Pioneers Win It for Their Coach : High school baseball: Simi Valley rallies to defeat Thousand Oaks, 4-3, then shows allegiance to Scyphers.

The members of the Simi Valley High baseball team sat behind second base after their 4-3 Marmonte League victory over Thousand Oaks on Wednesday, waving their black caps and yelling “Scyph!”

It was all a tribute to Mike Scyphers, who coached the team until Tuesday, when he was removed pending a police investigation into possible financial and disciplinary improprieties. Scyphers had quietly slipped beyond the outfield fence early in the game.

Scyphers watched assistants Russ Stephans and Scott Radinsky lead the Pioneers to a come-from-behind victory. Needing to win to stay in the thick of the Marmonte League playoff race, Simi Valley did it on Ryan Hankins’ RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. “This is pretty big,” Hankins said. “The next three games are for (Scyphers).”

Most players refused comment on the allegations against Scyphers. After the game, however, they all signed a petition saying they wanted Scyphers back. A large black No. 2, Scyphers’ number, was posted next to the lineup on the back wall of the dugout.

The black hats--the players were symbolically mourning the loss of Scyphers--were courtesy of junior varsity Coach Doug Marion. To get 50 black caps on such short notice, Marion had to order them from a company in Ontario. He drove halfway there and met a delivery person.

Stephans said the team will wear the hats for the remainder of the season. Stephans added that he is prepared to coach the Pioneers for the final three regular-season games and into the playoffs.

“We’re going to coach the rest of the season,” Stephans said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs. All I know is we have practice tomorrow and play Camarillo on Friday. And we’ve got next week. I’m going to be here every day and Scott is going to be here every day. I’m planning on making out the lineup the rest of the year until they tell me different. If they tell me different, I’d love to see him come back out.”

Stephans said he didn’t know what Scyphers might have done to cause such a stir. “I find it hard to believe he’s involved in any wrongdoing,” Stephans said. “He’s a great man. He’s got a great family. He loves the game of baseball and I just can’t see him doing anything to jeopardize that.”

Parents circulated a petition during the game in support of Scyphers. At least 18 parents signed the petition, in which they indicated they had no problems with Scyphers’ disciplinary tradition known as “The Block,” where players bid for the right to administer a single paddling to teammates who break rules.

“I’m really disappointed,” Stephans said. “It’s his whole life. Whether he’s getting railroaded or they have it out for him I don’t know, but if there’s $10 unaccounted for and they hang him out for that, that’s brutal.”

Some players wore the Nos. 2 and 30 on parts of their uniforms. No. 30 belonged to senior pitcher Bill Scheffels, who dropped out of school this week rather than face an expulsion hearing for allegedly making a prank bomb threat at school.

Two uniformed Simi Valley police officers were at a portion of the game, but they said they were there merely as spectators. “I’m just sick of it,” Hankins said. “(Scyphers) didn’t do anything wrong.”

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