High School Sports Notebook

After winning 23 games and advancing to the Southern Section Div. I baseball quarterfinals last year, Moorpark High is ready to put together another successful team, with many of its top players returning this season, including standout pitcher/outfielder Matt Higginbotham.

“We are going to be legit. We have a great team this year,” Higginbotham said.

The current group of seniors, Higginbotham included, won the Marmonte League frosh championship three years ago.

“Everyone is pretty solid. We’ve got a lot of talent,” Higginbotham said.

Among the key returnees are catcher Spencer Dubois, first baseman Jake Woolley, infielders Matt Corcoran and Blake Barnes and outfielder Sean Houlihan. Plus, Moorpark has welcomed back Johnny Wilson, a pitcher who left to play for San Clemente High two years ago but has returned.

“Johnny is a good pitcher. He’s 6-foot-3 and throws in the mid- to upper 80s,” Higginbotham said.

Moorpark is in the midst of an 11-game winter schedule that concludes Saturday with a 9 a.m. game against visiting Burroughs. The annual alumni game is Feb. 19 at noon, preceded by a showdown between the JV and frosh teams at 9 a.m.

The Musketeers are coming off a successful summer that included winning the Valley Instructional Baseball League championship with a 2-1 win over nine-time City champion Chatsworth. In the championship game, Matt Corcoran pitched a five-hitter.

Four Moorpark grads from last year’s team are playing in college. Jeff Barker is the first Moorpark alum to play for BYU. Tanner Moe is at Cal State Northridge, where he joins former teammates Justen Gorski and Westley Wright. Steven Motush is at Westmont—which happens to be Moorpark coach Scott Fullerton’s alma mater—and Luke Swenson is at UC Santa Barbara, following in the footsteps of 2005 Moorpark grad Cody Dee.

Higginbotham has interest from University of San Diego but has not committed anywhere. In the meantime, he is pumped for the season.

“We’ve been practicing every day, and we should be pretty strong,” Higginbotham said. “We’ve got a lot of returning players that can throw the ball, and six or seven guys that can hit the ball over the fence.”

HOOP IT UP

Moorpark’s basketball team ended the regular season on a good note Thursday, coming from 12 points down to defeat visiting Westlake 66-61.

Lionel Poole came through with a huge performance, scoring 13 points with 15 rebounds, seven blocks, four assists and four steals. Jake Myers added 22 points, as Moorpark took good care of the basketball by committing just nine turnovers.

The win broke a two-game losing streak and improved Moorpark to 18-8 and a fifth-place finish in the Marmonte League. Playoff pairings are scheduled to be released Sunday.

Moorpark’s girls team was not as successful, finishing with four consecutive losses—the last three on the road—and in sixth place in the Marmonte League with a record of 9-15, 3-11.

The Musketeers have a great building block for next year with freshman Kailee Severt, who led the league in scoring (19.7 per game) and rebounding (12.1 per game).

 STICKING WITH IT

 Quinn Bauducco, a top linebacker for the football team, signed with Minnesota, sticking with his preseason commitment even though the Gophers changed head coaches. He’s a 6-3, 230-pounder who had 100 tackles this past season.