Sixth-inning surge lifts Lions
Durango pitcher Aaron Kurcz had Sierra Vista’s number Thursday. At least until the sixth inning.
The Lions managed one hit through five innings but scored five runs in the sixth to take a 5-2 baseball victory over the visiting Trailblazers.
The bottom of the order started the rally for Sierra Vista. Nick Capparelli, the No. 8 hitter, led off with a single, and No. 9 hitter Andrew Garcia tripled into the right-field corner to make the score 2-1.
Josh Krumme then delivered an RBI double. After an error and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Ryan Krasn bounced a single through the left side to score two for a 5-2 lead.
“Their guy had thrown a very good game,” Sierra Vista coach Nate Selby said. “Kurcz threw real good offspeed and was in command of a couple pitches. We struggled early but were able to get a couple hits and get started in the bottom of our order.”
Matt Klein (8-0) pitched the distance for the Lions, allowing seven hits and striking out seven.
“When it looks like we’re never going to score, he kept us in, so props to him,” Selby said. “He’s been pretty good all year. He was not great today, but good enough.”
Durango got its first run in the third on back-to-back doubles by Jayson McClaren and Justin Loya. The Trailblazers scored in the sixth on an RBI single by Ryan Kuehl.
• Spring Valley 9, Bonanza 6 — At Spring Valley, Perry Martin hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Grizzlies the victory.
Spring Valley’s Ryne Milner hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to tie the game, 6-6.
Cody Collins went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Grizzlies. Joel Fernandez had a double and two RBIs for the Bengals.
• Rancho 9, Valley 8 — At Rivera Park, Justin Neubauer retired the final two batters with two on to preserve the victory for the Rams.
Alex Gonzalez had a home run and four RBIs for Rancho, which survived Valley’s five-run seventh-inning rally.
Chris Jones went 3-for-3 with two doubles to lead the Vikings.
• Bishop Gorman 21, Western 0 — At Western, Joey Rickard went 5-for-5 with two doubles, three runs and six RBIs as the Gaels routed the Warriors.
Corey Lafler was 3-for-3 with three doubles, two runs and four RBIs for Gorman. Paul Sewald pitched the distance, allowing five hits and striking out six.
Aubrey Dezarn went 2-for-3 for Western.
• Canyon Springs 17, Desert Pines 13 — At Desert Pines, Jose Marquez went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs to help the Pioneers defeat the Jaguars.
Demetrius Pipkin was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs and James McKoy had three hits, a run and an RBI for Canyon Springs.
• Las Vegas 12, Eldorado 0 — At Las Vegas, pitcher Bryan Harper threw a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts as the Wildcats shut out Eldorado in five innings.
• Arbor View 11, Chaparral 8 — At Chaparral, Oscar Hudson was 2-for-3 with a home run and six RBIs as the Aggies held off the Cowboys.
Michael Blazek was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs and Robbie Garvey had a homer, two RBIs and two runs for Arbor View, which took a 10-0 lead after three innings. Greg Smallwood hit two doubles for Chaparral.
• The Meadows 6, Mountain View 5 — At The Meadows, Omar Chaudhay scored the winning run on Nick Pisanelli’s two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Mustangs over the Saints.
Chaudhay had two hits and scored twice. Evan Entler had two hits for Mountain View.
• Boulder City 16-2, Faith Lutheran 11-8 — At Faith Lutheran, the Crusaders and Eagles split a doubleheader.
Brett Moravec, Michael Long and Dylan Frantz each had three hits to lead Boulder City in the first game.
In the second game, Adam Jones was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs and Dylan Young had two hits and two RBIs to lead Faith Lutheran. Young had three doubles in the first game.