Rancho’s 8-run frame blows open extra-inning win at Coronado
Chayse Baker needed to make amends when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning Thursday with the score tied and the bases loaded.
He was 0-for-4. Two innings earlier, the Rancho second baseman had grounded into an inning-ending double play, stranding the go-ahead run.
He more than made up for it this time around.
Baker blasted a two-run double over the left fielder’s head, sparking an eight-run inning and sending the Rams to a 9-1, nine-inning victory at Coronado.
“Early on in the game, I was in a similar situation and I choked,” Baker said. “Every at-bat is a new at-bat and if I can flush the previous ones, I’ll be OK.”
Rancho (11-2, 6-1 Sunrise League) trailed by a run headed to the seventh, but Carlos Hernandez reached on an error to start the frame. After a bunt got him to third, Anthony Guzman singled him in, sending the game into extra innings.
Andrew Baughn singled to lead off the ninth, Guzman walked, and after Edarian Williams reached on an error, Baker’s two-bagger started the outburst. A walk and two singles later, the Rams led 6-1, and Rancho’s Layton Walls ended any hope of a comeback with a three-run homer.
“Rancho baseball. That’s what you have to do, just get the next guy up and that’s exactly what we did,” Rancho coach Manny Llamas said. “We let these guys swing and they love it.”
It spoiled what was, until the ninth, an excellent duel on the mound. Coronado’s Kyle Hall fired 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one unearned run. Jimmy Gamboa tossed six innings and struck out six with just one run allowed for the Rams, giving way to Tanner Ray for the final three innings.
“Jimmy’s our workhorse,” Llamas said. “He wants every big game, and he did a great job.
“(Ray) wanted the ball in that spot, and good for them.”
Coronado (5-2, 1-1) left nine runners on base, and four times ended an inning with a man on third, including in the seventh. Cristian Herrera was 3-for-4 with a double and scored the Cougars’ only run on a double from Braeden Ewing in the fourth.
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Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.
Box score:
Rancho 9, Coronado 1, nine innings
Thursday's highlights
Baseball
— Camden Kay fired a no-hitter to lead Bishop Gorman to a 7-0 road win over Bonanza.
— Foothill's Andrew Hauck spun a two-hitter with 16 strikeouts and no walks as the visiting Falcons blanked Silverado, 7-0.
— Garrett Nelson retired the final two batters with the bases loaded as Green Valley escaped with a 7-6 road win over Las Vegas.
Softball
— Taylor Askland threw a three-hitter with five strikeouts as the Panthers completed a three-game sweep with an 8-3 home win over Shadow Ridge.
— Hola Rosalia Nakayama was 3-for-4 with a double and a solo home run as Siera Vista outslugged host Desert Oasis, 14-7.
— Morgan Matsumoto drove in three runs, and Jocelyn Shupp went 3-for-4 and scored three runs to help visiting Foothill hold off Silverado, 13-11.
