Hoover socks it to Nitros

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Scoring runs was a problem for the Hoover High baseball team.

In a 20-inning span that began last week and stretched into Tuesday, the Tornadoes had no success with their offense.

At the expense of their cross-town rival, the Tornadoes appear to have busted out of their mini-slump.

Hoover received a grand slam from Sako Chapjian to highlight an eight-run second inning to notch a 10-0 home win against Glendale on Friday afternoon in a Pacific League contest. The game, which lasted just 75 minutes, was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

The Tornadoes (8-4, 5-2 in league) have scored 16 runs in their last two games. They suffered a pair of shutout league losses to Arcadia and Pasadena before bouncing back Tuesday with a 6-4 home league victory against Burbank.

“Hopefully, we can continue this and now that we have our confidence back, we can swing the bats,” said Hoover Coach Jim Delzell, whose team collected 12 hits. “That second inning for us was contagious because everybody contributed.

“Before the game, I told our guys that you can throw the records out when you play Glendale. Glendale always plays us tough.”

Glendale (4-10, 2-4) squandered a quality scoring opportunity in the first against Hoover starting pitcher Jason Ochart (5-1). Ochart picked off Hong Ahn at second base with runners on first and second with no outs, and then struck out Zachary Fields on a 2-2 pitch with the bases loaded to escape the jam.

Glendale second-year Coach Jon Keefer said that proved to be a turning point.

“It’s a setback getting picked off,” said Keefer, whose team recorded three first-inning hits. “Consistency has been a problem for us.

“We didn’t get it done.”

The Tornadoes never let the Nitros threaten again, before going to work in the second.

Glendale didn’t do starting pitcher Christopher Osuna (1-5) any favors on defense. The Nitros committed two errors that led to five unearned runs.

Chapjian, a shortstop, launched a grand slam on to the nearby football field to give the Tornadoes an 8-0 lead.

“I was looking for something to drive and score some runs,” said Chapjian, who finished with three hits and two runs. “I’m surprised the ball went out.

“We had a couple of tough losses last week, and all we needed to do was come back and get our bats going. We have a strong and experienced team, but we also know that we have to keep it going.”

Ochart, Johnny Barcena and Oscar Aguirre finished with two hits for Hoover.

On the mound, Ochart allowed just three hits and struck out three.

Ahn, Robert Escobar and Michael Chico each had singles for the Nitros.

The teams will meet in the final game of the regular season at 3:15 p.m. May 9 at Glendale.