Villa Park's bats come alive in 11-3 Boras Classic South Tournament championship win over JSerra

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Villa Park's Gavin Grahovac didn't waste any time. On the first pitch he saw, the Spartans' leadoff hitter smoked a double into the left field gap on Friday night. The screamer served as a preview of what was to come. 

Villa Park's bats erupted for four runs in the first inning and then seven in the third en route to an 11-3 Boras Classic South Tournament championship win over JSerra. 

“We were ready to go," Villa Park head coach Burt Call said.

All nine batters in Villa Park's lineup either got a hit or scored a run in the game. 

In the first inning, Geoff McArthur hit a sacrifice fly to score Grahovac. Britton Beeson followed the sac-fly with a 2-RBI double and then AJ Krodel connected on an RBI single in the frame.

“We were fired up for this game," Grahovac said. "Coming in, I was trying to get the momentum for my team. We came out here and we competed our butts off. That’s all we expect day in and day out.”

In the third inning, Beeson annihilated a three-run home run over the left field fence to extend Villa Park's lead to 7-0. He was named game MVP for his five RBI performance. 

“[The home run] was a great moment," Beeson said. "I’ll remember it for a while.”

JSerra scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but it was too little too late. 

Sophomore Justin Tims got the start on the mound for Villa Park. He allowed three runs and struck out the side in the first inning. Mason Miles and Thomas McGuire finished the game off for the Spartans throwing 3 and 1/3 scoreless innings. 

Tristan Lamaison started for JSerra. He was pulled after just two innings. 

VILLA PARK'S RUN

The Spartans won four games in four days to take home the Boras Classic South Tournament championship in their first ever appearance in the event. 

In their opener, Zach Brown hit a ninth inning walk-off solo home run to give Villa Park a 5-4 win over Servite. In the top of the ninth inning, Servite had the bases loaded with no outs, but reliever Mason Miles worked his way out of the jam prior to Brown's homer.

Grahovac launched a grand slam in Villa Park's 7-2 victory over Huntington Beach in game two and then Brown threw a complete game to earn a 2-1 win in the Spartans' semifinal triumph over Notre Dame. 

“They circled this tournament on the schedule because they wanted to show people the type of team they are and they did that this week and I’m very proud of them," Call said.

After winning the Boras title, Villa Park will most likely move to No. 1 in the SBLive California state baseball rankings next week. The Spartans were No. 9 before the Boras Classic.