Competing in the MAAA Tournament, the Valle Catholic Warriors won their first game against the Valley Vikings 8-1, but they ran into some adversity in the Semifinals against the North County Raiders. They were doubled up in that one 8-4, but did manage to rebound in the third place game against the West County Bulldogs with an 11-3 win.
The Warriors currently sport an extremely impressive 25-4 record, but they were likely looking for a different result in this tournament. Still, they started things off in style against the Vikings on Tuesday, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. A Grant Fallert two-RBI single got Valle on the board, and then they double the damage with a Clayton Drury sac fly and a Carson Tucker RBI single.
The Warriors would score again on an Alex Viox RBI double in the second, and then really break the game open in the third with an Aaron Eftink double that plated two to give them a 7-0 lead. Another Fallert RBI base knock made it 8-0 and Valle cruised to victory.
Fallert was on double duty in this one. He went 2-for-4 with three RBI at the plate and also pitched the first two innings of the game to earn the win. Cannon Wolk pitched the next three innings to earn the save and struck out five in the 8-1 victory. Chase Fallert went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of steals and Jackson Fowler had two hits in three trips with a swipe as well.
The game against North County would be a much more tense affair though. Valle went down 2-0 in the first, but managed to bounce back with three runs in the bottom of the third. A C. Fallert single and two runs via error gave them a brief 3-2 lead.
The Raiders struck again though, adding two in the fifth before breaking the floodgates in the sixth with four more for an 8-3 lead. Valle did get a run back in the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t climb the mountain to tie it up.
While they weren’t playing for the championship, the Warriors showed a ton of resolve in the third place game, and really stuck it to the Bulldogs from West County. The Dogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Valle responded immediately in the bottom of the first with three of their own to take a lead they would never relinquish.
C. Fallert got things going with a two-run bomb to right to tie the score at 2-all, and then Viox decided to go back-to-back and crunch one to right as well. He would continue his hot hitting in the next inning as well, bringing home two more with a single to left as part of a five-run inning. The Warriors plated another two in the third, and just like that, found themselves up 10-2.
They would add one more in the fourth and ultimately hold on for the 11-3 victory and third place finish. Preston Lurk got the start and the win with four innings of two-run ball, and Wolk picked up another save, tossing the final three innings while allowing just one run.
Viox and C. Fallert provided the majority of the offense. Viox was 2-for-3 and drove in three and C. Fallert was 1-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored.
It wasn’t the ideal end result to the tournament, but the Warriors did make some noise and improve their stellar overall record. They’ll look to get back after it on Monday with a tilt at home against the Cape Central Tigers.
