Plus, scores from around the Foothill League
When West Ranch took a 5-0 lead after the fourth inning, the Wildcats looked poised to win big at home over the visiting Castaic Coyotes on Wednesday.
But in the top of the fifth inning, the Coyotes’ offense rallied and scored five runs to tie the game and appeared to gain all the momentum needed to win at West Ranch High School.
However, in the sixth and seventh innings, the Wildcats’ pitching staff stopped the Coyotes at the plate and held them scoreless to secure the 8-5 win.
“I feel like the heart rate was up for seven innings. That was a really good ball game,” West Ranch head coach Trevor Brown said. “This game is a game of momentum. And I was proud of our guys to be able to bounce back and put a two-spot on the same inning after they had their big five-run inning.”
In the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied at five apiece, the Wildcats were in scoring position after the first two batters got on base.
Blake Johnson hit a one-run single, and Ty Diaz followed with a one-run double to take the lead right back.
Johnson ended the day 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs batted in and a double.
After the game, Brown said it was huge for his players to stay in the fight and not lose energy after the momentum shifted toward Castaic.
“The two-spot was a big one. We put on a hit-and-run there with runners on first and third to try to stay out of the double play,” he said. “I’m so proud of the guys for executing when we needed to and I know we’re going to have another nail biter and another war on Friday.”
As for Castaic, the loss hurts head coach Darrell Davis as he believes there were moments when the offense didn’t capitalize.
On the base paths, the Coyotes had three separate runners get caught stealing from the Wildcats’ infield.
Davis believed the outs killed a lot of momentum for Castaic, including two that ended the inning for the Coyotes in the first and second.
“I don’t have an answer for that. We had a guy slip and the other gets picked off at second base,” Davis said. “[West Ranch] was smart enough to read the runners, and they did a good job with it. I tip my cap to them.”
For Friday, Davis is expecting another hard-fought game against the Wildcats but is looking forward to returning home and getting to host.
“We’ll come back. It wasn’t there for us today. And we still gave him a heck of a game there,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes and see where the cookies crumble.”
The series between the Coyotes and Wildcats picks back up on Friday at Castaic High School with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
After Wednesday’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Hart 10, Valencia 10: The game between the Valencia Vikings (5-6-1, 0-0-1) and Hart Hawks (5-7-1, 2-0-1) ended in a tie after eight innings on Wednesday.
After the fifth inning, the Vikings held an 8-4 lead but in the top of the sixth inning, the Hawks tallied six runs to take the lead.
Down 10-8, the Vikings scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to avoid the defeat and tied the game at 10 apiece to force the draw.
The Vikings’ Justin Gaisford had the biggest day at the plate for Valencia as he went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and a triple.
Hayden Rhodes led Hart with three runs batted in and two doubles as he went 3-for-4 at the plate.
The series picks back up again on Friday at Hart High School for the finale with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Saugus 11, Canyon 4: The Saugus Centurions (6-5, 2-1) opened the series against the Cowboys (5-5, 0-3) with a win at Canyon High School.
For Saugus, senior Matt Carta had a big day at the plate and went 3-for-5 with two triples and four runs batted in.
On the mound, the Centurions’ Tyler Roberts threw four innings, allowed two hits, and struck out five.
The Cowboys relied on Brody Bayliss at the plate as he went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs.
The series between the Centurions and Cowboys picks back up on Friday at Saugus High School with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Photos below from West Ranch’s win over Castaic:
