Jordan’s sacrifice fly pushes Rancho past Green Valley

Alex Jordan isn't Rancho's most imposing hitter, but the 5-foot-6-inch, 145-pound second baseman was the right player for the job Tuesday.

Jordan hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the seventh to score Matt Almodover and give the Rams a 4-3 home victory over Green Valley in the opening round of the Sunrise Region baseball tournament.

"Alex is just a great kid," Rancho coach Tom Pletsch said. "He gets the most out of his ability. And he's probably the hardest worker on the team. It was probably a blessing that he was the one that came up and got the hit because there was nobody that worked harder than him all year."

Rancho (19-12) plays at Silverado (22-8-1) at 3:30 p.m. today. Green Valley (18-14) hosts Sunrise Mountain (10-14) in an elimination game, also at 3:30.

Almodover, a freshman outfielder, started the rally with a one-out double down the third-base line. Eric Allen was intentionally walked, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch to set up Jordan's second sacrifice fly. The Rams had tied the game on Jordan's fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

Sophomore Josh Mill threw six innings of relief, allowing a pair of unearned runs, to get the win. Mill gave up one hit, struck out four and walked two.

"Josh is our guy," Pletsch said. "Stats may not show it because he always draws the biggest opponent, but he's our guy. We didn't start him today because we wanted the lefty matchup against Green Valley, but he came in and just shut them down and pitched absolutely phenomenal."

Dylan Pletsch was 3-for-4 with a run, David Modler went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Allen was 2-for-3 for the Rams.

Alec Hutt went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Green Valley.

■ Silverado 12, Sunrise Mountain 1 - At Silverado, David Kuzma went 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs and an RBI, and the Skyhawks pushed across eight runs in the first inning en route to the five-inning win.

■ Foothill 13, Las Vegas 3 - At Las Vegas, Dayton Kurian went 3-for-3 with two runs to help the Falcons knock off the Northeast League champs.

Foothill (20-11) plays at Coronado (24-8) at 3:30 today. Las Vegas (18-11-1) hosts Eldorado (11-19) in an elimination game, also at 3:30.

Tyler Morris went 2-for-4 with two runs for Foothill,.

Dillon Dove went 3-for-3 with a double and a triple, and Dustin Cash was 2-for-3 with two runs for Las Vegas.

■ Coronado 10, Eldorado 0 - At Coronado, Chandler Blanchard blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, helping the Cougars to beat the Sundevils in five innings.

Miles Bice was 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Dillon Fahr went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs for Coronado. Winning pitcher Julian Burrola combined with Cody Howard on a two-hit shutout.

SUNSET REGION

Centennial's Casey Moses had his fortitude tested Tuesday at Spring Valley.

The senior right-hander missed practice on Monday with severe vomiting and stomach problems, but the Bulldogs sent him out to the mound anyway.

Moses' resilience paid off, as Centennial rode his solid performance to a 6-3 victory in the opening round of the Class 4A Sunset Region playoffs.

"I had the stomach flu the past few days and got sent home early from practice, as they told me I needed to rest," Moses said. "My catcher, Michael Yenkowski, was calling a great game back there and every inning our coaches were letting me know what to do with the upcoming at-bats."

Centennial (23-9-1) hosts Durango (16-18) at 3:30 p.m. today. Spring Valley (21-8-1) plays at Cimarron-Memorial (23-7) in an elimination game, also at 3:30.

Moses kept the Grizzlies' hitters at bay and off balance, retiring the first six batters he faced before yielding an RBI single to Michael Macove in the third.

Glen Smith added an RBI single in the fifth, and Spring Valley added a run in the seventh on a fielder's choice.

Moses pitched the distance, scattering five hits and walking none.

"Casey was throwing on fumes," Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone said. "He did a great job handling all of his pitches. He took more off the ball and spotted it down to do a great job."

Centennial took a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning before Bryan Bonnell started a rally by lining a single to left field. Tanner Gehring delivered a double to left to bring home two runs, and Christian Portaro followed with an RBI single to plate Gehring and give Centennial a 6-2 lead.

■ Durango 3, Cimarron-Memorial 1 - At Cimarron, Jacob Dismont went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in the fourth that pushed the Trailblazers past the Northwest League champs.

Dante Chavez provided Durango's only other run with a solo home run, also in the fourth inning.

■ Arbor View 7, Sierra Vista 2 - At Arbor View, Brandon LaPointe went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs as the Aggies topped the Mountain Lions.

Arbor View (30-4) plays at Bishop Gorman (31-2) at 3:30 p.m. today. Sierra Vista (22-11) hosts Shadow Ridge (17-14) in an elimination game, also at 3:30.

Evan McMahan gave up just one earned run while surrendering three hits, striking out 11 batters and walking just one.

McMahan also went 2-for-2 with a run scored. P.J. Gonzalez went 2-for-3 for the Aggies.

■ Bishop Gorman 10, Shadow Ridge 0 - At Gorman, Cody Roper's grand slam highlighted a six-run third inning as the Gaels beat the Mustangs in five innings.

The game was scoreless before Gorman's six-run outburst.

Kenny Meimerstorf and Joey Gallo each added a home run and two RBIs, and Johnny Sewald went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Gaels.