Spring season playoffs in full force
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TOUGH MATCH- Camarillo High's Neal Wood, right, tries to put the ball past Dos Pueblos defender Ryan Beall during Tuesday's CIF-SS Division II second-round match. ACHS lost in three games.

Camarillo High head baseball coach Richard Jaquez had one of the best experiences of his life a year ago when he coached the Scorpions in the CIF-Southern Section Division II championship game at Dodger Stadium.

Today his team will begin its journey to try and get back to Chavez Ravine.

Camarillo opens the Division II playoffs against Alta Loma after finishing the season with a 19-7 overall record and an 11-4 mark in the Pacific View League, good enough for second place.

The Scorpions come into the postseason having won six of their last eight games, averaging 12.5 runs per contest during the stretch. Camarillo, which scored a league-high 250 runs, is led by Jacob Mahan (.461), Bryan Willson (.453), Nathan Johnson (.430), Anthony Pinedo (.417) and Kevin Ball (.395).

If the Scorpions want to get back to the title game, their pitching will have to step up. Ball (7-1, 2.93 ERA) and Mike Erb (2.10 ERA) are the team's top hurlers.

In Division II boys' tennis, Rio Mesa lost a first-round match to San Luis Obispo last week.

The Camarillo boys' tennis squad began the playoffs last week by beating La Canada 10-8 in the opening round, but weren't able to get past Valencia in a second-round loss.

The Scorpions took a big blow in the Valencia match when their top singles player, Connor Karen, injured his right ankle in his first game. The injury forced Karen to lose the game by default and sit out the rest of the day.

"If we would have had Karen, I would like to think we would have won at least two more of those singles matches," Camarillo head coach Nathan Inouye said. "It would have been easy for us to just give up after he got hurt, but they didn't. Everyone seemed to want to win for (Karen)."

Despite the season-ending loss, Inouye was impressed with how far the team had come, especially the doubles players.

Also winning a first-round game before being eliminated from postseason action was the ACHS boys' volleyball team.

Camarillo beat Hart of Newhall in the opening round of Division II, but lost at home to Dos Pueblos Tuesday. According to head coach Rob Vandermay, the team lost due to a lack of confidence.

"In practice the day before our second-round game, we didn't have as much enthusiasm as we've had in the past," Vandermay said. "We went into the Dos Pueblos game not playing our best against a very good team. That's an evil combination.

"Would the game have been a little closer if they had as much confidence in themselves as I did? As a coach, I'd like to think so."

In Division I softball, PVL champion Camarillo played Huntington Beach Thursday at home.

Rio Mesa, the Pacific View League's second-place team, will play at home today against Saugus at 2:30 p.m.

In Division VII softball, Omega League champion Cornerstone Christian hosts Calvary Chapel today at 3:15 p.m. Cornerstone has won its last seven games in a row with an offense that's averaging 20 runs per contest.