Skyhawks outslug Wildcats in opener

Las Vegas High star Bryce Harper hit the first two strikes he saw for home runs Tuesday to give the Wildcats an early lead.

But Silverado matched Harper homer for homer and then some. The Skyhawks slammed five home runs, including two by junior Drew Robinson, as they defeated the Northeast League champs 11-6 at Las Vegas in the opening round of the Sunrise Region tournament.

"I guess we just felt it from the start," said Robinson, who hit a solo homer to dead center in the fifth and a two-run homer to right in the seventh. "Once one person starts, it follows through the whole game."

Robinson's second homer gave the Skyhawks (18-14) a five-run lead and some much-needed breathing room.

"We swung it pretty good today," Silverado coach Brian Whitaker said. "But that game was always in doubt. When you play a ballclub like that, it's not over until it's over."

Harper staked the Wildcats (23-10) to a 1-0 lead after leading off the bottom of the first with a homer, and his solo shot in the third made the score 2-1.

Each time, Silverado answered with a homer of its own. Pierce Belaustegui hit a solo homer leading off the second to tie the game 1-1, and Tanner Dushane hit a one-out homer in the fourth to make it 2-2.

Dushane's shot started a seven-run inning that gave the Skyhawks the lead for good.

"Those two shots there gave us some confidence," Whitaker said. "After that second one, we kind of spiraled and had a good inning there."

Bobby Johnson added a two-run homer, Braden Keathley had a two-run double and Morgan Stotts hit an RBI single in the fourth as Silverado went ahead 8-2.

Robinson's first homer made the score 9-2 before Las Vegas rallied for four in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 9-6. Wes Grass's three-run homer highlighted the big inning for Las Vegas.

Silverado plays Foothill at 4 p.m. today at Las Vegas. Las Vegas plays Valley at 1 in an elimination game.

• Foothill 12, Valley 2 -- At Foothill, Kyle Moyes went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and five RBIs and Jordan Stewart went 4-for-4 with two doubles to help the Falcons (17-14) defeat the Vikings (13-14) in six innings.

Jordan Mathis added a home run for Foothill, and winning pitcher Jake Ferdinand had six strikeouts.

• Rancho 11, Coronado 2 -- At Rancho, Brandon Pletsch went 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs to lead the Rams (27-6) past the Cougars (12-15).

Coronado's Cody Giordano went 2-for-2 with a double.

Coronado plays Eldorado at 1 p.m. today at Green Valley in an elimination game. Rancho plays Green Valley at 4.

• Green Valley 15, Eldorado 0 -- At Green Valley, Tyler Blair went 3-for-3 with three runs and Rudy Strnad went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs as the Gators (22-10) shut out the Sundevils (15-13) in five innings.

Nick Libonati combined with David Opperman on a two-hitter for Green Valley, with Libonati getting the win.

SUNSET REGION

• Spring Valley 9, Centennial 8 -- At Spring Valley, freshman Cameron Cole scored the winning run on a passed ball in the seventh inning as the Grizzlies edged the Bulldogs in the opening game of the Sunset Region tournament.

Centennial jumped to an early 3-0 lead on back-to-back home runs by Sam Friend and Robby Rosenthal.

"It was a great day to hit with the wind blowing out," Spring Valley coach Paul Bassett said. "They put good swings on good pitches, and I give them credit for jumping out on us."

The Grizzlies quickly tied the score 3-3 in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by Billy Bob Ward, Aaron Blair and Ryan Hendershot.

Friend walked with the bases loaded to make the score 4-3 in the second inning, but the Grizzlies answered in the bottom half with RBI singles by Ward and Aaron Blair to go ahead 5-4.

Blair -- who had 10 strikeouts, including one in every inning except the fourth -- gained momentum and pitched four straight scoreless innings, and Spring Valley scored three runs in the third and another in the fourth on a Ward solo home run to make the score 8-4.

The Bulldogs scored four runs in the top of the seventh to tie the score before the Grizzlies won it in the bottom of the inning.

Centennial (23-11) plays Durango in an elimination game at 1 p.m. at Centennial. Spring Valley (25-8) plays Cimarron-Memorial at 4.

• Cimarron-Memorial 3, Durango 0 -- At Cimarron, Kody Gorden's RBI double highlighted a three-run Spartans rally in the sixth inning.

Bradley Oswald tossed a two-hitter while striking out nine to gain the victory for Cimarron (28-5).

• Palo Verde 7, Sierra Vista 6 -- At Palo Verde, Christian Centrella went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI, and winning pitcher Alex Bonczyk had a two-run single and a sacrifice fly to help the Panthers (21-10) nip the Mountain Lions (25-6).

Dustin Morelli supplied an RBI double and scored a run for Palo Verde.

Sierra Vista's Jake Findlay homered and doubled, and David DeCarlo added a triple.

Sierra Vista plays Legacy at 1 p.m. today at Sierra Vista. Palo Verde takes on Bishop Gorman at 4 at Sierra Vista.

• Bishop Gorman 10, Legacy 2 -- At the College of Southern Nevada, Jeff Malm, Joey Rickard, Johnny Field and Erik Van Meetren each had three hits as the Gaels downed the Longhorns (19-8).

Malm, Field and Stephen Manthei homered for Gorman (34-3).

Malm allowed one earned run on four hits in six innings to get the win. He struck out seven.