City College baseball came from behind to defeat Moorpark 8-3 in the first game of conference play Saturday at Pershing Park.
The Vaqueros were down 2-0 before scoring their first four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“It was definitely a close game and being down was a problem, but our guys are good and we knew they’d crumble eventually,” sophomore Connor McManigal (No. 24) said.
During the bottom of the fourth, Matthew Henderson (No. 6) and Brandon Evans (No. 13) were walked before McManigal bunted the ball and reached first on an error by the pitcher. They each scored, unearned. James Hill (No.15) reached first on an error by the shortstop, and he would also score an unearned run. Head coach Jeff Walker didn’t show any sign of worry with his team down with first four innings.
“I’m never nervous, I always win,” Walker said.
During the bottom of the fifth the Vaqueros scored their last four runs of the day. Hill scored on an error, and McManigal would score for a second time. James Brakka (No. 9) scored after a sacrifice fly by Nolan Soto (No. 4). The last run of the game was by Noeh Martinez (No.17).
Lucas Jacobsen (No.39) pitched five innings before Jake Keily (No.32) took over. Walker believed the Vaqueros defense helped make up for some pitching errors.
“Our defense was good, and we exposed their defense,” Walker said.
The Vaqueros repeatedly chanted from the dugout “give them the chair,” in hopes of striking a Moorpark player out.
Moorpark scored two runs during the top of the fourth inning and one run at the top of the fifth.
The Vaqueros have won eight out of their nine games played this season. The victory against Moorpark is the team’s third straight. City College is ranked No. 4 in Southern California.
The Vaqueros plan on defeating Moorpark again at an away game next Tuesday.
“They’re a fun team to play against because they’re pretty predictable,” McManigal said.
“We were just trying to take advantage of their mistakes,” Henderson said. “We have a good team atmosphere and love to win so were going to get after it again.”
City College will play their next game at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19 at Oxnard.
