Power pitching propels Bengals to rout

Bonanza’s Mario Franzese had pitched well early in the season but didn’t have anything to show for it.

He made sure he would get a win Tuesday.

Franzese struck out 10 and allowed five hits in five innings and also slammed a two-run homer to help the Bengals to a 12-2 home win over Desert Oasis.

“It was all Mario today,” Bonanza coach Derek Stafford said. “It was Mario’s day. He was down 1-0, and he came up and put us ahead for good, and he shut them down for the rest of the game.”

Franzese (1-1) struck out the first three batters he faced, but the Diamondbacks scored a run in the top of the second on an RBI single by Jossaiah Raval.

Franzese wasted no time putting the Bengals on top, slamming a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the second.

“I was actually trying to go the other way, but he ended up coming inside,” Franzese said. “I was just looking to hit the ball hard, and it went over the fence.”

Franzese’s blast keyed a four-run second as Bonanza took control. Hunter Davidson added a two-run double in the inning.

The Bengals added an unearned run in the third, then scored seven in the fifth to end the game by the 10-run rule.

Bonanza took advantage of three bases-loaded walks in the fifth, and Heriberto Orozco’s two-run single ended the game. Orozco went 2-for-4, giving him 13 hits in his last 17 at-bats.

After a slow start in nonleague play, the Bengals (5-7) improved to 3-1 in the Southwest League.

“We’re 3-1, and we’re preaching to the kids that league play is a new season,” Stafford said. “And right now, the most important league game is the next game.”

Franzese said the key is to continue to play hard.

“Right now we’re competing every single play, but we’ve come up short a couple times, a couple hard losses,” Franzese said. “We just need to play the whole game hard, and things will start looking up for us.”

Davidson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Bonanza.

Raval went 2-for-2 and drove in both runs for Desert Oasis (3-7, 1-3).