Spring Valley blanks Legacy in baseball tourney
Spring Valley baseball coach Paul Bassett said he has three pitchers he considers No. 1 starters.
Senior right-hander Jose Rosales-Rodarte showed Tuesday why he's part of that group.
Rosales-Rodarte pitched a five-hit shutout with eight strikeouts, Drew LaComb drove in four runs, and host Spring Valley rolled to a 5-0 win over Legacy in the Grizzly Invitational.
"Jose was special," Bassett said. "He's been good every time out. He does a good job of commanding three pitches for strikes and getting ahead in the count, and he did a good job pitching today."
Spring Valley (11-2-1) took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run single by LaComb and an RBI single from Rosales-Rodarte.
Legacy (3-6) had two runners in scoring position with two outs in the fourth, but Rosales-Rodarte got Colton Malich to ground out.
"It was big, because if they drive those runs in right there, then they're right back in the game, so it was a good momentum swing our way," Bassett said.
Rosales-Rodarte said he tired after the sixth inning, but it didn't show, as he struck out two of the four batters he faced in the seventh.
"I would say my changeup and my fastball (worked), and I was hitting my locations," said Rosales-Rodarte, who walked one and hit one batter.
Legacy left-hander Brayden Torres, who has signed with UNLV, pitched a complete game, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Torres struck out the side in the second inning before Spring Valley jumped on him in the third.
"(Torres) is a very good pitcher, one of the better guys in town," Bassett said. "So we tried to get his pitch count up and get a ball we could use the middle of the field with to get guys on and drive guys in."
LaComb drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning and smacked a two-out RBI single to right field in the sixth to help the Grizzlies take a 5-0 lead.
"Drew's been our leader, a go-to guy for us," Bassett said. "He's just a ball of energy, he's never scared of competition, (and) he's stepped up plenty."
LaComb, a senior second baseman, was 2-for-3, and Michael Macove went 2-for-4 with two runs for the Grizzlies.
Spring Valley's Dylan Drachler and Robby Brewster each had two hits including a double, and Cody Smith added two hits.
Malich was 2-for-3 for the Longhorns.
Contact reporter Tristan Aird at taird@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @tristanaird.
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TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
BASEBALL
• Cimarron-Memorial's Brennan Bahr pitched a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and no walks in the Spartans' 4-0 win over visiting Roosevelt (Calif.) in the Blazer Spring Bash.
• Centennial's Bryan Bonnell was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including the tying RBI single, in the Bulldogs' 9-8 victory over Birmingham (Calif.) at Las Vegas High in the Blazer Spring Bash.
• Arbor View's Bryce Wildenberg threw a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the Aggies' 4-0 win over visiting East (Utah) in the Blazer Spring Bash.
SOFTBALL
• Eldorado's Taylor Schroeder singled home Brooke Ortiz with the winning run with no outs in the fifth inning of the Sundevils' 7-6 victory over La Jolla (Calif.) in the Charger Invitational at Big League Dreams.
• Clark's Alia Armstrong singled in Alex Hathy with the winning run in the sixth inning of the Chargers' 5-4 victory over North Hollywood (Calif.) in the Charger Invitational at Big League Dreams.
• Las Vegas High's Kristina Nelson tossed a four-inning two-hitter with eight strikeouts and went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double in the Wildcats' 8-2 victory against Mar Vista (Calif.) in the Charger Invitational at Big League Dreams.
