Long and Winding Road

Chris Cordeiro might still be too weak to pitch, but Thousand Oaks (22-6) can count on right-hander Greg Simonetti or left-hander Tracy Goebel today in a second-round Division II game at Irvine Woodbridge (13-11-1).

Cordeiro, a UCLA-bound senior who has 94 strikeouts and only nine walks in 65 innings, is recovering from an ear infection that caused him to lose nearly 10 pounds last week. He did not pitch in the Lancers’ 12-3 first-round victory over Westminster, but did hit a home run.

Simonetti (8-1) went six strong innings and Goebel (8-1) pitched a flawless seventh.

Thousand Oaks is leaning toward starting Simonetti again and using Cordeiro in relief.

It probably won’t matter who pitches if the Lancers score as many runs as they did against Westminster. Goebel and Adam Leavitt also homered and five players doubled.

Westminster’s Fred Rodriguez retired the first nine batters, but Billy Lockin led off the fourth with a double and the Lancers exploded for five runs in the inning to take a 5-2 lead.

Lockin, a three-year starter whose swing has been hampered all season by a broken finger, is batting .324 after hitting .429 last season.

“He’s been getting rallies going since his sophomore year,” Leavitt said. “That’s his role.”