After a shaky start, Moorpark’s Wyatt Birg settled down and pitched nine solid innings in a 4-3 win over Oxnard on Fan Appreciation Day at Raiders Stadium on Tuesday. Reliever Thomas Luevano, pitched three scoreless innings and picked up the win.
With the game tied, 3-3, in the 12th inning, Jack Mulville’s fourth hit, a leadoff double, was followed by Jessie Aucelluzzo’s base hit bunt. Riley Conlan was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs, and Garrett Kueber’s base hit to left center drove home the winning run.
“It felt pretty good,” Kueber said about his game-winning hit. “It’s good to be able to get the win against a really tough team.”
The Condors struck first in the third inning, when Jeremy Alvarado’s base hit scored the runner from third base. With two outs and two on in Oxnard’s fourth, an infield error scored one run from third, and a pass ball to the backstop forced home the second.
“Wyatt settled in after the fourth inning, and Oxnard only had two base runners from then on,” head coach, Mario Porto said. “With Wyatt and Thomas holding the other team to zeros, that allowed us to [win.]”
Moorpark loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, starting with Kueber’s base hit. Luevano followed with a walk, and Hindle’s base hit bunt set the table for Garrett Serino. His double play ball brought home a run, but killed any hope of a rally.
“The coach came out and got me angry,” Birg said. “I made an adjustment and speeded up my windup and my footwork. Then I started throwing pretty well and I stuck with it. We needed the W and we got it.”
With one out in the seventh, Moorpark got back-to-back base hits from Dalton Duarte and Mulville. An outfield error allowed Duarte to score from third, and Riley Conlan’s base hit drove home the tying run, 3-3. However, a double play ball with runners at the corners ended the threat.
“It was a battle until the very end,” Mulville said. “I thought Wyatt Birg pitched extremely well. He’s always been our workhorse on the mound.”
The catcher, Hindle, made a great last out when the Condors threatened in the tenth, on a bullet from left field to tag the runner in a cloud of dust at the plate.
“We knew the pinch runner had some legs, and there was going to be a play at the plate,” Hindle said. “[The left fielder] made a perfect throw to me and I made sure I held onto the ball and got the out.”
Conlan’s base hit with one out gave the Raiders a second chance to win it in the tenth, but another double play saved Oxnard.
“We have to take care of business [to make the playoffs,]” Porto said. “I think the magic number is 20 wins, and we’re 18-15 overall. If we win out, we’ll have a real good chance. We’ll see what happens.”
Moorpark is now 18-15 overall, 9-12 in the WSC, Northern Division, and hosts Allan Hancock College in the last home game of the regular season at Raider Stadium, Saturday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m.
