Ennis Enjoys the View With Panorama City

This was supposed to be a breakthrough year for John Ennis.

Following in the giant footsteps of former Monroe High pitching aces Joel Zamudio and Wayne Nix, both high-round selections in the amateur draft in recent years, Ennis has finally broken through to become one of the area’s dominant pitchers. It just took a few months longer than expected.

Ennis is a big reason--6-foot-4, 185 pounds--Panorama City (21-5) qualified for the District 20 double-elimination playoffs that began Tuesday. Panorama City opens tournament play today.

Ennis led District 20 with seven victories, and had a 0.78 earned-run average with 51 strikeouts and 14 walks in 45 innings.

Ennis’ numbers weren’t embarrassing his sophomore season this spring at Monroe, just ordinary. He finished with a 5-7 record and an ERA just over 3.00.

So what’s been the difference the past two months? According to Ennis, the improvement can be traced to the talent around him.

Panorama City includes teammates from Monroe along with several players from L.A. Baptist and St. Genevieve. L.A. Baptist won the Alpha League title last season with a high-powered offense that has carried over into the legion season. Infielder Seth Barkley, from L.A. Baptist, is second in the region with 41 runs batted in.

“I feel a lot better when I know I’ve got guys who can hit and score more than a couple of runs,” Ennis said. “I’ve got a lot less to worry about on the mound. Those guys from L.A. Baptist can hit.”

Ennis has been helping his own cause. He has raised his average more than 100 points, to .366.

He gives most of the credit to Panorama City assistant coach Bobby Kite.

“He was around last year, but I didn’t take time to learn as much as I could from him,” Ennis said. “He’s taught me a lot about all parts of the game, not just pitching.”

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In today’s first-round playoff game against Las Virgenes East, Ennis will be facing some of the hottest hitters on one of the most powerful offenses in District 20.

Las Virgenes East is led by outfielder Brian Fatur, who will be a senior at Calabasas. Fatur, who led the Coyotes with a .453 average, is second in the region with a .551 average in legion play.

Making almost as big an impact is Chris Cicuto, second on the team with a .492 average while playing four positions.

Cicuto, a recent graduate of Agoura, is just one of two Chargers on the Las Virgenes East squad. Las Virgenes split into two teams this season, giving Agoura its own legion team, but Cicuto and Manny Mosqueda chose to stay with Calabasas-based Las Virgenes East.

“I’ve played with them since my freshman year,” Cicuto said. “These are guys who know what it takes to win, [Calabasas has won the past two Frontier League titles]. We struggled to try and find that at Agoura.”

Las Virgenes East’s success comes as a bit of a surprise to Coach Scott Drootin. His top two pitchers heading into the legion season, Tanner Trosper and Jared Sandler, have pitched just three games combined. Trosper has not pitched because of a sore arm and Sandler recently quit the team.

But Las Virgenes East received a lift from Ricky Stockton, who will be a senior at Calabasas. Stockton has a 5-1 record with a 1.04 ERA and will face Ennis today.

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Fatur is far from the only hitter among District 20 playoff teams who have continued success from the high school season. Valley North shortstop Joe Tillmon is hitting .526 with 29 runs and a region-high 25 stolen bases. He batted .424 with 34 RBIs at Chatsworth last spring. Tillmon was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 47th round last month. . . . Woodland Hills West first baseman Woody Cliffords, who will be a junior at El Camino Real, is hitting a region-high .581 with a slugging percentage of .887. Cliffords is one of nine Woodland Hills West players hitting above .300 with at least 40 at-bats.