Moorpark Baseball Season Ends With Playoff Loss

A season filled with so much promise came to an end last Friday for Moorpark High’s baseball team, as the Musketeers were eliminated from the Southern Section Division I playoffs with a 17-10 loss at Valencia in the first round.

It was a good season, not a great one, and Moorpark will have the summer to ponder all the what-ifs.

Overall, Moorpark finished 18-10 – compared to winning 23 games the year before while advancing to the section quarterfinals – and the final game was not pretty. The Musketeers twice surrendered three-run leads, as their pitching did not stand up without ace Matt Higginbotham, who had pitched six innings three days earlier in a first-round win over Long Beach Millikan.

Of course, the 17-10 loss to Valencia had a lot to do with the Vikings, not just Moorpark. A power-hitting team that has hit 41 home runs, Valencia proved too much to handle, belting out 15 hits, four for extra bases including James Bonds’ home run.

“Valencia really knows how to swing the bat. You’ve got to respect their ability to hit,” Moorpark first baseman Jake Woolley said.

The Vikings would go on to the next round, losing Tuesday at Dana Hills 8-6.

Without Higginbotham available, Moorpark went through four pitchers. But the standout senior did prove effective at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and a run. On the double, Higginbotham was robbed of a home run, as Valencia center fielder Alex Lightfoot leaped to get a glove on the ball as it soared above the fence.

Woolley had two hits, an RBI and a run, Sean Houlihan was 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs, and Patrick Blandin chipped in a hit, two RBIs and a run.

Next year, Moorpark will have to start from scratch, as nearly every key starter is a graduating senior, including Higginbotham, Woolley, Houlihan and Blandin. The other seniors are Matt Corcoran, Blake Barnes, Steven Donlon, P.J. Lombardo, Lance Poole, Cory Jackson, Johnny Wilson, Jeremy Sworzyn and Spencer Dubois.

Expected to return are juniors Ryan Zimmerman, Gunnar Mazur, Jordan Guerrero, Kevin West, Michael Ketring and Jared Matteera, sophomores Forrest Wright, Anthony Carbone, Sean Barry, Bradley Fullerton, Austin Cole and Taylor Ready and freshman Blake Chiaramonte.

Coach Scott Fullerton, who figures to return for his 19^th season, is still seeking his first section title. The Musketeers won four league titles in 1990s plus a league title in 2002.

Once among the area’s most feared programs while winning four league titles in the 1990s, Moorpark has finished first just once since 2002.Woolley and Poole, also top football players, plan to play football at College of the Canyons.