Hometown Pride

Just when Joe Yingling thought he couldn’t be prouder of his son, the 17-year-old Camarillo High student pounded a three-run homer to tie the final game in the Big League Baseball World Series.

It was a pivotal moment for the 15-member team, which marched on to a 10-9 victory Saturday over its Venezuelan rivals, and one that will forever live in the mind of the elder Yingling.

“Did you see his face when he saw it go over?” he exclaimed amid the cheers, whoops and hollers. “He knew it was gone.”

Yingling and his wife, Terry, joined about 60 other parents and fans of the Conejo Valley team at Lamppost Pizza in Newbury Park to watch the game, which was televised live from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Up until the end, when Kevin Howard cracked a fly ball to shallow left field and sent Danny Greene in for the winning run, the game could have gone either way.

Marilyn Wittmer, grandmother of third baseman Shea Johnson, said she munched on Danishes to calm her nerves and protect her manicure.

“I’m not even hungry, but it’s either one of these or my nails, “ she said, pointing to her half-eaten pastry. “But I tell you, watching this makes me so nervous I almost feel sick.”

Saturday’s win, which sent parents and fans into a frenzy of loud cheers and tight embraces, was the culmination of not just a hard-fought march to the top, but also of lifetimes spent perfecting swings and shagging grounders.

The squad, which first stepped onto a field together six weeks ago, has played and won 18 games in the last month on fields from California to Florida.

Team members were on a 15-game winning streak going into Saturday’s game and according to parents, their sons were riding high and confident that they would win again.

“I was surprised at how calm he was,” said Yingling, who spoke to his son Friday night. “He said they all wanted to get out on the field and take it to them.”

But it was going to be a tough game against a team that muscled its way through the ranks with a crew of heavy hitters, stellar fielders and a bullpen full of pitchers like lanky left-hander Hermes Cosscorrosa.

After taking the lead in the first inning, Conejo Valley fell behind and trailed up until Joe Yingling--who was recently drafted by the Detroit Tigers--cracked the pivotal home run in the sixth inning to tie the game 9 to 9.

“We needed somebody to step up and get a hit and Joe was the one,” said game-winning pitcher Tyler Johnson. “That just sparked everything up. We were all really fired up after that.”

Added manager Steve Henson, who is also a Times sportswriter, “That hit made it a new ballgame.”

The top of the seventh--and final--inning, when the Venezuelans took their turn at bat, was the most nerve-racking period for the hometown fans.

“Come on, guys, three up, three down,” said someone near the back of the restaurant.

“Let’s put ‘em away,” said another.

It was up to pitcher Johnson, a senior at Newbury Park High School, to see the team members through their final inning of defense before they would get to step up to the plate.

Four batters later, with no runs scored, 17-year-old Johnson was walking back to the dugout with his team, slamming high-fives in anticipation of what turned out to be the final inning for the 1998 world championship Conejo Valley team.

But their win was by no means a foregone conclusion.

The first two batters popped out before second baseman Greene blooped a single to right field. Shea Johnson’s single followed, putting Greene on second.

With two outs, runners on first and second and the game on the line, shortstop Howard--who batted .500 in the series--stepped up to the plate, fully aware of what the next pitches could mean to him, his teammates and Ventura County baseball fans.

“It was a good situation to be in,” said a modest Howard after the game. “I was nervous, though, and I had to forget about the situation and just do it.”

Then Howard cracked an off-speed pitch to shallow left and drove Greene in to win the game.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime deal for everybody,” said Henson. “It’s hard to describe.”

And for the fans back home, Howard’s hit brought an end to the weeks of nervous anticipation.

“Oh my Lord, I can’t believe they did it, I mean I can believe they did it, I never doubted them, but they did it,” said Wittmer as she darted around the restaurant hugging friends and strangers alike.

Although the team had an opportunity to tour the Florida Marlins’ locker room and maybe meet a few players, they all headed to the airport to catch a red-eye back home.

Come Monday, most have to start preparing for school.

And that was just fine with Joe Yingling Sr., who said he wished he could have been with his son in Florida.

“I am so proud of him,” he said. “I can’t wait until he steps off that plane.”

* GAME STORY: C12