Baseball: Moorpark and Westlake facing must-win situations

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In case you forgot, there are a few Marmonte League games going on this afternoon loaded with playoff implications.

First, Moorpark must win on the road against tied-for-first-place Thousand Oaks if it wants to reserve a postseason ticket. The Musketeers pulled off a nice eyebrow-lifter on Friday against Westlake, but can they get the bats cracking against USC-bound ace Chad Smith?

If the Musketeers lose, Westlake can possibly pick up the Marmonte League’s last playoff berth with a victory over Calabasas. The Warriors are the only team to have beaten Simi Valley and TO this season, but their losses to Agoura and Moorpark surrendered full control over their playoff destiny. Still, UCLA-bound Cutter Dykstra, pictured, and the rest of the Warriors are favored to beat the Coyotes -- something the Musketeers can’t say about their game with TO.

Of course, there’s a good chance we’ll see a one-game playoff to determine fourth place in league between either Moorpark, Newbury Park, Westlake or Calabasas depending on how things shake out today.

I’ll be staking out the Westlake-Calabasas game, so check back later for a recap.

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Photo by Austin Knoblauch