BLAZER SPRING BASH: Ferdinand’s throw perserves win for Wolves

The game was out of Mikey York’s hands, but Basic’s starting pitcher said he had confidence in his relief pitcher. York’s faith should have been in right fielder Taylor Ferdinand.

Ferdinand gunned down a runner at the plate to end the game and preserve Basic’s 1-0 victory Monday over San Fernando (Calif.) in the Blazer Spring Bash at Sierra Vista.

“That was huge,” York said of Ferdinand’s throw. “Ferdy throwing that guy out at home, that was big.”

York was pulled after throwing six innings of two-hit ball. Josh McLean replaced him on the mound but got into trouble immediately when he walked Eddie Mendez to lead off the seventh.

“I had full faith in Josh,” York said. “He’s one of our better pitchers. I was a little worried when he walked that first guy, but I had full faith in him that he was going to close it out.”

After a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, pinch hitter Miguel Castaneda hit a soft liner that fell in front of Ferdinand in right field for a single. But the senior came up throwing and cut down pinch runner Anthony Robles at the plate to end the game.

“A clutch, big-time play,” Basic coach Scott Baker said. “The game’s on the line, do-or-die, and we were real fortunate for him to make the throw and get the last out, for sure.”

The throw also preserved the win for York, who leaned heavily on his fastball throughout. The Saint Mary’s (Calif.) signee threw 105 pitches, 74 for strikes, and used his fastball to record nine of his 11 strikeouts.

“He just pounded the zone all day,” Baker said. “His velocity was up today.”

Baker said York had been slow to recover the top speed on his fastball after having his wisdom teeth pulled about a month ago. But the Tigers struggled with York’s fastball all day.

“They were having trouble catching up, so I was just pounding that and then working with my offspeed when I needed it,” York said.

Only two runners reached second against York, and his only jam came in the top of the sixth. After striking out the first two batters, York allowed a single and then his only walk of the game to bring up San Fernando’s No. 3 hitter, Alonzo Garcia.

Baker went to the mound intending to pull his senior, but York talked the coach into letting him stay in the game, and he struck out Garcia looking to end the inning.

Basic’s run came in the first when Logan Green tripled with one out and scored on Isaac Perez’s line-drive single to center.

The Wolves got only two more hits the rest of the game against San Fernando lefty Carlos Garcia.

“We had trouble waiting back on that pitcher,” York said. “He was throwing a little slower than what we’re used to facing.”

Garcia didn’t allow a runner past first base after the first inning. He finished with three strikeouts and one walk.

“That kid pitched a good game,” Baker said. “He was crafty and threw a lot of strikes. We kind of struggled to make adjustments, quite honestly.”

Baker said he was glad to see his team earn a victory in a close game.

“I kind of like these games to be honest with you,” Baker said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win the big ones later on. It’s easy to play when it’s 10-0, 12-0. We need these types of games, for sure.”

Faith Lutheran 5, Poly (Calif.) 0 — At Sierra Vista, Brandon Davis threw six shutout innings to lead the Crusaders over the Parrots.

Erich Uelmen was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, a run and two RBIs, and Cameron Sepede had two triples and an RBI for Faith Lutheran.

Justin Daraban went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI for the Crusaders. Davis struck out four, walked four and allowed three hits in six innings of work.

Sierra Vista 13, San Fernando (Calif.) 7 — At Sierra Vista, Cole Crosby was 3-for-5 with a triple and three runs to help the Mountain Lions overcome an early 6-0 deficit and top the Tigers.

Alex Kern was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs for Sierra Vista.

Sierra Vista 8, Marshall (Calif.) 2 — At Sierra Vista, Kavan Alferaz was 2-for-2, and the Mountain Lions used a five-run fourth inning to down Marshall.

Clayton Hobart and Jhared Gonzalez combined on a four-hitter for Sierra Vista.

Arbor View 2, Centennial (Calif.) 1 — At Durango, Sam Pastrone’s squeeze bunt with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Aggies past the Golden Hawks.

Arbor View took a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but Centennial tied it on a two-out home run.

Kaid Urban led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and moved to third on Quinn Gallagher’s sacrifice bunt. After Nick Quintana was intentionally walked, Pastrone laid down a squeeze bunt, and the throw home to try to retire Urban got away.

Gabe Gonzalez and Brady Borden combined on a three-hitter for the Aggies, with Gonzalez striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings.

Bellflower (Calif.) 3, Durango 0 – At Durango, Ricky Serrano tossed a five-hitter to lead the Buccaneers by the Trailblazers.

Jordan Knapp allowed nine hits but didn’t surrender a walk for Durango.

Chatsworth (Calif.) 10, Durango 0 — At Durango, the Trailblazers managed just two hits and fell to Chatsworth in six innings.

Chatsworth (Calif.) 2, Desert Oasis 1 — At Durango, Chatsworth nipped the Diamondbacks.

Alex Tafesh had an RBI double for Desert Oasis, which had runners at the corners with no outs in the seventh, but couldn’t produce the tying run.

Centennial (Calif.) 5, Desert Oasis 4 — At Durango, Centennial held off the Diamondbacks.

Tafesh was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run for Desert Oasis.

Cimarron-Memorial 6, Sylmar (Calif.) 0 — At Cimarron, Jamie Yanchisin threw a seven-hitter and struck out 10 to lead Cimarron by Sylmar.

Logan Bottrell was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBIs, and Adam Mitchell went 2-for-2 with a triple, a run and an RBI for Cimarron.

Tyler Giovinco was 3-for-3 with a run, and Trevor Lippard was 1-for-3 with two RBIs for Cimarron.

Las Vegas 7, Independence (Calif.) 4 — At Las Vegas, Jared Herrera had three hits and an RBI, and the Wildcats scored four runs in the sixth to top Independence.

Jose Sanchez had two RBIs for Las Vegas.

Las Vegas 3, Banning (Calif.) 2 — At Las Vegas, Antonio Gaxiola’s two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the fifth inning plated Herrera with the eventual winning run as the Wildcats nipped Banning.

Herrera and Eddie Ojeda each had two of Las Vegas’ 10 hits.

Trey Chauncey, Diego Delgado and Tynoa Shigemoto combined on a four-hitter for Las Vegas.

Shadow Ridge 11, Arleta (Calif.) 5 — At Shadow Ridge, Francisco Robles was 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, two runs and two RBIs to help Shadow Ridge down Arleta.

Jordan Hand was 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs and an RBI, and Isaiah Blaylock went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Shadow Ridge.

Travis Caskie, Jordan Johnson and Antonio Arreola each added two hits for Shadow Ridge.

Independence (Calif.) 4, Shadow Ridge 2 — At Las Vegas, Independence took advantage of two Mustangs errors to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth and pull out the victory.

Hand was 2-for-3 with a run, and Jordan Johnson went 2-for-4 for Shadow Ridge.

Blaylock allowed just one earned run on four hits and struck out three in six innings for the Mustangs.

Moapa Valley 10, Carson (Calif.) 6 — At Centennial, Lance Hilton doubled twice, and the Pirates scored all of their runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to top the Colts.

Chad Jones and Chaz Cornwall each had two hits for Moapa Valley.

Jordan (Utah) 3, Centennial 2 — At Centennial, the Beetdiggers scored all three of their runs in the third inning and held off the Bulldogs.

Cale Hathaway and Colton Shaver each went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Jordan.

Will Loucks drove in both runs for Centennial.

Centennial 18, Arleta (Calif.) 0 — At Centennial, Tyler Baca was 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs, and the Bulldogs scored 10 runs in the fourth en route to the five-inning win.

Travis Stevens went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Jared Drizin was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs for Centennial.