Following a series loss to the Hart Hawks in Foothill League play, the Golden Valley Grizzlies bounced back at home Monday with a 6-0 win over the visiting Desert Christian Knights of Lancaster.
En route to the win, Grizzlies’ right-hander Charlie Butts struck out 12 and led Golden Valley to its eighth victory of the season.
“We needed this one bad. In the first week of the season with all the rain, we had seven games in 10 days, and they were all a dog fight, and we couldn’t find a way to win some of them,” Golden Valley head coach Marc Kennedy said. “So today, putting up a zero, getting the bats going, and remembering we still know how to win, I think it’s so important for this group.”
Going into the contest against Desert Christian (4-6-1, 3-3), the Grizzlies (8-8, 0-6) had lost their last five games by four runs or less. After the game, Kennedy said the results were frustrating, but that his team stayed in the fight to pull off a win on Monday.
“We came out of the gates hot, and were finding ways to win,” he said. “And then when you get into the Foothill League, it’s no joke.”
In the win over the Knights, the Grizzlies preformed at the plate and on the mound.
Butts, who struck out 12 across five innings of work, kept the Grizzlies in the game when the Knights threatened to score.
In the second inning, Butts allowed a leadoff single that managed to get to third base after a few passed balls.
Butts struck out the side and kept the game scoreless for Golden Valley as the Grizzlies scored in the third inning and took the lead.
“The key was that he had to be able to command the slider, and he did that,” Kennedy said. “So, he was able to kind of put it where he wanted, depending on the count. And it kept his pitch count down. We got some early-count ground balls, and he was able to go five with minimal pitches for us.”
Butts was relieved in the sixth inning by Aiden Kane, who ended the game with two strikeouts and no runs allowed.
At the plate, catcher Tyler Do had a big day as he drove in two runs and went 1-for-2.
Ayden Renstrom, who went 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple, was another key bat in the Grizzlies’ lineup that Kennedy said contributed big as he helps set the tone for the team by being the leadoff hitter.
“He hits some balls really hard and right at guys. So, to see him get one into a gap and be able to get extra bases out of it is big for him but big for our team,” Kennedy said.
The win was the Grizzlies’ eighth of the season and they are at .500 on the season.
As the Grizzlies prepare to enter the final stretch of the season, the goal for Kennedy is to finish the year strong and aim for their first finish above .500 since 2011.
“Traditionally with Golden Valley, a lot of these losses against the valley are double digits. But these guys fight and don’t go away,” he said. “We’re a good baseball team. We can win baseball games. I think going into the next two games we have this week and then back in the league, I think this kind of rejuvenates us and get back to that vibe that we had the first two, three weeks of season.”
The Grizzlies play again on Thursday on the road against the Carpinteria Warriors with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
