After Sunnyside’s win earlier Tuesday night at Flagstaff forced a deciding game against Canyon View for the Little League state championship, Canyon View responded with a 9-3 victory behind the pitching of Easton Altherr and run production by Lukas Gerlach.
Altherr scattered four hits and struck out five batters in 4 2/3 innings and Gerlach went 3 for 3 with four RBIs.
Canyon View’s victory over Sunnyside, which won seven straight elimination games in the tournament, was fueled by a six-run fifth inning that enabled the team to punch a ticket for the Little League West Regional at San Bernardino, Calif., that starts Aug. 5.
Canyon View scored its first run in the third inning after Raj Abramian and Braydon Rehm hit consecutive singles with one out. Gerlach then singled to score Abramian.
The six-run fifth inning was generated again by consecutive singles by Abramian and Rehm after Kevin Curtis walked with one out. Gerlach’s triple cleared the bases to put Canyon View ahead 4-0.
Canyon View scored its next three runs following a wild pitch and two errors.
Sunnyside threatened in the fifth by loading the bases but could not score.
After Canyon View added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth behind an RBI single by Lucas Runyan and an RBI double by Kevin Curtis, Sunnyside rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning but it was not enough.
David Blasi had a two-run double and later scored on an error to account for Sunnyside’s three runs.
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