6A baseball: Hamilton continues strong finish

April 19, 2019 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


JD McLaughlin heads for home after his two-run homer in the fifth inning of Hamilton's victory over Mountain Ridge. (AzPreps365 photo).

Hamilton baseball continued to hit and pitch as a month-long surge rolled along Friday with a 7-1 victory over visiting Mountain Ridge in a 6A contest.

Hamilton clouted three home runs and got a superb pitching performance again from a freshman pitcher. The Huskies, No. 2 in the power rankings, are 20-6 overall and fresh off wrapping up a region title (Premier Region) for the first time in several years. Mountain Ridge fell to 12-13 overall and lost for the fifth consectuive game. The Mountain Lions began the day No. 19 in the power rankings. 

Hamilton shortstop-pitcher Dustin Bermudez, firstbaseman Tyler Wilson and rightfielder JD McLaughlin went yard. Bermudez homered to left to put the Huskies up 1-0 in the first. Wilson snapped a 1-1 tie with solo shot to left in the second. McLaughlin belted his round-tripper to right with a runner aboard in the sixth. and was one of three Huskies with two hits. McLaughlin also finished up on the mound pitching the seventh.

"JD has had a huge year," Hamilton coach Mike Woods said. "He's set the tone for us. Done a lot of different things."

McLaughlin tossed a scoreless seventh in relief of aforementioned frosh Logan Saloman. The slender right-hander pitched six innings, gave up three hits, walked none and struck out six. Saloman is 4-1 for the year with an earned-run average sitting at 1.60. That's third on the team in wins behind Shane Murphy and Bermudez.

Hamilton's offense, which has amassed 62 runs in its current five-game winning streak, also got two hits each from Kyle Hasler and Will Maxey. The catcher's spot occupying the No. 9 hole in the lineup was 3 for 3 with an RBI each from Hasler and Ty Corcoran.

Mountain Ridge finished with only three hits -- one each from Kyler Stancato, Travis Warriner and Brock Arnold. Stancato scored in the second after doubling and came home on a sacrifice fly by Gray Bailey that brieflu tied the game, 1-1, in the second.