DIVISION I-A BASEBALL: Sylvester, Crusaders advance to third consecutive state final

Elko jumped ahead of Faith Lutheran in the top of the first inning Friday in the Division I-A state baseball tournament at Durango.

Greg Sylvester and the Crusaders wasted no time retaking the momentum.

Sylvester put his stamp on the game in the bottom of the first with a two-out, three-run homer to left field to put Faith Lutheran on top, and the Crusaders held on for a 12-5 win over the Indians.

The victory moves Faith Lutheran (30-7) into the championship round where it will face Churchill County (25-10) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Las Vegas High. The Crusaders would have to win twice to claim their third consecutive state title.

“It feels good to get back into it,” Sylvester said. “This is the group that can come back and win two (games).”

Elko struck first when Jacob Conklin walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, but Cruz Daddario struck out the next two batters with the bases loaded to keep the Indians from increasing their lead.

“It was huge,” Sylvester said of Daddario getting out of the jam. “Cruz has a big heart and kept the momentum going for us.”

Sylvester drove the first pitch he saw over the fence in left, and the Crusaders wouldn’t trail again.

“It felt pretty good to get the team back on top,” Sylvester said. “And I felt like we kept it going from there.”

Faith Lutheran scored four runs in the second inning to pull away on RBI singles by Brandon Davis and Blake Giuliani and a pair of RBI groundouts.

Sylvester was 2-for-3 with four RBIs to lead the 12-hit attack for Faith Lutheran.

“He’s an amazing kid on the field and off the field,” Faith Lutheran coach Blair Neagle said. “He’s been doing that for four years. He plays the game the way it should be played: a lot of passion, a lot of fun and doesn’t take himself too seriously. And his skill set is amazing.”

Alex Giuliani was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI, and Blake Giuliani went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Crusaders.

Faith Lutheran now gets another shot at Churchill County, which beat the Crusaders 4-3 on Thursday.

“They’re young and full of life and we just need to go out there and play,” Neagle said. “As long as we don’t do a lot of scoreboard watching and we just play one pitch at a time, I think we’ve got a chance.”

Garrett Schoffield hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning for Elko, which finished 26-11.

Elko 7, Boulder City 6 — Schofield’s two-run homer to left field with one out in the bottom of the seventh ended the season for the Eagles.

Boulder City had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the inning on Steve Wagner’s suicide squeeze that brought home Zach Murphy.

Murphy, who blooped a single over shortstop to start the inning, went to third on Austin Shepard’s single to left and then scored the go-ahead run on Wagner’s bunt.

R.J. Bejarano led off the bottom of the seventh with a single up the middle for the Indians to chase Wagner, who allowed 11 hits in six innings of work.

Murphy came on to pitch and got a flyball before Schofield ripped a 3-and-2 pitch over the fence in left to end the game.

Murphy went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Preston Van Diest was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Boulder City (24-13).

Schofield went 3-for-4 wtith three RBIs, and Colten Jorgensen was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs for Elko.