Two-sport athlete Grant Gray of Norco stars in 8-7 baseball win over Corona

Norco baseball coach Gary Parcell is aware one thing about two-sport athletes. Just after all, he coached one particular of the very best in Toby Gerhart, a soccer/baseball standout through his higher faculty days for the Cougars. Now he has a further in junior Grant Grey, who catches passes as a standout receiver and hits and fields as a standout center fielder.

On Monday in the initially match of an critical a few-match Massive VIII League collection against Corona, Gray went 4 for 4, together with a few hits with two strikes, to assist Norco defeat the Panthers 8-7 at Corona.

“As Grant goes, we go,” Parcell reported.

As Norco’s leadoff hitter, with outstanding pace, Grey gets the Cougars’ (17-3, 5-2) offense heading. He has 7 faculties seeking to allow him perform soccer and baseball. Cameron Kim, a junior shortstop committed to UCLA, is making an attempt to get him to sign up for him with the Bruins. Grey is scheduled to go view a spring football apply, then a baseball activity in Westwood later this month.

“I’ve been struggling just lately, but I knew I had to be at my most effective,” Grey mentioned.

Kim is a story himself. He had 33 hits all last year as a sophomore. He had a solitary and RBI double on Monday, supplying him 35 this year and a batting common higher than .500. He’s no more time just pulling balls. That is the magic formula to his improvement. He’s hitting to all fields.

Both equally groups struggled defensively at times, but Norco came up with some clutch at-bats on 3-and-2 counts to make Corona ace Ethan Schiefelbein throw way too a lot of pitches. He was gone just after four innings. He struck out eight and also hit a two-run house operate.

Norco held an 8-5 direct going to the base of the seventh. Kai Hopfel strike a two-operate dwelling run, but Anthony Conner shut out the game and obtained the help save.

Sophomore Sam Burgess went 4 for four to direct Corona (11-5, 4-3).

This tale at first appeared in Los Angeles Instances.