Pitching propels Basic to tourney title

Basic High's baseball team entered the championship game of the Del Sol Dragons Invitational on Saturday having already proven its offensive capabilities.

But the Wolves claimed the tournament title with strong pitching, using a dominant performance by senior John Anderson to beat Chaparral 4-1 at Basic.

Anderson pitched the distance, striking out nine while scattering five hits.

"It was the championship game, so we knew it was going to be close," said Anderson, whose team scored at least eight runs in each of the four games that led to the title game. "We were a little flat with the bats in this game, but I was able to get the job done."

Wolves coach David Gallegos said he saved his ace for the tournament's most important game.

"He's our strongest arm," the coach said of Anderson. "He's an aggressive kid that just wants to dominate and do everything himself."

But Anderson got help. Though no Basic batter had more than one hit, timely hits were the key to the offense.

Anderson's RBI triple in the third inning gave the Wolves a 2-0 lead before the Cowboys battled back for a run in the fifth on an RBI double by Joe'l Benavides.

But Basic's Marcus Romero drove in a run with another triple in the bottom of the inning, and Darren Parke followed with an infield RBI single later in the inning to make it 4-1.

Chris Butler went the distance and suffered the loss for Chaparral.

• Basic 8, Pahrump Valley 2 -- The Wolves scored four runs in the third inning of their semifinal game and went on to cruise past the Trojans.

Romero had a bases-loaded triple in the third that scored three runs for Basic.

Starter Mike Feher pitched five strong innings to earn the victory for the Wolves.

• Chaparral 10, Clark 1 -- At Chaparral, C.J. Crone pitched a one-hitter as the Cowboys routed Clark in a game that was called in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.

Crone, who struck out five, also went 2-for-2 with a double. Chris Butler was 2-for-3 with a double for the Cowboys.

Clark's Carlos Becerra spoiled the no-hit bid with a single in the fourth inning.

• Del Sol 6, Hillcrest (Utah) 0 -- At Del Sol, Matt Burge and David Day combined on a three-hit shutout to lead the Dragons.

Burge went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out five. Day came on with the bases loaded and retired the final batter.

Day and Chris Hampton each went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Del Sol. Scottez Dobbins added two hits for the Dragons.

CALVARY CHAPEL EASTER BASH

• Rancho 12, Mater Dei (Calif.) 2 -- At Coronado, Justin Neubauer struck out 11 to lead the Rams past Mater Dei.

Coleman Green was 2-for-2 with five RBIs and Blake Pletsch 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Rams.

• La Salle (Calif.) 7, Coronado 6 -- At Coronado, Ryan Doeppel and Johnny Auer had RBI singles in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Lancers.

Tim Arthur drove in a run with a groundout in the bottom of the inning, but the final two batters struck out to end the game.

Ty Wagonseller was 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Cougars, and teammate Justin Souza added two hits.

• Bishop Gorman JV 24, Eldorado 18 -- At Eldorado, Gorman's junior varsity scored 12 second-inning runs and held off the Sundevils.

• Eldorado 15, Tonopah 2 -- At Eldorado, Eric Larsen was 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Sundevils over the Muckers.

Julio Diaz was 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Eldorado.

• Alta (Utah) 11, Cimarron-Memorial 1 -- At Cimarron, the Hawks scored 10 runs in the fourth inning to take control.

• Cimarron-Memorial 11, Jordan (Utah) 8 -- At Cimarron, Taylor Doyle had a double, a triple, two RBIs and two runs to lead the Spartans to the win.

James Carraway added two singles and an RBI, and Dimas Mejia homered for Cimarron, which scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 7-7 tie.