Plus, scores from around the Foothill League
Following a one-run first inning from the Cowboys, the Wildcats’ pitching staff held the Canyon Cowboys to five scoreless innings going into the seventh as West Ranch carried a seven-run lead.
But in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cowboys rallied and scored four runs that prompted the Wildcats’ coaching staff to call Omar Gutierrez to the mound.
In the end, Gutierrez struck out Cowboys’ William Peck for the final out as the Wildcats defeated the Cowboys, 8-4, and recorded their fifth Foothill League win of the season.
“We need to get on track this week. We’re about getting to the halfway point and we talk about having to build momentum,” West Ranch head coach Trevor Brown said. “We have a tough team in Saugus next week and I just want to have that momentum going into that week.”
After the game, Brown said that Clayton was relieved after four innings as the team wanted to be cautious with his pitch count and workload in the middle of the season.
“We pulled him a little early, his arm was getting a little bit tired and with a big part of our season still coming up, we wanted to bring him out,” he said.
Clayton ended the day having thrown four innings, allowed one run, and struck out five.
At the plate, the Wildcats (9-9, 5-1) were led by Blake Johnson, who had a big day with a homerun in the sixth inning.
“Blake’s a threat every time he comes up to the plate,” Brown said. “He’s just doing a good job of hunting his pitches and not missing.”
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 5-1 in league play and remained in second place in the Foothill League standings.
The Wildcats pick up league play on Tuesday at Saugus High School with a matchup against the Centurions with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
As for Canyon (6-8, 0-6), the Cowboys return to league play on April 15th with a matchup against the Golden Valley Grizzlies.
After Friday’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Valencia 15, Saugus 3: The Valencia Vikings (6-8-1, 1-2-1) secured their first Foothill League win of the season following a bounce-back victory over the Saugus Centurions (8-7, 4-2).
The Vikings, who lost in the series opener to Saugus on Wednesday, were led by Steve Genovese on the mound as the sophomore pitcher threw for 6.2 innings, allowed eight hits, three runs and struck out three.
At the plate, Cole DeYoung had the biggest day for Valencia as he drove in three runs along with two doubles while going 3-for-4 at the plate.
The Vikings play again on Tuesday at Castaic High School for a matchup against the Coyotes while the Centurions will look to bounce back at home against the visiting West Ranch Wildcats.
Both games are scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m.
Castaic 2, Golden Valley 1: The Castaic Coyotes (9-6, 4-2) won in walk-off fashion when Michael Fava was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded to defeat the Golden Valley Grizzlies (7-5, 0-4).
For Castaic, Orion Gonzalez threw a complete game as he allowed six hits, one earned run, and struck out eight as he ended the day as the winning pitcher for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes play again in their next Foothill League match on Tuesday at home against the Valencia Vikings while the Grizzlies will look to rebound on the road against the Hart Hawks.
Both games are scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m.
