Trask, Miille combine to 1-hit Pleasant Grove

ELK GROVE — You don’t expect baseball schools like Pleasant Grove and Davis to play fast and loose with the ball — especially when they meet each other.

But on Tuesday, with the sky turning dark and the threat of rain in the air, both the Eagles and Blue Devils had horrible early innings with DHS eventually surviving, 4-3.

The locals broke through in the second, thanks to two PG errors, a couple of walks and timely hits from catcher Hayden Duer and red-hot outfielder John Ariola.

The four-run outburst drove Eagle ace Josh Adams from the game and set the stage for Davis’ top gun Matt Trask to work with a big lead.

However, the Blue Devils (6-1) had some hairballs of their own in the third inning — allowing Pleasant Grove (4-3) to score three unearned on no hits.

DHS coach Dan Ariola toyed with the idea of hooking his big right-hander, but Trask stayed, settled in and picked up his third win (against no losses) on the young season. Jake Miille pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings to record his third save as the two pitchers combined to hurl a one-hitter.

The Devils’ big inning started with Bobby Young reaching on an error. Trask walked and Ryan Kreidler’s sacrifice bunt moved the pair up 90 feet. Duer singled in Young, with Trask stopping at second.

After both moved up on an Adams wild pitch, Trey Golston’s grounder was misplayed and Trask checked in.

Bloomfield walked and another run scored when Joe Murray reached on another Eagle miscue. Ariola — now hitting .375 — singled in Davis’ final tally.

“Matt really settled down. He had a couple of 1-2-3 innings after that … pitched well until Miille came in in the sixth,” Dan Ariola told The Enterprise. “Pleasant Grove is always a tough team.”

Duer went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Ariola was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Murray and Trask had the other DHS safeties.

Next, the Blue Devils get a Friday game at Raley Field against another regional power, Jesuit. The Marauders are 4-1. Jesuit has won two of three from Davis in Raley appearances over the past three seasons.

Ariola says Young gets the ball for the Devils.