Trip Up the Coast Results in Trophy for Thousand Oaks

Nothing like a few days on the Central Coast for recreation and restoration.

Especially when you come back with a championship trophy.

Thousand Oaks High left for the San Luis Obispo tournament last week sorely in need of a change. The Lancers were coming off a devastating 1-0 loss to Westlake and a humiliating 10-2 loss to Camarillo.

Three victories later, the Lancers (17-5, 7-2 in league play) are ready to regroup and gain momentum for the playoffs.

Greg Simonetti (6-1), Chris Cordeiro (5-2) and Tracy Goebel (6-1) each pitched a complete game and Adam Leavitt continued his torrid hitting.

The turnaround coincided with the return of Coach Bill Sizemore, who missed the Camarillo game because he was suspended for comments he made after the loss to Westlake.

“[Sizemore] came back and told the kids to put the losses behind them and start the season from this day forward,” assistant Ed Kitchen said.

Thousand Oaks defeated Sonoma Valley, 8-5, in the first round behind Simonetti’s 10 strikeouts and Goebel’s triple and double. Next came a 10-0 victory over Arroyo Grande and a dominant performance by Cordeiro, setting up the final against San Francisco St. Ignatius Prep.

Goebel, a senior left-hander, pitched out of several jams and hit two doubles in a 4-1 victory.

Leavitt was chosen most valuable player after going six for 10 with two home runs and a triple.

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Royal’s pitching staff suffered early this season when four pitchers were ruled academically ineligible. The suffering has continued in the form of repeated shellings.

That all changed Saturday when Doug Humphreys pitched a no-hitter against Loyola in the first game of a nonleague doubleheader.

Humphreys, a senior, allowed only two baserunners in a 10-0 victory called after five innings because of the mercy rule. Royal (14-9) also won the second game.

Lack of pitching has caused the usually powerful Highlanders to slip to 3-6 in the Marmonte League. But it hasn’t caused senior Brian Lipman to slip.

Lipman hit two home runs against Loyola to give him nine this season and a school-record 29 in his three-year career. Lipman has 38 runs batted in this season and 121 in his career.