Moorpark's Baseball Team Needs to Turn it on to Win Title

Moorpark High’s baseball team lost 8-3 to Trabuco Hills last Friday in the championship of the San Luis Obispo tournament, but there are more pressing matters ahead.

The Musketeers (15-8, 6-4 Marmonte) are two places out of first with four league games to play, so there is not much wiggle room if they want to win the league and land a preferential seeding in the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Moorpark returns to action Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Newbury Park, followed with what figures to be a make-or-break showdown at home Friday against first-place Simi Valley.

“We’re starting to pick it up a bit,” Moorpark’s Matt Higginbotham said. “I think in San Luis Obispo, everything clicked. Our pitching was really dominant up there.”

If Moorpark, tied for third, can go 4-0, there’s a good chance the Musketeers can steal the league title or perhaps finish no worse than second.

“We were doing really well in the beginning, and then everything stopped. I don’t know what happened,” Higginbotham said. “It’s a really even league this year. The last time we played Simi Valley, we just didn’t look that great.”

Simi Valley has won 10 in a row and is trying to complete a turnaround that has seen the Pioneers go from worst to first.

In San Luis Obispo, Moorpark spent the week together staying in a hotel, and the trip proved a good way for the team to bond; it shall be seen if the comraderie carries over through the final stretch.

“I think we’ve built some team chemistry,” Higginbotham said. “We always come back from a spring-break tournament and play better than we did before. I’m hoping we’ll able to do that again.”

WILSON OUT

Moorpark’s Johnny Wilson, a promising transfer from San Clemente, is out for the rest of the season because of a back injury. After suffering two stress fractures in the preseason, Wilson was hoping to heal quickly, but a recent MRI revealed there’s still too much damage.

KEEPING TABS

Former Moorpark standout Adam Barry is having a good year for Cal State Northridge. The junior infielder is batting .321 in 35 games. Another Moorpark alum, pitcher Justen Gorski, is 3-5 with a 6.33 ERA in 43 innings.

KEY SOFTBALL STRETCH

Hoping to rebound from a key 6-3 loss Friday to Marmonte League rival Simi Valley, Moorpark’s softball team heads into the final stretch beginning at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Thousand Oaks.

Moorpark (13-7, 7-3) trails first-place Simi Valley by three games with four remaining, and the Musketeers are among four teams with a legitimate shot to finish second.

Cheyenne Sandoval is 10-4 with a 1.44 ERA, and freshman Alexa Curt is batting .412 with 17 RBIs.

MOORPARK COLLEGE SOFTBALL UPDATE

Jo Boicourt was at it again Thursday at Allan Hancock College as she hit her third home run in the last four Raider games, while also pitching the Raiders to a double header sweep in the WSC contests by scores of 8-2, and 13-7.

On the day Boicourt was 8 for 10 with two doubles, a home run, three runs , and five RBIs. Lizz Wilson and catcher Veronica Gamm both hit their first home runs of the season as the Raiders pounded out 33 hits in the two games.

Moorpark College (17-14, 11-6) finishes Tuesday at Cuesta College.