Golden Valley High baseball secured its third win over Hart High in program history on Wednesday with a 4-3 victory at Golden Valley.
According to Grizzlies coach Steve Lombardi, it was a breakthrough that was in the making throughout the season.
“It was nice to see that they were as excited as they were,” he said. “It’s something that as coaches we talked about and that we expected. We finally put it all together and played a good game.”
MORE BASEBALL: West Ranch baseball slips by Saugus
Hart’s Cody Jefferis scored on an error in the first inning.
Golden Valley’s Bailey Martinez executed a sacrifice bunt in the third inning to move runners to second and third base.
Gio Chaidez took advantage of the offensive setup and hit an RBI single. Then Matt Broadwater’s RBI sacrifice fly gave the Grizzlies (8-2 overall, 3-7 in Foothill League) a 2-1 lead.
“In that situation we were just trying to generate something,” Lombardi said. “We were able to execute and move some runs along.”
The Indians (13-10, 5-5) nabbed one run apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to pull ahead of GV by one.
But the Grizzlies had something left to say in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After loading the bases, Bailey Martinez hit a grounder toward third base, but Hart’s throw home was errant, allowing two runs to score and ending the game.
“I give Bailey Martinez credit,” said Lombardi. “…He just put a ball in play. He put a ball in play with two strikes and gave us a shot.”
Grizzlies pitcher Chaidez got his first start of the season on the mound. In five innings, he limited the Indians to three runs and recorded five strikeouts.
Hart’s Cody Turner pitched six innings and recorded six strikeouts while allowing three hits.
Grant Thuente had an RBI for Hart, as did Brendan Henry.
The series between the two teams resumes on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Hart.
Valencia 6, Canyon 0
The Vikings’ Chase Farrell pitched six innings and recorded seven strikeouts while allowing one hit. Austin Oliver pitched the final inning.
Ben Fariss had three hits, while Lukas White, Chris Mueller and Nick Brice each had two hits.
For the Cowboys, Clayton Orloff went 2-for-3 at the plate with two singles.
Valencia moves to 18-6 overall and 8-2 in league with the win. Canyon is 2-21 and 1-9.
