Parraz’s homer ignites Green Valley past Basic

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 11:47 a.m.

Zeke Parraz had seen enough.

He had watched Basic ace Matt Elliott mow down his Green Valley teammates, holding the hosts to a single hit through three innings.

Worse yet, he'd endured a top of the fourth during which the Wolves struck for a pair of runs off the Gators' own star pitcher, right-hander Jake Dittler.

So in the bottom of the fourth, Parraz took matters into his own hands. The senior shortstop pounced on a two-strike offering from Ellliott and deposited it over the right-field fence.

The play instantly breathed life into the host Gators, who went on to score three more runs in the inning for a 4-2 win in the Henderson schools' Southeast Division opener.

"I knew we needed to get something started," Parraz said. "He got ahead of me, but it just takes one pitch. And it sparked us, I guess."

Chris McGovern and Jordan Parraz followed the homer with back-to-back singles, and after Elliott hit Eric Durante to load the bases, Kyle Price knotted the score at two with a sacrifice fly. Kevin Day then lined a double to left, scoring two more for Green Valley (11-2, 1-0 Southeast), ranked second in the latest Sun statewide poll.

"It's everyone's goal to get off on the right foot," Gators coach Nick Garritano said. "You want to be 1-0, and fortunately today things went our way. We beat an excellent team in Basic and a great pitcher in Matt Elliott."

The Wolves (11-6), ranked third this week after opening the season as the consensus No. 1 club in Nevada, got on the scoreboard first when Micah Schnurstein knocked home Mark Rose with a third-inning single off Dittler. But with runners on first and third, Brian Lake grounded into a double-play, sending home another run but ending the threat for the visitors.

After getting the inning's final out, Dittler exited the game with tightness in his throwing arm. The Gators didn't miss a beat with reliever Adam Morris on the hill. The senior kept the Wolves off-balance with an array of off-speed pitches, holding them hitless over the final three innings and striking out four batters.

"It was a tough change of speed. When you go from a guy throwing in the 90s to a guy with a 72 mph changeup, it's pretty nasty," Garritano said.

Elliott and Montoya; Dittler, Morris (5) and Villamore. W-Dittler. L-Elliott. S-Morris. 2B: GV-Z. Parraz. Day. HR: GV-Z. Parraz.