UPPER DECK BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Troy Misses Chances, Goes Down Swinging to Cooper City

After opening the season with seven consecutive victories, Troy High earned the top spot in the county sportswriters’ baseball poll this week.

And although the Warriors did not fare as they hoped in the Upper Deck Classic, they showed some of the the best teams in the nation just how competitive things are in these parts.

Troy was defeated by Cooper City (Fla.), 4-3, Thursday at Cal State Fullerton in an eventful consolation final.

The Warriors (9-2), who were 2-2 in the tournament, had a chance to tie the score in the top of the seventh inning after senior Trevor Brown (two for three) tripled with two out. But Cowboy junior right-hander Anthony Rodriguez, who entered the game in the seventh and struck out the first two batters he faced, induced Troy senior Rick Parmenter to ground out to second, ending the game.

Rodriguez was credited with his first save, securing the victory for senior left-hander David Gates (1-0). Gates took over for junior right-handed starter Chad Fitzgerald, who was yanked after only two innings.

Chad Fitzgerald walked the bases loaded in the second, but, as was the case throughout the game, the clutch hit eluded the Warriors. Troy right-handed senior starter Greg Western hit into a force play, ending the inning.

Trailing, 3-1, entering the fifth, Troy scored twice to tie the score. The Warriors, however, again left the bases loaded. Troy, which outhit Cooper City, 10-5, stranded 10 runners.

Cooper City (15-5), which was 3-1 in the tournament, scored the go-ahead run in the fifth off of junior right-handed reliever Kevin Gray (4-1). Cowboy junior Anthony Coloca drove in junior Charlie Cifarelli from third with a groundout.

It appeared as though Troy might tie the score in the sixth when Western, who remained in the game to hit, opened the inning on third after his single and a two-base error by Cooper City left fielder Nick Parella.

But after Gates threw a pitch to the next batter, Troy senior leadoff man Nick Ruzzi, senior catcher Jose Rivera’s return throw caromed off Gates’ closed glove and rolled to his right. Western broke for the plate but was nailed at home on a perfect throw by shortstop Ray Rodriguez.

“We teach our kids to be aggressive and think on their own,” Troy Coach Dane Ilertsen said. “Their shortstop made a perfect throw, but it was still the right play.”

In the championship game:

Rancho Bernardo 12, Mission Bay 7--Rancho Bernardo, ranked third in the USA Today preseason poll, won the match-up of San Diego area-teams. Mission Bay was ranked fourth is in the same poll.

In the third-place game:

El Dorado 6, Clovis 2--Jeff Moore and Ryan Reyes hit home runs for El Dorado (10-3). Moore’s third-inning two-run home run gave El Dorado a 3-0 lead.

In the fifth-place game:

Tucson Canyon del Oro 6, Mater Dei 5 (8)--Russ Brown’s two-out single in the bottom of the eighth drove in pinch-runner Chris Grissom with the winning run for Canyon del Oro at Amerige Park. Matt Treanor’s first-inning grand slam gave Mater Dei (9-4-1) a 4-0 lead.

In the 11th-place game:

Esperanza 8, Brooklyn Xaverian (N.Y.) 2--Jason Webb had four hits and three RBIs to lead the host Aztecs (6-7).