The battle begins

MR. EVERYTHING-Royal's D.J. Smith was top on his team in average (.457), RBIs (36) and home runs (6). And, oh yeah, he had an ERA of 1.56 in 18 innings on the mound. Below, members of the Agoura baseball team keep a close eye from the dugout, always vocal in their support.

The T.O. Acorn’s baseball playoff preview

Royal Highlanders (23-3, 11-3, first in Marmonte)

First-round opponent: Valencia (15-12, 9-6), home

Playoff picture: The road to Angel Stadium and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I title game begins at home for the Marmonte League champion Royal Highlanders, currently ranked second in the CIF Southern Section coaches’ poll.

Winners of 10 of its last 11 games, Royal will host Valencia, third place finishers in the Foothill League, in a first-round matchup Friday afternoon at 3:15 p.m.

Valencia will likely start senior pitcher Nick Ferndino (4-1, .785 ERA, 32 Ks), while the Highlanders will counter with their ace, senior Clayton Edwards (9-1, 1.40 ERA, 60 Ks).

With a .334 combined team batting average and .412 on-base percentage, Royal’s offensive attack has very few weak spots from top to bottom. The unit is led by a pair of seniors, shortstop Phil Boscarino (.462 BA, six HR, 35 runs, nine SB) and first baseman/pitcher D.J. Smith (.457, six HR, 36 RBI, .877 SLG). Smith will also serve as the team’s No. 2 starter in the postseason.

The Highlanders registered a league-high 174 runs this season and allowed a league-low 63 runs scored.

Whether it was by design or just a strange coincidence, the Royal-Valencia matchup is one of three first-round games that pit the Marmonte League against the Foothill League, another Los Angeles County league.

"I think it’s kind of odd," head coach Dan Maye said. "There are no other leagues that they did that with in the baseball pairings. Everyone else doesn’t have two teams in the same league playing against another league in the same round…I think it’s an Orange County thing, a way of eliminating teams from outside their area."

A win Friday would put Royal in the second round Tuesday against either Millikan (21-9, Moore League, No. 2) or Diamond Bar (15-11, Sierra League, No. 2). The Highlanders first potential matchup against a league champion could come in the quarterfinals a week from Friday against Canyon of Anaheim (21-5, Century League champions).

Agoura Chargers (19-6, 10-4, second in Marmonte)

First-round opponent: Hart (17-8-1, 10-5), home

Playoff picture: Even though the Chargers wound up just one run short of achieving their goal of a Marmonte League championship, losing 1-0 to Moorpark on May 6 to fall one behind first place Royal, the team’s strong pitching staff helps keep it a favorite to win the program’s first ever CIF championship.

Winners of 15 out of 17, the Chargers have found success this season by being able to combine timely hitting with its consistently strong pitching. Agoura has never lost a game in which it scored more than two runs.

Another playoff plus—Agoura batters have proven themselves able to deliver when it matters most. The Chargers had more come-from-behind victories than any other team in Marmonte, as demonstrated in dramatic rallies over Simi Valley (down 2-0, won 3-2), Westlake (down 5-0, won 6-5) and Santa Margarita (down 4-2, won 6-5). All three games ended in walk-off hits.

Though it will take a group effort, the success of the Chargers will likely fall on the arms of starting pitchers Jason Novak (2-1) and Jason Stoffel (8-2). Stoffel, who will likely get the start Friday against first-round opponent Hart, held a power hitting Royal team (league leading 174 runs) to zero runs and just one hit through six innings back on April 6. He leads the Chargers in wins (eight), strikeouts (65) and ERA (2.22).

Expect the Hart Indians, the Foothill League’s No. 2 seed, to send pro prospect Tyler Fick to the mound to take on Stoffel and the Chargers. The 6-2 senior lefty has a record of 6-2 and has been clocked in the low to mid-90s. This matchup should make for one of the day’s most intriguing pitching duels.

It may seem like a tough draw for Agoura, but there’s no easy games in the Div. I playoffs.

Keep an eye on clutch-hitting sophomore Robert Stock (league-leading seven home runs) and up-and-coming pitcher Jamie Leonard. Leonard has given up zero runs and just five hits in 11.2 innings of work, all of which came in the second half of the season.

Head coach Scott Deck has plenty of choices on the mound—making the correct ones could be the difference between an early exit or an unforgettable run.

The winner of this first round game will advance to play either Bishop Amat or Marina, the Sunset League champion.

Moorpark Musketeers (17-11, 9-6, third place in Marmonte)

First-round opponent: Saugus (23-3, 14-1), away

Playoff picture: Like a UPS driver delivering packages on Christmas Eve, the Moorpark Musketeers come through when everything is on the line. Moorpark’s one-game playoff victory over Westlake last Thursday catapulted the Musketeers into the Division I playoffs and sent the Warriors home for the summer.

And what is Moorpark’s reward for such an accomplishment? How about a first-round matchup on the road against Foothill League champion Saugus (23-3, 14-1), currently ranked second in the Los Angeles Times’ baseball poll.

While baseball is the consummate team sport where an individual rarely wins or loses a game single-handedly, Saugus senior first baseman Thomas Milone is the type of athlete who has the ability to take over a ball game at any time. This season, Milone led the Foothill League in batting average (.507), home runs (six) and ERA (.773). Needless to say, Moorpark will have to contain Milone at the plate and must be able to get to him on the mound should he start the game.

"We play (Saugus) a lot in the fall and in the summer," head coach Scott Fullerton said. "They are always well coached. They know how to play the game…Thomas Milone (is) very good. It’s one of those matchups where the team that plays better that day is going to win."

Senior pitcher Brett Hunter is expected to get the starting nod for the Musketeers. With a fastball that has been clocked in the low 90s and the ability to command his off-speed pitches, Hunter could prove to be a perfect antidote to the potent Saugus bats. He shutout a hungry Agoura team, 1-0, a week ago in a game the Chargers had to have to win a Marmonte League title.

Both teams went 3-2 in the Easton Southern California Showdown during mid-March, although they did not face one another.

The X-factor in a Musketeers’ playoff run will clearly be the team’s ability to produce runs. Moorpark has the bats to do it in guys like Cody Dee, Nick Dingman and Justin Bogoyevac, but they have to prove they can do it against the best pitching the Southern Section has to offer.

The winner of Friday’s game, scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m., will take on the winner of Los Alamitos (Sunset League, No. 2) versus San Clemente (South Coast League, No. 2) Tuesday afternoon at a site to be determined.

Oaks Christian Lions (9-17, 6-6, third in Frontier)

First-round opponent: L.A. Baptist (18-3, 7-1), away

Playoff picture: It’s been a long season for the Lions as they learn to adjust to a new coach and system and