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Silverado storms back to win opener in American Legion state tourney

Silverado couldn't have had a rougher first four innings of the American Legion State Tournament.

Trailing 9-1 entering the fifth inning Saturday, the Hawks appeared on their way to the losers' bracket of the double-elimination event.

And then, their bats came alive.

Silverado stormed back to post a 20-17 win over LV Knights II in the opening game of the tournament at Durango.

"We've had a big gap since our last game, and I think their pitcher did a real good job early," Silverado coach Brian Whitaker said. "Our guys looked a little like their energy level was low, but I told them 'I don't care if it takes four of five hours, find the energy and play the game.' The one thing over the years I've learned, you see a lot of runs in the later innings in this tournament. They just went out there and did their best. And they hit the ball very well, too."

The Hawks, who had just four hits in the first four innings, finished with 15 hits and grabbed a 20-11 lead entering the ninth before the Knights made things interesting.

Silverado's Michael Janosik (5-1) got the win, while the Knights' Nate Swanis (2-2) took the loss.

After Dillon Johnson belted a solo home run in the fifth inning to cut the Knights' lead to 9-2, the Hawks took advantage of two costly errors to score seven runs in the sixth inning and tie the game.

"Even though Dillon's homer made it only 9-2, I think that was the spark," Whitaker said. "Then when we scored seven (the first time), I knew it was going to be an interesting night. I knew they weren't done either. It was fun, the kids on both teams were playing hard. It certainly wasn't you typical baseball game."

Justin DeLeon's bases-loaded single drove in two runs to give Silverado the lead for good in the seventh, and another run scored on a throwing error. DeLeon scored when Michael Camburn's hot shot to third was misplayed, giving Silverado a 13-9 lead.

The Knights closed to within 13-11 in the top of the eighth before Silverado used another seven-run inning to build just enough of a cushion to hold on for the win.

Camburn and James Skelly each went 3-for-6 for Silverado. Camburn had two RBIs and scored twice, and Skelly had three RBIs and two runs scored. Jordan Thomson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs scored and three walks.

Bradley Doerpinghaus was 4-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs, and teammate Nick Calderon went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs for the Knights.

LV Knights 1 20, Post 51 0 — The top-seeded Knights (41-8-1) scored in every inning and cruised to an easy win over Post 51 (1-21).

The Knights scored seven runs in the second inning to break the game open and take an 8-0 lead to set the tone.

Nicholas Israel led the Knights on offense, going 3-for-3 with a grand slam, three walks, five RBIs and five runs scored, plus two stolen bases. Knights starter Matt Mitchell (4-1) allowed just four hits and struck out five in four innings en route to the win. Andrew Newson picked up the save.

The tournament continues at Durango Sunday, with the third-seeded Southern Nevada Blue Sox (Basic) taking on No. 6 seed Durango Post 76 at 5 p.m., and the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces (Desert Oasis) facing No. 7 Coronado in the second game.

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