East Keeps Westlake in Right Direction

The league championship they expected to claim never materialized. Neither did gaudy statistics or regional acclaim. But the Westlake High baseball team will be playing in June and the Warriors are more than happy with that.

Westlake held off Moorpark, 6-5, Friday in a Division III quarterfinal game at Westlake, allowing a 6-0 lead to dwindle to a one-run advantage in the fifth and sixth innings. Ethan East earned the save with two innings of hitless relief and Doug Hutton’s three-run home run in the fourth provided the winning margin.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride and a lot of things haven’t gone our way this season,” East said. “But I knew if we could get [into the playoffs] we’d hold our own.”

The Warriors (18-10) will face Serrano, a 6-0 winner over Elsinore on Friday, in a semifinal game at a neutral site to be determined today.

Westlake, which many predicted would win the Marmonte League, needed a victory over Royal on the final day of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs as the league’s third and final entry. The Warriors then narrowly averted a first-round loss, downing Paso Robles in eight innings.

A rout of Dos Pueblos in the second round, followed by Westlake’s early advantage Friday, made it seem like the team could afford to put things on cruise control.

“We’re finding ways to win but we almost let this one get away,” Coach Chuck Berrington said.

While Warrior starter Jeff Boyle (7-3) held Moorpark (20-8) to one hit and no runs in the first four innings, his teammates hammered Musketeer starter Brian Gilbert (7-3).

Westlake struck for two runs in the first with Kevin Howard’s double scoring Joey Cuppari and Ryan Cope’s groundout driving in Howard. In the third, Cope’s single scored Cuppari for a 3-0 lead.

The Warriors increased their advantage to 6-0 in the fourth on Hutton’s fourth home run, a lengthy shot to center field that scored Scott Dragicevich and Garett Michaels.

Moorpark rallied in the fifth with a seemingly innocuous, two-out home run by Justin Tolliver to pull within 6-1.

Three consecutive Musketeer singles to open the sixth made the score 6-2. Taylor Slimak followed with a walk and the bases were loaded with nobody out.

The next batter, Matt Norris, grounded to third baseman Howard, whose throw to catcher Nate Liberman beat Chris Stoddard to the plate. But Liberman did not step on the plate, allowing Stoddard to score and Slimak to reach safely.

Moorpark pulled within 6-4 when Brendan Weak’s ground-out scored Wes Rasmussen. Berrington summoned East, who induced consecutive ground-outs.

Moorpark scored its final run on a throwing error by Howard but stranded two runners.

Boyle allowed five hits and struck out five.