SANTOR SLAMS DOOR ON T.O. SLUGGER'S BLAST POWERS HIGHLAND HIGHLAND 4, THOUSAND OAKS 3.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - The scouts arrived to watch pitchers Chris Cordeiro of Thousand Oaks High and Highland's Matt Parris. They should have stayed to watch Highland's John Santor.

Actually, some did, but they weren't making notes when Santor's sixth- inning grand slam off Cordeiro gave the Bulldogs an improbable 4-3 victory Saturday in the Daily News Invitational.

For those keeping score, that's two home runs and seven RBI for Santor in two games. He hit a three-run homer Friday against Grant.

This power is nothing new for Santor. He set a school record with 15 home runs and 54 RBI last season. And for all of those naysayers who think the power numbers are tainted by the often-present Palmdale wind, remember this: Santor's home run Saturday, to right-center field, went at least 390 feet - in no wind and on a cloudy, cool day.

``I live for those moments,'' said Santor, who also hit a game-winning homer in the bottom of the eighth last season against Ventura. ``That's why I keep playing ball.''

His ultimate dream would be to hit as dramatic a shot in the seventh game of the World Series a la Bill Mazeroski. Unfortunately for him, this is his senior season, and no one is interested. He receives letters from colleges, fills them out and sends them back. Then he waits.

``It bothers me, too,'' his coach, Mike Van Cheri, said. ``He's a Division I player, if not a draftable player.''

Santor hasn't had as much exposure as teammate Jason Kubel, who got the save Saturday. Kubel, who has committed to Long Beach State, played in the Area Code Games, while Santor was among the final cuts. Santor also didn't play much summer travel ball, although he did play on a Van Cheri-coached AAU team that played in Florida.

It can't be his school's location because scouts make the trip to watch Palmdale's Matt Harrington.

Still, Santor is off to as fast a start as last season.

``Maybe he's just got to prove it again,'' Van Cheri said.

Santor made a believer out of Cordeiro (0-1). The UCLA-bound right- hander, who throws in the high-80 mph, led 3-0 in the sixth with a one-hitter. But he gave up consecutive singles to Nate O'Malley and Fred Rico and then walked Kubel.

Santor sent his first pitch out.

``I left a fastball up and he did what he was supposed to,'' Cordeiro said.

Cordeiro finished with a four-hitter over six innings with eight strikeouts, one walk and two wild pitches.

Parris (1-0), who also throws in the high-80s, gave up three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings, including Billy Lockin's homer in the fifth for a 3-0 lead. Parris walked none, hit a batter and struck out three.

Thousand Oaks took a 2-0 first-inning lead on a Ryan Fitzgerald single, a Adam Leavitt double, an RBI groundout by Cordeiro and Matt Brown's RBI single.

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Photo: Thousand Oaks coach Bill Sizemore, right, disputes a call in the seventh inning of Highland's 4-3 victory.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer