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HESPERIA — Shelby’s varsity baseball team split a pair of games Saturday at the Ken Smith Wood Bat Memorial Tournament, falling to eventual champion Mason County Central before rebounding with a win over Montabella in the four-team event that also included host Hesperia.
Mason County Central went on to claim the tournament title with a 2-0 win over Shelby and an 11-6 comeback victory against Hesperia.
Shelby’s varsity baseball team finished 1-1 on the day, opening with the 2-0 loss to MCC in a pitcher’s duel. MCC’s Kyle Ruiz struck out seven, while Shelby’s Dayday Garcia recorded eight strikeouts in a strong performance on the mound.
“Dayday threw an outstanding game for us,” Shelby coach Brian Wright said. “When you get that kind of effort, you expect to be in it, and we were. It just came down to a couple of key moments.”
The Tigers bounced back in their second game, defeating Montabella 11-7 behind a combined pitching effort from Trevor Weiss and Leighton Belasco. Belasco earned the win in relief.
Offensively, Shelby was led by Chase Simon with two hits and an RBI. Garcia added a triple and an RBI, Evan Waller contributed an RBI double, and Weiss had an RBI single.
“I liked the way we responded in the second game,” Wright said. “We were more aggressive at the plate and put pressure on them. That’s something we want to continue to build on.”
Shelby is now 16-7 overall.
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