Pitching shines as Rocklin downs Del Oro in series opener

Last year, college scouts lined the fences to watch Rocklin High School pitcher Joey Lorenzini in action. This season, it's the major-league scouts that have their radar guns pointed at the Arkansas signee every time he takes the mound. The left-handed ace showcased his skills for numerous professional scouts Monday in Loomis, striking out six in five innings while surrendering three runs and five hits in Rocklin's 5-3 triumph over Del Oro to remain unbeaten in the Sierra Foothill League. "It's another day in the office when I see them here. I love it. It gets me going," Lorenzini says of capturing the attention of the big-league clubs. "They've been here every game. In the first game, I think there was something like 27 and then they just kept coming." Lorenzini has no nerves pitching in front of scouts, and while their presence gets him fired up, he tries to tune out any noise while he's on the mound. "I don't really pay attention to it too much," said Lorenzini. "Most of their talking kind of goes through my agent, but it's just exciting to be able to have them out here and it's a blessing to try and put on a show for them." Lorenzini's strong start highlighted a dominant pitching performance from the Thunder. Sophomore reliever Andrew Hancock left the tying run stranded on third base by striking out three straight batters after getting into a jam in the sixth inning, and senior Kai Lorenzo struck out two of the three batters he faced to earn his second save of the year. Rocklin coach Matt Jones said the bullpen was the difference in the game. "Kai has been the most important player on our roster the last three years," said Jones. "We are able to hand him the ball and have him come in and get a one-inning save. He can come in and stop an inning if we need him to or he can go multiple innings." Jones said Hancock is already showing shades of Lorenzo in his game and has liked the young right-hander's development this season. "He's like having another Kai. He started for us earlier against Rodriguez. He went five and had a great game. Then he came in last week out of the bullpen against Granite Bay," said Jones. "He's very similar in makeup. He throws multiple pitches for strikes, and there's just a competitiveness that he brings that just makes everybody else have confidence in him." Nick Coleman's two-RBI single in the fifth inning put the Thunder on top 4-3. Ethan Brown, Colby Pudge and Max Griffith each drove in runs. Del Oro was led by LSU commit Masen Belding, who belted a two-run homer over the right-field fence for his third long ball of the year. Belding said he made sure not to squander it after fouling one deep over the fence earlier in his at-bat. "I was expecting him to challenge me and he did," said Belding. "I got a pitch that I can hammer, and then I hammered it." Del Oro's Broc McReynolds struggled finding the zone with six walks but limited the damage by allowing two runs and four hits against Rocklin's potent lineup. Junior Anthony Clay took the loss in relief, surrendering three runs, one earned, and four hits while striking out two. Del Oro (10-2, 3-1 SFL) was to visit Rocklin (7-2, 4-0 SFL) on Tuesday before the series shifts back to Loomis for game three Thursday.