Porterville cruises to Tulare/Visalia PRO-PT championship behind Louie Torres two-hit gem

Porterville High pitcher Louie Torres was in cruise control during the 40th annual Tulare/Visalia PRO-PT Invitational lower-division championship game.

Torres tossed 11 strikeouts in a complete two-hit gem to power the Panthers to a 7-0 shutout win over Monache on Wednesday night at Visalia Rawhide's Valley Strong Ballpark.

Porterville wrapped up the spring break tournament winning four straight games en route to the lower-division title.

The Panthers beat Mira Monte 16-6 and blanked Tehachapi 4-0 on Monday to kick off tournament action. They followed that dominance on Tuesday with a 15-3 rout of Wasco.

In four tournament games, Porterville (8-5, 2-2) outscored their foes a combined 42-9 and averaged nearly 11 runs per contest.

The Panthers are now just two wins away from matching last season's win total of 10 with 11 games remaining in the regular season.

Torres, who hurled at least one strikeout in every inning while going the distance, credited Porterville's three-day success to team defense.

"I give them everything," Torres said. "They worked their butts off for us, for me, especially. I had trust in them and they had trust in me."

Torres was in full control from the outset.

The returning All-East Yosemite League first-team performer was perfect in the first three innings, throwing three straight 1-2-3 frames while striking out four.

Torres didn't give up his first hit until the fourth stanza — a single to Monache lead-off Ty Baxter that was nearly gloved for an out by diving right fielder Renator Navarro.

Torres finished the game strong, too, hurling a pair of strikeouts in the seventh. He also brought down the final out, catching a popup near the pitcher's mound.

More: 40th annual Tulare/Visalia Pro-PT Baseball Invitational Scoreboard

"It was just a lot of effort," Torres said. "We really wanted this. I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game but I just stuck to my work and did what I did."

How did Torres elevate his play as a senior from his junior campaign?

"Just worked hard, worked hard," said Torres, who also blasted a pair of doubles batting in the three-hole. "I worked out a lot. I kept throwing my pitches and trusted my guys."

Porterville struck early on offense.

Panthers' lead-off hitter Xavier Aguilera hit a bloop single to right field and got the team into gear. Aguilera advanced to third on a passed ball and by stealing second.

Ethan Enriquez then launched an RBI single and the Panthers grabbed a 1-0 lead they never relinquished.

In the second inning, Navarro rounded home on an error at first base and Torres' RBI double plated Aguilera for the 4-0 advantage.

Porterville added another run in the third frame off Navarro's RBI single and the Panthers sealed their victory in the fifth by scoring three runs, including two on walks.

The Panthers outhit Monache 9-2, receiving two-hit performances from Aguilera, Torres and Navarro.

"We knew if we were going to win, we had to hit," Torres said. "We just put a lot of work in, grinded and trusted our swings."

Porterville is 2-2 in EYL play this season, with wins over Mt. Whitney and a couple of losses to current EYL leader Redwood.

The Panthers resume conference competition on April 3 at Golden West.

How much will this tournament run benefit Porterville?

"It's just going to give us more confidence," Torres said. "Going into EYL, we just have to keep swinging and keep the same approach."

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Porterville 7, Monache 0

WP: Louie Torres (cg, 11k). LP: Colton Isom.

Top hitters − Monache: Ty Baxter 1-3, sb; Jayson Castillo 1-3. Porterville: Xavier Aguilera 2-3, 2r, sb, bb; Ethan Enriquez 1-3, 2rbi; Torres 2-4, 2 2b, rbi; Jose Perez 1-3; Jacoby Roman 1-3, hbp; Renarto Navarro 2-3, rbi.

Records − Porterville 8-5; Monache 10-6-1.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Porterville cruises to tournament title behind Louie Torres gem