Baseball: Mtn. Ridge cranks out 17 hits to beat Corona

April 25, 2016 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


 

No. 6 Mountain Ridge hasn't torn the cover off the ball in winning most of seven of its last eight games, but it has the last two.

The Mountain Lions collected 17 hits and after blowing a 6-0 large early lead battled past No. 2 Corona del Sol, 12-8, in a Division I baseball game at Corona del Sol.

Mountain Ridge (22-5 overall and 13-4 in power-ranking games), scored six times io six hits n the first inning, yet gradually saw that lead melt to an 8-8 tie after four. Sophomores Preston Godfrey and Jason Harayda provided an RBI single and two-run single, respectively, in the top of the fifth inning to put Mountain Ridge back in front, 11-8. Junior Nolan Ruff recovered from his only tough inning among the five he pitched in relief in the fourth to blank Corona (21-5, 14-3) the final three innings.

Mountain Ridge, the Section II champion who is closing the season with six games in nine days, pounded out 15 hits and scored 16 runs last Saturday in beating Millennium, 16-7. Against Corona del Sol on Monday afternoon the Mountain Lions homered three times (they've hit six as a team prior to Monday). Mitchel Sullivan hit a two-run shot in the first inning and Cameron Cannon and Alex Roth had solo blasts in the second and third inning, respectively. They knocked out Corona starter Brandon Bracy before he got an out in the second inning. 

Corona showed plenty of resilence tallying twice in the first, three times in the second and three times in the fourth. All the Aztecs runs were scored with two outs. A two-run double by Matt Novis in the first, RBi singles by Ryan Novis and Jacob Clemens in the second and back-to-back homers in the fourth by Ryan Novis and Clemens got Corona fans back in the game.

From there, Ruff was quite efficient. He retired Corona in order in the fifth, issued a walk in the sixth and after a batter reached on an error to begin the seventh, he induced a game-ending double play ball (hlelped by runner's interference) to close it out.

Tristan Thomas and Roth (three runs scored) had three hits apiece for Mountain Ridge. Harayda knocked in three runs -- the first on a safety squeeze. Every Mountain Ridge player who batted (10) had a hit. Corona del Sol was led by shortstop Chase Hamilton's 3-for-3 day with three runs scored.

Both teams conclude their regular season on Tuesday. Mountain Ridge visits No. 10 Sunrise Mountain and Corona del Sol travels to No. 5 Hamilton. All five of Corona's losses this  season have come to teams in the top 10 of the power-rankings -- #1 Basha, #4 Perry, Mountain Ridge, #9 Horizon in D-I and Canyon del Oro (No. 7 in D-II).