After West Ranch secured a 15-1 win over Golden Valley on Wednesday, the Wildcats looked poised to sweep the series in a big way in Friday’s matchup.
But the Wildcats were limited on offense as Grizzlies right-hander Charlie Butts threw two scoreless innings to start the game and held the Wildcats to one run going into the seventh.
By the end, though, West Ranch defeated the Grizzlies, 3-0, tallying two runs in the top of the seventh inning off a passed ball and sacrifice fly and completing the series sweep over Golden Valley.
“Gotta give credit to [Charlie Butts]. He was really good on the mound, and he only gave up one run through six innings, and it was unearned,” West Ranch head coach Trevor Brown said. “We didn’t have our best day at the plate. But we came out, we kind of battled, and our pitcher gave us six really strong innings and kept us in it.”
On the mound, the Wildcats (4-6, 2-0) started right-hander Connor Clayton, who threw six innings, struck out 10 and only allowed three hits by Golden Valley (6-2, 0-2).
Clayton ended the day having allowed no runs and was relieved in the bottom of the seventh by Ty Diaz, who recorded the save after he struck out the Grizzlies’ Rocky Reyes.
After the game, Brown said that Clayton is new to the starting role and that although he’s new, in his opinion, threw his best game as a starter.
“That was by far, I think as in any game, we’ve played fall and spring this year, I think that’s the best performance we had out of a pitcher,” he said. “He was working quickly and he was just attacking guys. So, I felt like he looked really confident out there, and he felt confident.”
Clayton faced the minimum in the final four innings he threw and kept his Wildcats in the game while the offense didn’t capitalize with runners in scoring position.
Butts was relieved in the seventh and finished the day having thrown 6.2 innings, allowed five hits, five walks, and three runs, but none earned.
After the game, Grizzlies’ head coach Marc Kennedy said that Butts kept Golden Valley in the game, and that although they didn’t get the result they wanted, he’s excited to see Butts keep on pitching and believes he can lead the team to win.
“It doesn’t matter when you give him the ball or who it’s against. He loves to toe the rubber and just compete,” Kennedy said. “And that’s what you saw. He’s our guy.”
With the loss, the Grizzlies fall to 0-2 in Foothill League play and will take the next week off and pick up league action against the Castaic Coyotes on Wednesday, March 25.
The Wildcats will look to keep up their momentum at home in their next matchup against the Castaic Coyotes on Wednesday.
Both games are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
After Friday’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Saugus 12, Castaic 9: After a loss to the Castaic Coyotes (6-4, 1-1) on Wednesday, the Saugus Centurions (5-5, 1-1) split the series with a win on the road on Friday.
The Centurions rallied for the win in extra innings as Saugus tallied three runs in the top of the eighth for the victory.
Centurions Abraham Ramirez and Matt Long both homered in the win and drove in six runs combined.
The Centurions will look to build upon their momentum Wednesday on the road at Canyon High School against the Cowboys.
The Coyotes will look to bounce back against the Wildcats at West Ranch High School on Wednesday.
Both games are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Hart 16, Canyon 6: Following a win over the Canyon Cowboys (5-4, 0-2) on Friday, the Hart Hawks (5-7, 2-0) secured the series sweep and began Foothill League play unbeaten.
In the win for Hart, Michael Verdi and Jaiden Chan combined for six runs batted in while Hayden Rhodes finished the day going 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles.
The Cowboys were led by Ryder Brown, who ended the day 1-for-3 at the plate and drove in one run.
Canyon plays again at home on Wednesday against the visiting Saugus Centurions while the Hawks look to keep up their momentum at Valencia High School against the Vikings.
Both games are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
