Ortiz hits grand slam; Kofa punishes Boulder Creek

As the cries of "Don't be that guy" emanated from the Kofa dugout in the middle of six-run, two-out rally in the third inning, Anthony Ortiz apparently listened - and wasn't "that guy" that ended he rally.

In fact, the Kofa shortstop blasted a grand slam home run to break open a tie game as the Kings rolled to a 12-5 win over Boulder Creek on Thursday at Boemer Field.

With two outs in the third inning of a 3-3 game, a single, error and walk from the bottom three hitters in the Kofa lineup set up Ortiz, the leadoff hitter, who got ahead 3-1 in the count.

Ortiz took the pitch and ripped it down the left field line, well over the fence and halfway up the berm to the elevated road that runs past the stadium.

"I knew he had to throw a strike, and he threw my favorite pitch, low and inside, and I just turned on it," said Ortiz, who finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four driven in.

But his homer didn't end the rally for Kofa (2-0 in AIA power point games, 3-3 overall). Starting pitcher Sergio Sanchez reached on error and moved to second a double by Mark Wright. Preston Burrell plated them both with a single to cap the six-run outburst.

"We try to make it part of our identity," Kofa coach Richy Leon said. "We have to battle and scratch and claw. As a hitter, you don't want to go back to the dugout without swinging the bat."

Sanchez struggled in the first inning, walking the first two batters - 10 of his first 13 pitches were balls. A pair of singles and a balk brought three runs in, but Sanchez through 11 straight strikes to end the inning.

"He's young, he's a sophomore, and he was a little bit excited," Leon said. "It was the first home game and he got the ball in the opener. Understandably so, he was a little excited."

Sanchez settled down, struck out the side in the second, and ended up pitching six innings to even his record for the year at 1-1. He allowed four earned runs, five hits and four walks while striking out six.

"We harp on these guys to play," Leon said. "We tell them you can score runs in the first and they count towards the end. But after the first he settled in and had that fastball in his back pocket. ... He made an adjustment with his breaking pitch and did a heck of a job."

Julio De Los Reyes pitched the seventh, a home run the only blemish on his line.

In all, Kofa scored nine times with two outs, including going 7-for-14 when down to their last out in an inning.

"It just shows our identity," Ortiz said, "and how we play hard no matter what the score is or what the count is. We just play hard."

Every Kofa starter had a hit. Sanchez had a 3-for-4 day with a double, triple, two runs scored and three RBI, while Wright had a double and a triple. Jared Helms had three singles and scored twice.