Walk off carries Canyon
Ragusin’s home run lifts Cowboys past GV
It was a matter of check and checkmate.
Golden Valley’s Leon Jackson hit a solo home run on Friday in the top of the seventh to break a four-all tie.
Then Canyon senior Austin Ragusin hit a two-run, walkoff homer in the bottom of the inning to give the Cowboys a 6-5 home win over Golden Valley.
“It’s unbelievable,” Ragusin said. “It’s my senior year, it’s like a dream ... It was something I only imagined.”
It was Canyon’s first walk-off hit of the season, and Ragusin’s first-ever game-winner. He finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs for Canyon (8-12 overall, 3-6 Foothill League).
But to get there, Canyon had to battle back from a 3-0 deficit after the first inning.
Jackson started the game strong with an RBI double to get Golden Valley (4-13, 1-8) on the board.
Teammate Tristan Lacefield drove two home on a single in the same frame to make it 3-0, and Grizzly pitcher Michael Stephan recorded back-to-back, 1-2-3 innings to keep the
lead untouched.
The Cowboys scored one in the third, then they tagged on three, with the help of a Grizzly misplay, in the bottom of the fourth to tie it 4-4 — a score that lasted two innings. The rest is history. “I’ve been telling these guys all year — you’re never out of it until that last out, and it’s up to them to believe that,” said Canyon head coach Drew Peterson. “Today, we had fight, we had resiliency. We’ve gotten down, usually by a good amount of runs and they hang their heads (and) they get that thing on their face that shows that they’re defeated.
“But today, I didn’t see that at all.”
Jackson finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs for Golden Valley, while Lacefield drove in two on a 1-for-4 showing.
The Grizzlies couldn’t, however, extend the 5-4 lead after Jackson’s home run.
With bases loaded, Canyon’s closer Brandon Ramirez recorded the final two outs with a strikeout and a bare-handed catch.
“We had our shot in the seventh and had a couple more, which would’ve helped our pitcher a little bit,” said Golden Valley head coach Steve Lombardi. “Having a one-run lead in the seventh — we knew that was still going to be tough to get three outs without giving up the run.”
Canyon’s Zach Frederick (3-for-4) and Will Higgs (2-for-3) both finished with an RBI.
Cowboys pitcher Danny Cuevas started on the mound and allowed six hits, four runs and four walks, while striking out six in four innings.
Matt Serrano threw two shutout innings for Canyon before Jackson’s homer. Ramirez finished the game.
Stephan threw the first three innings for Golden Valley, striking out one and allowing one run on four hits and four walks. Captain Kanan came on for the remaining four innings.