Agoura in a fight to the finish with Royal for Marmonte League title

By Kyle Jorrey jorrey@theacorn.com

With every stride along the base path, Agoura head coach Scott Deck has made it clear that his team’s first priority this season was to make it into the Southern Section’s Div. I playoffs.

It wasn’t to win 20 games. It wasn’t to sweep rival Westlake. And it certainly wasn’t to bring home a Marmonte League championship—at least not until now.

Having won 14 out of 15 and eight of nine in league after yesterday’s 6-5 come-from-behind win over Westlake, the Chargers remained tied with Royal for first place in the Marmonte with just two games to play—so close to winning the league that players like senior pitcher/outfielder Jason Novak couldn’t help but admit a shift in priorities.

"Oh yeah, we’ve talked about it by now, coach (Deck) even showed us where he wants to put the sign," Novak said. "For so long it was just about the playoffs. But now, we kind of feel like it’s ours to lose. We all want it."

After beating Westlake in the bottom of the seventh yesterday, Agoura still must get by Moorpark and Calabasas in their final two games.

"These last games mean everything," Deck said. "If we don’t come out and compete, we could lose. A lot could change."

But losing is one thing Agoura hasn’t done much of lately, not since its 5-0 performance in the Anaheim Lions Tournament in late May. Aside from a 4-2 loss to Newbury Park April 27 (the Chargers second loss to the Panthers this season), Agoura hasn’t lost in the Marmonte League in over a month, and even knocked off Anaheim’s Servite, 6-5, on the road in a non-league game April 25.

The method to the Chargers’ success is painfully simple—score more than five runs, win the ball game. Before yesterday, Agoura pitching hadn’t given up more than four runs in eight straight league games.

At lot of those scoreless innings have come by way of junior Jason Stoffel (8-1, 2.47), who just last week held then No. 1 Royal to three runs in almost six innings of work, keying an 8-4 victory and earning the Chargers a piece of first place.

"We have a bunch of strong pitchers this year, so we know if we can put up a few runs it’s going to be tough to beat us," Stoffel said. "And as pitchers, its very comforting to know that you’re going to get that support."

In addition to Stoffel and Novak (2-1, 3.10), Agoura has found another dependable starter in off speed wizard Greg Gelber (3-2, 1.73), and a reliable closer in Stock.

"I feel like I have a bunch of No. 1’s I can just pick and choose from," Deck said. "If I give one of these guys the call, they’re ready to go. They just love to compete."

But the real surprise of the season—at least to the unknowing public—has been Agoura’s production at the plate. After a slow start, the Charger hitters have been on a consisten tear, scoring between four and nine runs in 13 of 14 games and getting output from up and down the lineup.

"Basically, we have a lot of people who are great hitters who are going out and proving it," said Stock, who is batting .446 with a team-leading six home runs and 27 RBIs. "It’s contagious. One guy starts it off and then everyone else just follows suit. It just takes that one person to get it going."

Although it was considered a weakness in the preseason by the local media, Agoura has made hitting a strength, thanks to guys like Drew Norton (.447, 10 RBIs), Danny Gallinot (.324, 13 RBIs) and Nick Farinacci (.348, 19 RBIs). Novak and Stoffel have also held their own at the plate.

"All that changed from the beginning to now is that we got more confident," Novak said. "Once we started believing in ourselves at the plate things started kicking off."

Though no Agoura players on have any postseason experience, the Chargers expect that the level of opponent they’ve faced this regular season will have them prepared for the rigors of the Div. I playoffs.

"I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a team out there with a schedule tougher than ours," said Deck, whose squad has seen the likes of defending national champion Chatsworth and up-and-coming Santa Margarita in addition to its Marmonte League lineup. "It’s gone a long way, I think, for preparing us to do well in the playoffs. There’s not much that the guys haven’t seen yet."

To its credit, Agoura has already been involved in a number of pressure packed game situations, and more often than not have delivered a victory.

"We’ve been in those games when you have to come from behind in the bottom of the seventh innings. We’ve been in a game that’s gone 10 innings," Deck said. "I think its very valuable that we’ve been in so many games where we had to play our best to get a win."

Tomorrow, Agoura will travel to Moorpark to take on a dangerous Musketeer team that is still vying for playoff position. Expect MHS ace Brett Hunter to be on the mound, giving the Charger hitters another chance to face quality pitching.

"Right now we’ve got that winner’s mentality. We’ve got that fire in our eyes," Novak said. "Our confidence is peaking right now and I don’t expect to see this team let up at all."