Coyotes Beat Simi Valley, 8-4

The Calabasas boys baseball team did not want to lose to Simi Valley, not after losing to the Marmonte League's last-place team earlier this year.

The Coyotes were able to avoid suffering a second loss to the Pioneers by opening up an early lead  Wednesday and applying constant pressure right up until the final out en route to an 8-4 victory.  

"Simi Valley beat us in every facet of the game the first time around, so we weren't going to take them lightly,'' Calabasas coach Ed Edsall said. "As far as we were concerned, this was the only game that mattered to us this season.''  

Travis Cassidy took some added satisfaction in the victory for the Coyotes (14-11 overall, 6-5 in league).

He should have. The Pioneers (9-15, 1-10), after all, did end up getting the best of him in a 5-0 victory back in late March.  

The 6-foot-2 junior, a left-hander, pitched well and managed to keep the Simi Valley batters off-balance throughout.

Cassidy went the distance for Calabasas, giving up two earned runs and scattering 11 hits.  

Offensively, Jacob Camhi provided timely hitting for the Coyotes.

Following an RBI single from Jordan Bass, Camhi delivered a double to drive in two runs to give Calabasas a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first inning.  

The sophomore was just getting started too.  

Camhi added an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Mitch Margolis had an RBI single to give the Coyotes a 6-2 lead.  

"Jacob had a great approach at the plate today,'' Edsall said. "He had been putting in extra work at practice, and it really paid off for him.''  

Calabasas added a couple more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jacob Fields and Kevin Khalili came through with an RBI each.  

With a more than comfortable 8-3 lead entering the sixth inning, Cassidy pitched without much pressure on him the rest of the way.  

"We knew that Calabasas would be focused today,'' Simi Valley coach Matt LaBelle said. "They know, just as well as we know, that every game in our league is important. Any win you get against a rival is important.''

Camhi had a good day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and a triple for the Coyotes. Fields finished 2 for 2 with two runs.  

"The good thing about this team is we have a number of guys capable of contributing on any given day,'' Edsall said. "It seems like someone different always finds a way to come up big for us in a big game. That's what happened today.  

"From Travis on the mound, to Camhi and Fields with their bats, we got things done today. We wanted to get even against Simi Valley.''  

Mission accomplished, but Calabasas won't be dwelling on the win for very long, not with Friday's league showdown against first-place Royal looming over the Coyotes.  

"Any win is big for us at this stage of the season,'' Edsall said. "But if we go out and end up losing to the Highlanders later on this week, no one will remember that we beat Simi Valley. People only remember your last win.''