CONEJO SLUGGERS WILL CHALLENGE VENEZUELA FOR CHAMPIONSHIP.

Byline: David Greenberg Daily News Staff Writer

In an opportunity never afforded major league teams, the Conejo Valley Little League's big league division team has earned a spot in what is truly a world series.

Having defeated Macon, Ga., 10-0 on a one-hitter by Newbury Park High School senior Tyler Johnson on Wednesday, Conejo Valley is slated to take on international tournament victor Venezuela in a one-game final Saturday to determine the Big League Baseball World Series championship.

``It's a good sense of accomplishment by all the players,'' said Steve Henson, the team's manager. ``We created this team from thin air and in a couple months later they were the best team in the nation. There are kids from six different high schools and they pulled together and bonded very quickly.''

The victory marked the first time a western region big league team - the 16- to 18-year-olds are the oldest of five Little League divisions - has made it to the finals since Buena Park accomplished the feat in 1980.

The Conejo Valley and Venezuela teams - having outlasted Southeast Asian, Saudi Arabian, Far Eastern and other Latin American squads this summer - will play for the World Series title at 9 a.m. PDT Saturday in a game to be televised live on cable's ESPN2.

Dave Turner (6-0, 1.15 ERA), entering his second year at Ventura College, will face William Lucena, a 6-foot-5-inch hurler for Venezuela. Both pitchers rely on fastballs and curveballs, Henson said.

Conejo Valley enters the game with a 24-1 record in tournament play that began with regional games last month.

During that span, the squad belted 34 home runs, including eight in four World Series tournament games - where Conejo Valley outscored its opponents 45-9.

Two of those World Series games were won by the ``mercy rule,'' which dictates that teams ahead by 10 or more runs at any time from the fifth inning on are automatically declared winners.

Conejo Valley entered the fifth inning of Wednesday's game ahead 3-0 when it scored seven runs to seal the victory.

In the span of four batters, shortstop Danny Greene, designated hitter Shea Johnson and catcher Joe Yingling belted home runs. Yingling, who graduated from Camarillo High School last spring, also hit a round-tripper in the second inning.

``I've played all-star (tournaments) all my life but this is the first time I've ever made it outside of my district,'' said Johnson, the team leader in home runs with six and a recent graduate of Thousand Oaks High School. ``Now I find myself in a World Series game. So it's exciting for me.''

Greene graduated last spring from Newbury Park High School.

Tyler Johnson (5-0, 1.30 ERA) posted four strikeouts in Wednesday's win.

Henson said his team is evenly matched with Venezuela, which defeated Canada 16-1 on Wednesday.

``Venezuela is very aggressive, very athletic, very confident,'' Henson said. ``It's hard to say (who will win) because they played entirely different teams than we did. The teams seem fairly evenly matched. We have more power than they do.''

The Latin American team won all three of its World Series tournament games by a combined score of 38-3 to advance; all three were ``mercy'' wins.