Central Section baseball finals: Sierra outlasts Kern Valley for first title

Sierra High marched down from slightly cooler Tollhouse into Rawhide Ballpark on Tuesday, pounded out 13 hits in near-100 degree heat, scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and defeated Kern Valley 12-11 for the school’s first Central Section baseball title.

Harry Blunt’s third hit, a no-out line single to center field, won it after the Chieftains opened the inning with a four-pitch walk by Triston Byrd and Zach Morgan’s bunt single.

It came in Division VI for Sierra (15-12), which placed fourth in the North Sequoia League with a 6-9 record behind D-IV schools Kerman and Chowchilla and D-V Liberty-Madera Ranchos.

But the Chieftains of coach Jon Hendrix found their stride in the postseason, beating eighth-seeded Fresno Christian 11-6 and No. 4 McFarland 6-4 to make the final against Kern Valley (16-6), which was also pursuing its first section baseball crown, according to section historian Bob Barnett.

The Broncs, who bused 120 miles from Lake Isabella, had tied it 11-11 with a five-run sixth, featuring Austin Dilley’s two-run single in an inning Sierra assisted with two errors, two walks, a hit by pitch and wild pitch.

Reed Telles relieved Blunt to escape further damage in the sixth before working a scoreless seventh to earn the win.

The beginning of the end for the Broncs in the 2-hour, 57-minute game came when Sam Hanawalt – who both started and relieved for them – walked the wrong Chieftain in Byrd.

The senior second baseman, who finished with four runs, then stole second.

Kern Valley coach Mike Genthner replaced Hanawalt after he dropped into a 2-0 hole against Morgan.

Zach Bushing, in his second relief appearance of the game, fielded Morgan’s bunt but was late to first with the throw. And Blunt followed with the first-pitch, no-doubt winner.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Central Section baseball finals: Sierra outlasts Kern Valley for first title."