BASEBALL; DEEP TROUBLE; WESTLAKE WELL-ARMED.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE - Any sighs of relief by opponents who don't have to face Jesse Kozlowski or Tyler Adamczyk are premature. The Westlake High baseball team has so much pitching, hitters rarely get a reprieve.

While Kozlowski and Adamczyk receive the attention as the No. 1 and No. 2 starters on the region's No. 1-ranked team, the rest of the staff has provided half the wins during the Warriors's 16-0 start.

Joey Guy and Ryan McCarthy are key components of the bullpen, but Chris White and Tyler Carr - both newcomers to the staff - are the ones making Westlake confident its supply of starters won't be depleted soon. White, a junior right-hander with a 1.55 ERA, and Carr, a sophomore right-hander with a 0.57 ERA, are both 3-0.

``A huge part of our team is just having the depth in pitching we haven't had before,'' catcher Mike Nickeas said.

Kozlowski (4-0) and Adamczyk (4-0) have made most of the starts during Marmonte League play, but Carr has been used in relief and both he and White made significant contributions during a busy nonleague schedule in which Adamczyk was not yet in shape to pitch. White is scheduled to start today's game against Mission League power Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks; Carr is slated to pitch the final three innings.

``We probably have the best three and four pitchers around,'' Warriors pitching coach Josh Eby said.

White transferred from Simi Valley, where he was called up to varsity midway through last season. He has a fastball in the mid-80s, but his strength is a hard curve and his poise.

``On anybody else's team, he'd be a one or a two,'' Westlake coach Chuck Berrington said.

``He's got a lot of savvy on the mound,'' Eby said. ``He goes out there and competes. He's got good things in his future, especially for next year.''

White realizes that if he hadn't transferred, he would likely be a full-times tarter, but, like Carr, he's content contributing whenever he can on such a deep team.

``I understood at the beginning of the season I wasn't going to No. 1 or No. 2,'' White said. ``Jesse and Tyler are great pitchers. Whenever I get a chance to pitch, I take advantage of it and try to provide as much support as I can.''

White had previous experience with many of the Warriors, so fitting in was automatic. He knew right away that he could trust his defense and wouldn't have to try to strike out everyone.

The 17-year-old, who said he ``pretty much molded my life around the game,'' has played for as long as he can remember. Pitching has always been his position of choice.

``I'd watch all the major-league pitchers and I was just amazed at how they'd do their job,'' White said. ``They have the most stressful job on the field and the most important job. I wanted to be able to do that. Pretty much the whole game revolves around the pitcher. I'm just amazed at how they do their job with the fans and coaches and everyone yelling and all the pressure.''

Carr, 16, was hooked on pitching early, too. His older brother Tim is a pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. Tim helped Tyler develop a tailing fastball during the offseason and reminds him of the importance of not showing emotion on the mound.

``He doesn't have the speed of our other pitchers yet,'' Nickeas said of Carr. ``What he does exceptionally well is hit spots. He's got a great curve ball and great changeup and he hits his spots. If you do that, it's enough to get high school batters out.''

It was enough to get wins in his two starts, which were against Burroughs of Burbank and Crescenta Valley. After playing on the freshman team last season, Carr wasn't even expecting to make the varsity this year. He was told he would play with the varsity for the first few games while Adamczyk was out and he did well enough to stick around. Carr has 11 strikeouts and four walks and has allowed just one earned run.

``They're bigger than me,'' Carr said, ``but I feel I can get anybody out.''

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Photo: Westlake's Chris White, left, and Tyler Carr are among the best Nos. 3 and 4 pitchers in the area.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer