Loucks fans 11 in Bulldogs win

Centennial right-hander Will Loucks had never pitched in a playoff game before Wednesday’s matchup at Arbor View.

He couldn’t have asked for a better debut.

Loucks threw a complete game and struck out 11, helping the Bulldogs to a 4-2 win over the Aggies in the Division I Sunset Region tournament. Centennial (23-11) hosts Bishop Gorman (26-4) at 4 p.m. today, a team it went 1-1 against in the regular season.

“Will’s a senior, and I put it on him before the game,” Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone said. “I told him, ‘Go out there and give it your best effort. This could be your last high school start.’ And he gave it his best effort.”

After giving up a solo homer to Kaid Urban to start the bottom of the first, the 6-foot-5-inch Loucks settled down and delivered one of his best performances of the season.

“I really wanted to go out and do well,” Loucks said. “That was the biggest thing. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I just felt if I did my job, we were going to be OK.”

Loucks struck out eight of the nine Aggies in the lineup at least once and walked three batters. He also went 2-for-3.

“I was feeling pretty good,” Loucks said. “I settled down after having trouble with the first hitter. Then I got settled in and really into the moment.”

The biggest moment for Loucks came in the sixth, when he escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out. He struck out Urban, then got Kevin Johns to fly to right to end the inning.

Tanner Wright finished with a double, a hit-by-pitch and two runs for the Bulldogs, who got two singles and one RBI from both Cooper Powell and Jake Portaro. Kyle Horton’s RBI double in the fifth scored Wright with the go-ahead run. He came around to score to push the lead to 4-2.

Arbor View (24-9) faces Palo Verde (13-18) in an elimination game at 10 a.m. today at Centennial.

■ Bishop Gorman 4, Shadow Ridge 1 — At Gorman, freshman Matt Mitchell fired a six-hitter to lead the Gaels over the Mustangs.

Mitchell struck out eight with no walks.

Brandon Wulff was 1-for-3 with an RBI double, and Drew Newson went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Gaels.

Jordan Hand had a solo homer in the sixth inning for the Mustangs (21-12), who will meet Desert Oasis (14-20) at 1 p.m. today at Centennial.

■ Palo Verde 6, Cimarron-Memorial 5 — At Palo Verde, Zach Ortale went 2-for-2 and scored two runs as the Panthers built a 5-0 lead in the third inning and held off the Spartans in an elimination game.

Yodai Nakamura went 2-for-3 and Tyler Day 2-for-4 for Palo Verde.

Logan Bottrell was 4-for-4 with a home run, triple and one RBI for the Spartans and was on deck when the game ended. Cimarron (21-10) trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, but cut the lead to one on a one-out sacrifice fly and had runners on first and second when Panthers pitcher Matt Rogers got a popout to end the game.

■ Desert Oasis 1, Spring Valley 0 — At Spring Valley, Austin Strong tossed a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts to lead the Diamondbacks by the Grizzlies.

Chris Van Kuren led off the game with a triple and scored the only run on Dominic Paratore’s grounder to shortstop.

Spring Valley (15-16) had the potential tying run at third base with one out in the fourth inning, but Desert Oasis right fielder Zach Rickard caught a fly ball off the bat of Bryce Bullock and threw out Michael Macove trying to score to end the inning.

SUNRISE REGION

A day after Green Valley got a four-hitter from Keola Paragas, Ryan Jackson showed why the Gators might have the best one-two pitching combination in the area.

Jackson fired a five-hitter, and Green Valley topped visiting Basic 6-2 on Wednesday.

“Phenomenal,” Green Valley coach Corey Gehlken said of Jackson. “You want seniors to step up in big-time game times, and he did today. He pitched his butt off.”

Jackson struck out five and walked two, and the Gators (25-7) have allowed just three runs in two wins, moving into the winners’ bracket final against Liberty (26-4) at 4 p.m. today at Green Valley.

“We expect that out of those top two guys,” Gehlken said. “They’re two of the top guys in town, for sure. Senior leadership for both of them. They came out and set a great tone for the rest of the team.”

The Gators took the lead with three runs in the second on RBI singles by Anthony Hatch and Tommy Brown and a suicide squeeze bunt by Jarod Penniman.

Basic (24-10) will face Coronado (20-11) in an elimination game at 10 a.m. today at Green Valley.

■ Liberty 6, Rancho 5 — At Liberty, Jesse Keiser singled with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh to score Justin Lutes with the winning run as the Patriots beat the Rams.

Keiser was 3-for-3 for Liberty, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit.

Joshua McCollum went 3-for-4 for the Patriots, and Jay Martz hit a two-run single in the sixth to tie the game 5-5.

■ Foothill 3, Silverado 2 — At Silverado, Bligh Madris singled home pinch runner Dillon Peet with one out in the top of the seventh as the Falcons eliminated the Skyhawks.

Tyler Van Stone was 3-for-4 with a double for Foothill, and his two-run homer in the third tied the game 2-2. Collin Dobrolecki went 2-for-4 for the Falcons (17-14), who will face Rancho (23-9) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. today at Green Valley.

■ Coronado 9, Las Vegas 3 — At Coronado, Jacob Kline’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning sparked an eight-run rally that led the Cougars by the Wildcats (12-19) in an elimination game.

Austin Garcia was 2-for-4 with a home run, double and one RBI, and Jackson Cofer went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Coronado.

I-A SOUTHERN REGION

Faith Lutheran’s Brandon Johnson and Brandon Davis combined to throw a five-inning no-hitter Wednesday as the Crusaders rolled past visiting Boulder City 16-0 in the Division I-A Southern Region tournament.

The defending state champs used a 10-run second inning to essentially put the game away, while Johnson carved out yet another stellar performance in a rematch of last season’s Division I-A state title game.

The 6-foot-4-inch Kansas-bound senior fired three scoreless innings. Johnson, who struck out six, threw 40 pitches and allowed only four runners.

The Crusaders (25-6) gave Johnson all the support he would need with their big second, highlighted by Erich Uelmen’s double and triple in the inning.

Faith Lutheran hosts Chaparral (23-9) at 4 p.m. today in the winners’ bracket final. Boulder City (19-7-2) plays Tech (15-10) in an elimination game at 1 at Faith Lutheran.

■ Chaparral 7, Pahrump Valley 6 — At Chaparral, Vicente Hernandez’s infield single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Matt Ellison with the winning run in the other winners’ bracket semifinal.

Tommy Crone went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, and Luis Giro was 2-for-3 with a two-run single for Chaparral.

The Trojans (21-9-1) play Mojave (17-15) in an elimination game at 10 a.m. today.

■ Tech 5, Cheyenne 2 — At Cheyenne, Elias Peinado was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs, and Sebastian Fitzgerald tossed a five-hitter with five strikeouts and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as the Roadrunners eliminated the Desert Shields (9-15).

■ Mojave 3, Moapa Valley 2 — At Overton, Ryan Lawrence scored on a balk in the bottom of the fourth to break a 2-2 tie and allow the Rattlers to eliminate the Pirates (10-14).

Chase Anderson walked to start the inning, went to third on a double by Lawrence and scored the tying run on a wild pitch.