As righty Chase Farrell continued to deal and his Valencia High teammates scraped together a two-run lead, diverging storylines wrote themselves.
Would the Vikings nail this one down? Or would West Ranch steal another victory in what’s become the best running baseball rivalry in the Santa Clarita Valley?
Farrell answered.
With a man on first in the bottom of the seventh, the senior struck out Nicholas Perez to cap a complete-game effort in Valencia’s 3-1 win Wednesday in the championship game of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational in Irvine.
Farrell allowed one earned run, striking out 11 and walking one.
“He was just really attacking the hitters,” said Valencia coach Mike Killinger. “He was moving the ball around the strike zone very well.”
Wednesday continued a dominant streak for the UCLA signee.
In his previous two outings, Farrell tossed a no-hitter against Canyon on March 22 and allowed three hits to West Ranch in seven innings of work on March 29.
He struck out 10 Cats that day, walking only two.
West Ranch, though, got to him for two runs in the bottom of the seventh, tying the score 2-2 and forcing extra innings, where it won on Austin Hernandez’s walk-off single.
Not this time.
Valencia took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Tyler Erne’s RBI groundout and added runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
West Ranch ace Timmy Josten went four innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Bryan Delgado took over in the fifth and hit Ben Fariss with the bases loaded to bring in Valencia’s second run.
Valencia’s Jake Biscailuz singled, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
Jovan Comacho doubled and came in on Christos Stefanos’ RBI single in the bottom of the sixth for West Ranch’s only run.
Comacho finished 2-for-2. Valencia’s Trace Eldridge went 2-for-3.
Valencia and West Ranch will meet again during the last week of the regular season. The teams play May 9 at Valencia and May 11 at West Ranch.
Yorba Linda 7, Saugus 6
Yorba Linda scored a run in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday to drop the Centurions (6-13) to a loss in their Ryan Lemmon Invitational consolation finale.
Saugus’ JP Flores went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while teammate Brandyn Cruz finished with two RBIs.
The Centurions host Christian High of El Cajon on Friday.
Woodbridge 6, Golden Valley 0
Woodbridge of Irvine pitcher Scott Armstrong threw five innings of two-hit ball to end the Grizzlies’ strong performance in the Ryan Lemmon tournament on a down note in Wednesday’s consolation game.
Golden Valley (6-9) advanced to the tournament’s semifinal where it lost to Valencia on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies will return to Foothill League play on April 12 against West Ranch.
