Gahr uses extra iings to beat Lakewood in Redondo Baseball Tournament

LAKEWOOD >> In a wild one at Lakewood High on Saturday, the Gahr Gladiators needed extra iings to get the best of the Lancers to move on to the finals of the Redondo Touament. The Gladiators’ offense put up crooked numbers in four different iings, including the four-run ninth, to give them the 10-6 exztra-iing victory over the Lancers.

“This whole season has been a season of growth,” said Gahr coach Gerardo Perez. “We’ve got a lot of young guys, but we’ve handled adversity well and I’m proud of my guys.”

The Gladiators’ big iing came in the top of the ninth when Oscar Carvajal drew a one-out walk. The next batter, senior Jesus Salazar, laced one to left field and heads-up baseruing ultimately sealed the deal for Gahr. On the Salazar single, Carvajal went first to third and slid in safely, while Salazar snuck in behind him at second base. An errant throw trying to get Salazar at second allowed both ruers to score and gave the Gladiators an 8-6 lead. Gahr added two more runs in the iing to make it 10-6 and never relinquished the lead.

“It was a real team effort out there today,” said Carvajal, who scored the game-wiing run. “We all did our jobs and that contributed to the win.”

Carvajal led the way for the Gladiators, getting the start on the mound and pitching two scoreless iings. He also contributed at the plate with two hits, a walk and three runs.

Lakewood looked to be flat in the early part of the game, as Gahr took a 6-3 lead going into the bottom half of the sixth. But after a double by Darren Contreras and a few walks to load the bases, junior Buck Anderson smoked a bases-clearing triple to the left-center gap to tie the game at 6. The Anderson hit gave the Lancers a little life heading into extra iings, but it wasn’t enough to lift them to victory.

“That’s a great team over there,” said Lakewood coach Spud O’neil. “I’m proud of our kids in some ways, but I thought we didn’t have much energy in the begiing of the game.”

The Lancers (16-8) resume Moore League play on Wednesday against Cabrillo at Blair Field, while Gahr (18-4) continues its quest for an SGVL title on the road at Paramount on Thursday.

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