SUNSET BASEBALL: Pastrone, Aggies top Mustangs in pitcher’s duel

Arbor View baseball coach Jay Guest called the last two weeks of the regular season an up-and-down affair.

With help from senior Sam Pastrone, the Aggies opened the playoffs on the right foot.

Pastrone struck out 12 and threw a three-hitter as Arbor View defeated host Shadow Ridge 3-0 in the opening round of the Sunset Region tournament on Tuesday.

“This is a very big win, because playing here is really tough,” Guest said. “Sam was great, and we got some timely hits behind him. We knew runs would be tough to come by, because they don’t allow many runs, especially at home.”

Mustangs starter Nick Parr kept the Aggies off the board for five innings.

But in the sixth, Shadow Ridge committed two huge errors, including a dropped fly ball by right fielder Jakob Chambers, and the Aggies took full advantage. Ryan McHale opened the frame with a hit off Parr, and when Dustin McDonald missed the cut off man, McHale cruised into second base. Ben Cutting sacrficed McHale to third, and Quinn Gallagher’s single to left brought in the first Arbor View run.

Joe Fitzhugh then hit the fly ball to right, which Chambers misplayed and Gallagher scored giving Arbor View (23-8) a 2-0 cushion.

That was more than enough for Pastrone, who at one time retired 17 straight batters.

“It really helps when your senior steps us like Sam did,” Guest said. “That was a pretty good team we beat today. Again, we knew it was going to be a fight, and its great to win a game like this.”

The Aggies pushed an insurance run across in the seventh on Cutting’s sacrifice fly, which brought in Jayce Gardner.

Parr went 5 1/3 innings for Shadow Ridge (18-13) and walked three, while striking out two.

Arbor View plays at Desert Oasis (26-7) at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Shadow Ridge hosts Palo Verde (10-19) in an elimination game, also at 3:30.

Bishop Gorman 3, Centennial 2 — At Gorman, Antonio Rainone singled home Grant Robbins with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give the Gaels the win over the Bulldogs.

Robbins led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout by Matt Hudgins.

After a walk, Robbins went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Rainone’s single to center.

Gorman (25-2) led 2-0 after a two-run homer by Hudgins in the bottom of the second.

Centennial (21-12) tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. Tanner Wright tripled with one out and scored on a groundout by Kyle Horton. Jake Portaro then hit a solo homer to center to tie the game.

Jack Little went the distance, allowing six hits and striking out five, to get the win for the Gaels, who host Cimarron-Memorial (25-6) at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Portaro went 2-for-3 with a triple and a homer for Centennial, which plays at Durango (10-22) in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Cimarron-Memorial 8, Durango 1 — At Cimarron, Todd Danzeisen threw six shutout innings to power the Spartans past the Trailblazers.

Danzeisen struck out seven and walked one.

Niko Decolati went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, and Trevor Lippard and Adam Mitchell each went 3-for-4 for Cimarron.

Lippard scored twice, and Mitchell had a double, two runs and an RBI.

Noah Given was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for the Spartans, and teammate Trent Bixby added two singles and a run.

Artie Gallegos was 2-for-3 for Durango.

Desert Oasis 15, Palo Verde 5 — At Desert Oasis, A.J. Landis allowed four hits and fanned eight with no walks in four innings, and the Diamondbacks scored nine runs in the third inning en route to an easy win over the Panthers in five innings.

Chase Adams went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, and Nolan Kingham and Gage Ventura each supplied three hits for Desert Oasis.

Chris Van Kuren doubled twice, and Brett Brocoff and Dominic Paratore each had two RBIs for the Diamondbacks.

Palo Verde’s Ryan Merino was 3-for-3 with a double, three runs and an RBI, and J.D. Brooks had two hits for the Panthers.