WESTLAKE PARENT SEEKS INVESTIGATION OF BEANING.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

The father of a Westlake High School baseball player said he is investigating an incident in which his son was hit by a pitch during an American Legion game on Saturday.

Ryan Cope, a second baseman on the Westlake American Legion team, was hit on the head over the weekend in a game against Thousand Oaks.

Cope, who attended Thousand Oaks High School from 1994-97, transfered to Westlake High School at the start of the second semester in January. In his final at-bat against his former team last season, Cope hit a home run.

Cope was treated overnight Saturday at a local hospital and was diagnosed with a slight concussion, according to his father. A CAT scan revealed no serious damage. But after experiencing slurred speech, Cope returned to the hospital on Monday.

A second CAT scan showed hemorrhaging on the left side of Cope's head, his father said. Cope will not play anymore this summer.

Cope's father also said he is questioning parents and players who were at the game on Saturday to find out if his son was hit intentionally or by accident.

``Right now I'm looking into this,'' said Dave Cope, who was not at the game.

Thousand Oaks coach Bill Sizemore, who said he does not call pitches during the summer, denied that he ordered pitcher Tracey Goebel to hit Cope. Sizemore also said that he questioned Goebel and the Lancers' catcher immediately after the incident to find out if Cope was hit was intentionally. Both players said Goebel threw a four-seamed fastball that got away, according to Sizemore.

``People want to make a big deal about this because (Cope transferred to Westlake from Thousand Oaks),'' Sizemore said. ``I'm sorry he got hit. But we work on throwing on the inside part of the plate because a pitcher needs to throw there in order to be effective. We won't change that no matter who the batter is.''

``The doctors don't think it's a big problem, but my son's safety is very important to me,'' Dave Cope said.

The injuries are serious enough to prevent Cope from playing anymore American Legion games this summer. In addition, he won't be able to play in any Area Code games, where college and pro scouts look at prospects.

``That's huge right there in terms of exposure,'' Westlake coach Chuck Berrington said. ``I still think he'll get a scholarship next year, but not playing in the area code games could hurt him.''

Cope was one of the best second basemen in the area last season as a junior. He finished the year with a .471 batting average and 31 RBI.

Berrington said he visited Thousand Oaks High School over the weekend to seek an explanation from Sizemore about the incident but was unable to locate the third-year coach.

``The Copes definitely deserve to hear some answers about this,'' Berrington said. ``I'm not sure if it was intentional or an accident, but (Sizemore) needs to come up with some answers.''

Berrington acknowledged that beanings are a part of baseball but wondered about the safety of such tactics on the high school level.

``Pro ball and college ball is one thing,'' Berrington said. ``But if you tell a 15-year-old kid to throw high and tight at somebody he's not going to know where to put it. I do not agree (with throwing at somebody) in high school.''

CAPTION(S):

Box