After losing by five runs just two days prior, Canyon turned things around to beat Valencia 6-5 on Friday.
Scoring first, Canyon’s Cebastian Arriaga drove in a run when he hit a ball into the right center gap, scoring a runner from third and putting the Cowboys ahead 1-0 after the first inning.
After tying it up in the second, Valencia (9-12 overall, 5-4 in Foothill League) was able to go ahead 3-2 after three innings of play.
Scoring another run in the fourth, Canyon (12-9, 4-5) tied the score at three.
Again, Arriaga was able to put the Cowboys’ on his back by hitting a two-run home run over the center field wall, giving Canyon their second lead of the night at 5-3.
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“He drove in our first run of the game,” said Canyon head coach Drew Peterson about Arriaga’s hitting. “…And then with a 2-0 count and he got a fastball and didn’t miss it hitting it over center field. It was a big momentum shift with a tie score giving us the 5-3 lead.”
Coming in to relieve for Canyons’ starting pitcher Charles Harrison, Jace Root was able to get out of the sixth, only allowing one run to narrow the Cowboys lead to one.
“He was really composed,” Peterson said of Root. “He was able to get that strikeout in the sixth to get us out of a tough spot.”
The Vikings were able to score one more run in the top of the seventh, tying the game up at five all.
The winning run came in the bottom of the seventh when Vikings shortstop Luke Chung bobbled a ball hit by Shane Halstead, scoring Canyon’s Steven Cornell from third.
“This win is big for our program,” Peterson said. We were super young last season and this year we are turning the corner and wins against Valencia are huge because we haven’t been able to do that in the past. This win really gives our boys confidence.”
The Vikings will be able to shake off the loss with a double-header scheduled against Mission Viejo Saturday. The first game is slated to start at 11 a.m.
“It was a very tough game, we had twenty base runners and left twelve on,” said Valencia head coach Mike Killinger. “Canyon is a scrappy team and you can’t let them capitalize.”
Canyon will have some time to soak up the win as they play second-place West Ranch on Wednesday.
