SUNRISE REGION: Fresquez slams door as Cougars survive

With his Coronado baseball squad against the ropes in the sixth inning Thursday, relief pitcher Evan Fresquez used the same mentality he always does when his number is called.

“What I do is bear down,” Fresquez said. “My adrenaline is pumping and I just have to go in there and get the job done. No matter what the situation is.”

Fresquez escaped a no out, bases-loaded jam to help the Cougars eliminate Rancho with a 5-1 win in the losers’ bracket final of the Sunrise Region Tournament at Las Vegas.

Coronado (30-3), which ousted Green Valley 2-1 in eight innings earlier in the day, will face Liberty (26-4) at 1 p.m. today at Las Vegas. Should the Cougars win, a second game will played at 4 p.m. to determine the region champion.

“We put ourselves against the wall three days ago by dropping the first one,” said Coronado coach David Padilla, whose team lost to Rancho on Monday. “The kids battled back. We played a tough one against Las Vegas. Yesterday, our bats woke up. Today, they were silent during that whole first game, but we answered back.”

Holding a four-run lead in the top of the sixth, Fresquez came in for Jackson Cofer with runners on first and second with no one out. After hitting Rancho’s Cody Suarez on his second pitch out of the bullpen to load the bases, the senior went to work.

Fresquez struck out Andrew Wieger on eight pitches, then induced a sharp ground ball up the middle that was tracked down by Coronado’s Tyler Brown. The second baseman flipped the ball with his glove to Cain Brady, who made a flawless turn to first to complete the inning-ending double play.

“He came in and did what he does,” Padilla said of Fresquez. “He’s our closer. He came in and threw strikes, gave us the opportunity, and left the bases loaded. That was absolutely huge for us.”

The Cougars overcame a 1-0 deficit in the second with solo home runs from Julian Burrola and Michael Pollex. Coronado added three more runs in the fourth with RBI singles from Brady, Brown, and Michael Maiello. Pollex and Brady each went 2-for-3 . 

“We have a team this year that battles,” Padilla said. “We’ve faced good teams all year long, just like this Rancho team. But just because we were down, didn’t mean we were going to fold over and run away.”

The Rams (21-15) failed to capitalize in the fifth when they loaded the bases with two outs. Cofer struck out Jose Verdugo on a 1-2 curveball to get out of trouble.

Wieger hit a solo home run in the top of the second for Rancho’s lone run.

In the first game Thursday, Chandler Blanchard’s single into right field with one out in the top of the eighth scored Brown to push the Cougars past the Gators.

Brady singled home Miles Bice with two outs to tie the game in the seventh.

Green Valley (23-11) left the bases loaded in the seventh with one out, and Coronado starting pitcher Dylan Myers retired the No. 4 and No. 5 hitters in order.

Myers tossed a complete game, striking out four and walking three to pick up the win for the Cougars.

Jarrett Perns went 2-for-3 for the Gators.