Royal Turns Blue, Title to Camarillo

The Marmonte League baseball race ended in dramatic fashion Friday, as league leader Royal High was upset, 12-1, by cross-town rival Simi Valley and Camarillo downed Newbury Park, 6-4, to leapfrog over the Highlanders and claim the championship.

Royal began the day a half game ahead of Camarillo, but surrendered 14 hits, including four home runs, and trailed, 6-0 after two innings.

Camarillo (22-5-1 overall) finished 11-2-1 in league play, while Royal (15-8) was 11-3.

Brandon Voorhees, Dave Krewson, Brett Scott and John Whipp hit home runs for the Pioneers (16-9, 8-6), who finished in fourth place and out of the playoffs. Voorhees had two hits and four runs batted in and Krewson and Todd Scherwin each had two hits and two RBIs.

Simi Valley’s Scott Vermette (4-3) tossed a six-hitter, striking out five.

At Newbury Park, the Scorpions’ Jay Caliguiri scored the winning run on Jeff Bannon’s ninth-inning double.

Joe Borchard added a solo home run later in the inning. He also started and allowed 10 hits and four runs in eight innings, improving to 7-2. Borchard struck out six and walked one. Shane Miranda earned his third save. Camarillo last won the Marmonte League title in 1985.

Buena 4, Hueneme 2--The Bulldogs (11-7-1, 7-6-1) jumped on Pedro Cervantes (3-1) in the first, getting three hits and three earned runs off the senior.

The loss forced Hueneme (16-8, 10-4) to settle for a share of the Channel League title with Rio Mesa, a 9-3 victor over San Marcos.

Based on coin flips done earlier Friday by the schools’ athletic directors, Rio Mesa will enter the Southern Section playoffs as the league’s top seed.

Burroughs 4, Valencia 2--Wes Hutchison (10-2) scattered seven hits and struck out six to help the host Indians (18-7, 13-2) clinch their first Foothill League title in 40 years.

Hart 5, Burbank 4--Chris Wright scored from third base on a fielder’s choice by Cody Joyce in the sixth inning of a Foothill League game at Hart (18-8, 12-3).

Oxnard 10, Santa Barbara 2--Freshman Matt Adams (3-3) threw a three-hitter, striking out nine, walking four and allowing one earned run, and the Yellowjackets (7-12, 4-10) won a Channel League finale at Oxnard.

Nordhoff 4, Santa Paula 3--Jake Crawford’s two-out grounder in the eighth hit first base and bounced into right field, scoring the winning run for the Rangers (11-11, 9-6) in a Frontier League game at Santa Paula.

Moorpark 15, Santa Clara 5--Chris Doan had three hits and three RBIs for the Musketeers (16-9, 11-4) to spark a Frontier League victory at Santa Clara.

Campbell Hall 5, Whitney 4--The Vikings (14-11, 6-5), who were 0-22 three seasons ago, earned the first postseason berth in the program’s history by winning a playoff game for third place in the Delphic League at Campbell Hall.

Highland 10, Antelope Valley 7--Danny Galvan drove in four runs with two hits, including a three-run double for the host Bulldogs (11-14, 6-6) in a Golden League finale.

SOFTBALL

Alemany 8, Louisville 0--Kim Diener (21-3) pitched a four-hitter and drove in three runs with three hits for the Indians (21-3, 10-0) in a Mission League finale at Tarzana Park.

Malibu 3, Calabasas 2--The host Sharks (13-8, 10-5) scored the winning run on a fielding error in the eighth with two runners on and two out, securing second place in the Frontier League.

Moorpark 7, Santa Clara 0--Meaghan Finnerty had three hits--including a two-run triple and a two-run double--and Erin Heinbechner (12-5) pitched a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts for the host Musketeers (16-9, 12-3) in a Frontier League game.

Santa Paula 12, Nordhoff 0--Vanessa Gomez pitched a five-inning no-hitter for the Cardinals (11-13, 8-7), striking out four and walking one in a Frontier League game at Nordhoff (3-16, 1-14) that was called due to the 10-run rule.