By the time he returned to the dugout and was greeted by teammates, Newbury Park High senior shortstop Jack Marder was already claiming he got jammed on the pitch.

This, of course, was the same pitch he sent sailing well beyond the left-field fence at Agoura High last week, tallying his Marmonte League-leading sixth home run in the process.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to claim it in the paper," said the University of Oregonbound ballplayer. "But, yes, I was jammed just a little bit."

For those who've seen him play on the Panther varsity team since his freshman year, Marder's .449 batting average, 20 RBI and 22 stolen bases entering the week offer little surprise.

The power display he's been putting on, however, is a little bit of a mystery, even to Marder.

"I've never been the type of player who hits home runs," said the 5foot11, 170pounder. "Since I was a little kid, I've always been the guy who's pretty small but could hit the ball far for his size. . . .

"It's just something that's been happening. I've worked on my swing a lot, and I'm getting more backspin on the ball now. To be honest, (home runs) are not something I think about or worry about at all," he said.

Marder, who typically bats leadoff for NPHS, attributes much of his success at the plate to his hitting coach, Kelly Paris, and strength and conditioning coach, Blair Ferguson.

"They've helped me work on my body and work on my swing in order to hit line drives," Marder said. "Sometimes when I miss, I miss up, and those balls tend to go out."

Batting leadoff allows Marder to see quality pitches on a regular basis, he said.

With dangerous hitters such as Michael Dennis, Nick Lovullo and Jordan Brower immediately behind Marder in the Panther lineup, opposing pitchers often have to pick their poison when facing Newbury Park.

"Because of those guys behind me, I'm getting better pitches than I though I would in the beginning of the year," Marder said.

Newbury Park entered Wednesday's game at firstplace Simi Valley with a 6-5 league record and tied with Westlake for third place in the Marmonte.

The Panthers close out the regular season with a pair of home games, against Calabasas on Friday and against Thousand Oaks next Wednesday.