Skyhawks sophomore earns wings

Area prep baseball fans might have gotten a glimpse of the future Thursday.

Silverado sophomore Bobby Johnson came to bat in the seventh inning with the go-ahead run on base, facing Las Vegas freshman Bryce Harper.

Johnson came out on top, singling up the middle to break a 4-4 tie, and the Skyhawks held went on to defeat the Wildcats 7-4 in the Sunrise Region tournament at Eldorado.

"Bobby Johnson did a nice job," Silverado coach Brian Whitaker said. "That's a big hit for the young kid facing their young guy on the mound.

"That was a good matchup. And there's a lot of good young ballplayers out there. The future is going to be bright in the entire valley."

The victory kept the Skyhawks (24-11) alive in the tournament. They will play Las Vegas (30-7) again at 4 p.m. today at Eldorado. The winner will face the winner of today's 1 p.m. game between Green Valley (30-5) and Basic (21-10) for the Sunrise title and a berth at state. The championship game will be at 7 p.m.

Silverado was nursing a 4-3 lead when the Wildcats tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on Wes Grass' RBI single.

Las Vegas had the potential go-ahead run at second, but Brett Barrett struck out Bryan Harper to end the inning.

It was the second time Barrett pitched out of a jam since entering in the fifth. He struck out two batters with the bases loaded in the fifth to preserve the Skyhawks' 4-3 lead.

Las Vegas also put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but Barrett got the final two outs to end the game.

"He was in some tight spots, but he did his best Dick Tracy impersonation a couple times," Whitaker said of Barrett. "He was in and out of trouble, but he's been throwing a lot of big spots for us down the stretch.

"He's got pretty good composure out there, so I figured we'd throw him out there tonight. We had to."

Johnson and Braden Keathley had two hits apiece for Silverado. Gras had a homer and two RBIs, and Bryce Harper was 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Las Vegas.

• Silverado 21, Coronado 7 -- At Eldorado, Trevor Kirk drove in eight runs as the Skyhawks eliminated the Cougars (16-12).

Kirk was 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a double. Pierce Belaustegui added a homer and two RBIs, and Johnson was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Coronado's Josh Bryan smacked two solo home runs.

• Green Valley 16, Basic 15 -- At Basic, Chad Whiteaker hit a two-run double in the top of the seventh to break a 14-all tie.

Basic scored in the bottom of the inning on Mike Feher's RBI single, but reliever Nick Libonati pitched out of the jam, getting Josh Ross to pop out to end the game.

Nick Melino had two doubles and a homer, and Kevin Stethem was 3-for-3 with two doubles for Green Valley.

Brett Harrison and Mark Johnson each added home runs for Green Valley.

• Green Valley 14, Canyon Springs 1 -- At Basic, Whiteaker's three-run double helped the Gators eliminate the Pioneers.

SUNSET REGION

• Bishop Gorman 22, Durango 0 -- At Durango, Joey Rickard pitched a no-hitter and the Gaels (36-3) stroked 18 hits, including five homers, en route to the five-inning victory.

The victory kept Gorman alive in the Sunset tournament. The Gaels will face Durango (23-12) at 4 p.m. today at Durango, with the winner advancing to the 7 p.m. championship game against Spring Valley (23-8).

Gorman played loose and made it look easy, despite facing elimination.

"We're in a spot we've been in before. Our first state championship was two years ago and the same thing happened," Gaels coach Chris Sheff said. "We lost in the first round, then came all the way back to win the whole thing."

Gorman rushed to a 7-0 first-inning lead, capped by home runs by Paul Sewald and Erik Van Meetren.

Neil Lawhorn added two homers and Stephen Manthei also hit one. The power display was more than enough support for Rickard, who struck out seven.

"Our offense jumped on them early," Rickard said. "It's way easier to pitch with a big lead. My team played great, and we'll be ready tomorrow."

• Bishop Gorman 15, Palo Verde 2 -- At Durango, the Gaels avenged a first-round loss to Palo Verde, beating the Panthers (17-18) in five innings. Rickard and Sewald each hit grand slams.

• Spring Valley 11, Sierra Vista 2 -- At Centennial, Kenny McDowall scattered four hits and struck out six to carry the Grizzlies into the Sunset championship game.

Cameron Brooks was 4-for-5, and Garrett Blair drove in three runs for Spring Valley, which scored four runs in the second and five in the third.

• Sierra Vista 5, Cimarron-Memorial 1 -- At Centennial, Thomas Godfrey threw a three-hitter with five strikeouts as the Lions (24-11) eliminated the Spartans. Brooks Klein was 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Sierra Vista.