Vikings dispatch Rams, return to Big Dance for 2nd straight year

West Valley powered past Fresno City 8-5 to clinch a berth in the 3C2A State Championships for the second consecutive year. Sunday's win at Valhalla gave the Vikings (38-11) a 2-1 series win over the Rams (37-9) and sends them to the title tourney at Mt. San Antonio College May 24-26. But, the Vikings had to overcome a 1-0 series deficit to get there.

West Valley trailed 3-1 through five innings in Sunday's game three. A seven-run-sixth would give them all the runs they would need. Colin Spear ripped a solo homer to right-center to start the Viking scoring in the sixth. Isaac Hawthrone followed that up with a two-run blast to left and the Vikings had a 4-3 lead. Kenji Colston and Drew Dillehay scored on a Kenji Colston E4, and David Estrada scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 7-3. Another infield error by the Rams, this time on a Xander Sielken grounder to second, brought home Carmelo Rivera to increase the Viking advantage to 8-4. A two-run Bo Rico homer in the top of the eighth brought the Rams to within 8-5, but they would get no closer.

Estrada finished 4-for-5 with two runs, while Dillehay went 2-for-4. Hawthrone, Rivera and Sielken all had two RBI. Starter Julian Ito earned the win, giving up six hits and striking out six in seven strong innings.

A six-run Ram fifth countered a two-run Eric Altmark HR in the second and a fifth-inning three-run bomb from Estrada in Fresno City's 10-6 game one win Friday.

Facing elimination at home Saturday, the Vikings rallied for an 8-6 win thanks to a three-run seventh.

Colin Spear hit a solo HR in the second, Estrada launched a two-run tater in the fourth, and Hawthrone knocked in Sielken with a fielder's choice in the fifth to give the Vikings a short-lived 5-2 lead. A pair of Fresno City longballs helped the Rams retake the lead at 6-5 in the sixth. But, the Vikings grabbed the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh.

Altmark and Hawthrone scored on wild pitches, and Kai Laxa came home on a Dillehay SAC fly to give WVC an insurmountable 8-6 advantage. Reliever Bryce Berry struck out pinch hitter Gilbert Acosta in the bottom of the ninth to force the winner-take-all third game.

Altmark had a 2-for-3, two-run day, while Estrada and Hawthrone each had a pair of RBI. Kyle Scritzky spun three innings of no-run, one-hit, two-K relief to pick up the pitching win. Berry got the save.

West Valley will be the north's No. 1 seed at Mt. SAC and will face south No. 2 Cypress (38-18) at Saturday 6:00pm. The double-elimination tournament opens with north No. 2 Sierra (33-14) battling south No. 1 Mt. SAC (42-6) at noon.

For complete information, visit "Tournament Central" on the 3C2A's website: https://www.cccaasports.org/sports/bsb/Championship