Klein, old Sierra Vista chums breeze in tournament opener

Brooks Klein didn’t have to play for Sierra Vista’s American Legion baseball team this summer.

But after a productive freshman season at Western Nevada College, the 2009 Sierra Vista graduate decided to rejoin his old high school teammates. The Lions couldn’t be happier he did so.

Klein finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with six RBIs, to power Sierra Vista to a 15-7 rout of Waipahu (Hawaii) in the opening round of the American Legion Western Regional on Thursday at Wilson Stadium.

“I definitely want to be here,” said Klein, who will be a sophomore outfielder at Western Nevada. “Give credit to these coaches for my motivation and everything. They’re great coaches.

“You want to keep playing as far as you can, and I love playing with these guys.”

Klein hit a two-run triple to right-center field in the second inning to give the Lions a 5-1 lead. He added a solo home run to left-center in the seventh and a two-run double to center in the eighth.

“He’s patient at the plate and gets balls that he can drive,” Sierra Vista coach Levi Gill said of Klein, who also walked twice. “Hopefully he can stay on a good little roll and keep doing it.”

Sierra Vista (42-14) advanced to play Taylorsville (Utah) at 5 p.m. Friday. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament runs through Monday.

The Lions stayed red hot after winning the Legion state title Saturday.

Eight starters had at least one hit, including Alex Estrella, who was 3-for-5 and scored four runs. Jake Hager, Connor Klein and Julian Cutolo added two hits apiece.

Left-hander Estrella (7-2) got the win despite allowing seven runs on 11 hits and four walks in 6 2/3 innings. The senior-to-be struck out three.

“I can’t ask for too much more from (Estrella),” Gill said. “He threw strikes, and we came out with the W.”

Brooks Klein said it was crucial to open the tournament with a victory.

“It’s huge. It’s a relief on pitching, and our guys are feeling confident going into the next game,” he said.

Waipahu (17-7) will play Albuquerque La Cueva (N.M.) in an elimination game at 9 a.m. Friday.

Bishop Gorman 11, Long Beach-Wilson (Calif.) 10 — In a game that ended at 1:20 a.m. Friday, Erik Van Meetren’s two-out single to left field in the bottom of the ninth scored Johnny Sewald with the winning run to move the Titans into the winners’ bracket.

The Titans tied the game at 10 when T.J. White singled home Tyler Baker and Chris Tulak with one out in the ninth.

Gorman (56-12) advanced to play Tucson Northwest (Ariz.) at 5 p.m. Friday.

The Titans rallied from a 9-3 deficit with five runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth.

Johnny Field went 3-for-5 and scored two runs to lead Gorman, and teammates Sewald (two RBIs), Van Meetren (two RBIs) and Baker added two hits each.

The game was delayed for about 35 minutes when the stadium lights were knocked out at 11:10 p.m. after a Long Beach player unwittingly flipped a switch in the dugout, officials said. Long Beach led 6-3 heading to the bottom of the fifth at the time of the delay.

The lights slowly came back on around the park, and play resumed at 11:46 p.m.

Taylorsville 8, Albuquerque La Cueva 6 — The Warriors rallied from a 6-3 hole with four runs in the sixth inning to beat the Bears.

Dallas Carroll was 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead Taylorsville.

Tucson Northwest (Ariz.) 15, Boulder (Colo.) 9 — The Red Raiders benefited from 14 walks and two hit batsmen by five Boulder pitchers.

Stanley Brown was 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs for Tucson, which scored five runs in the seventh and seven in the ninth.