Prep Baseball MONROE TOURNAMENT : Harrigan Pitches Simi to Valley’s Peak

The Simi Valley High baseball team can lay claim to yet another No. 1 ranking.

The Pioneers, already ranked first in both the Southern Section and state polls, ascended to the top rung in the Valley on Tuesday afternoon at Birmingham High, beating highly regarded Chatsworth, 7-6, in the championship game of the Monroe Tournament.

Chatsworth is generally considered one of the top two teams in the City Section. It was the Chancellors’ first loss after five wins.

The Pioneers (15-0) can thank senior right-hander Sean Harrigan for keeping their unblemished record and rankings intact.

Harrigan, who was voted the tournament’s most valuable player, pitched seven innings in a 15-0 win over Venice in the semifinals of the tournament Tuesday morning, then came out of the bullpen a few hours later to turn back Chatsworth over the last 3 innings of the title game.

Simi Valley led, 6-0, after 3 1/2 innings, but Chatsworth came back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth and had a runner on third when Harrigan was called in to replace starter Scott Radinsky.

Harrigan, who improved his record to 7-0, said he was surprised when coach Mike Scyphers told him to begin warming up.

“I hadn’t even thought about pitching twice in one day,” Harrigan said. “I guess I assumed Scott was going to pitch a complete game after we got a six-run lead. I was tired, but I knew they were coming back strong and we had to shut them down.

Harrigan did just that, coaxing Chatsworth catcher Cha-Ho Chong to ground out, ending the inning. He then struck out two in setting the side down in order during the fifth.

Harrigan got himself in trouble in the sixth inning, however. After Chatsworth’s Rob Campbell reached first on an error by third baseman Mike Hankins, Harrigan walked Juan Hernandez, then uncorked a wild pitch--moving the runners up to second and third.

Chatsworth’s designated hitter, Matt Mason, then singled to center, easily scoring Campbell. Because Harrigan cut off a perfect throw by center fielder Shaun Murphy in front of the plate, Hernandez also scored.

“Stupid mistake,” Harrigan said. “I was looking at (Mason) going to second and I forgot about the runner coming to the plate. I was out of position anyway. We probably would have had him at the plate if I’d have been out of the way.”

Instead, the Pioneers were clinging to a 7-6 lead and Chatsworth had the tying run at first base with no outs and Glen Stevenson, a .500 hitter coming up.

Harrigan pitched his way out of the jam, however, getting Stevenson on a ground out, Marc Pfeiffer on an infield pop-up, and Chong on a grounder to short.

All in a day’s work, according to Scyphers.

“The man has ice in his veins,” Scyphers said of Harrigan after the game. “We asked a lot of him today. We put him in a tough situation, but then that’s what senior captains are for. They’re the guys who want the ball in tough situations.”

After the first four innings, the only player in a tough situation was Chatsworth starter Bill Berry.

Berry, a left-hander, had allowed only an unearned run and one hit through three innings. But in the fourth, Simi Valley parlayed three singles--one of them a squeeze bunt--two triples, a stolen base, an error and a wild pitch into five runs.

“They had us on the ropes at that point,” said Chatsworth Coach Bob Lofrano. “And, to our credit, we didn’t back down, which speaks well for our guys. We came back. We hit the ball OK, but we didn’t play very well defensively. At this level, you can’t play poor defense like we did. To their credit, they took advantage of every break we gave them.”

What proved to be the winning run came without the benefit of any help, though.

Glen Davis, who had three hits, led off the Pioneers’ half of the fifth with a single. One out later, he moved to third on a double by designated hitter Ralph Sheldon. After a walk and another out, Davis scored on a single to center by Eric Fischer.

Davis was one of three Simi Valley players to have at least two hits. Leadoff hitter Dave Milstien had two singles, while Sheldon had a double and a triple in four at-bats. The Pioneers, who have a team batting average well over .400, had 10 hits, while Chatsworth had eight.

Stevenson (2-for-3 with a walk) and Mike Ernst (a single and a double) each had two hits for the Chancellors.

So now Simi Valley gets a day off before leaving on a trip to Las Vegas, where they will play in the Sylvester Easter Tournament Thursday through Saturday.

Some spring break. After playing three games in the last two days during the Monroe tournament, the Pioneers will play twice Thursday, twice Friday, and at least once more on Saturday, all of which leads to the following question:

Will the Pioneers suffer burnout by the season’s midway point?

Said Scyphers: “When you’re 15-0, you don’t burn out.”