The Sweet Home High School Huskies beat three out of four teams in baseball at the American Christian Academy Tournament held in Redding, Calif. Thursday through Saturday.
The Huskies shut out Etna 14-0 on Thursday and then shut out Central Valley 11-0 before beating Colusa 6-2 on Friday.
Gridley defeated the Huskies 5-3 on Saturday.
Following the tournament, the Huskies were 4-2 overall. They were scheduled to travel to Molalla on Tuesday and host Salem Academy on Thursday and then Elmira on Monday in their first league game.
“We got off to a good start to our tourney in Redding,” said Coach Dan Tow. “All three of our pitchers were very, very effective. We committed no errors on defense and had offensive contributions from numerous ball players.”
The Huskies brought in nine runs in the first inning against Etna to build a dominating lead. They scored two more runs in the second inning and three in the third.
Jake Long and Keanu Aiona each had three hits, with two doubles for Aiona and one double for Long. Long also had three RBIs and scored two runs. Aiona had two RBIs and scored three times.
Devin Stafford had two hits and two RBIs.
Also collecting a hit were Desmond Ely, Nick Marler, Justin Tow and Brandon Keenon.
Starting pitcher Danny Virtue gave up one hit and struck out one batter in two innings. Relief pitcher Ryan Krause gave up two hits and a walk in two innings, and relief pitcher Fisher Anderson gave up a walk in one inning.
“We just came out and played very well in all facets of the game,” Tow said. “It was nice to see the kids start off well and just keep it going.”
Etna 000 00 – 0 3 6
Sweet Home 923 00 – 14 12 0
The Huskies got things gong early against Central Valley too, leading 1-0 after one inning and 7-0 after two.
They added four more runs in the third inning to round out scoring for the game.
“Devin Stafford was outstanding on the mound in this one,” Tow said. “He had six strikeouts, no walks, and only gave up two hits while throwing only 68 pitches.”
Virtue had a big day at the plate, hitting three times with a double and three runs.
“We were very good defensively, with only one error, and got hits from a lot of different people,” Tow said.
Ely, Aiona, Long, Austin James, Justin Tow and Keenon each had a hit.
Central Valley000 00 – 0 2 6
Sweet Home164 00 – 11 9 1
Colusa gave the Huskies a tougher time of it.
“This was really a good victory,” Tow said. “Colusa is a very good team with good players and coaches.”
Both teams scored a run in the first inning. Sweet Home broke things open in the third with four runs, building a 4-2 lead The Huskies added another run in the fifth.
“We got a great effort out of Danny on the mound,” Tow said. “He went the distance, giving up only four hits and one earned run to a team that swings the bat pretty well.
“We made numerous big defensive plays in this game, with the highlight being a diving catch in center field by Jake Long with the bases loaded. It ended a potential big inning for Colusa and saved two runs, possibly three.”
Virtue also struck out four batters and gave up two walks.
Justin Tow, Aiona and Keenon had a big night on offense. Justin Tow had three hits with a double. Aiona had three hits, and Keenon hit a pair of doubles with two RBIs.
Devin Stafford added another pair of hits and an RBI.
Ely, Virtue, Marler and Krause each had one hit.
“Our kids really put together a nice game in this one against a tough team,” Tow said.
Sweet Home104 010 0 – 6 14 2
Colusa101 000 0 – 2 4 0
The Huskies ran into a tougher defense against Gridley.
“We played a pretty good game in this one and lost to a very good baseball team,” Tow said. “our pitchers, Keenon, Anderson and Long, all battled hard and did a nice job for us.
“Their kid, Ty Cota, pitched a heck of a game and went the distance. He held us to six hits, but I thought we hit a lot of balls hard and their defense was excellent.
“We had numerous balls that usually drop or get through the infield, and they just made some really nice plays.”
Sweet Home led 1-0 after one inning. Gridley got ahead in the third, scoring three runs to lead 3-1.
The Huskies answered with a run in the fourth, but Gridley added two more to lead 5-2. The Huskies added just one more run in the sixth inning.
“Desmond Ely had a great day at the plate, going 3-3,” Tow said. “We got a big double late in the game by Devin Stafford. In the end we just couldn’t quite get over the hump, but I thought it was a very good game between two tough teams.”
At bat, Stafford, Virtue and Long each had a hit.
On the mound, Keenon started the game, pitching three innings. He gave up three earned runs, two walks and seven hits.
He struck out two. Pitching in relief, Long gave up two walks and struck out one in one inning. Anderson gave up two hits and a walk in two innings.
Sweet Home100 101 0 – 3 6 3
Gridley003 200 0 – 5 9 3