Gaels rip Desert Oasis in baseball showdown

Bishop Gorman couldn’t break through against Desert Oasis starter Seth Graham-pippin earlier this season.

It appeared the same would be true Saturday after Gorman left the bases loaded twice in the first four innings.

The Gaels didn’t leave them loaded a third time.

Gorman, No. 1 in the Review-journal’s Class 5A baseball rankings, scored 10 runs and sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth inning to claim an 11-1 home win over No. 3 Desert Oasis. The game ended in the fifth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Desert Oasis (18-8, 5-2 5A Mountain League) earned a 2-1 victory against Gorman (19-2, 5-1) on March 22 behind Graham-pippin’s two-hitter.

“We pitched well, which we’ve done a pretty good job of this year, and offensively we grinded out at-bats,” Gorman coach Chris Sheff said. “It took awhile to get to it, but we grinded out at-bats off (Graham-pippin), who’s very good.”

Starter Kaden Soder pitched all five innings, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts for the Gaels, who have won eight straight.

First baseman Easton Shelton had a grand slam, and shortstop Maddox Riske had three RBIS. Designated player Nolan Eberwein was the lone Gael with two hits.

“We had to be locked in,” Soder said. “The first game didn’t go our way, but today we had the energy.”

Gorman broke a 1-1 tie when Graham-pippin walked Colton Boardman with the bases loaded in the fifth. Unable to get the final out of the inning, the Diamondbacks pulled the Southern California commit, who had nine walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Gaels’ offense, which had just three hits to that point, immediately broke through. Riske drove in two runs on a single. Two batters later, Shelton cleared the bases with his grand slam.

“I knew they were coming at me with more off-speed pitches than the first three at-bats,” Shelton, a UNLV commit, said. “I sat in there, waited for it and was able to drive it.”

A wild pickoff throw attempt to first base by Desert Oasis reliever Ryan Martin scored two more Gorman runs and ended the game before the fifth inning was complete.

“We finally had a big inning,” Sheff said. “We’ve had to scratch across a lot of games this year, and I think our club’s a little bit more offensive than we’ve been. We finally had that inning where we were able to take control instead of having to scrap it out the whole game. It was good.”

With three weeks remaining before the playoffs begin, the Gaels are tied atop the Mountain League with Faith Lutheran — whom they beat in their season opener and play again April 27 — and have a one-game advantage in the loss column on Desert Oasis.

“There are teams fighting for the top spot of the league, and we don’t want to lose twice to anybody,” Sheff said. “It was a good opportunity to answer back for the time they beat us this year.”