BLAZER BASH: Spring Valley wins title game in Blazer Spring Bash

Spring Valley’s baseball team used a six-run first inning to take control on the way to a 13-2 win over Horizon (Calif.) in the Purple 3 championship game of the Blazer Spring Bash at Sierra Vista on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies sent 11 batters to the plate in the first, finishing with six hits.

“We put the ball in play well and executed our small ball well and the balls just fell in our favor today,” Spring Valley coach Paul Bassett said.

Enzo Bello went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and four RBIs for the Grizzlies.

Billy Bob Ward added two hits and two runs and Garrett Blair had two hits, two runs and an RBI for Spring Valley.

Ward and Blair split time on the mound in the championship game, which was Spring Valley’s fifth game in three days.

“Our pitching staff was really tested over this tournament, especially today,” Bassett said. “We just had kids step up.”

After going 5-0 in the tournament, the Grizzlies have won nine of their last 10 games.

“The balls are falling our way, and the kids are getting rewarded for all their hard work,” Bassett said. “We’re hoping to carry this momentum into next week and into league play.”

Spring Valley 8, Sylmar (Calif.) 6 — At Sierra Vista, Bello was 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs as the Grizzlies held on to move into the title game.

Garrett Blair, Chase LaComb and Billy Bob Ward each added two hits for the Grizzlies.

West Ranch (Calif.) 17, Centennial 4 — At Centennial, the Wildcats used a 13-run third inning to roll to victory in the Purple 2 championship game.

“I’d rather play a solid, good team like this,” Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone said. “You get better by playing good competition.”

The Wildcats proved to be plenty of competition. Leading 4-2, they sent 17 batters to the plate in the third.

Four players had multiple hits in the inning, led by Jake Bernards, who led off with a solo homer and later singled.

Bernards was 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and No. 7 hitter Casey Watkins was 3-for-3 with a homer, three runs and four RBIs.

The bottom three hitters in the West Ranch lineup combined to go 7-for-8 with a homer, a double and eight RBIs.

Dominick Monteiro hit a two-run homer for Centennial.

Centennial 8, Palos Verdes Peninsula (Calif.) 7 — At Centennial, the Bulldogs scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to advance to the championship game.

With one out, Sam Friend doubled. One out later, Justin Gault walked, and Loral Monson reached on an infield single to load the bases.

Eric Hendrix then hit a grounder to second, which was fielded cleanly. But pitcher Yuki Takahashi covering first dropped the throw, allowing one run to score.

Cody Clark then hit a grounder to short, but pinch runner Austin Congleton beat the toss to second, allowing another run to score.

Takahashi attempted a pickoff throw to second, but the ball sailed into center field, allowing another run to score, making it 7-6.

Congleton scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, and Christian Bernal singled to center to give Centennial the win.

“We talked before the game today about how you don’t run out of time in baseball,” Cerrone said. “We were in a bad spot and just wanted to keep plugging at it, and we got a big hit from Chris Bernal.”

Friend was 3-for-4 with two doubles and Monson was 2-for-4 with a double for Centennial.

“We are getting better and closer to where we need to be,” Cerrone said. “Overall it was a good tournament. We did some good things and got better.”

Chatsworth (Calif.) 9, Durango 5 — At Durango, the Chancellors took a 6-0 lead and held on in the Steven Janvrin Championship game.

Durango scored five in the third to pull within a run but couldn’t complete the comeback. The Trailblazers stranded the tying run on first in the top of the sixth, then allowed two runs to score on a throwing error.

Danny Reynolds tripled for Durango.

Durango 12, Madera South (Calif.) 2 — At Durango, Mike Sukeyasu went 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Trailblazers past the Stallions in a semifinal game.

Reynolds went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Durango, which ended the game with a five-run sixth inning.

Rey Cardenas tossed a five-hitter and struck out six.

Sierra Vista 12, Huntington Beach (Calif.) 2 — At Sierra Vista, Matt Holman went 3-for-3 with a double as the Mountain Lions routed the Oilers.

Jake Hager, Scotty Tomassetti and Kyle Gamble each added two hits for Sierra Vista.

Alex Estrella tossed a five-inning five-hitter to earn the win.

Bonanza 4, Northridge (Colo.) 3 — At Bonanza, Mario Franzese scored from third base on a hard grounder to shortstop in the eighth inning as the Bengals edged the Grizzlies.

Franzese, who went 2-for-4, led off the bottom of the eighth with a double and moved to third on Anthony Risucci’s sacrifice bunt.

Andrew Perreault then hit the sharp grounder that Northridge’s shortstop bobbled.

Kris Bryant was 2-for-4 with a double for Bonanza.

Bonanza 6, Santana (Calif.) 3 — At Bonanza, Kris Bryant pitched six strong innings and hit a solo home run to lead the Bengals past the Sultans.

Bryant allowed just one run and three hits and struck out eight in six innings. His homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth sparked a four-run inning.

Heriberto Orozco had two hits, including a triple, for the Bengals.

Coronado 8, Birmingham (Calif.) 0 — At Spring Valley, Monte Kaser and Cody Giordano combined on a three-hitter to lift Coronado past the Patriots.

Kaser struck out 11 in five innings.

R.J. Cash was 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple, a double and two RBIs for the Cougars. Scott Hauck was 2-for-3 with a triple, a double and an RBI.

Boulder City 11, Buckley (Calif.) 1 — At Desert Oasis, Ross LaMarca went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to help the Eagles beat the Griffins.

Adam Eudy was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs for the Eagles, and teammate Cole Stubitz went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBIs.

Jack LaMarca allowed seven hits in five innings to get the win.

Narbonne (Calif.) 5, Palo Verde 4 — At Palo Verde, the Gauchos held off the Panthers’ seventh-inning charge to preserve the win.

Narbonne led 5-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, but Palo Verde scored four runs and had the potential tying run on third base when a groundout ended the game.

Mike Pickrell and Brandon Laubhan each had a double for the Panthers.

Centennial (Calif.) 11, Arbor View 6 — At Durango, the Bulldogs scored five runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth to overcome the Aggies.

Arbor View’s Nick Urban and Zach Hartman each had a double.

Horizon (Calif.) 15, Legacy 10 — At Sierra Vista, Horizon scored nine runs in the third inning to pull away from the Longhorns.

Legacy committed three of its five errors in the third inning, when it also had three passed balls and two wild pitches.

Chase Skinner, Austin Christiansen and Richie Esquivel had three hits apiece for the Longhorns.

Carson (Calif.) 17, Desert Oasis 13 — At Desert Oasis, the Colts built a 16-1 lead in the fifth inning, then held off the Diamondbacks.

Desert Oasis’ Marty Sifuentes went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Flowing Wells (Ariz.) 21, Desert Pines 3 — At Spring Valley, the Caballeros scored nine runs in the second inning and six in both the fourth and fifth innings to rout the Jaguars.

Gerardo Cruz tripled and drove in a run for Desert Pines.