Plus, scores and photos from around the Foothill League
In the Foothill League opener, the matchup between the Castaic Coyotes and Saugus Centurions had the feel of a playoff game in May.
After the Coyotes jumped to a 7-0 lead after the top of the third inning, Castaic looked poised to come away with a big win.
Throughout the game, the Centurions rallied and battled, having the game-tying run 90 feet away in the bottom of the seventh. And with Centurions’ senior Matt Long at the plate, who hit a triple in his last plate appearance, the Saugus faithful were on their feet.
But with two outs and a runner in scoring position, Castaic right-hander Orion Gonzalez struck out Long off a foul tip and secured a 10-9 win for the Coyotes.
“I knew it was going to be intense,” Castaic head coach Darrell Davis said. “These are my alumni and I don’t think we won here in the last three years. [Saugus] is a good team, and I knew going into the Foothill League, it was going to be tough.”
In the bottom of the seventh, the Coyotes (6-3, 1-0) held a 10-8 lead and had Matthew Gonzalez on the mound. Banning Sheff of the Centurions (4-5, 0-1) got on base after a leadoff single and Matt Carta was walked, then Davis made a change on the mound and brought in Orion Gonzalez.
Sheff then scored on an error committed by Castaic’s infield. But after the error, Orion Gonzalez shut down the Saugus lineup and completed the win.
After the game, Davis said that although Orion Gonzalez is going to start on the mound against the Centurions on Friday, the plan was always to throw him to get the save if the game was close.
“If it was tight on the end, we knew we could bring him in,” he said. “He’s going to start for us on Friday, but we knew if we kept him under the pitch count, he’ll be ready to go on Friday.”
For the Coyotes, Andrew Bond started the game on the mound and went 3.1 innings pitched, struck out six and allowed four runs.
Aiden Arroyo went 3-for-5 at the plate and tallied two hits for doubles for Castaic.
The biggest performer at the plate for the Centurions was Long, who ended the day going 3-for-5, drove in three runs and hit a triple in the bottom of the sixth.
The Coyotes picked up their third win in a row and with another matchup against the Centurions on Friday, Davis is excited to return to Castaic High School and sweep the series.
“I think it’s going to be a hit fest,” he said. “We’re going to take it one game at a time and hopefully the bats will stay hot, and we’ll keep swinging. As long as we do that, and continue to pitch well, and play good defense, we’ll be alright.”
The next game between the Coyotes and Centurions is on Friday at Castaic High School with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Photos below from Castaic’s win over Saugus:
After Wednesday’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Hart 15, Canyon 2: The Hart Hawks (3-6, 1-0) opened league play with a win over the Cowboys (5-2, 0-1) at Canyon High School on Wednesday.
The Hawks tallied 16 hits in the win with Matix Frithsmith ending the day going 2-for-5 at the plate and recording four runs batted in.
Malachi Wobrock started the game for the Hawks and held the Cowboys to just two hits across five innings. Wobrock ended the day having allowed two runs and struck out four.
The Cowboys’ two runs came in the first and fourth inning with Brody Bayliss having the biggest day for Canyon.
Bayliss ended the day at the plate going 1-for-2 with a home run.
The Hawks and Cowboys finish the season series on Friday at Hart High School with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
West Ranch 15, Golden Valley 1: The Wildcats (3-5, 1-0) picked up a road win in the league opener over the Golden Valley Grizzlies (5-1, 0-1).
The Wildcats tallied 17 hits, with Connor Clayton leading the team in runs batted in with six.
Clayton ended the day at the plate going 3-for-4 with a home run. The Wildcats’ Ty Diaz also recorded two home runs and was 3-for-4 at the plate.
The Grizzlies’ lone run in the game came in the top of the fourth inning when Andrew Markovich drove in Aiden Kane.
The Grizzlies and Wildcats finish the season series on Friday at West Ranch High School with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Photos below from West Ranch’s win over Golden Valley:
