Gauchos unleash bats to defeat Ukiah in NBL Tournament

Casa Grande slugged its way to the finals of the North Bay League Baseball Tournament with a 9-4 win over visiting Ukiah on Wednesday.|

Casa Grande slugged its way to the finals of the North Bay League Baseball Tournament with a 9-4 win over visiting Ukiah on Wednesday.

Unlike the first two previous pitchers duels which the two team split in regular season NBL play, this was a slugfest with the Gauchos doing most of the damage in the opening two frames. Casa Grande plated six runs against Wildcat starter Devin Kirby who was no mystery to Gaucho hitters as they peppered hits to inviting open areas around the diamond.

The decisive outcome was also a bit sloppy in the field by both teams who committed seven errors between them to help keep the lines moving.

A four-run second inning by Casa eventually made the difference. The Gauchos batted around against Kirby with six base hits paced by Quintin Gago who knocked in a pair of runs with a sharp hit to right field.

Blake Berry, who finished with three hits on the afternoon, also knocked in a run with a well-placed single. Berry is now hitting .356 for the season.

While Kirby struggled from the outset, Gaucho starter Chris Joaquim was able to regroup after the Wildcats hit him with a two spot in their first at bat. Morgan Edwards got Ukiah started with a run-producing double into left field when Joaquim left the ball up in the zone.

Joaquim adjusted, however, and began to pound the lower part of the strike zone, and he eventually went six innings to earn the win by holding the Wildcats to only two earned runs. The Gaucho junior settled in nicely in the middle innings by facing only two batters over the minimum.

A well-turned double play turned in by the keystone combination of Hance Smith and Eddie Bermudez helped the Gaucho right hander get out of the third inning. In the fourth inning, Joaquim dispatched three Wildcat batters on only four pitches. He improved his season pitching record to 4-2 with the victory.

Overall, the Gauchos pounded 14 hits, and it could have been more with hard-hit balls ringing off their bats all afternoon. Gago, Berry, Spencer Torkleson, A.J. Miller and Dylan Moore had multi-hit outings as Casa improved to 19-5 for the season.

Casa Grande Athletic Director Rick O’Brien announced at the game that the tournament championship game between the Gauchos and Maria Carrillo will be played at Cardinal Newman on Friday afternoon starting at 4 p.m. The game had been scheduled at Santa Rosa Junior College, but the Bear Cub baseball team is still locked into the state playoffs. Regular season NBL champ Maria Carrillo defeated Montgomery, 6-1, Wednesday.

Ukiah, the third-place finisher in the NBL, ended its regular season with a record of 13-11.

Regular Wildcat shortstop Karter Koch was missing in action Wednesday because of a one-game CIF suspension.

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