AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL / JEFF FLETCHER : Heart-to-Heart Gets Team Beating

Back when his team’s record was 5-6, Las Virgenes Coach Kon Slettedahl gathered the troops for a little powwow.

Fellas, he said, we ought to be much better than 5-6? What gives? One by one, each player spoke. More focus, they said. More intensity, they said.

Eleven games later, Las Virgenes is 11 victories better and in the District 20 playoffs.

“I’m real proud of these kids,” Slettedahl said. “They now believe in themselves. I’m not sure they did for a while.”

Las Virgenes (16-6), which beat Verdugo Hills in the first round of the playoffs Tuesday, lost to Valley North, Woodland Hills West and Woodland Hills East the first time through its Western Division schedule. The next time through, Las Virgenes beat them all.

Last Wednesday, Las Virgenes beat Valley North, the eventual division champion, 10-4, with four home runs, including a grand slam by Billy Hoover. A few weeks earlier, it beat Woodland Hills West, 11-1.

“We slaughtered West,” Slettedahl said. “That was the first time I’ve ever seen them slaughtered.”

Las Virgenes, which draws most of its players from Calabasas and Agoura highs, has been led offensively by Hoover (.371, four home runs, 31 runs batted in), David Jacobs (.464, 21 RBIs), Jason Warren (.450), Bhret Haessig (.500) and Kevin Sass (.397).

Joe Smith (4-2, 2.80 earned-run average) and Warren (4-0, 3.28) have been the top pitchers. Crespi’s Keith Evans is 4-2 with a 2.62 ERA, but Las Virgenes will be without him in the District 20 playoffs because he is vacationing in Hawaii.

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Playoff picture: In the final week of the regular season, three teams--Ventura (13-3), Santa Barbara (11-4) and Westlake-Royal (12-5)--are battling for first place and District 16’s lone berth in the Area 6 playoffs.

Ventura will play Santa Barbara on Thursday and Westlake-Royal on Saturday. Additionally, Santa Barbara has a doubleheader Saturday against Newbury Oaks.

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New ballgame: With an 11-5 victory Sunday against Woodland Hills West in what turned out to be the Western Division title game, Valley North earned a two-game season sweep of its rival.

It might be particularly sweet for Valley North, which draws its players from Chatsworth High, because Woodland Hills West includes mostly players who attend El Camino Real. Chatsworth lost, 7-6, to El Camino Real in the City Section 4-A Division title game last month at Dodger Stadium.

But Valley North Coach Pete Redfern puts little stock in the revenge motive.

“Now it’s Valley North vs. Woodland Hills West,” said Redfern, pitching coach for the Chancellors. “They got us this year at Dodger Stadium, but American Legion is a whole new year. Our kids put Dodger Stadium behind them as soon as we left the ballpark. We don’t even talk about Dodger Stadium anymore.”

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Not so fast: A problem with his escrow prevented Woodland Hills West Coach Don Hornback from leaving town last week as he planned. Hornback, who is moving to San Antonio despite leading one of the best teams in District 20, was expected to coach the team in the playoffs on Tuesday and perhaps today, then turn the club over to assistant Bob Marks.

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Eligibility question: If you were wondering about the state ruling that made four area players ineligible last week, you are not alone.

In short, this is what happened: Van Nuys East’s Jim Landress and Verdugo Hills’ Dan Bir, Yves Brancheau and John Workman were declared ineligible. During a routine pre-playoff check, officials cited the Legion school enrollment rule. The combined enrollment of the high schools from which a Legion team draws players cannot exceed 3,600.

Van Nuys East draws from Notre Dame and Grant highs. When Landress, who played for Van Nuys East last year, transferred from Notre Dame to Granada Hills, the additional school pushed Van Nuys East over the 3,600 mark.

The Verdugo Hills players are from St. Francis and were ruled ineligible because Glendale joined Crescenta Valley this year as the team’s feeder schools.

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Odds and ends: Sunland Tujunga’s Rich Lucero hit two grand slams this season, one in the first game and one in the last. . . . Juan Zavala of North Hollywood drove in the winning run with a double that ended a 13-inning marathon on Sunday, giving North Hollywood a 10-9 victory against Glendale. . . . Valley North’s Mark Lopez hit three home runs in three games last week.