Leppard, Simi Valley Claw Out 8-7 Victory : Prep baseball: Pioneers fight back from three-run deficit with reliever’s help to advance in Florida tournament.

ORLANDO, Fla. â€”  Things didn’t exactly go according to plan, but then Simi Valley High baseball Coach Mike Scyphers was not exactly complaining.

The Pioneers fought back from an early three-run deficit to pull out an 8-7 triumph over defending tournament champion Winter Park, Fla., in the opening round of the Colonial baseball tournament at Epperson Field on Tuesday.

Junior right-hander Trevor Leppard picked up the win by pitching six innings of one-hit relief. The effort by Leppard, typically a short-relief pitcher, gave Simi Valley’s offense a chance, and that’s all the hot-hitting Pioneers needed.

Designated hitter Bryan Kraft hit two home runs and Aaron Whitley supplied what proved to be the winning run in the top of the seventh, connecting on a solo homer to left, as the Pioneers advanced to the quarterfinals.

Simi Valley will play Whiteville (N.C.) High, a 5-3 winner over Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood, this afternoon.

The Pioneers (9-5) got off to a rocky start, falling behind, 5-2, in the second inning. Starter Bill Treadway struggled, giving up four hits--including a three-run home run by Skip Matthias--and four walks before he could retire a batter in the inning.

The situation appeared ready to worsen. Leppard, who entered with the bases loaded and none out, made sure it didn’t.

He forced the Wildcats’ No. 3 hitter, Matt Wallace, to pop out. Then third baseman Brian Lane came up with the defensive play of the game. Lane backhanded a hard-hit grounder by Keith Gallagher, tagged third, then threw out Lee Blankenship at the plate.

“It was a crucial turning point for us,� Scyphers said. “When Trevor came in, we said we’d be happy to get out giving up one run, and we didn’t give up any.

“We know we can hit the ball and score some runs, that’s our strength. So as long as we can stay within striking distance, we’re all right. That play kept us in there.�

Winter Park fell to 17-8, with seven of its losses by one run.

Simi Valley scored three runs in the third to tie the score, 5-5. Aaron Fischer and Britten Pond, who each singled, scored on two passed balls and a wild pitch by Gallagher, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Kraft, who had one homer in the team’s first 13 games, hit his second of the day, lofting a ball to left that got caught in the wind and cleared the 350-foot mark.

Kraft’s second-inning shot had traveled about 400 feet to straightaway center.

Left fielder Jason Acala, who was on base five times for the Pioneers, gave Simi Valley a 7-5 advantage in the fifth with a two-run single to center.

Leppard retired the first 10 batters he faced before surrendering a single to Gallagher in the fifth. He stayed out of trouble until the final inning, when he tired and began pitching high in the strike zone.