Michael Coates' entire sophomore season played out over nine innings Tuesday afternoon.

Down early, toughing it out through the middle innings and ultimately prevailing for his teammates, the Cal State Northridge-bound pitcher from Thousand Oaks High put the Moorpark College baseball team into first place with two games to play with a 5-3 complete game victory at Ventura College.

"He bulldogged it," Moorpark coach Mario Porto said. "He just got better as the game went on. That's the type of guy you want out there right now."

Coates (4-5) shut out the Pirates for the final five innings to pick up his fourth straight win after starting the season 0-5.

"This is amazing," said Coates. "We have everything against us. It's just exciting to be in the race."

The win, combined with Cuesta's 9-8 loss at Santa Barbara City in 10 innings, put No. 20-ranked Moorpark (17-17, 11-7) even with No. 5 Cuesta (22-12, 11-7) in the Western State Conference's North Division with two games to play.

Third-place Santa Barbara (17-17, 10-8) is just one game behind, which will make the final two days of the regular season even more enthralling, considering only the top two teams will earn automatic postseason berths and the tiebreakers will be a mess since all three teams split their four-game season series against each other.

Moorpark has won 10 of its last 14 games to put itself in this position.

"It's surreal," said sophomore outfielder Taylor Khanowitch. "We've been the underdogs all season. We don't just have something to prove to the other teams, we have something to prove to ourselves."

Moorpark hosts fourth-place Hancock today at 2:30 p.m. in the program's final scheduled home game. School administrators have decided to shutter the program after the season due to budget cuts.

Former coaches Gil Mendoza and Jerry White are scheduled to throw out the first pitch. The school has invited all former Moorpark College baseball players to attend.

The suspension of the Moorpark College baseball team means that Tuesday's 5-3 Raiders win will be the final game between cross-county rivals Moorpark and Ventura for some time.

The two schools split the season series, 2-2, meaning Ventura will hold a slight 61-59 series edge going forward.

Porto and Ventura coach Don Adams go back decades, to when Porto was a VC player on the 1974 WSC title-winning team.

Before the game, Adams presented Porto with his 38-year-old No. 9 Ventura College jersey. After, he seemed optimistic that the Raiders could prolong their final run.

"With the pitching that he has," Adams said, "his team could get into the tournament and do some damage."

The Ventura College men's swimming team has finished in the Top 3 at the California Community College championships for seven straight years.

That streak is in jeopardy this weekend at East Los Angeles College after the Pirates qualified only eight swimmers last week while winning the Western State Conference title.

"We're a little hobbled," Ventura coach Larry Baratte said.

The big blow was sophomore Eric Donahoo, who, slowed for much of the season by what was discovered to be a torn meniscus, failed to qualify in his freestyle events.

"He's been hobbling around and he's been avoiding the doctor," Baratte said. "He's really turned everything over to the team."

Despite soreness, Donahoo, whose healthy times last year would have made him the top seed in the 200-yard freestyle this weekend, still plans to compete in relay events.

"I'm really proud of him," Baratte said. "He could have very easily have shrugged his shoulders and chucked it in."

With just eight men and seven women qualified, both the Ventura men's and women's teams are focused on Top 5 finishes.

Henry Chung is in position to complete a stellar freshman season. The sprinter is the top seed in all three of his individual events -- today's 50-yard freestyle (20.23 seconds), Friday's 100-yard backstroke (49.42) and Saturday's 100-yard freestyle (45.24)

"And I wish I could swim him in even more (events)," Baratte said.

On the women's side, sophomore Shyla Motley is the No. 3 seed in the 50-yard breast stroke (30.92 seconds), while freshmen Christina Robledo and Abby Puczkowski are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the 100-yard backstroke.

"They've just been solid all season long," Baratte said. "They're hard-working, good group with six freshmen and one sophomore.

"We're going to be right in the hunt. It'll be a great experience for the girls."

Sophomore forward Corey Hall, who had back-to-back 20-rebound performances in the postseason for the Ventura College men's basketball team, has signed with NCAA Division I Cal State Bakersfield.

The 6-foot-6 Chicago native averaged 12.2 points and 13.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

"The addition of Corey will allow the Roadrunners to continue their ascent at the Division I level," said Ventura coach Joey Ramirez in a release, "especially with his contributions on both ends of the floor and his tireless work on the glass."

In a meeting of the past two state champions, the Moorpark College men's volleyball team was eliminated in four games Tuesday night by host Irvine Valley in the CCCAA state quarterfinals.

"We took it on the chin out there," said Moorpark coach Steve Burkhart. "I thought we played well. Irvine just played a little better. That's all."

Sophomore outside hitter Tyler Peterson had 16 kills, freshman middle blocker Dustin Neary had 10 kills, setter Evan Litchfield had 34 assists and libero Dylan Shigekawa added 23 digs as Moorpark dropped its first postseason game since winning the 2010 state title.

Defending champ Irvine Valley (12-7) advances to face top-ranked Long Beach City in the state Final Four Thursday.

Moorpark (11-7) brought a three-match winning streak into the postseason, clinching the Western State Conference's third and final berth by sweeping its final three opponents, including No. 1 Long Beach.

But that streak ended when the Raiders dropped a sloppy first game, 25-18.

"They got out to a good start," said Burkhart. "We just didn't pass well. We just didn't do a lot of things real well (in the opening game)."

Moorpark dropping a tight second game 25-22, but responded by snatching the third game 25-18 and leading the fourth game, 14-13, before succumbing 25-19.

"We were in it to the end and just made a couple big errors," said Burkhart. "They just played a little bit better than we did."

The Moorpark College men's volleyball team will travel to Orange County Tuesday for the state quarterfinals.

Moorpark (11-6) will face Irvine Valley (11-7) at 6 p.m. in a matchup of the last two state champions. It is also a rematch of last year's state quarterfinal at Raider Pavilion, which Irvine Valley won on its way to the title.

Moorpark finished the regular season with three straight three-game sweeps, including a second win over No. 1 Long Beach City, to clinch a postseason berth. Moorpark also swept Irvine Valley in February.

Ventura College freshman Henry Chung, attempting to qualify for this summer's London Olympics in his native country, broke the Hong Kong national record in the 100-meter backstroke Saturday at the 55th annual Hong Kong Olympic Time Trials.

Fighting the flu and fatigue from a delayed 16-hour flight from LAX, Chung swam the 100 backstroke in 57.49 seconds during the preliminaries, finishing less than a second short of the 56.59 mark needed to qualify for this summer's Games.

Chung missed the event finals with a fever, which prompted a trip to the hospital. But the 19-year-old return to swim a personal best 23.37 in the 50-meter freestyle, which is less than a half second short of both the national record and Olympic qualifying standard.

"What he did in the 100 back was remarkable," said Ventura coach Larry Baratte, who coached Chung via text message from Ventura. "He'll have a few more opportunities (to qualify) in May and June and the conditions should be much more favorable."

Chung returned to Ventura Sunday to train for this weekend's Western State Conference championships and the California Community College championships later this month.

A swimmer's primary opponent is always the clock and his own body.

Ventura College freshman Henry Chung will be uniquely reminded of those confines this weekend, as he attempts to qualify for the Olympic team in his native Hong Kong.

For the opportunity, Chung will spend roughly the same amount of time aboard planes as he will on the ground in Hong Kong -- 32 hours.

"I'll do a little bit of stretching and walk around the plane to keep my body ready for the race," said Chung, who left LAX late Thursday, will arrive in Asia Saturday morning and will return Sunday. "I might have a little jet lag, but I still think I have an opportunity to quality."

To qualify for London, Chung, 19, needs to top 22.8 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle or 56.59 in the 100-meter backstroke. His bests this season at VC are inside a second of those benchmarks.

"He's rested up and ready to go," said Ventura coach Larry Baratte. "The challenge is the flights."

Chung joins Jeff Barrett, who participated in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2008, as VC swimmers to participate in Olympic trials. Although Barrett, who will be inducted into the VC Athletic Hall of Fame next month, did so he had completed his collegiate career.

If he qualifies, Chung would become VC's first international since Sally Tuttle competed in the 1975 Pan-Am Games.

Chung has already experienced the process last quadrennial, when he was just 15. If he comes up short this weekend, he'll have more opportunities to reach the qualifying standards in May and June.

"It'll be great if he's able to quality," said Baratte, "but we have other meets that we're pointing to, as well."

Whatever the result, Chung will return Sunday to prepare for the Western State Conference championships and the California Community College championships later this month.

Fitting his behind-the-scenes role at Moorpark College athletic events, Vance Manakas had hoped to keep the news of his induction this weekend into the California Community College Athletic Trainers Association's Hall of Fame quiet.

"I like to stay in the background," said Manakas, who in his 31st year at Moorpark College. "It's not about me."

But Moorpark athletic director Howard Davis finally received word of Friday's ceremony this week, allowing Manakas's peers to pay deserved tribute.

"Vance's 30-year contribution to MC athletes is immeasurable," said Davis. "His medical expertise and diagnostic ability is unmatched."

It isn't just limited to the student athletes. Davis was complaining of leg pain a few years ago when Manakas correctly diagnosed him on the spot.

"You know it's your back, not your leg, right?" asked Manakas. "You have a herniated disc."

Manakas's diagnosis was later confirmed by MRI.

"This is after I had been to three doctors by the way," said Davis. "Vance is unbelievable."

The Southern California Football Association released its 2012 schedule Monday.

Ventura College football coach Steve Mooshagian was pleased by a tough non-conference slate that includes visits by Riverside (Sept. 1), which went 11-0 last fall, including a win over Southern California champ Mount San Antonio, and Saddleback (Oct. 7) and trips to Long Beach City (Sept. 8) and Los Angeles Harbor (Sept. 15).

"I like it," said Mooshagian. "It shows that we've arrived and people are looking at us in a totally different way. We've earned some respect.

"If you want to be the best, you have to play the best. That's how we're approaching it."

The season opener against Riverside, coached by former Palomar and San Diego State head coach Tom Craft, will be a marquee event.

"I love it," said Mooshagian, the former Sacramento State head coach. "Two former Division I head coaches (matched up)... Tom is a hell of a coach."

Moorpark, which joins VC, Bakersfield, Hancock, Canyons, Pasadena and Cerritos in a reconfigured SCFA Northern Conference this fall, opens at Orange Coast and hosts Citrus and Santa Ana.

The annual Citrus Cup game is the fifth week of the season, Sept. 29 at Moorpark.

The SCFA interrupted the Big Game rivalry after 48 years of continuous play. This will be the first fall since 1962 that VC and Santa Barbara City don't meet on the football field.

Meanwhile, Moorpark retained its other local rival, Los Angeles Pierce. The Raiders go to Woodland Hills Oct. 8.

Oxnard College softball player Janai Shaw is this week's Western State Conference Athlete of the Week.

The sophomore from Pacifica High was 3 for 4 with two home runs, three runs and two RBIs in a 11-8 loss March 27 at Hancock and pitched a shutout against Cuesta Thursday, when she tripled and scored the only run of the game.

Western State Conference
Through April 3

Baseball
WSC North
Standings DIV OVR
School W-L GB W-L
Cuesta 9-3 -- 19-7
Moorpark 7-5 2.0 12-15
Oxnard 6-7 3.5 12-15
Ventura 5-6 3.5 14-11
Santa Barbara 5-7 4.0 12-15
Hancock 4-7 4.5 8-17

Softball
WSC Gold
Standings DIV OVR
School W-L GB W-L
Ventura 10-1 -- 25-5
Santa Barbara 7-3 2.5 17-13
Oxnard 5-5 4.5 10-13
Moorpark 4-4 4.5 10-18-1
Hancock 5-6 5.0 13-17
Cuesta 3-8 7.0 7-23
L.A. Pierce 1-7 7.5 5-20

Men's tennis
Standings DIV OVR
School W-L GB W-L
Ventura 8-0 -- 15-4
L.A. Pierce 5-3 3.0 13-6
Santa Barbara 4-3 3.5 5-3
Glendale 2-5 5.5 5-10
Bakersfield 0-8 8.0 0-8

Women's tennis
Standings DIV OVR
School W-L GB W-L
Ventura 8-0 -- 15-0
Santa Barbara 5-2 2.5 11-2
Glendale 4-3 3.5 5-6
Bakersfield 2-6 6.0 2-6
Santa Monica 0-8 8.0 0-9

Men's golf
Standings
School W-L Total Ave
Canyons 28-2 1897 379.4
Glendale 19-11 1938 387.6
Ventura 18-12 1962 392.4
Santa Barbara 18-12 1963 392.6
Hancock 12-18 1993 398.6
Citrus 7-23 2003 400.6
Bakersfield 3-27 2037 407.4

Men's volleyball
Standings DIV OVR
School W-L GB W-L
Long Beach 6-1 -- 13-1
El Camino 6-1 -- 10-3
Santa Barbara 4-4 2.5 9-6
Moorpark 3-4 3.0 8-6
L.A. Pierce 3-4 3.0 8-6
Santa Monica 0-8 6.5 3-12