Tyler Vizcarra pitches Mustangs to win in Connie Mack tourney

Tyler Vizcarra didn’t let it bother him when his team failed to get a run in a bases-loaded situation in the top of the first inning on Monday.

Instead, he focused on keeping his team in the game.

Vizcarra did more than that, throwing a five-hitter to lead the Las Vegas Mustangs to a 4-1 victory over Faith Lutheran in the Connie Mack state baseball tournament at the College of Southern Nevada.

“The thing that I took out of my performance was that I pitched well and I pounded the zone and made them hit the ball,” Vizcarra said.

He struck out only three, but didn’t walk a batter and threw 59 of his 91 pitches for strikes.

“He got ahead of most of the hitters, and it’s a lot easier to pitch when you do that,” Mustangs coach Frank Tousa said. “And our defense was playing real well behind him, so he had a lot of confidence in letting guys put the ball in play.”

Vizcarra, batting ninth, also started the team’s three-run rally in the third inning when he led off the inning by doubling to the gap in left-center field.

“The first pitch he threw me a fastball right at my knees, and so I saw it, got the timing down and the next pitch was in the exact same spot, same pitch,” Vizcarra said. “So I just hit it.”

Vizcarra scored on a fielder’s choice by Kadin McDonald, and the Mustangs added a run on an RBI groundout by Tyler Black. The third run came home when Crusaders catcher Lucas Dockery made an errant throw back to the pitcher that wound up in center field, allowing McDonald to score from third to make it 3-1.

But Tousa said Vizcarra’s blow was key.

“It kind of shocked the kids that he hit a double to left center and kind of pumped them up,” Tousa said.

The Mustangs, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, play Desert Hills (Utah) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Second-seeded Faith Lutheran faces Green Valley Elite in an elimination game at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“We believe we can beat anybody in this tournament,” Vizcarra said. “We didn’t play too well in the summer, but we’ve just got to find our rhythm and have the great chemistry that we have.”

Southern Nevada Bengals 7, Las Vegas Longhorns 2 — Torren Brozovich and Jay DeSoto combined on a no-hitter as the Bengals topped the Longhorns.

Brozovich struck out 10 and allowed two runs (one earned) in five hitless innings. He was lifted after walking the first two batters to start the sixth. Brozovich walked four.

DeSoto struck out four and walked one in two hitless innings of relief.

Kannon Henderson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Nick DeSoto had an RBI triple for the Bengals.

Southern Nevada Falcons 10, Las Vegas Spartans 2 — Chayse Parenteau and Andrew Hauck each drove in three runs as the Falcons topped the Spartans in the tournament’s first game.

Parenteau went 2-for-4, and Hauck was 1-for-2 with a double and two runs. Gage Streit and Ben Gonzalez each went 3-for-4, and Kelton Lachelt and Brayden Griffie each provided two hits for the Falcons, who finished with 14 hits.

Lachelt picked up the win, allowing two unearned runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked six.

The Falcons play the Southern Nevada Bengals at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The Spartans face the Las Vegas Longhorns in an elimination game at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Desert Hills (Utah) 9, Green Valley Elite 3 — Bronson Andrus had three hits and two RBIs as the Thunder topped the Elite.

Kayden Goodman and Trey Allred each added two RBIs for Desert Hills, which scored four runs in the second and three in the third to take control.