Mountain Ridge eliminated in Little League Baseball West Regional semifinals

Mountain Ridge will not be the first team from Nevada to reach the Little League World Series.

Eastlake Little League of Chula Vista, Calif., broke open a close game with 10 runs in the final two innings and defeated the Las Vegas team 12-0 on Friday in a Little League Baseball West Regional semifinal at San Bernardino, Calif.

Eastlake, the No. 2 seed, advanced to play top-seeded Belmont, Calif., in the regional final at 6 p.m. today, with the winner earning a trip to South Williamsport, Pa. Belmont defeated Chandler, Ariz., 8-1.

“We tried to make history, but it didn’t happen,” Mountain Ridge coach Larry Quaney Jr. said. “It’s one of those things that’s disappointing, but the kids had the time of their lives here, and when it boils down to it, that’s probably the most important thing.”

Leadoff hitter Jesse Pierce had the only two hits for Mountain Ridge against Eastlake starter Nick Mora, who struck out eight and was aided by two double plays.

In two games against Eastlake, Mountain Ridge was outscored 27-0 and held to four hits.

“(Mora) was throwing strikes and wasn’t walking people,” Quaney said. “We didn’t get that crucial hit to change the demeanor in the dugout.”

Giancarlo Cortez drove in five runs, and Rennard Williams was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Eastlake. The duo hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning, including a three-run blast by Cortez.

Grant Holman finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs. He is 10-for-15 in the tournament.

Mountain Ridge put its leadoff man on base in each of the first two innings and three times in all against Mora but had nothing to show for it.

Eastlake took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off Mountain Ridge ace Jaret Godman. The 6-foot-2-inch Holman doubled in a run and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cortez, barely avoiding catcher Jacob Godman’s tag.

The score stayed unchanged until the fifth when Eastlake erupted for six runs. After Cortez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Williams hit a two-run double to right-center to make the score 5-0.

The next batter, reserve Ricky Tibbett, smashed a three-run homer to center to put the game out of reach.

“We had ourselves in a good spot down 2-0, but that let the air out of the balloon,” Quaney said. “It just steamrolled after that.”

Jaret Godman was charged with seven runs and finished with seven strikeouts before he reached his 85-pitch limit in the fifth inning. Godman struck out 22 batters in 12 2/3 innings in the tournament for Mountain Ridge.

“We had a great run,” Quaney said. “In three years we’ve gone 32-4, so I can’t complain about that.”