SURPRISE, Ariz.- Trombly Baseball used a late offensive attack to take down Texas Banditos Scout, 9-7, at Rangers 5 of the Surprise Recreation Campus on Monday.
Trombly overcame an early four-run deficit after Banditos scored in each of the first four innings. Buratti sparked the offense with a bases-clearing triple in the fourth, tying the game at four.
Andrade lead off the game with a triple for Banditos, and he eventually came around to score after a passed ball to plate the first run of the game.
After Trombly went down quietly in the bottom, Banditos added another run in the top of the second. DeLaGarza singled before the pitcher, Burkel, was hit in the hip by a pitch. A balk advanced the runners, and a ground out to the first baseman Anzai allowed DeLaGarza to score.
Another quiet offensive half for Trombly brought Banditos back to the dish in the third. A Rizzo single started the inning before he advanced to second on a balk and then to third on a dropped pickoff attempt. He would cross home on a misplayed Andrade ground ball.
Burkel helped himself in the fourth, hitting a triple before scoring the game's fourth run on a wild pitch, extending the Banditos lead yet again.
Trombly got the bats going in the bottom, leading off the inning with a pair of ground ball singles through the infield. A hit by pitch loaded the bases before a passed ball allowed the first run to cross for Trombly. The triple by Buratti tied the ballgame, followed by a Ospiha single to give Trombly their first lead, 5-4.
The offense came up empty for Banditos in the top of the fifth, and Trombly took advantage with a four-run inning in their half. After making two outs via strikeout, a walk and three straight hits scored two more runs. An error by Banditos second baseman DeLaGarza allowed two more runs to score before the inning came to a close with Trombly holding a 9-4 lead.
Banditos closed the lead to three in the top of the sixth, and brought the leading run to the plate in the seventh, but could only bring one run home before a 6-4 force out at second ended the game with the bases loaded.
Grabowski earned the win on the mound for Trombly, throwing 2.0 innngs. He allowed three runs on three hits, striking out three and walking none.
Trombly Baseball Blue improves to 2-1 on the tournament, while Texas Banditos Scout falls to 1-2. Both teams will play one more preliminary matchup tomorrow before playoff and consolation games begin on Thursday.