said Scyphers did a lot for his confidence by selecting him to start the section title game.

“It made me feel good (Scyphers) knew I could go out and get the job done,” Scheffels said. “I had a rough first but I got through it.

“I feel real confident going into next year.”

While pleased with the Pioneers’ season, Scheffels is understandably disappointed about losing in the championship game. He vows to make things different next season.

“We would have felt like we didn’t accomplish much if we didn’t make it that far in the playoffs,” Scheffels said. “We accomplished every goal we wanted to but one--the most important one.

“But I have a good feeling about next season. I think we should be all right.”