Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.
The talk around Centennial's baseball field Thursday afternoon centered on how the host team appears to have adopted the attitude of the aggressor in the Sunset Region playoffs.
The top-seeded Bulldogs ripped through Western (SW-4) in Wednesday's opening round, and they wasted no time in sending Durango (SW-2) to the same fate.
Centennial sent 16 batters to the plate in a raucous 12-run first inning, knocking out Blazers starter Isaiah Whigham before he recorded a single out. The Bulldogs then moved within one step of the region title game with a 17-7 mercy-rule victory against Durango.
Yet even the twin whippings in the first two rounds did not satisfy Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone. The Bulldogs' skipper was less than pleased that his squad allowed Durango to score five runs after Centennial grabbed a 15-2 lead, prolonging the game for another half-inning.
Danny Ramirez homered in the bottom of the fifth to help the Bulldogs push the mercy rule into effect.
"I was happy with the intensity in the beginning and at the end, but not in the middle," Cerrone said.
The Bulldogs, 4A state runners-up in 2002, take on the winner of a losers' bracket game between Durango and Palo Verde at 4 p.m. today. That first game will be at Durango at noon, and the winner will bus over to Centennial for the second contest.
Cerrone promised that his team would receive a wake-up call from the coaching staff before it takes the field today.
"I'm pretty good at doing that," he joked.
On a day where gusting winds swayed the chain-link backstop, Centennial shook Durango right from the first pitch Thursday. The Bulldogs jumped on Whigham, using J.C. Leach's bases-clearing double to break it open.
Leach finished with two doubles and four RBIs, while Ramirez added two doubles to go with his homer, totaling three RBIs. Bryce Massanari and Wyatt Morency blasted home runs as well.
For Durango, Brandon Graff smacked a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Southwest top seed Bishop Gorman is the only other undefeated team in the Sunset bracket after downing Sierra Vista (SW-2), 10-6. The Gaels now wait for the Lions to play a rematch with Cimarron-Memorial (NW-2) to determine their next opponent. The Spartans eliminated Cheyenne (NW-4), 11-8.
Green Valley (SE-1) and Silverado (SE-2) are 2-0 in the Sunrise bracket after wins Thursday. The Gators scored their second mercy-rule win, raking Foothill, 12-2, in five innings. Ryan Tabor went the distance, allowing three hits and striking out seven for Green Valley. The Gators face the winner of Foothill and Eldorado (NE-2), which bounced Rancho (NE-4), 6-3.
The Skyhawks downed Basic (SE-4), 6-3, and they take on the winner of an elimination game between the Wolves and Las Vegas (NE-1), which eliminated Chaparral, 7-2.
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