GRIZZLY-BENGAL TOURNEY: Massey settles down, leads Bengals by Longhorns

Bonanza starter Jonathan Massey needed 16 pitches to retire the side in order in the top of the first on Tuesday.

It was Massey’s least-efficient inning.

The junior lefty needed just 69 pitches to throw a five-hitter and lead the Bengals to a 7-1 home win over Legacy in the Grizzly-Bengal Spring Break Invitational.

“Jon threw great, and that’s good to see,” Bonanza coach Mike O’Rourke said. “He’s progressively gotten better each outing, and I think he’s starting to gain some confidence.”

Massey fell behind each hitter in the top of the first, but managed to set the Longhorns down in order, earning two of his three strikeouts.

He wouldn’t throw more than eight pitches in an inning until the sixth as he came right after Legacy hitters.

“He struggled in the first (and) fell behind some hitters,” O’Rourke said. “But he kept competing. Throwing strikes is the name of his game. He’s got to compete and keep the ball down and challenge hitters, and he did that all day.”

Legacy’s run was unearned, and Massey didn’t walk a batter.

Bonanza, meanwhile, took advantage of a pair of first-inning walks to jump to an early 2-0 lead. After the first two batters walked, Alec Taft singled to center to plate Cruz Nevarez for a 1-0 lead. One out later, Hunter Junge hit a sacrifice fly to score Chris Dunn for a 2-0 advantage.

“We took advantage of a couple walks, and Alec comes up and does what Alec has done all year and hit the ball hard for us,” O’Rourke said. “He put us on top early, and we were able to keep capitalizing and taking good swings on the ball.”

Dunn’s triple started a four-run third. Casey Ladeira had an RBI double, and the Bengals benefited from three wild pitches and a pair of errors.

Dunn was 2-for-2 with two runs, and Ladeira went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI for Bonanza, which has games against Liberty and Spring Valley to finish the tournament on Wednesday.

“This week is huge, because we’ve been struggling,” O’Rourke said. “We’ve been on the wrong side of some close ballgames. And this week is very important for us to continue to keep playing better and minimizing some of the mistakes that have been costing us. So I was really impressed with the way we played today.”

Aaron Trifunac was 2-for-3 with a double for Legacy.

Palo Verde 4, Liberty 1 — At Spring Valley, Michael Spada tossed a six-hitter and struck out four to lead the Panthers by the Patriots.

Colin Janison’s two-run triple keyed a four-run first inning that gave Spada all the offense he needed. Janison and J.D. Brooks each went 2-for-3, and Andrew Schluesner added an RBI single for Palo Verde.

Spring Valley 4, Palo Verde 3 — At Spring Valley, Cody Watkins’ two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning plated Alex Gomez with the winning run as the Grizzlies edged the Panthers.

Gomez drew a one-out walk in the eighth and moved to second when Nick Rupp walked with two outs.

Watkins finished 3-for-4 with a double, and Taylor Robison was 2-for-4 for Spring Valley.

Brooks was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Bradley Lewis went 2-for-4 for Palo Verde.