CORRALLING A REPUTATION : CURVEBALL'S ZING BRINGS PITCHER, TEAM NOTORIETY.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

Over the years, baseball players have conjured up some rather colorful adjectives to describe the curveball.

But whether you call it a snap dragon, bender, hook, yaker or roller, the curve thrown by Camarillo High's Mike Corral is finding respect as the most ferocious curveball in the Marmonte League.

``He's got a fantastic curve,'' said Simi Valley coach Tom D'Errico, who watched a recent game that Corral pitched. Fortunately for the Pioneers' first-year coach, his club wasn't playing Camarillo that day. As a result, D'Errico was able to enjoy the pitch for what it was instead of trying to figure out ways to hit it.

``It was really a joy to watch,'' D'Errico said. ``It looked like he was able to change speeds with it and throw it for strikes. It just breaks like crazy and he throws it whenever he feels like it. For a pitcher, that's a nice weapon to have.''

Corral is aware of the prowess of his gifted left arm, though he's guarded when talking about it. Instead, he's content to go about his job quietly and rack up wins for the highly-regarded Scorpions.

``I just go out there and try and keep my walks down and let my defense do their thing and let the offense do theirs,'' he said.

Corral has been around a few years but is receiving attention only now, in part because his team is winning big. The Scorpions were 15-1 after Tuesday's 9-1 win over Ventura.

``Mike was actually our team MVP last year,'' Camarillo coach Scott Cline said. ``He did a great job for us on the mound and this year he's stepped it up even more.''

Cline credits his star pitcher's emergence to his new-found ability to throw two different curves. The newest - one that he added over the winter - doesn't break as much as the other. He uses it more as an out pitch when he needs to throw a strike. The second, more devastating curve, is used primarily against right-handers. It bites hard and low and often results in ground ball outs.

``Developing that pitch has made him that much better,'' Cline said. ``I feel like I can put him out there against anybody and he'll get the job done.''

Corral welcomes that responsibility, although he's quick to point out that he gets a tremendous amount of help from his amazing offense. Camarillo, which averages close to nine runs a game, gives Corral that extra bit of confidence to take chances with his pitch selection and go after hitters.

``Our offense is incredible,'' said Corral, who has developed into quite the hitter himself this year while hitting .350. ``I know when I'm on the mound that I can put the ball right over the plate if I want to. I've got a great defense behind me and if I do get in trouble, we've got the type of offense that can score runs quickly. That gives me a lot of confidence.''

Cline agrees.

``Anybody who pitches against us is going to have to face guys three or four times a game. So even if we don't get anything in the first inning or the second or third, everybody is still going to get a chance to make something happen. We don't panic because we know we can score runs.''

Corral considers himself fortunate in that he gets to work with people like Cline and pitching coach Rick Torres every day.

``He's taught me so much about pitching,'' Corral said of Torres, a lefty who was known for his curveball at USC. ``And the thing is, he curveball breaks even more then mine.''

Cline, the former Bruin, also tips his cap at his Trojan assistant.

``When I see Mike pitch, I see so much of Rick out there,'' he said. ``I never got a chance to face Rick when he was at USC, but I saw enough of him to know what kind of pitcher he is. There's no doubt that a lot of that has rubbed off on Mike.''

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Photo: Camarillo High's Mike Corral has a reputation for on e of Marmonte League's most ferocious curveballs.

John McCoy/Daily News