Umpire Has Santa Clara Fit for a Tie : High school baseball: Moorpark drops Saints into four-way deadlock for Frontier lead, 4-3.

Perfect pitch or imperfect call?

Opinions differ--drastically--on the final pitch in Moorpark High’s 4-3 victory over Santa Clara in a key Frontier League meeting Tuesday at Moorpark, but this much is certain: An umpire’s call helped create a logjam atop the league standings.

Moorpark’s Richard Hernandez struck out Armando Maciel on three pitches--all called strikes--to end the game with the tying run on second base. Santa Clara co-Coach John Wood thought Hernandez’s last pitch was outside.

Incensed by the call, Wood berated the home plate umpire.

“That was a terrible way to end a varsity baseball game. . . . it was a horrible call,” Wood said. “(The pitch) was nowhere near the plate.

“You can’t take a bat out of a kid’s hands like that. How can you end a game like that?”

Quickly.

And happily for Moorpark Coach David Rhoades.

“Well, (the umpire) was calling them like that the whole game,” Rhoades said. “I think the pitch was there. It was just one of those things.”

The Musketeers improved to 10-7, 5-3 in league play. Santa Clara dropped to 6-7, 5-3. Calabasas, Moorpark, Santa Clara and Santa Paula have identical league records with five games remaining.

Hernandez (4-2) pitched a five-hitter, giving up three earned runs, striking out six and walking four.

Moorpark will travel to Santa Clara for the teams’ final meeting Friday. Rhoades expects more of the same.

“It’s probably going to be another battle right to the last pitch just like this one,” Rhoades said. “This is what we kind of expected.”

Hernandez walked Fernando Garcia to open the seventh. Garcia was out at second on a fielder’s choice, with Drew Levy safe at first. Levy went to third on Nathan Donnelly’s single and scored on Andy Maciel’s grounder to first.

Then, Hernandez struck out Armando Maciel.

“Richard’s only problem today was that he walked the leadoff man in the seventh,” Rhoades said. “Otherwise, he did a good job.”

Santa Clara jumped ahead early against Hernandez. The senior right-hander looked shaky, giving up four hits and a walk in the top of the first.

Eric Starna’s two-out single drove in Andy and Maciel to give the Saints a 2-0 lead. Hernandez worked out of a bases-loaded jam by when Fernando Garcia grounded to Hernandez.

Hernandez helped himself in the bottom of the first when he drove in Rick Collier with a single. The Musketeers tied the game in the third when Brandon Garrettson singled home Adam Rauch.

Meanwhile, Hernandez was cruising: He did not surrender a hit from the second through sixth innings.

“I think they were sitting back on my fastball in the first inning because I couldn’t get my breaking ball over for strikes,” Hernandez said. “But as the game went on, I got control of my breaking ball.”

Moorpark took the lead in fifth against starter Pat Redican (2-4). Redican walked Jason Adamson and Brandon Garrettson to open the inning. Bill Finnerty’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners up and they scored on a double by Brian Garrettson.