Submitted photo – The Redwood Giants celebrate their tournament championship in Sunnyvale.

The hard-hitting Redwood Giants 12Us hit eight home runs in four games on the way to a tournament championship at the Perfect Game Spring Slugfest Tournament in Sunnyvale last weekend.

The local travel team won all four of its games and put up double digits in runs scored in three of them.

“This team has some great players but they are humble, hard-working, and enjoy playing together,” team manager David Sharp said. “It’s awesome seeing them come together as a team this early in the season.”

The Giants beat the College Park Knights in their opener 18-3 in three innings, with home runs from Kaiwi Sharp, Tyson Mulder and Mason Long.

Kaiwi Sharp also got the win on the mound, throwing two hitless innings.

In game two, the Giants defeated the Living Legends 13-8, with home runs by Ryan Tosten and Long, the latter’s second of the tournament.

Jackson Sharp got the win on the mound, striking out five in 2.1 innings as the Giants rallied from an early seven-run deficit with 10 runs in the bottom of the third.

They continued their winning ways with a 7-5 victory over Cannons Baseball Club in game three, with Kade Pinochi pitching three hitless innings for the win and striking out eight.

The Giants then closed out the tournament with a 10-2 win over Hit & Run Academy, with Kaiwi Sharp capping an outstanding tournament with his second win on the mound and another home run.

Reese Sipma and Easton Essig each also homered in the victory.

“The success in this tournament is a testament to their consistent effort and good attitudes,” David Sharp said of his players. “Every one of our players contributed to our wins. Coaches Cory Pinochi, Charlie Sharp, and I are very proud of these boys.” 

Long led the offense with six hits in seven tournament at-bats and scored six runs, while Kaiwi Sharp was 7-for-9 and hit for the cycle with two home runs, a triple and a double, as well as scoring a team-high seven runs.

Brody Gaser (3-for-4 with a double) also had a big tournament, as did Sipma, who was 5-for-7 with a team-best eight RBIs, and Townsend Theobald, who was 4-for-6 with a double and three runs.

Rounding out a big team performance, Mulder was 4-for-8 with five RBIs and four runs; Tosten was 4-for-9 with two RBIs and four runs; Essig was 3-for-7 with three runs; Pinochi 3-for-9 with two doubles, five runs and five RBIs; Kyle Heussler 1-for-3 with three runs; Jackson Sharp was 2-for-7 with three runs; and Jarren Biondini was 1-for-4 with three runs.