Simi Valley Snaps Thousand Oaks’ Win Streak With Ease : High school baseball: Lancers no match for nationally ranked Pioneers, 17-5.

Circumstances, catcalls and comments certainly made it appear as if pitchers were throwing at batters. Considering the accuracy of some of the arms in question, it was difficult to tell for sure.

One thing is clear: Simi Valley High’s 17-5 Marmonte League victory Wednesday over host Thousand Oaks was not pretty, nor did it measure up to pregame expectations.

Simi Valley (19-2, 9-0 in league play) jumped to a 7-0 lead after two innings, quickly ending any hopes Thousand Oaks (14-7, 5-4) had of extending its eight-game winning streak with an upset.

The Pioneers, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today, added six runs in the sixth to take a 15-2 lead. Senior catcher Kevin Nykoluk paced a 17-hit attack with two two-run home runs.

Nykoluk also was hit by the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Andy Wilson. Coincidence?

“I don’t want to say he was throwing at me,� said Nykoluk, who offered a few words to the Lancer dugout as he trotted to first. “But it was his first pitch.�

So too was the offering an inning earlier from Simi Valley right-hander Trevor Leppard that plunked Greg Aguilar. Aguilar, who had homered off Leppard in the fourth, stepped to the plate in the sixth immediately after Jamal Nichols tagged Leppard for a leadoff home run.

But Leppard (6-1), who struck out five and yielded four hits through six innings, denied throwing at Aguilar. “That was a changeup,� Leppard said. “If I wanted to throw at him, it would have been a fastball.�

Still, the plate umpire issued warnings to both dugouts, which spent much of the afternoon exchanging barbs. When it was over, Thousand Oaks Coach Jim Hansen directed his players and coaches not to shake hands with the Pioneers. “The coaches were kind of hacking away at each other and that wasn’t cool,� Hansen said. “Some people were upset; it wasn’t worth the risk.�

In the sixth, Simi Valley sent 11 batters to the plate. For a while, it looked as if the Lancers would send as many pitchers to the mound.

Four of the Lancers’ six pitchers appeared in the sixth, a half-hour marathon. During one pitching change, the base umpire darted to the restroom and two Thousand Oaks reserves headed for the snack bar. “We would have loved to have beaten them,� Hansen said. “But we didn’t even come close.�

Ditto the Lancers’ pitching. Junior right-hander Peter Lauer (2-1) lasted little more than an inning. He was replaced by senior right-hander Ryan Glass, who yielded to sophomore left-hander Eric Soliz in the fourth.

Soliz exited in the sixth after yielding back-to-back doubles to Aaron Whitley (four for four) and Britten Pond. Nykoluk homered on the the first pitch from Jim Stueve.

Before the inning ended, senior right-handers Buzzy Ketchum and Wilson had made their pitching debuts.

Hansen conceded that he was saving staff aces Tim Baron and Brian Downing for Friday’s game at Royal. The loss dropped Thousand Oaks one game behind Royal in the race for third place and a playoff berth.