CRAFTY LEFTY- Thousand Oaks senior pitcher Matt Bywater posted a 12-0 record with a 1.12 ERA for the Lancers this season. Alex Kurland of Calabasas High has been named the Marmonte League's baseball Player of the Year.

Kurland, a catcher who will attend USC in the fall, batted .440 this season with four home runs, 14 RBI and 24 runs scored. He led the Coyotes with nine stolen bases and did not commit an error defensively.

"He had the numbers," Calabasas head coach Bret Saberhagen said. "He put the numbers on the board. Everybody looked at what he did against different teams, and that helped him get the most votes."

AllLeague voting was conducted by the Marmonte League's eight head coaches immediately after the regular season ended. Only league stats were considered during the selection process, Thousand Oaks head coach Frank Mutz said.

Matt Bywater of Thousand Oaks was named Pitcher of the Year.

In helping lead the league champion Lancers to the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division I playoffs, Bywater complied a 12-0 record with a 1.12 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

"He was consistent and reliable the whole year," Mutz said.

Armed with a high-80s fastball and a devastating changeup, the left-handed Bywater will pitch for Pepperdine next year.

Mutz earned Coach of the Year honors.

Thousand Oaks posted a 2551 record under Mutz's leadership and was ranked as high as No. 31 in the nation by Baseball America.

"It means we had a good ballclub," Mutz said. "We had a good group of kids that played hard this year, and I benefited from the work they put in."

Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park each had four players named first-team All-League.

TOHS outfielders Kyle Jones and Tyler Smith, infielder Jett Bandy and catcher Chris Hannick all made the first-team list. Bandy, a junior, and Smith, a sophomore, will return for the Lancers next season.

For Newbury Park, pitcher Anthony Montenegro, infielders Andrew Lambo and Jack Marder, and outfielder Ben Cohen are all first-team members.

Lambo, the reigning Ventura County Player of the Year, led the Marmonte League in home runs (nine), batting average (.453) and was second to teammate Mike Schwartz with 30 RBI.

Three Royal players were named to the first team- pitcher Tanner Peters, infielder Mike Vinyard and designated hitter Kenny Walden. Peters and Vinyard are both juniors.

Calabasas sophomore infielder Adam Landecker was a firstteam selection, as was utility player Justin Fredlender.

Simi Valley sophomore outfielder Chris Talley rounds out the first-team All-League list.

Second-team honorees from Simi Valley included Nick Barnese, Brett Hale, Matt Orloff, Jake Reed and Drew Sandler.

Thousand Oaks' double-play combo of second baseman Harrison Kain and shortstop Collin Lavoie cracked the second-team list, as did pitcher Matt Montgomery, who led the league with a .304 ERA in 23 innings pitched.

Westlake had a pair of junior infielders- Cutter Dykstra and Shane Kroker- named to the second team.

Agoura's lone AllLeague representative was sophomore outfielder Richard Stock. Stock, the younger brother of USC catcher Robert Stock, batted .372 with four home runs and 19 RBI.

Justen Gorski of Moorpark, Royal's Matt Magill and JoJo Sharrar of Newbury Park complete the second-team list.

Players earning honorable mention included Royal's Cliff Quick and Chris Rock, Moorpark's Andres Ceja, Jordan Mannisto of Westlake, Greg Selarz of Calabasas, Newbury Park's Jason Andersen and Westlake freshman Christian Yelich.

Many of the aforementioned players will compete in a pair of upcoming all-star games.

On Sat., June 9, CIFSouthern Section all-stars will take on the best from the City Section. The game is scheduled to be played at Birmingham High at 7 p.m., but could be moved to UCLA, Mutz said.

The Ventura County All-Star Game will take place Sun., June 10, at Cal Lutheran.