Quiet and calm, Matt Bywater's outward demeanor belies a fierce competitiveness.

The undefeated ace of a Marmonte League champion Thousand Oaks High squad loaded with pitching, Bywater wanted badly to win a championship in his senior season. His teammates wanted just as badly for him to be the one to lead them there, to Dodger Stadium, where the CIF-Southern Section Division I championship will take place this Thursday night.

"If we're fortunate enough to get to Dodger Stadium, if we had to have one guy on the mound, who do you guys want?" coach Frank Mutz asked his players. "They all said Matt Bywater.' Not to take anything away from the other pitchers, but they have a lot of confidence in Matt."

The Pepperdine-bound left-hander won't get the chance, as a 3-2 loss to Esperanza in the quarterfinals last Tuesday eliminated the Lancers from contention.

"He was our guy," said Mutz. "If we were going to win this thing, he was our guy."

It hasn't always been that way.

A year ago, Bywater was coming off an "average" junior season, by Mutz's account, a consistent pitcher who threw in the low 80s.

"In the last year and beginning of the year, no one showed any interest," Bywater said of his prospects for being recruited to play for a college program, much less getting drafted.

Then "something happened," as Mutz describes it. Bywater's velocity increased to 85-90 mph, sometimes 91. The marked improvement stemmed from natural development, augmented by a deliberate devotion to throwing as much as possible.

"Going into high school, I did long toss every other day with my brother; that gave me 3-4 mph," Bywater explained. "Every year after that, throughout the year, I'd gain mph, just from me growing and getting bigger, doing a lot of throwing and gaining more power."

He also got in extra work by playing in summer leagues.

"I didn't really lift weights. Hopefully, the velocity keeps going up," Bywater said.

"When the velocity started coming up, confidence came with it," said Mutz.

Further enhancing that confidence, Bywater gained more consistent command of his changeup, which he added to a fastball and curveball that he describes as similar to Barry Zito's.

"I needed an extra pitch because I only had two pitches," Bywater said. "Going into college, you need more pitches."

"Last year, they tried to get me to throw changeups, and they worked in the beginning. Then I couldn't really throw it anymore, but I changed my grip and spread out my fingers more, and it started working. It just clicked."

These added facets to Bywater's game translated into interest from nationally ranked Pepperdine and a stellar season on the mound for the Lancers (25-5-1).

He went 12-0, including a pair of postseason victories, to break a single-season school record previously held by Brett Montgomery, who went 11-0 in 2003. Bywater finished the season with a 1.12 ERA and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning.

Mutz attributes Bywater's dominance to a savvy uncommon for young pitchers.

"He's a very smart pitcher," Mutz said. "If he doesn't have his best stuff, he'll figure out a way to win, figure out a way to get through innings. He knows exactly what he wants to do, how he wants to pitch guys. If he makes a mistake on a guy, he won't make that mistake later in the game. He'll make the adjustment.

"A lot of high school pitchers won't do that."

Ask Bywater for the secret to his outstanding 2007, however, and he'll give full credit to the defensive abilities of his teammates.

"(Catcher) Chris Hannick called all my pitches," Bywater explained. "Whenever I'd get a runner on, he'd pick them off. If I'd get a ground ball, (second baseman) Harrison Kain and (shortstop) Collin Lavoie would turn a double play. (Outfielder) Kyle Jones would run down any ball.

"Anywhere they hit it, I could feel comfortable. I don't have to worry about anything, just throw."

Indeed, it's his teammates he'll miss most when he moves on to Pepperdine, although he hopes to room with friend and fellow Lancer Kevin Gelinas.

Whereas he once doubted his chances of attracting interest from a program like Pepperdine's, Bywater now dreams of going pro.

"I'm not planning on getting drafted out of high school, but after college, what I really want to do is play baseball, and getting drafted would be the coolest thing ever. Being able to do it for a living and get paid for it would be awesome."