Baseball: Perry deals Corona del Sol first loss of season

March 16, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Scouts were out in force again Monday to get another glimpse of Perry left-hander Tyler Watson. And while Watson wasn't at his sharpest on the mound, he gave onlookers a bonus with his work as a hitter.

Watson went 3-for-3 at the plate plus a walk, including a long two-run homer that started a downhill slide for visiting Corona del Sol in a 12-2 victory for Perry in a Division I game at Perry High.

Perry ran its record to 10-3 overall and 3-0 in power-ranking games coming off a third-place finish in Highland's Triple Play Classic last week. The loss was the first of the season for Corona (7-1, 3-1 prg).

Watson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior, usually hits for himself. He was dropped down in the order Monday by coach Shane Hilstrom after some recent struggles. It was a big day at the plate for Perry's entire lineup, not just Watson. Every Perry starter had a hit in the team's 15-hit attack off a trio of Corona pitchers.

"We started swinging it after the first time through," Hilstrom said. "Our hitters were clicking. (Watson) is capable of doing what he did today."

Corona managed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with an unearned run on two walks and a Watson throwing error. The advantage didn't last as the bottom of Perry's order  put Watson in front to stay in its half of the third.

Watson walked to open a three-run rally off Corona starter Eric Schwalbe. Ninth-place hitter Brock Heffron followed with an eight-pitch at-bat and ultimately a two-run homer to right-center field . Trevor Hauver capped the frame with an RBI double.

The 3-1 lead jumped to 5-1 in the fourth with Watson finishing Schwalbe's day with a long homer to left.  A six-run fifth  -- capped by Jeremy McCuin's two-run single -- gave Watson plenty of breathing room. Watson ended the game in the sixth with a sharp single up the middle for this third RBI  invoking  the 10-run rule. Heffron also had three RBI adding a sacrifice fly to his earlier home run.

Watson's pitching line was six innings, three hits, four walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 83 pitches in running his record to 4-0. Corona got RBI from Matt Weston on a ground out in the second and solo home run to left by Jacob Clemens in the fifth.

"We've got 15 more of these (power-ranking games)," Hilstrom said. "It's still very early and we have  to keep getting better. There are a lot of good teams out there."