COSTA MESA 7, CALVARY CHAPEL 4:

COSTA MESA — One more time, one more inning, one more league victory so the Costa Mesa High baseball can get back on track.

Tyler Peterson returned to the mound for the seventh inning. No one was going to replace the starter, even though he tagged Calvary Chapel harder than it hit him in the inning.

Peterson nailed one batter in the back, another on the helmet, loading the bases with two outs.

Coach Jim Kiefer stayed with his ace. The Eagles had the go-ahead run at the plate, the batter hitting Peterson the hardest.

Ryan Coon connected again, but a spectacular shoestring catch by Jesse Fox in shallow left field allowed the Mustangs to hold on and win, 7-4, in a crucial Orange Coast League game at home.

Peterson breathed a sigh of relief after watching Fox save the day.

Fox rose quickly after the grab. He sprinted toward the infield, holding the ball high for everyone to see, the base umpire, his teammates, the visitors and the fans.

The Mustangs wanted to party like it was 1978, their last league championship season. They’re going to have to most likely wait for the chance to celebrate because Costa Mesa’s next league game is on May 12.

All that matters to Kiefer is Costa Mesa (16-6, 9-1 in league) is one victory, or a Laguna Beach loss away from clinching at least a share of its first league title in 31 years.

The program with a longer drought than Costa Mesa is Laguna Beach, which last won a league title in 1963. The Breakers are 6-2 in league and chasing the Mustangs.

Laguna Beach has four league games left, two against Estancia next week and the last two the following week with Costa Mesa.

One team will make history. The Mustangs are planning to be the team after taking next week off in league.

The Mustangs returned to their winning ways after seeing Calvary Chapel ruin their perfect league record on Tuesday. Costa Mesa topped the above by mathematically eliminating Calvary Chapel (13-10, 4-4) from making a run at its third straight Orange Coast League title.

“They’re a great ballclub,” Fox said. “They beat us a lot. This time we finally got them.”

Costa Mesa made sure to knock the Eagles out of contention. Calvary Chapel hurt the Mustangs late last season, winning the final two league games to claim the title.

In each of the first two seasons in the Orange Coast League, the Mustangs finished behind Calvary Chapel. No more.

One of the smaller players at Costa Mesa came up big. The 5-foot-9 Peterson turned in a solid performance, good enough to record his fifth complete game and improve to 7-1.

Peterson still had some in him after averaging around a dozen pitches per inning. The right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh.

The leadoff batter singled after seeing two pitches. The next batter saw four cross the plate. The fifth bounced off his back, putting two runners on. Peterson got the next two hitters to fly out.

Again, Peterson, working a two and two count, went inside and the ball found the batter’s helmet. With the bases loaded, Peterson faced Coon, who was three for three with two doubles.

Coon might have cleared the bases if it weren’t for Fox’s glove.

“[Fox] made me so happy,” Peterson said. “[This win] made us a lot more comfortable with our position.”

With two league games left, the Mustangs are so close to becoming champions.

Orange Coast League

Costa Mesa 7, Calvary Chapel 4

SCORE BY INNINGS

Petrilli, Collier (5) and Wallach; Peterson and Hirsch. W – Peterson, 7-1. L – Petrilli. 2B – Coon 2 (CC), Waldron (CM).

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.