Moreno Provides Relief for Chatsworth, 5-4

The rain had been falling all week, so the Chatsworth High coaching staff held a meeting for pitchers Wednesday. The point of the lecture--more of a recap, really--was simple. Every orange-capped noggin nodded and everyone seemed to be listening.

And in Friday’s Northwest Valley Conference game against San Fernando, senior right-hander Anthony Moreno proved the message had hit home.

“The coaches told us that the ones who threw strikes would get the most playing time,” Moreno said. “I want playing time. It’s my last year.”

In 5 1/3 innings of near-perfect relief, Moreno allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none as Chatsworth beat the Tigers, 5-4, at San Fernando. Chatsworth beat San Fernando by the same score Thursday.

With two out in the second, Moreno (1-0) relieved Mitch Root with runners at first and second and Chatsworth trailing, 4-0. He struck out Ethan Rodriguez to end the threat--and set the tone.

Moreno, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound transfer from Antelope Valley High, was one of a handful of pitchers seeking a berth in the starting rotation. He quickly has become a favorite in the Chancellor arms race.

“He definitely picked up big points with the coaching staff,” Coach Tom Meusborn said. “He kept us in the ballgame and gave the hitters a chance to get us even, and that’s all we can ask.”

San Fernando (5-4, 3-2 in league play) chewed on a wild Root in the first two innings, turning six walks and two hits into a four-run lead. Root threw 65 pitches in 1 2/3 innings before he gave way to Moreno and moved to shortstop.

“I spotted them four,” said Root, a returning All-City Section player who is considered the staff ace. “It’s a good thing we can swing the bats.”

San Fernando right-hander Rick Savala (4-2) allowed a single and a walk over the first three innings, but Chatsworth (7-2, 5-0) crawled back in the fourth.

“Once we saw him one time through the lineup, we were right on him,” Root said of Savala. “We knew if we put the pressure on them, they wouldn’t get the job done.”

Nestor Martinez sent a leadoff grounder through the wicket of first baseman Damacio Mendoza for a two-base error, and Root followed with a walk. Thurman Williams, who Thursday dropped a two-out fly ball in center field that allowed two runs to score, took a step toward redemption when he singled down the line in right to drive in Martinez.

Williams, however, was thrown out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double. He would nonetheless square his account later.

Adam Pearlman doubled off the fence in left-center to drive in Root, giving Pearlman 21 runs batted in over the Chancellors’ first nine games. After Pearlman advanced to third on a ground out, Savala plunked Brian Gilder in the rump to put runners at the corners.

Gilder stole second, the ball glancing off the glove of second baseman David Rojas as Rojas tried to cut off the throw and nail Pearlman, who had broken from third. Pearlman scored, bringing Chatsworth to within one run, and Rojas was given an error on the play.

With two out in the fifth, Martinez singled to right. Root sent a ground ball to third, but Mendoza failed to catch the throw at first, and the runners advanced to second and third. For the second time in as many innings, Williams delivered an opposite-field single to right, this time driving in Martinez and pinch-runner Suelkie Kim for a 5-4 lead.