Berger leads CCSN to tournament win

It wasn’t cold enough for hot chocolate, but the slight chill was perfect for Coyotes pitcher Jon Berger, whose stellar eight-inning performance at Morse Stadium led his team to a 6-0 victory over Salt Lake Community College of Utah.

“I was able to create a sweat early, and the rest of the night was perfect. I loved it,” he said of the tournament victory for the Scenic West Athletic Conference champions.

Berger allowed four hits and struck out 10 in eight innings.

The Coyotes’ next game is at 6 p.m. today against the winner of a 2 p.m. elimination game between Salt Lake and Eastern Utah in the double-elimination tournament.

Salt Lake beat Eastern Utah 8-3 Thursday.

If the Coyotes (40-16) win tonight, they advance to the best-of-3 region final next Thursday at the site of the higher-seeded team. A loss would force a rematch of tonight’s matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Berger, a graduate of Bishop Gorman High School, was sharp with all of his pitches, which pleased coach Tim Chambers.

“The most promising thing was that he was able to almost complete the game,” Chambers said. “He hadn’t been able to get past the fifth or sixth inning the past five weeks. I challenged him, and he responded.”

Berger (8-3) said he “had to set up the rotation for the rest of the tournament.”

He received offensive support from right fielder Tyson Mehlhoff, designated hitter J.C. Leach and second baseman Kyle Bostick.

Mehlhoff and Bostick each had three hits, and Leach lined a two-run double in the fifth to give CCSN a 5-0 lead.

Mehlhoff hit safely in eight consecutive at-bats before lining to right in the seventh.

“I saw the ball good and waited for my pitches,” he said. “It felt like the out I made was my best hit.”