Legacy takes two in baseball
It's tough to win 12 straight games without catching a few breaks.
Legacy's baseball team got a couple of breaks on Monday, and the Longhorns took advantage by beating Bonanza 3-2 and Carson (Calif.) 5-4 in the Blazer Spring Bash at Bonanza.
Against Carson, the Longhorns (12-1) trailed 4-2 in the fifth but rallied to score twice to tie the score. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Andres Ortiz walked with one out and scored on Chase Skinner's RBI double to right-center field.
"He put the bat on the ball and found a hole," Legacy coach Bill Dexheimer said. "In both games today, we hit the ball pretty hard, just right at folks. That's all you can ask of the kids is to be a tough out and have good at-bats. When you pitch and play defense, sometimes later in the game you get those balls to drop."
It was Skinner's second key double of the game. He hit a two-out double in the fifth inning to put runners on second and third.
Austin Christiansen then hit a liner to center field. Carson's Mike Johnson tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball got past him, allowing two runs to score to tie the game at 4.
Ortiz threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. Starter Zack Monticelli allowed three earned runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.
"He hasn't been a key starter for us this year, but he stepped up and gave us a good 5 1/3 (innings) there," Dexheimer said. "He located the fastball real well, and he threw his secondary pitch for a strike."
In the first game, Joey Lauria tossed a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts to help the Longhorns edge the Bengals.
"That kid's been stepping up for us," Dexheimer said. "He had a great offensive season last year. In order for us to be competitive, I need my juniors to step up and start pitching well. And Joey's a junior, and he's throwing well."
The Longhorns haven't lost since their season opener on March 12 when they dropped a 5-2 decision to Rancho.
"When we play certain teams in our division, we're probably not as talented position by position, but I think a good description is we're gutsy and competitive," Dexheimer said. "Good, hard-nosed type kids that just try to find a way to win."
Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.
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MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
BASEBALL
• Billy Bob Ward’s RBI single plated the go-ahead run to help Spring Valley to a 3-2 win over visiting Arbor View in the Blazer Spring Bash.
• Las Vegas’ Quinnton Mack singled home Tanner Chauncey with one out in the eighth as the Wildcats beat visiting Banning (Calif.) in the Blazer Spring Bash.
• Arbor View’s Zach Hartman pitched a five-inning one-hitter to lead the Aggies to a 10-0 win over San Fernando (Calif.) in the Blazer Spring Bash.
SOFTBALL
• Palo Verde’s Missy McCormick broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning and tossed a three-hit shutout in the Panthers’ 4-0 win over Foothill in the Spring Jamboree at Majestic Park.
• Durango’s Ashley Hall hit a two-out grand slam on an 0-and-2 pitch to lift the Trailblazers past Coronado 6-4 in the Spring Jamboree at Majestic Park.
• Cimarron-Memorial’s Carrie Sheehan allowed a total of two runs on six hits in two games to lead the Spartans to two victories at the Charger Invitational.
