Trageton powers Faith Lutheran past Bonanza

Tyler Trageton understands that baseball is a game of adjustments.

After striking out on fastballs in his first two at-bats Friday, the Faith Lutheran third baseman knew what improvements to make in his final two plate appearances and wasted little time doing so.

Trageton, who saw only two pitches the rest of the day, smacked a solo home run in the fifth inning and added an RBI single in the seventh to help the Crusaders hold off host Bonanza, 5-3.

“We put him in the two-hole so he can be that kind of guy,” said Faith Lutheran coach Blair Neagle, whose team won its sixth straight game. “He has the ability to get the clutch hit. He’s a student of the game and went in there with a plan.”

With Faith Lutheran (12-7) leading 2-0, Trageton sent a first-pitch fastball over the left-field fence to lead off the sixth. Andrew Hudgins followed with a double to left, and, with one out, Caleb Summerhays drove him home with a double down the third-base line to push the lead to 4-0.

After mustering only one hit off of Faith Lutheran pitcher Brandon Johnson in the first five innings, Bonanza (12-10) came alive in the sixth.

Brett Doyle reached base on a dropped third strike to lead off the inning, and Daniel Romero and Joaquin Orozco followed with singles — the latter scoring Doyle. The Bengals tacked on two more runs on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly from Travis Ming to pull within 4-3.

But Trageton made sure to make one final adjustment.

With a runner on third and two outs in the seventh, Trageton deposited a first-pitch fastball into short right field to drive in Alec Goss.

“That was really important,” said Trageton, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base. “Getting that insurance run gave our pitcher more confidence when he went out there on the bump.”

Johnson, who struck out six of Bonanza’s first seven batters, finished with 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to earning the win. John Thomas picked up the save, setting down all four batters he faced.

Contact reporter John W. Scafetta at jscafetta@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430.