BASEBALL BEAT: AGOURA MUST CLEAR HURDLES.Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer It's first back-to-back losses of the season hurt Agoura's quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. title. A suddenly depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d lineup has hurt coach Bruce Beck's squad even more. The Chargers are without three starters, two of whom were recently injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. . The other is out for academic reasons. Leadoff man and center fielder Chris Poling may be out for the season after being hit by a pitch last week against Newbury Park. He has been on crutches ever since and was scheduled to see a doctor this week to determine the severity of the injury. Poling was hitting .340 and leading the area with 22 stolen bases. ``He's the guy that really got things started for us,'' Beck said. ``He sets the table for us. When he's on, we're almost sure to run. He's our emotional team leader. It's hard to see your team leader on crutches.'' One of the Chargers top pitchers is also sidelined for an undetermined amount time. Michael Falco hit a line drive into the chest of Brian Ashford during batting practice, bruising bruising discoloration and actual hemorrhage at the site of injury, and a serious disadvantage in the meat trade. In the first 12 hours after injury the bruise is bright red, at 24 hours it is dark red, at 24 to 36 hours it loses its firm consistency and becomes watery and at 3 or the junior's ribs. ``As hard as it was hit, I'm surprised they weren't broken,'' Beck said. Falco and Ryan McCann Ryan McCann (born 21 September 1981 in Bellshill) is a Scottish football midfielder currently playing for Bohemians. McCann began his career with Celtic, where he made one solitary appearance in an end of season game. , who don't usually pitch, helped fill the void on the mound Wednesday in a 4-3 loss to Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Falco hadn't pitched since his freshman year and McCann hadn't pitched since Little League, but Beck said he was impressed. ``There's not a pitcher in the league with better stuff than Michael Falco,'' Beck said. ``He was throwing in the 90s. He's just a great all-around athlete. ``They showed me they want the ball. That's something that's been missing at Agoura. They really wanted it. That's a terrific sign.'' The Chargers (12-7-1, 3-4-1), whose last two losses were by just one run, are still optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op . They enter today's game against Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. with a .350 team batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. to go along with their power hitters. Falco leads the team with seven home runs while McCann and Brian Jacobsen both have six. ``I'm really happy with the way they've been playing,'' Beck said. ``Those two losses hurt our chances for a title. We're going to need some help from other teams and win as many games as we can the rest of the way. We've still got games against teams like Thousand Oaks and Westlake. We know we can play with them, and more importantly, they know we can play with them. ``We're going to see what kind of character this ball club has.'' Westlake: The Warriors have won three straight and are climbing closer to the spot many predicted them to occupy. ``We're making a run up the ladder,'' coach Chuck Berrington said. ``We're peaking now at the right time. We've turned things around and are going to make a run for the title. ``The guys that I haven't expected a lot out of have come up big.'' Left fielder Brian Blaton leads Westlake with a batting average over .500 while Ryan Cope, Eathan East and Joey Cuppari have also done well at the plate. East also leads the Warriors on the mound. ``Our pitching has done very well,'' Berrington said. ``Camarillo's the best hitting team in the league and we held them to one run. Eathan East beat T.O. and Jeff Boyle's turned things around. We're doing fine.'' The Warriors (5-3 in league) defeated Thousand Oaks - which has moved from first to fourth in less than two weeks - twice, as well as beating Camarillo. Westlake and Camarillo meet again today at Camarillo. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Agoura pitcher Brian Ashford was plunked in the chest by a line drive. He is out of action with bruised ribs. John McCoy/Daily News |
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