HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS : Santa Paula Gets Hot in a Hurry for 9-5 Win

Santa Paula Coach Henry Jacinto spent the first two innings of Tuesday’s game against Calabasas pacing in front of the dugout and muttering, “We’re not ready to play. I knew we wouldn’t be ready to play.”

He was wrong. Santa Paula got untracked in the fifth inning when the Cardinals came back from three runs down to tie the score, 4-4. The comeback, along with a five-run seventh inning, gave Santa Paula a 9-5, Frontier League win at Calabasas.

Santa Paula (12-3, 6-1 in league), which hasn’t won a league title in 30 years and already has more overall wins than any of the school’s baseball teams since 1957, remains in first place. Calabasas (4-8, 3-4) took a giant step toward dropping out of playoff contention.

“It’s going to take a miracle now,” Calabasas Coach Art Borgquist said. “Every time we had a lapse they jumped all over us.”

Calabasas was leading, 4-1, going into the fifth inning when Santa Paula tied the game on a bases-loaded double to left field by Patrick Mendoza.

Santa Paula scored the game-winning run when Robert Estrada hit a triple to left that scored Ruben Segovia, who had led off with a single to right. Santa Paula scored four more runs in the inning to put the game out of reach.

Brian Yanez (5-0) pitched a complete game to earn the win. Pat Fairly (2-3) took the loss.