Harper brothers lead Wildcats to victory

Second-ranked Las Vegas had been waiting since the start of league play for a true test on the baseball field.

On Monday, the Wildcats played Rancho, the only other team in the Northeast Division with a winning overall record, and Las Vegas passed is test with flying colors.

Bryan Harper threw a four-hitter, and Bryce Harper had three extra-base hits and drove in four runs as the Wildcats (20-4, 6-0 Northeast) earned a 13-2 road win.

"It's nice to see Rancho so improved," Las Vegas coach Sam Thomas said. "It adds some competition to the league."

The game was tight through the first four innings as Rancho ace Justin Neubauer allowed just one hit and the game was tied at 1.

But then Bryce Harper rocketed a solo home run over the center-field fence with one out in the fifth to put the Wildcats up 2-1.

Las Vegas added four runs in the sixth and seven in the seventh to pull away.

"That was the firecracker we needed, because (Neubauer) had us off balance," Thomas said of Bryce Harper's home run. "Bryce got us going."

Bryce Harper added an RBI triple in the sixth and a two-run triple in the seventh.

Jordan Gonzales and Miguel Ortiz each added two hits, and Bryan Harper drove in two runs.

Bryan Harper was in control throughout, even if he got little help from his defense. He didn't allow an earned run as the Wildcats made four errors. He struck out nine and walked none.

Thomas said the team now has to refocus as it awaits its next matchup against the Rams (13-10, 5-1) on May 1.

"It's hard to get focused for them," Thomas said. "But they have to, or somebody like a Chaparral or a Valley or an Eldorado, they're going to come up and surprise you."

• Valley 6, Eldorado 5 -- At Valley, Jesse Acosta's RBI single in the eighth gave the Vikings the win over the Sundevils.

Acosta drove in three runs for Valley, which trailed 4-0 after a half inning.

• Bonanza 11, Western 3 -- At Bonanza, Kris Bryant homered for the sixth consecutive game as the Bengals defeated the Warriors.

Bryant now has nine home runs on the season and is hitting .647 in his last six games.

David Pettis scattered five hits and struck out nine in the complete-game win. Axel Johnson and Teddy Merich each had three hits for Bonanza.

• Chaparral 8, Canyon Springs 6 -- At Canyon Springs, Raul Jimenez went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Cowboys over the Pioneers.

Jordan January was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs for Chaparral. Canyon Springs' Tony Holmes was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.

• Bishop Gorman 24, Durango 4 -- At Hadland Park, Joey Rickard was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and four runs as the Gaels routed the Trailblazers.

John Rickard went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs and three RBIs for Gorman, which had 16 players with at least one base hit.

• Sierra Vista 17, Clark 0 -- At Clark, Jake Hager was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Lions defeated the Chargers in five innings.

Hager also struck out seven in getting the complete-game win for Sierra Vista, which scored 13 runs in the first inning. Ryan Krasn and Brooks Klein added home runs for Sierra Vista.

• Arbor View 17, Faith Lutheran 3 -- At Faith Lutheran, Chad Cole had a home run, two doubles and three RBIs as the Aggies defeated the Crusaders.

Brooks Robinson homered and drove in three runs for Arbor View.

• Mountain View 23, Spring Mountain 9 -- At Mountain View, Brandon Carr hit for the cycle and drove in four runs to lead the Saints past the Golden Eagles.

Craig Sacra had two doubles, a triple and five RBIs, and teammate Tyler Mitchum doubled twice and drove in three runs for Mountain View.

SOFTBALL

• Durango 3, Bishop Gorman 2 -- At Willows Park, Jaexie Balilea's solo home run in the top of the 13th gave the Trailblazers the win over the Gaels.

Balilea was 3-for-6 with a double and the home run.

Aaryn Ellenberg was 3-for-5 with two runs and two stolen bases for Gorman. Hayley Atiyeh drove in both Gaels' runs.

• Clark 5, Sierra Vista 1 -- At Clark, Jordyn McDonald threw a two-hitter as the Chargers downed the Lions.

McDonald didn't allow an earned run and struck out 15.

Anna Jaehn was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Marisa Arroyo drove in two runs for Clark.

• Las Vegas 9, Rancho 8 -- At Rancho, Chelsea Lewis singled home Tiffini Lucero with the winning run in the top of the seventh inning as the Wildcats defeated the Rams.

Monique Hernandez was 3-for-4 and pitched the final three innings to get the win for Las Vegas.

Jesslyn Bley was 3-for-4 with a double for Rancho.

• Valley 10, Eldorado 4 -- At Valley, Lorena Villamar tossed a four-hitter as the Vikings downed the Sundevils.

Patricia Zambrano led Valley with two hits and two runs.

Gabriela Trillo had two hits, including a home run, for Eldorado.

• Bonanza 18, Western 1 -- At Bonanza, the Bengals scored nine runs in the first inning.

Bonanza had 16 hits, all singles, in the five-inning game. Emily Osborne led Bonanza with four hits.

• Canyon Springs 17, Chaparral 1 -- At Canyon Springs, Tiffany Hanley and Amber Day had home runs as the Pioneers routed the Cowboys.