Another painful loss for Moorpark baseball in CIF SoCal Regional final

The Moorpark baseball team lost to Liberty, 6-5, in 10 innings in the CIF Southern California Regional Division II championship game on Saturday in Bakersfield.

Moorpark led 4-0 going into the bottom half of the seventh. Liberty rallied to tie the game, with the key blow a three-run home run with one out that made the score 4-4.

Liberty then won the game with a run-scoring double in the 10th.

Moorpark scored a run in the top of the eighth to take a 5-4 lead, but Liberty scored a run in the bottom half of the inning to keep the game going.

It was the second championship game in two weeks where the Musketeers (21-12-1) lost with a dramatic finish in the final innings.

Moorpark lost to Hart, 7-6, in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship game on May 17.

Moorpark Unified School District ended up appealing the result of the game after an in-game judgment call determined a deep hit to left field was a ground rule double after originally being called a home run that would have given Moorpark the victory and the title.

Moorpark had its longest playoff run in program history this season under the direction of head coach Aaron Garcia, who is a program alumnus. The Musketeers were the Coastal Canyon League runner-ups and went on to reach CIF-SS and CIF regional finals.