Moorpark Plays Santa Claus to Santa Clara in 14-4 Loss

The Moorpark High baseball team played an eight-hour, 100-inning exhibition Tuesday to raise money for the program. A slightly shorter marathon was held Friday at Moorpark, but this one was put on by Santa Clara’s baseball team, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Moorpark’s charity.

Santa Clara sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored eight runs to blow open a close game on its way to a 14-4 non-league win. Six of the runs were unearned as Moorpark (4-8, 2-4) committed two errors, and pitcher Keith Orford wild-pitched home a run and balked in another.

Richard Mendez scored the first and last run of the inning: He scored on a fielder’s choice and hit a three-run home run. It was his second three-run home run of the game.

It wasn’t a pretty inning for the Musketeers, who allowed Andy Ahearn to travel the bases thanks to Moorpark miscues. He reached first on an error by second baseman Eric Taylor, advanced to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a throwing error by shortstop Frank Fernandez and scored on a balk.

Catcher Manny Ferguson and pitcher Pat Alvarez also scored in the inning, as a 6-4 game turned into a 14-4 runaway. Alvarez singled to drive in Ferguson, and Kasha Clemons singled home Alvarez.

Mendez had three hits, six runs batted in and scored three runs. The home runs were his first of the season. Ferguson scored three runs, and Alvarez had two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs for Santa Clara (8-4, 6-2). Alvarez pitched a complete game, surrendering four hits while striking out seven to raise his record to 1-3.

Moorpark’s hits came in the third and fourth innings and kept the Musketeers close. In the third, Moorpark’s Ben Gutierrez hit a two-run home run and David Romero hit a solo shot to cut Santa Clara’s lead to 4-3.

After Santa Clara scored twicein the fourth, Moorpark freshman Robert Hernandez, who was playing in his second varsity game, hit a two-out single in the bottom of the inning that drove in Fernandez.

“They hit the ball hard,” Santa Clara Coach John Lorenzana said. “I thought they would rise up, but they never did.”

Moorpark Coach Mario Porto said it was a typical game for his team.

“I wish we could play four-inning games,” he said. “Our record would probably be reversed if we had four-inning ballgames. I wish they would learn that when you’re down, you’ve got to hit the ball.”

Porto took out some of his frustration on a vocal fan at the start of the seventh inning. He crossed the diamond and shouted to a fan sitting behind first base, “Just keep your big mouth shut.” Porto had to be restrained by the home plate umpire, who steered him by the arm back to the dugout.

“The kids threw one away in infield and he started yakking,” Porto said of the fan. “We don’t need some idiot over there yakking at us.”

Romero pitched the first 3 innings and allowed six runs, five earned, as his record dropped to 3-1.