Pierce Rally Nets 2-1 Win at Moorpark

The Western State Conference baseball game between Pierce College and Moorpark on Saturday took on the atmosphere of a college football rivalry.

With the schools locked in a duel of strong left-handed pitchers, both teams held football-type pep rallies in their respective dugouts during each of the final three innings.

Once the rally cries ended, Pierce emerged with a 2-1 upset of the host Raiders.

A one-out walk to Jeremy Lipton, the No. 9 batter in the Pierce lineup, started the winning rally in the ninth for the Brahmas. Lipton stole second on the next pitch and, one pitch later, Tony Dello drove the ball down the right-field line to score Lipton, who just beat Brian Pearson’s throw to the plate to give Pierce the margin of victory.

Moorpark (19-10, 8-4 in conference play) staged a raucous rally in its dugout in the bottom of the ninth, but its rally on the field fell short.

With one out, Don Smith singled to right and moved into scoring position on a ground out. Darin Furlong reached first and Smith moved to third on a third-strike passed ball by catcher Doug Johns.

But Steve Sisco flew out to right field to end the game.

With the win, Pierce (14-13, 7-5) knocked Moorpark out of a three-way tie with Canyons and Ventura for the conference lead. Ventura is 9-3 and Canyons 8-4.

The victory also kept alive Pierce’s own playoff hopes.

“We really needed this win more than Moorpark did,” Pierce Coach Bob Lyons said. “They are pretty much assured of the playoffs and we are trying to make the playoffs, so this was an exciting and great win for us.”

Left-hander Peter Dragaloski (5-2) pitched masterfully, scattering nine hits and two walks and striking out four. Moorpark’s only run was unearned, as Sisco reached on an error in the first and scored on a single by designated-hitter Kris Kaelin.

“Today we gave him some good defensive play and he got the win he deserved,” Lyons said of Dragaloski.

For Moorpark, freshman left-hander Willie Leighton (6-1) allowed only five hits, but his fifth walk put the winning run aboard in the ninth.