Pitcher locates groove, propels Desert Oasis past Spring Valley

Austin Strong struggled off the mound in the first inning Saturday morning.

But the Desert Oasis starter quickly found his groove and put the game in cruise control the rest of the way.

His offense, led by seniors Alex Tafesh and Ryan Henderson, did the rest to give the Diamondbacks a 7-3 victory over visiting Spring Valley.

“He walked the leadoff guy who ended up scoring, but then he beared down and did a pretty good job for us,” said assistant coach Colin McGrane, who was filling in for suspended head coach Paul Buboltz, who was ejected in Friday’s game against Eldorado for arguing a call. “He threw a lot of strikes, got ahead in the count and got a lot of outs. He didn’t go into the tank, which is good to see from a sophomore lefty.”

Strong threw 23 pitches in the first inning, eight more than his second-highest frame, and surrendered two walks and a run. After that, he gave up just two hits over the next four innings and struck out five. Strong completed six innings, allowing five hits while striking out six before being relieved by A.J. Landis, who closed the game. Neither pitcher gave up an extra-base hit.

The Desert Oasis offense helped Strong bounce back by providing an early cushion. Bryson Stott and Dominic Paratore drew one-out walks in the first inning before Tafesh hit a two-run double to the warning track.

“Tafesh is one of the better hitters in the area,” McGrane said. “When he’s going, he’s going. It’s nice to have a guy like that around with some senior leadership. He’s really the anchor of the offense.”

Zach Rickard advanced Tafesh on a single before Henderson bunted the first baseman home on a safety squeeze. Chase Adams then added an RBI single to make it 4-1.

Tafesh finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and was hit by a pitch, and Rickard went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs for the Diamondbacks (9-18).

Henderson went 2-for-3 with four RBIs as the designated hitter for Desert Oasis. He had at least one RBI in every at bat, including a two-run single in the second inning.

“He put down that safety squeeze, which was just selfless,” McGrane said of Henderson. “He’s an unselfish player. He just does the right things and has the right approach at the plate.”

Spring Valley’s Bryce Bullock went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. He also struck out five batters in four innings of relief. Cody Watkins went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run for the Grizzlies (13-11).

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.