BLAZER BASH: Riley comes through in clutch, helps Basic top Spartans in Steven Janvrin championship

Roger Riley was Mr. Clutch for Basic’s baseball team on Wednesday.

The sophomore catcher had two game-winning hits, including a three-run double in the top of the seventh against Cimarron-Memorial to give the Wolves a 4-2 victory over the Spartans in the Steven Janvrin championship game at the Blazer Spring Bash at Durango.

“For Roger Riley to be a sophomore and have the approach that he’s had for this whole year has been just remarkable,” Basic coach Scott Baker said. “It’s been fun.”

Wednesday was more fun for Baker and the Wolves after two clutch hits by Riley. The Wolves trailed 2-1 going into the seventh against Cimarron, but loaded the bases on a hit batter, an error and David Huddleson’s single to bring up Riley.

He lined a 2-2 pitch just inside the right-field line for a three-run double to give Basic the lead. He had a two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give Basic a 10-9 win over Galena in the semifinals earlier on Wednesday.

“Roger Riley’s been huge,” Baker said. “I think he had three walk-offs (in the tournament). I think he had more walk-offs in a three-day span than most people have in their careers.”

Basic (16-3) struck first in the final, with Logan Green delivering an RBI triple in the fourth to give the Wolves the lead.

But Cimarron (17-2) answered in the fifth, as Basic pitcher Ryne Nelson ran into trouble for the first time. Nelson, who pitched 1 1/3 innings to get the win against Galena, went the distance in the final. He faced the minimum through four innings on just 36 pitches.

But things weren’t as easy in the fifth, as Nelson had to throw 33 pitches, and the Spartans scored twice to take the lead. Todd Danzeisen had an RBI triple and came home on a wild pitch to put Cimarron ahead.

But Nelson bounced back and allowed just one baserunner in the final two innings to close out the victory. He gave up four hits and struck out eight.

“That was probably the best stuff I’ve seen him have,” Baker said. “His fastball was pretty good, his breaking ball was good. He had good stuff. They’re a really aggressive team, so I think that helped us at times, but we played good defense, too. It was good to see.”

One thing the Wolves didn’t do well was run the bases. Basic had four players picked off in the game, but still managed to win their 13th consecutive game and end Cimarron’s 14-game win streak. Basic’s last loss came against Cimarron on March 9.

“I still think we haven’t really played our best baseball,” Baker said. “We’ve been fortunate, for sure. We’re still making some mistakes. So we’re going to go back and work on those things, too. But 13 in a row is 13 in a row. It’s not easy to do.”

Basic 10, Galena 9 — Riley’s two-run single to center with two outs in the bottom of the seventh gave the Wolves a semifinal win over the Grizzlies.

Basic took advantage of three seventh-inning errors to score four runs for the win.

Riley was 3-for-5 with three RBIs to lead the offense. Jack Wold was 3-for-4, and Huddleson was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Basic.

Wold led off the seventh with a single for Basic, but Josh McLean followed with a grounder to shortstop to force Wold. Mateo Lemus’ throw to first was offline, allowing McLean to reach second. He went to third on a passed ball, and scored on an error by third baseman Turner Gustafson to make it 9-7.

Cory Wills singled, and Tanner Roundy had an RBI single to pull the Wolves within 9-8. After a line out, Huddleson reached on an error by shortstop Lemus to bring up Riley.

Tom Lichty was 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs for Galena, which committed seven errors.

Cimarron-Memorial 11, San Pedro (Calif.) 6 — Danzeisen was 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple, three runs and an RBI and pitched six strong innings to lead the Spartans over the Pirates in the other semifinal.

Danzeisen allowed two earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.

Niko Decolati was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and Trent Bixby was 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs for the Spartans.

Luis Flores added two hits for Cimarron.

Louie Canjura was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI for San Pedro, which got a two-run homer from Cheech Pacheco.