BASEBALL: Lira is money for Chatsworth in Las Vegas

After Andrew Klausmeier, Mike Renner and Ryan Cooperstone came through with clutch pitching performances throughout the tournament for Chatsworth, sophomore left-hander David Lira stepped up Wednesday night to earn his first victory with a 9-5 win over Durango in the final of the Blazer Spring Bash in Las Vegas.

Lira allowed three hits and struck out seven before being lifted for Shawn Meusborn in the fourth. Carlos Escobar Jr., the Chancellors' starting catcher, pitched the seventh to earn the save for Chatsworth, which defeated tournament host Durango for the second time in three days, including a 2-1 victory Monday.

Meusborn also capped a five-run third inning for the Chancellors (17-1) by delivering a two-out, two-run single. Meusborn, Derek Neely and Andy Weissberg all had two hits for Chatsworth, which outscored its tournament opponents 33-10 to extend its winning streak to 15.

Weissberg had an RBI double and Escobar Jr. collected a run-scoring single in the third for the Chancellors, who added two insurance runs in the sixth.

Chatsworth advanced to the final with an 8-3 victory Wednesday over Las Vegas High.

Escobar Jr., Klausmeier and Weissberg all homered for the Chancellors.

Klausmeier went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Escobar Jr. and Weissberg both had two hits and two RBIs. Escobar Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run as part of a three-run first for Chatsworth, which received a complete-game outing from Cooperstone (5-1).