Conejo Valley Plays Biggest Game

David Turner has never played on a winning baseball team.

Not at Agoura High, not in American Legion ball, not at Ventura College.

But for the last five weeks, Turner has found himself surrounded by talent. Loads of it. And suddenly, he is having a career summer.

Turner, a right-handed pitcher for an all-star team from Conejo Valley, will start today against Venezuela in the Big League Baseball World Series international championship game for 17- and 18-year-olds in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The game will be televised at 9 a.m. on ESPN2.

Turner was an average pitcher for Agoura High in 1996 and ‘97, finishing his two-year varsity career with a record of 11-15. His performance level dropped last season at Ventura College, where he was 1-6 with a 6.49 earned-run average.

Then came the summer and, since June, Turner has been anything but average. He led American Legion pitchers in the region with an 0.34 ERA, winning four of five decisions and striking out 62 in 41 innings.

After Agoura failed to make the Legion playoffs in July, Turner joined 14 other baseball players from seven Conejo Valley high schools to form a Big League team.

With run support from Kevin Howard of Westlake, Shea Johnson of Thousand Oaks, Joe Yingling of Camarillo and Wes Rasmussen of Moorpark, Turner has been unbeatable.

Turner is 5-0 with three saves and has allowed only six earned runs in 37 tournament innings.

“He’s a really good power pitcher for this age group,” Conejo Valley Coach Steve Henson said. “This has done so much for his confidence.”

Playing for a team like Conejo Valley would give any pitcher confidence. En route to the national World Series title, Conejo Valley outscored four opponents, 45-9, and has a batting average of .388.

Players attribute the team’s success to perfect chemistry.

“I’ve played on teams with all the talent in the world, but if you don’t play together, it doesn’t matter how good you are,” Johnson said. “You won’t win.”

Said Howard: “Usually when you’re thrown together this quickly, it takes some time [to come together as a team].”

The last time a team from the West played for a Big League World Series title was in 1980, the year most of Conejo Valley’s players were born.

“A lot of kids are on senior trips to places like Mazatlan right now, but we’re here in the World Series,” said Dave Perry, a pitcher and first baseman from Thousand Oaks who will play at Moorpark College next season. “It’s a much better memory.”