Hunsaker leads the way as Citrus Valley gets CBL victory over Cajon
REDLANDS » At first sight, Citrus Valley’s Riley Hunsaker does not look like a prototypical No. 3 hitter. But after a few swings of the bat, it becomes obvious why the 5-foot-10, 155-pound Hunsaker is batting in that spot.
Hunsaker, a sophomore center fielder who is committed to USC, went 3 for 3 and sparked the decisive fifth-inning rally that helped the Blackhawks defeat Cajon 5-2 in a Citrus Belt League baseball game Thursday afternoon.
Hunsaker recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season and raised his average to .476.
“The kid swings the bat so well, and he can run like a jackrabbit,” Citrus Valley coach Jon Austin said. “His numbers can sneak up on you a little bit, but he’s effective because he can spray the ball everywhere on the field.”
Hunsaker went the opposite way and doubled down the left field line to give Citrus Valley a 1-0 lead in the first inning. He pulled a single to right field in the third inning and later scored the second run of the game.
“I’m always looking to put the ball in play and just help get things going for my team,” Hunsaker said. “I just try to stay short to the ball, make solid contact and hope to find a hole somewhere out there.”
Cajon (3-2, 3-2 in league) answered back in the fourth inning, as five consecutive batters reached base. Ty Thomas singled home one run, and Jess Rodarte smacked a double to the wall to bring home the tying run. Cajon left runners at second and third in that inning and had another thrown out between third and home.
Hunsaker lined a single back up the middle to get the fifth inning started for Citrus Valley (10-2, 4-0). Jared Snyder knocked in his second run of the game with a triple to deep center field to score Hunsaker. The Blackhawks added two more runs on an RBI groundout by Jacob Jacome and an RBI single by Cy Robertson.
“The energy died down a bit after they tied the score, so we needed to pick things up,” Hunsaker said.
Griffin had no trouble shaking off that rough fourth inning. He needed only five pitches to get through the fifth, and he retired 11 of the final 12 batters to pick up his fourth victory of the season.
Griffin did a great job getting ahead in the count by throwing a first-pitch strike to 22 of the 29 batters he faced.
“Blake has been our workhorse, and he knows what it takes to win those big games,”
Austin said. “We have a motto of five Fs, and one of those is finish. He took that to heart and shut things down at the end.”
Griffin said his energy level increased after his team scored those three runs for him in the fifth inning.
“It was a huge confidence boost,” Griffin said. “I wasn’t going to let the lead get away from us again.”
Garrett Bougie came off the bench and registered two of the six hits against Griffin in Thursday’s game.