Warrior baseball looks down the road

Special to The Acorn


It’s not exactly their Marmonte League record (4-2) the Westlake baseball team anticipated posting at the end of the season’s first half, but it does give the Warriors a fighting chance to return to Dodger Stadium.


The California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section Division playoffs and final game aren’t the immediate concern, but the Warriors know that repeating as league champions will go a long way toward meeting those objectives.


League win No. 4 was a big one, a 4-2 victory over Agoura last Wednesday. It was only the second league loss this season for the host Chargers.


Westlake’s Justin Blaine pitched a complete game, striking out nine while allowing five hits. Conrad Thieme hit two home runs, his first two this season, and Cody Cipriano added another homer.


The Warriors play at Simi Valley tomorrow at 3 p.m., then go to the Redondo Tournament on Saturday. Next Wednesday, Westlake will be at Thousand Oaks for a 3 p.m. game. And yesterday the Warriors played at Royal.


Westlake’s team spent spring break in San Jose, playing in the fifth annual West Coast Classic baseball tournament, finishing at 2-2.


On April 2, the Warriors began the tourney by beating Valley Christian Academy, 12-2.


The next day, Westlake played two games. In the second round game the Warriors stopped cold Sacramento Jesuit, 1-0, as Blaine threw a four-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking none, and Jake Brin doubled for an RBI.


In the day’s semifinal game, the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs won 10-4, despite Cipriano and Brin going 3 for 4 and Matt Silver getting a pair of hits.


On the final day in the third-place game, the St. Francis Lancers defeated Westlake, 6-1, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings, and capitalizing on five errors.


Speaking about the win over Agoura, Warrior head coach Chuck Berrington said it was a big game for Westlake.


"We’ve been struggling at putting back-to-back wins together. The one thing we found out in San Jose—that (Blaine) was back and dominated up there. I knew he was going to put in a good game (against Agoura). So we’re back in it. The guys did a good job in practice and said ‘We’re going to get it done.’


"Now we can sit back and watch Moorpark and Agoura play, and whatever happens there helps us.


"We’re 4-2 in the first half and we’ve got to go probably 6-0 in the next half—or something like that—to get it done," Berrington said. "I think these guys will get it done. They have a lot of confidence. I hope now we’ll put it back together."


One player Westlake can count on is Thieme, who replaces Brin at catcher when Blaine is pitching. Mike Nickeas, Blaine’s catcher the last two seasons, graduated in June and is now at Georgia Tech.


" (Thieme) showed signs of hitting and we’ve DH’d for him," the coach said. "He just got into the starting lineup catching. He’s really a good catcher and we put Jake at shortstop and put Conrad behind the dish hoping he’d start to hit.


"He’s got the ability to do it. He has a lot of power if he stays back. We’ve been working on practice saying, ‘Stay back, Conrad, and you’ll hit a ball a ton.’ It’s good to get a spark from him because that makes us even better."


Blaine is pleased that Thieme is his catcher and that he’s beginning to get comfortable as a hitter.


"He’s not (Mike) Nickeas, but he’s doing a great job back there and the whole defense has picked us up," Blaine said.


Thieme said, "So far, it was my best game this season. I’ve been working all week to change my swing and it just worked out for me."


He said he’s been working on his weight distribution, using his legs and on his hands to increase his quickness.


Thieme said that he and Blaine work well together. "I don’t know what it is, we just click," he said. "He throws real well to me and I catch real well for him.


"This is a real big game for us. I’d say this is going to change our season. Our team is looking real strong. It’s good for the morale of the team. We’re going to start kicking people around pretty soon.


"We really needed this win because we were down because we had a bad tournament over Spring Break. I think this has gotten us out of it."


Cipriano said a large part of the win could be credited to the pitcher.


"I think it was Blaine pitching a great game, a clutch victory," he said. "He has been our guy all year.


Regarding beating the Chargers, Cipriano said, "We played a good team, Conrad had a break-out game. We hit the ball real well. It was a good feeling. I expect it from this team."


Blaine echoed Thieme and Cipriano’s thoughts. "A big win—they’re a good team," Blaine said. "A big win at their place and next they come to our place (May 3) and we rarely lose there. They’re a very quality team and probably the best team we’ve seen all year.


"There was only one pitch that I wish I could take back. (Adam) Schneider hit a hanging slider (for a double to center field in the third inning). I thought I was pretty much in control the whole game."


Westlake’s losses in league play were to visiting Moorpark, 12-3, on March 22 and host Newbury Park, 13-7, on March 26.





Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *