Culver City On Deck for Simi Valley

Simi Valley, to the delight of Coach Mike Scyphers, will play at Culver City on Tuesday in the second round of the Southern Section 5-A Division baseball playoffs. Culver City (16-12), which finished second in the Ocean League, defeated Notre Dame, 7-6, Friday after the Knights scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh.

“I was happy to see Culver City beat Notre Dame,” Scyphers said. “But none of that stuff matters in the playoffs. Some teams get hot and roll right through the playoffs, some teams struggle.”

Scyphers says the Pioneers (22-5) are somewhere in between.

“We’re getting good defense and hitting,” he said. “But my concern right now is that we’re hitting the ball right at people.”

Scyphers said Simi Valley’s starting pitcher will be either Mike Jenkins (2-1) or Rich Langford (6-3).

Crespi, the Valley area’s only other 5-A team remaining in the playoffs, plays at Millikan on Tuesday. The Celts (17-10) defeated Westlake, 7-2, in the first round for their fourth consecutive win and 11th in the past 12 games.

In Tuesday’s 4-A Division games, Hart (26-0) plays host to Fullerton and Rio Mesa plays Covina at Covina.

In the 2-A Division, Santa Fe League champion St. Genevieve plays at Whittier Christian on Tuesday. Chaminade, which finished second in the Santa Fe League, plays at St. Bernard, and La Canada, which finished second in the Rio Hondo League, plays at St. Joseph.