Royal Beats Simi Valley on Wild Pitch

Paul Taylor scored from third base on a wild pitch Wednesday to cap a three-run seventh inning and give host Royal High a 5-4 Marmonte League baseball victory over archrival Simi Valley.

With one out and runners at second and third, Taylor charged home on an attempted squeeze. The play didn’t fool Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers, who had called for a pitchout. However, reliever Trevor Leppard threw wildly, allowing Taylor to score the winning run.

Royal (5-3, 2-1) trailed, 4-2, after 6 1/2 innings of a game that featured a 15-minute rain delay. Taylor’s run-scoring single and Mike Worford’s run-scoring double, which sent Taylor to third, pulled Royal even.

Taylor was three for four and had one run batted in. For Simi Valley (6-2, 2-1), ranked No. 1 in The Times’ regional poll, Ryan Briggs and Jason Alcala each went two for three.