"[This win] was huge. After losing all those games, it's [about] just trying to come back and get a win, get back on a winning streak. You've got to build from there, it's a snowball effect."
Chapjian's moonshot, a no-doubter from contact, capped a ninth-inning comeback from a 7-6 deficit that began with a leadoff walk by Ellis Whitman, who stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before back-to-back walks loaded the bases with one out.
Josh Goosen-Brown worked a full count before hitting a fly ball that just didn't have enough distance for Whitman to tag up with the tying run, a moot consideration moments later when Chapjian left the yard.
"We need those wins," said Glendale Coach Tony Riviera, whose team is now over .500 on the season at 13-12, but in last place in league at 5-12. "We know that we're a much better ball club than pretty much every team in this league."
Homegrown talent came up big throughout the game for the Angelenos, who got three hits and three runs batted in from catcher Chad Nacapoy, a Crescenta Valley High graduate, and a pivotal pinch-hit at-bat in a tie game from John Schwer, who played for the Glendale college last season.
Schwer's seventh-inning infield single with Whitman on second base caused the Oaks' second baseman Trevor Koons to rush his throw to first base, resulting in an error that allowed Whitman to round third and score a go-ahead run. Schwer scored another run himself later in the seventh on a balk to make it 6-4.
But, the Angelenos were unable to hold the two-run lead, as the Oaks struck back with three runs in the top of the eighth.
Conejo's go-ahead rally began with a double by Nick Boggan, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by JC Aguayo to pull within 6-5.