Rinehart, Kings slam Crims
Kofa senior hits grand slam to cap 8-run 3rd, pitches 4 no-hit innings
In an interview Monday, Kofa baseball coach Richy Leon said the team will not be relying on the home run because they typically only hit one per year.
Forty-eight hours later, senior Damien Rinehart launched a grand slam down the right-field line in the Kings’ season-opening, 10-0 win Wednesday at home against Yuma High.
Leon, laughing when reminded of his earlier statement, said: “And we get it in the first game. Hopefully we get a couple more. These guys are mature; they’re seniors, and hopefully they’re growing into their bodies.”
Rinehart’s grand slam capped an eight-run inning for Kofa, and it his first career home run in high school. With the score at 5-0, two outs and the bases loaded, Yuma High starter Alex Guerra was pulled, and Gabe Villarreal entered.
Villarreal’s first pitch was the one Rinehart hit over the fence.
“It was a slower than I expected it to be, so I kind of had to go out and get it,” Rinehart said. “I kind of knew (it was a homer), but I just had some doubt to it. It felt good off the bat.”
True to Leon’s word, though, Kofa (1-0 AIA) was not reliant on the long ball to pick up the win. Taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning, the Kings played with patience and strategy to stretch out a quick game to that point.
Rinehart, whose grand slam would come later in this same third inning, led off with a walk. Senior shortstop Kevin Avila doubled down the third-base line on a hit-and-run. Then, two wild pitches by Guerra plated both runners.
“Alex was cruising in the beginning of the game,” Yuma High coach Nick Johnson said. “He was low in pitch count in the first couple innings, and then he gave those (runs) up and the wheels started falling off a little bit.”
Guerra managed to get 3-4 hitters Enrique Porchas and Robert Martinez out. But Juan Cortez and Jeremy Santana singled, then Jesus Roldan walked to load the bases.
A potential inning-ending groundout was botched; in addition to Cortez scoring from third, Santana kept going and scored from second on the play. Then, the pitching change happened, as did Rinehart’s homer.
“That’s our identity,” Leon said. “We take … pitchers into deep counts and hit-and-run and ex-
ecute. That usually opens things up. You see more pitches, that’s kind of what happens.”
The fourth inning was scoreless, and a sacrifice fly in the fifth for the Kings ended the game in five innings due to the 10-run rule.
“Lot of season left,” Johnson said. “We’re obviously not going to judge our season on our first game. (The) region (games) are most important, but you still want those wins. That’s why you play the game. But it can only get better.”
On the mound, Rinehart threw four shutout, no-hit innings. He walked two and struck out three.
“I was a little nervous,” Rinehart said. “I had the butterflies in my stomach since it was my first game. I would just go back in the dugout and the coaches would talk to me, tell me to loosen up. I gained a lot more confidence going through the innings.”
Both teams are off to outof-town tournaments today. Yuma High (0-1 AIA) heads to Tucson for the Cowboy Invitational, and Kofa will play in the Adam Donnenfield Baseball Tournament in Phoenix.