Canyons Forges Tie for Conference Lead : JC baseball: Kovacic home run caps comeback as Cougars dump Moorpark, 10-9.

Clinging to a one-run lead with two out in the top of the ninth inning against visiting Moorpark College, Canyons had its back to the wall in more ways than one.

For starters, a loss Tuesday afternoon would have put Canyons two games behind the Western State Conference-leading Raiders, a deep hole to climb out of with only six conference games remaining.

Secondly, there was Canyons left fielder Gary Morgan standing a step from the fence, trying to snare a drive by Moorpark cleanup hitter Darren Aurand that looked so much like a three-run home run that elated Moorpark players had begun to stream off the bench.

However, Morgan caught Aurand’s drive and Canyons went on to win, 10-9, leaving the teams tied for first place, a half-game ahead of Cuesta.

Canyons trailed 6-0 after 2 1/2 innings, led 8-6 after five, trailed 9-8 after 7 1/2, then pulled ahead for good when Steve Kovacic hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Kovacic, Canyons’ second baseman, said he could tell Aurand’s shot wouldn’t clear the fence because Aurand had been “kitchened,” jammed by an inside pitch.

It was an appropriate fate for a Moorpark batter because Canyons Coach Len Mohney threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Raiders.

Mohney went through four pitchers before he finally called on Roland De La Maza, who had gone nine innings Saturday. De La Maza (5-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his second win in four days.

“I don’t think we could have gotten much more out of him. Basically we’re in a do-or-die situation,” Mohney said. “If it’s the fifth game of the year or a 35-40-game schedule, you don’t bring in a guy like that. But if we lose, we’re two down and we don’t play them again.”

Canyons (19-8, 11-3 in conference play) and Moorpark (16-8, 11-3) have split their meetings this season, each team winning by one run at home. But this one looked like a blowout early.

Darin Furlong hit a two-run home run for Moorpark in the first inning, and the Raiders added four more with four consecutive hits in the third.

Charlie Fowlks got Canyons started with a two-run home run to left in the third, and J. R. Trujillo followed two batters later with another two-run home run. Trujillo’s blast, a mammoth blow well over the flag pole in left, was his team-leading 11th.

The first four batters in the Canyons lineup reached base a combined 16 times in 20 plate appearances. Leadoff hitter Ron Robart was twice hit by pitches to push his season total to 15, and he reached base five times.

However, the Canyons offense was bogging down at the No. 5 hitter, Kovacic, who was hitless in his first four ties with three strikeouts. Then he connected off Moorpark reliever and loser Rob Teasdale (4-1).

“It was a long day up till that one,” said Kovacic, who dipped a high fastball over the fence for his fifth home run. “I was thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be a great story if I hit a homer now and win it.’ ”

Aurand attempted to write a different ending to the story.

“When he first got ahold of it, it looked like it was going to go out,” Moorpark Coach Ken Wagner said. “A lot of balls go out of left field here. It just have didn’t enough on it.”