Volz holds VCA to 5 hits in Coast win

Sophomore pitcher Chase Volz scattered

five hits and gave up

one earned run in a 3-1 complete-game victory for the Broncos over Valley Christian Academy on Thursday, April 7, at Coast Union. Volz tossed 90 pitches and struck out five; at the plate, he contributed a pair of hits and scored a run.

It was the opening game in the Coast Valley League play, and the Broncos made only a single error in back of Volz’s strong performance.

Lane Sutherland had two hits and scored a run. Sutherland’s last hit was a powerful clout deep into left field; when the Lions’ left fielder saw how far over his head it was heading, he slipped and fell. Sutherland saw that and tried to stretch the double into a triple but was thrown out on a good play by the defense.

Will Stephenson had a hit and drove in a run, and Edgar Nunez drove in two runs, including the third run — an insurance run — in the bottom of the sixth. Jack MacKinnon had two hits in three trips to the plate.

Coming into this week, Sutherland led the team in batting (.469), runs (12), hits (15), and in stolen bases (12 in 12 attempts). Stephenson is hitting at a .346 clip and led the Broncos with six runs batted in.

On Tuesday, April 12, Coast improved to 2-0 in CVL play by defeating Maricopa 7-4.

Sutherland, Auggie Johnson and MacKinnon each had two hits. Nunez drove in a pair of runs, while Riley Kennedy and Volz handled the pitching chores.

The next Coast Union home baseball game is Tuesday, April 26, against Maricopa, a 3:30 start time. The game is broadcast on KTEA-FM and streams on www.ktea-fm.com.

Softball

Coast Union’s softball team played its first Coast Valley League game Thursday, April 7, and defeated Valley Christian Academy at home 8-1. The Lady Broncos banged out 11 hits in the victory.

Senior pitcher Ellie Magnuson, fighting a cold, held the Lady Lions to four hits and struck out eight.

Coast scored four runs in the first inning, two in the second and one each in the fourth and sixth to start league play atop the standings with a 1-0 record.

Earlier in the week, the Lady Broncos were scheduled to play at Tranquillity in the San Joaquin Valley, but that game was canceled because of Magnuson’s illness and Coast’s sophomore pitcher Ani Corbet’s sore back. A game against Riverdale scheduled for Friday, April 8, was rained out.

Coming into this week “Everybody seems to be good” in terms of the health of the team, coach Rocky Fordyce said.

On Tuesday, Coast Union defeated Maricopa 25-1 in five innings.

Magnuson had three hits, including a grand slam home run, and knocked in 7 runs; Maddie May homered and had four hits; and Ani Corbet had four hits for Coast Union, now 2-0 in CVL play.

The next home game for Coast is Friday, April 15, against Cuyama Valley at 3:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on KTEA-FM (103.5) and streams live on www.ktea-fm.com.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 8:31 AM with the headline "Volz holds VCA to 5 hits in Coast win."