San Diego (Tecolote), California pulled out a victory over Torrance, California in a thrilling 12-8 game that was up for grabs until the very end.
After holding Torrance, California scoreless in the top of the first, San Diego put themselves on the board by way of a Keith Clark single to center field for a 2-0 lead. Clark was then able to take advantage of an error and found his way home for another San Diego run before the inning was over.
However, Torrance’s offense could not be held in check for long, as Ryan Dempster singled to center field and brought in two runs before Blake Ely drew a walk and brought in the tying run. Shota Nakamura’s ground out to shortstop also brought in a run, and at the end of the second inning, Torrance led 4-3.
San Diego answered back in the bottom of the third inning on Derek Swartz’s ground out to shortstop before his team was able to hold Torrance scoreless in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Tecolote brought in three runs on three balls put in play. Nolan Browne scored on an error, Cole Miller added a run with his single to shortstop, and Nico Derkash doubled down the line to give San Diego a 7-4 lead.
Torrance’s Kyler Jung added a run on his ground out to shortstop before San Diego pulled away in the bottom of the fifth inning. Steven Haskett’s bunt brought in the team’s eighth run and just a couple batters later, he would round the bases and score on a passed ball. Owen Garcia singled to left field for a 10-5 lead and Miller singled to center for the eleventh run. Derkash capped off the scoring, reaching on an error for a 12-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Torrance put a scare in the hearts of the San Diego fans, however, as Ely’s double cut the deficit to six runs, Nakamura’s single added another, and Ely stole home to cut the deficit to 12-8. However, the three-run inning was not enough and Tecolote was able to hold on to their lead.
Alex Iihara led all batters with three hits on the night for Torrance, while Derek Swartz and Steven Haskett each had two for San Diego. Iihara also had the lone strike out for Torrance, while Owen Garcia, Keith Clark, and Cole Miller each had one for San Diego.
Torrance falls to 1-1 in the tournament, and will play Deer Park, Texas at 5:00 PM and the winner of that game will play San Diego at 7:30.