Lancers Take Stab at Title and Win, 7-6 : Baseball: Magruder’s catch for final out ends Scyphers’ bid for ninth Marmonte League championship at Simi Valley.

As Jeff Magruder sprinted toward the center-field fence, more than the Marmonte League championship hung in the balance.

The Thousand Oaks High center fielder was tracking the potential final out in a game against Simi Valley--a game in which either team could claim a Marmonte League championship with a victory or risk missing the playoffs with a loss.

So as Curtis Miller’s drive soared over Magruder’s head and Jeff Michael raced toward home plate with the potential tying run, the overflow crowd at Thousand Oaks High held its collective breath.

The tension was broken by cheers when Magruder made an acrobatic over-the-shoulder catch to finish off a 7-6 Thousand Oaks victory.

“This was just a great high school baseball game to decide a league championship,” said Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers.

Thousand Oaks (18-8, 10-4) swept through the second half of the Marmonte schedule after losing four of its first seven league games.

“We didn’t think we had a chance at the break,” said Lancer junior Tyler Holmes, who hit a game-tying three-run home run in the fifth and drove in the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Because Royal lost to Newbury Park on Friday, Thousand Oaks finished in sole possession of first place.

Simi Valley (17-9, 9-5) finished in a four-way tie with Royal, Westlake and Camarillo for the second spot, with only two of those teams guaranteed spots in the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Trying for a ninth league title for Scyphers, who announced Wednesday that he was resigning at the end of the season, the Pioneers started the game miserably. They fell behind, 3-0, and could not get a baserunner against Thousand Oaks right-hander Tim Baron through three innings. But in the fourth, Simi Valley exploded for six runs before the Lancers could record an out.

The Pioneers scored three runs when Robert Comeau singled with the bases loaded and Magruder, playing right field, overran the ball, allowing all three runners to score.

After Casey Vermette drove in Comeau with a single, giving Simi Valley a 6-3 lead, Baron was pulled and Thousand Oaks Coach Jim Hansen brought in center fielder Ryan Lane (6-1), a curveball specialist.

In what would prove to be a fortuitous move, Magruder moved to center.

Simi Valley loaded the bases against Lane with a walk and a bunt single, but he got out of the jam by striking out the top three hitters in Simi Valley’s order.

Hansen said his scouts who watched Simi Valley play Royal on Wednesday reported that the Pioneers were struggling to hit curveballs.

“That’s obvious,” Scyphers said. “I think every high school hitter has trouble with curveballs.”

While Lane (6-1) took care of the Pioneers’ offense, shutting out Simi Valley and striking out seven in four innings, Tyler Holmes took care of the Lancers’ offense.

With runners at first and second and one out in the fifth, Holmes hit a first-pitch fastball from Simi Valley’s Neil Oberheide over the left-field fence, tying the game.

“He started me off the first two times with that same pitch,” Holmes said, “and I said, ‘Just show me that pitch one more time.’ ”

The Pioneers threatened to reclaim the lead in the top of the sixth, when Robert Gonzalez tried to steal home while the Lancers threw to second when Tim Nykoluk broke from first on a delayed steal. But Thousand Oaks responded perfectly, with catcher Steve Yeager firing to shortstop Mike Lauer, who threw back to Yeager in time to nail Gonzalez.

In the bottom of the inning, Ronnie Hanks led off with a single off reliever Bill Castonguay (3-4). He took second on a sacrifice and third on Ryan Holmes’ single. Tyler Holmes hit a single to center, driving in the go-ahead run.

In the seventh, Michael hit a one-out double. Cleanup hitter Brian Kavanagh struck out before Miller’s 360-foot drive to center.

“When it first came off the bat,” Magruder said, “I thought it was gone. I just had to turn around and sprint back and then find the ball. . . . I had blown a play in right field and I felt I owed my teammates one.”