Quirky plays go in favor of Lions
Every once in a while, the baseball gods intervene and shine good fortune on one lucky team. It was Sierra Vista's turn Wednesday.
The Mountain Lions took advantage of two quirky plays in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat second-place Durango 4-3 in a Southwest League game.
"At the end of the day, when two teams are playing pretty well, little things turn into big things," Sierra Vista coach Nate Selby said. "We tried to put the ball in play, and we were very fortunate."
Trailblazers starter Danny Reynolds was on cruise control after a bumpy start and retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh.
But Mountain Lions right fielder Brooks Klein reached first when his grounder to second took a wicked hop and bounced off Durango's Matt Grisnik.
Klein promptly stole second, and No. 3 hitter Matt Holman then lifted a seemingly routine fly ball. But with the sun finally shining after an afternoon of overcast conditions, Trailblazers right fielder Ray Cardenas couldn't find the ball and it fell in for the game-winning single.
"I was thinking it was the end of the inning," Holman said. "Fortunately, it fell. That happens a lot here."
Reynolds was the hard-luck loser for Durango (10-14, 6-2 Southwest) after going the distance with 11 strikeouts. With nearly a dozen scouts in attendance, Reynolds was hitting between 89 and 91 mph for most of the game and hit 93 mph in the first inning.
He gave up two runs -- one unearned -- in the first and another in the third.
But Reynolds got better as the game wore on. After Jake Hager was walked intentionally to load the bases in the fourth inning, Reynolds retired nine straight.
"I felt a little more comfortable on the mound and my curveball was working better in the later innings," said Reynolds, who escaped the jam in the fourth by striking out Klein. "My team tried hard. The ball just didn't fall our way."
Sophomore pitcher Blair Goldsack gave up one hit in the final two innings to get the victory for Sierra Vista (17-3, 5-2).
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
BASEBALL
Bonanza’s Heriberto Orozco threw six shutout innings and went 3-for-3 with an RBI in a 3-0 win at Pahrump Valley.
Bishop Gorman’s R.J. Santigate was 5-for-5 with a double, two home runs and nine RBIs in a 30-2 rout of Cornerstone Christian (Texas).
Rancho freshman Gabe Chavira went 4-for-6 with a grand slam, three doubles and seven RBIs in a 32-0 home romp over Desert Pines.
SOFTBALL
Valley’s Vanessa Corona hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning in an 8-6 victory over visiting Cheyenne.
Laughlin’s Brittany Chase went 5-for-5 with three home runs, including a grand slam, and seven RBIs in the Cougars’ 19-0 win at Indian Springs.
Desert Pines’ Megan Robbins went 4-for-5 with a triple and a double in a 10-9 win at Rancho.
