CAMARILLO RALLIES CAN'T OVERCOME FOUR EARLY ERRORS IN LOSS LAKEWOOD 8, CAMARILLO 6.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

LAKEWOOD - Experienced talent typically beats young talent in the playoffs, as the Camarillo High baseball team learned Friday afternoon.

The sophomore-and-junior-heavy Scorpions hung with top-seeded Lakewood in the early going, but Camarillo's four errors in the first three innings were too much to overcome in an 8-6 loss to the Lancers in a Div. I first-round game at Lakewood High.

Camarillo (17-11) tied the game in the fourth inning, but Lakewood (25-6) then struck for three runs. The Scorpions were unable to mount a comeback as they did twice prior in the game.

``I think our pitching was fine,'' senior second baseman Brett Scyphers said. ``We just didn't make the plays we should have. If we make some of those plays, it's a whole different game.''

Scyphers reached base in three of four at-bats as the Scorpions took advantage of five Lakewood errors to rally from deficits of 2-1 and 5-3, but the Lancers' big bats ultimately were too much.

``I'm really proud of the team,'' Camarillo coach Richard Jaquez said. ``We had a couple veterans who helped us get back in the game, and we did a great job. We had (the Lancers) worried until the last out.''

In the decisive fourth inning, with the score tied 5-5, the Lancers loaded the bases against Camarillo senior starter Chris Whitley (5-4) without hitting the ball out of the infield.

Danny Hernandez walked, Alijay Davis bunted for a single and Daniel Luybon reached when he bunted and Whitley's attempt for a force out at third was too late. Mike Carp singled sharply to right to score Hernandez and chase Whitley, who was relieved by junior Sean Mapes.

Davis scored on a Mapes wild pitch, and Chris Cordova singled home Luybon to give Lakewood an 8-5 lead, but that was all the Lancers would get. Whitley was charged with eight runs (six earned). After Cordova's single, Mapes allowed only one other baserunner, on Carp's eighth-inning double.

Camarillo showed some spark in the fifth, when Donald Brown's one-out single scored Scyphers, but Camarillo had only one hit after that.

Brown also drove in the game's first run, in the first, when his grounder to second scored Scyphers from third. Todd Sandell had an RBI double and scored twice for Camarillo, and No. 8 hitter Cody Bateman had a big hit in the fourth with a two-run single that tied the game 5-5.

Lakewood starter Daniel Johnson didn't look sharp and gave up three runs in two-plus innings. Josh Williams (9-2) relieved and allowed three runs, none of them earned, over the final five innings for the victory.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com