CAMARILLO FAVORED FOR BRONCO WIN : PONY ALL-STARS WIELD HOT BAT, STILL NEED TO IMPROVE PITCHING.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

He may not be coaching baseball at Simi Valley High School anymore, but Mike Scyphers has hardly walked away from the sport.

And considering the success he achieved as the Pioneers' longtime head coach, is it any wonder that the Camarillo Pony League All-Star baseball team he coaches is a favorite to win the Coast Region Bronco Tournament that will begin today in Montebello?

At stake for Camarillo is an opportunity to advance to the Western Zone Tournament in Marina. Should Camarillo qualify for that, the last stop would be a berth in the Bronco World Series in Monterey.

Scyphers, who resigned from his post at Simi Valley High in 1995 after a tumultuous final season, coached his son's team in the Bronco Division (ages 11-12) this past season. He was selected to lead the division's all-star team at the end of the regular season.

Scyphers' son, Brett, is the only 11-year-old on the all-star team and is hitting .500 as an occasional starter.

Camarillo's strength is an outstanding offense that's scored a whopping 130 runs in 13 tournament games thus far.

``We feel we can score runs against any pitcher,'' Scyphers said.

The numbers bear that out. In two wins this weekend at a qualifying tournament in West Hills, Camarillo raced back from huge deficits to win games. And in a victory over Agoura, Camarillo pushed across 25 runs.

The leader offensively is shortstop Brad Boyer, who has 23 hits in 45 at-bats during tournament play.

``He's a gap hitter,'' Scyphers said of Boyer, a left-handed hitter. ``He hits to all fields equally well.''

Another player who has provided excellent production offensively is Dan Griley, a pitcher and first baseman. Griley has 22 hits in 47 at-bats and 18 RBI. He's also flexed his muscles, smacking four home runs thus far.

Most recently, third baseman Jack Swisher has been coming on at the plate. He's got 16 hits in 36 at-bats but is swinging a hot bat of late.

``He's really been on fire,'' Scyphers said.

Although Scyphers expects Camarillo's offense to continue playing well, he's a bit concerned about the pitching. Just one pitcher, J.T. Bricker, has worked more than 20 innings thus far.

``It's been a challenge to find somebody to give us some consistent innings,'' Scyphers said. ``All of our pitchers have pitched extremely well at one time or another but at other times they haven't thrown well at all.''

Bricker has been the most consistent, compiling a 3-1 record and a 3.15 ERA.

The problem area has been too many walks, which often leads to runs.

``You walk a guy and it's almost automatic that he'll end up at second base,'' Scyphers said. ``We've had a real hard time keeping runners off the bases because of too many free passes.''

If Camarillo pitchers can throw strikes and let their defense make the plays, Scyphers feels his club has a good chance to advance.

The club that wins the eight-team tournament moves on to the zone tournament.

``I think pitching without a doubt will be the key,'' he said. ``If our guys can throw strikes and get their breaking pitches over we'll be tough. Our defense is excellent and we have no problems offensively.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Camarillo's Brad Boyer takes a lead from thir d base as coach Mike Scyphers watches.

(2) Mike Scyphers

Evan Yee/Daily News