SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PREVIEWS : Marmonte League

Camarillo

COACH: Jack Willard, 1st year

LAST SEASON: 12-13; tied for 4th in league at 5-7.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Willard was the coach of the girls’ softball team until he accepted the baseball coaching position this season. He takes over a young team that has only three returning starters. Matt Tackett (.358) is a returning all-league first baseman who was also 3-3 with a 3.61 earned-run average. “He is outstanding offensively and defensively,” Willard said. Mike Muncy, a junior shortstop, is another returning starter and catcher Mitch King was a part-time starter in the outfield last year. The rest of the players are primarily from last year’s junior varsity. Senior Eric Raba, a 6-2 right-hander, is inexperienced but will be Camarillo’s top pitcher. “He’s our mainstay,” Willard said. Juniors compose the remainder of the pitching staff: Tajah Merrill, Fred Tepesano, Danny Haas, and Mike Waid. “They’re pretty young, but they’re going to get an opportunity to pitch,” Willard said. Camarillo has some speed in outfielders Tim Cornish, Mark Lindbloom and David Nathaniel, as well as in King and Muncy. “We run pretty well,” Willard said. Junior Corey Tucker will play second base and junior Robert Sanchez is at third.

OUTLOOK: Camarillo may overcome its youth with talent. “I think we’ll be able to play pretty well,” Willard said. Camarillo has pitching depth, but the key will be defense. “If we play defense like I think we’re capable of playing, it might smooth over some of our rough spots,” Willard said. “Our offense is going to be OK and our pitching is going to be in the strike zone. Now it’s just a matter of how we field the ball and throw people out.”

Channel Islands

COACH: Don Cardinal, 24th year

LAST SEASON: 6-17; 7th in league at 2-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Channel Islands used to be a power in the 1970s but has not won a league title since 1979. There are 12 juniors on the team. Junior center fielder Jacob Cruz (.377), a starter since his freshman year, could be the finest outfielder in Ventura County. A pair of right-handers, sophomore Angel Aragon and senior Manuel Padilla (1-1), lead a thin pitching staff. Cardinal says Aragon’s fastball approaches 80 m.p.h. Senior George Alvarado will move from second base to shortstop, a position John Johnson mastered before graduating to Ventura College. Cardinal also expects a strong contribution from junior outfielder John Bogges.

OUTLOOK: Cardinal says the Raiders will be better, but he isn’t sure how much. “It’s still early, but we’re optimistic,” he said. “Our pitching will be fair to good, and I think we’ll be hitting the ball better as the season goes along.” Cardinal says he needs anywhere from 22 to 25 wins to reach 400 in his career.

Newbury Park

COACH: Gary Fabricius, 4th year

LAST SEASON: 19-5; 2nd in league at 9-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Only four players return from last year’s team, which lost in the second round of the 4-A Division playoffs. “We were senior-dominated last year, but we have some pretty good players coming back,” Fabricius said. Those include left fielder Brian Smith, designated-hitter/outfielder Ron Spaeth, Chris Marsden and Shane Gallimore. Marsden, who bats left-handed, and Gallimore, who bats right, will fill the left side of the infield. Junior Jason Cash provides depth in the infield and Tighe Harrell will play first base and pitch. Junior Mark Wilson will platoon at first base. Seniors Jason Kernan, Andy Moffat, Derek Bovard, and Matt LaBelle compose the pitching staff, which has its work cut out in replacing the graduated Jeremy Dewey (8-3, 2.52 ERA) and Tim Beal (5-0, 2.29). Jon Jerotz and Jason Sands are fighting for the catching job. Jai Johnston and Jason Smith add speed and depth in the outfield and may work into starting positions.

OUTLOOK: Newbury Park is young and inexperienced and is a member of an unforgiving league. “With that combination, you really don’t know how good you will perform,” Fabricius said. “We look good in scrimmages, but we’ll know a lot more after this weekend.” That’s because Newbury Park will play five games in the the 32-team Loara tournament. “That tournament is usually a good measure of whether you can battle in the Marmonte League,” Fabricius said.

Royal

COACH: Dan Maye, 1st year

LAST SEASON: 12-17; 6th in league at 4-8

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Royal’s top offensive threat, Jason Jones (.446, nine home runs, 27 RBIs) graduated. But Royal retained its best pitcher, left-hander Bill Egan (4-6, 2.32). “Egan is our mainstay, but the rest are unproven,” Maye said. Tim DelMonte and James Tosh are contenders for the No. 2 slot. Gilbert Renteria (4-1, 3.27) will move to the bullpen. Senior Sean Mitchell has moved from shortstop to second base. Royal will have outstanding speed in sophomore left fielder David Landacker and right fielder Tony Liming, who stole 22 bases last year on the sophomore-freshmen team. Senior Richard Naranjo (.302) returns at third base, senior Steve Kinnaman will start at shortstop. Three juniors named Steve are contending for the starting catcher position: Steve Talafuse, Steve Bernstein, and Steve Prentice. Center fielder Robert Campos has good speed and a strong arm.

OUTLOOK: Maye, 27, says his goal is to change the attitude at Royal. “We’re going to concentrate on playing aggressive baseball rather than think about winning,” he said. “If we go out and play solid baseball, the winning will take care of itself.” Expect to see more hit-and-runs than home runs. “If we sit back and wait for the two-run home run, we’ll be in trouble,” Maye said.

Simi Valley

COACH: Mike Scyphers, 12th year

LAST SEASON: 23-4; 1st place in league at 10-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: It appeared as though this would be the first year Simi Valley didn’t have a name like Scott Radinsky, Scott Sharts, or Tim Laker in the lineup. Then Brian Vasey transferred from Carlsbad High, the San Diego City 2-A champion last year. Simi Valley also has Kenny Hood, a 6-4 senior left-hander (3-1, 1.56 ERA) who is one of the league’s finest pitchers. Hood also hit .380 last year as a second-team All-Ventura County first baseman. Jeff Sommer, a three-year starter, is an all-league power-hitting outfielder who also might pitch. “He has a tremendous arm,” Scyphers said. “If he comes around as a pitcher, it will be a big boost.” Brandon Banaga is a returning starter who was honorable mention all-league last season. Tyler Nelson, a junior, was promoted from the junior varsity midway through last season and will play third. Joe Gordon, a senior, has moved from first to second base. He hit two home runs in a doubleheader scrimmage against Rio Mesa. James Manzi, a 6-3 junior, will play the outfield and pitch. Junior Derek Rushton was the projected starting shortstop before Vasey transferred, but Scyphers will move Rushton to outfield. Kris Kirksey transferred from Camarillo.

OUTLOOK: Simi Valley will be a tough out. “Offensively, we’ll be as good as we’ve ever been,” Scyphers said. “Our two through seven hitters are capable of hitting the ball out of the yard.” Yet Scyphers is still searching for a leadoff hitter and he isn’t comfortable with his pitching staff. “Kenny Hood is as good as any pitcher in the league,” he said. “After that, we have unproven talent.” Simi Valley will play in the 32-team El Segundo tournament, beginning today, and the Las Vegas Chapparal tournament from April 12-14.

Thousand Oaks

COACH: Jim Hansen, 16th year

LAST SEASON: 16-10; 3rd in league at 7-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Lancers are loaded with talented juniors, many of whom played on a Conejo Valley Senior League team last summer that won the Southern California championship. And, after years of thin pitching depth, Thousand Oaks finally has a quality staff. John Bushart (6-3, 1.83), is pitching for Cal State Northridge this season, but Thousand Oaks will be long on arms with senior left-hander Scott Barkman (2-0), and juniors Tony Siegel, Chris Loll, Adam West, Mike Lee, Nick Brown and Jeff Naster. Thousand Oaks has strong hitting from a group of five senior returning starters: Barkman (.365), left fielder Lance Martin (.364), shortstop Mike McNellis (.300), third baseman Bill Hall (.500) and center fielder Brent Christensen (.280). Junior Brian Sturges (.385) is recovering from an arm injury and could miss much of the season. Catching will be Hall and junior David Skeels. Junior infielders Jason Goldstein and Ryan Kritscher are pushing for starting positions, and juniors Brian Capella and Bryan Corey are talented and versatile.

OUTLOOK: The Lancers could be the team to watch this season in the Marmonte League. “We’re confident that we have one of our better teams,” Hansen said. Thousand Oaks is strong up the middle and has good pitching, but Sturges’ injury could hurt the Lancers at catcher. Hansen feels most teams in the league will be able to contend with a Simi Valley team that has won the past four league titles. “They don’t appear to have two superstars who can blow you out of your shoes like they have had in the past,” Hansen said. Thousand Oaks has lost in the first round of the 5-A playoffs four consecutive years.

Westlake

COACH: Rich Herrera, 2nd year

LAST SEASON: 11-13; tied for 4th in league at 5-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Eight of 10 returning players are starters. Westlake has a 1-2 punch of left-hander Mike Eby (6-5, 1.61 ERA) and right-hander Scott Lerner (1-4, 2.04), both of whom mix their pitches well. “Eby has developed some pop in his fastball and Lerner has a bigger upper body,” Herrera said. James Clark and Donnie Hill also will pitch. Catcher Mike Lieberthal (.408), who has made an oral commitment to play at Arizona State, may be the league’s best all-around player. Tim Falsken (.278), a junior, moved from second to shortstop and Rick Walters, a backup to Lieberthal, is at second. Keith Hess will start at third base. Juniors Dave Monheim and Derek Stien provide pitching depth. Outfielders Rob Neal, Keenan McAluney, Matt McHenry and Shawn Howard give Westlake plenty of speed. James Jones, whom Herrera said would start at shortstop if Falsken weren’t so talented, will provide depth.

OUTLOOK: Westlake committed more errors than a bad circus act last year. Herrera estimated that 10 to 12 of Westlake’s losses were by two unearned runs or less. Westlake had 40 errors in 24 games. In a 13-10 loss to Newbury Park, all 13 Panther runs were unearned. Therefore Herrera has concentrated on fielding fundamentals. “If we don’t get them out, we can’t hit,” he said. If Herrera corrects the Warriors’ defensive woes, Westlake will be a contender.