Lindhurst topped in the Valley

They're young, they're learning and they're winning.

It's quite the nice combination for the now 2-0 Falcons.

With the main field bogged down in standing water, the River Valley High baseball team's 5-2 victory over Lindhurst on Wednesday was played on the junior varsity diamond.

It was a rather fitting contingency plan considering the Falcons' biggest difference makers were sophomores.

First there was Jake Phillips, who went 3-for-3 with a run and tallied five strikeouts in a four-inning start.

Then came Cameron Olson, who pitched three scoreless innings of relief and went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

Suffice to say, new Falcons coach Billy Rollins is excited about watching his team mature.

"The future looks pretty bright for us," he said.

But that doesn't mean the Falcons don't need some work. The start is nice, but Rollins knows that his guys are going to have to "pick up the sticks" if they want to have a chance at succeeding in Tri-County-Conference play. In their season-opening win against Marysville, the Falcons stranded 11 despite winning by 10 runs. They left eight on against the Blazers.

Both of those opponents are Division VI teams, and to have the success they want three rungs higher up in the Sac-Joaquin Section ladder, they "simply have to play better," Rollins said.

The beginning worked out pretty well for the Falcons. Leadoff hitter Torin Graham was hit by the game's first-pitch, stole second on the following throw from Blazers' starter Timmy Zucco and was brought home on an Olson single up the middle, who went on to make the score 2-0 after scoring on a Cameron Boomgaarden — he's a sophomore, too — grounder.

River Valley plated what proved to be the game-winning run in the second when No. 9 hitter Alex Pino — one of three seniors who played for the Falcons — smacked a single, advanced to third after a pair of singles and was brought in by an Ivan Lamas sacrifice fly.

Lindhurst's lone offensive outburst came in the third and that was a gift from River Valley. Phillips struck out the first two batters and induced a grounder to third, which was mishandled instead of becoming out No. 3. That turned into runs from Zucco and AZ Sutton.

It wasn't enough to win, but is was enough to please Blazers' coach David Morris.

"We were right in the game," he said. "I'm pleased with our performance."

Appeal-Democrat sports writer Ryan Klocke can be reached at 749-4714. Get all your local prep sports news and information at www.advarsitysports.com.