The Simi Valley and Royal baseball teams are locked in a four-way tie for second place in the tough Marmonte League, but that will change when the two teams go head-to-head today at 3 p.m.at Simi Valley High School.

As they near the midpoint of the regular season, both schools have 3-2 league records, as do Moorpark and Agoura. All four teams are one game behind Thousand Oaks, last year’s CIF champion, which stands alone in first place with a 4-1 record.

Westlake (2-3), Calabasas (1-4) and Newbury Park (0-5) are also in the league.

Both Royal’s Highlanders and Simi Valley’s Pioneers are coming off tough one-run league losses on Wednesday that knocked them out of first place with T.O. Royal fell 2-1 to Moorpark and Simi Valley dropped a 3-2 squeaker to Thousand Oaks.

Simi Valley (10-2 overall record) and Royal (7-5) both are significantly improved from last year and, with nine league games remaining, are strong contenders for the Marmonte League title. The Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Royal baseball teams are ranked among the top 20 high schools in southern California.

The Pioneers won the Daily News Tournament last month by defeating Los Angeles City Section power El Camino Real of Woodland Hills in the championship game at USC.

Coach Matt LaBelle, Simi Valley’s first year head coach, says he’s looking forward to today’s game.

"It’s always fun to play your rival, and Royal has a very good squad this year," LaBelle said. "I’m sure there will be a lot of people watching, and they are certain to see a good game."

If Thousand Oaks should happen to stumble against Calabasas, the winner of today’s Simi Valley-Royal game will climb back into a first place tie.