SAN JOSE - Ryan Kornienko's two-out single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Gunderson to a 4-3 victory over Piedmont Hills on Friday.
Cameron Perry drew a one-out walk in the ninth, and advanced with two outs when Justin Nowak's ground ball to short was misplayed. One batter late, Kornienko took the first pitch he saw into right field for the game-winning hit.
The Grizzlies had led 3-1 entering the seventh inning, but Piedmont Hills scored twice in the top half of the seventh to tie the game and force extra innings. Both runs for the Pirates came with two outs, with Colin McEvers' hard ground ball to short scoring Nate Gomez with the game-tying run.
Kornienko and Efren Lozano finished the game with two hits each for Gunderson, including a double for Lozano. Kornienko drove in two runs, while Bobby Ruiz added another run-scoring hit.
McEvers, Gomez, and Jacob Soto each had two hits for the Pirates, while Armando Brillon added a double.
Matt Atencio struck out eight in seven innings of work on the mound for Gunderson, while Mitch Itasaka picked up the win after pitching a perfect ninth inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
