All four District 51 baseball teams were in action Thursday in the first day of the Bill Fanning Memorial Classic, contested across the Grand Valley this weekend.

Fruita Monument got their tournament play started on the right foot with an 11-1 run-rule victory over Palmer Ridge at Suplizio Field.

The visiting Bears struck first in the contest, scoring a run via sacrifice fly in the top half of the first inning. But the Wildcats responded immediately, racking up a pair of runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning on a base hit from junior Kall Smith.

Fruita carried that momentum forward, ripping off nine more runs to bury Palmer Ridge. The Wildcats scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 10 runs, clinching a run-rule victory in the process. Senior Josh Weaver drove in the game-winning run with a one-out single that scored junior Cooper Skalla from third.

Weaver was one of three Wildcat batters to finish the contest with three hits, alongside the catcher Smith and center fielder Asa Alfstad. Weaver was 3 for 5 with one RBI and one run scored; Smith and Alfstad both finished the day 3 for 4, the former with three RBI and the later with two RBI and one run scored.

The Wildcats improved to 1-1 on the young season with the victory.

Grand Junction earned a win of their own in their first game of the weekend tournament via a 12-2 run-rule win over Ponderosa.

The Tigers scored in droves Thursday, sustaining outbursts of five runs and six runs in two separate innings. Senior Sean Witt was responsible for cracking the game wide open, delivering a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning to give the Tigers a commanding 7-0 lead.

The hit was Witt’s lone on the contest. Two Tigers collected three hits in the game: center fielder Kaleb David, who finished the day 3 for 4, and right fielder Clayton Scarbrough, who was 3 for 3. Both players had one RBI and two runs scored in the winning effort.

Grand Junction improved to 3-0 to begin the season with the win.

Palisade started tournament play with an 8-0 victory over Prairie View.

The Bulldogs built a lead early in the contest, parlaying a triple, a double, three singles, an error and a sacrifice bunt into four first-inning runs to set the tone. They added a pair of runs in the fourth and two additional in the sixth, all the while holding the visiting Thunderhawks scoreless on only three hits.

Starting pitcher Will Seriani earned the win on the mound for the Bulldogs, striking out eight and allowing just two hits in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Right fielder Danyel Ishida-Farmer and catcher Wyatt Fleming each collected three hits: Ishida-Farmer finished the day 3 for 3 with a walk and Fleming was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Central picked up their first win of the season Thursday thanks to a flurry of early runs. The Warriors knocked off Rampart, 10-6, behind a seven-run first inning.

Pitching was erratic for the Rams in the early going Thursday; in the first frame alone, Warriors batters drew seven walks (and an additional hit batter). The Warriors only needed to string together two hits in order to score their seven first-inning runs; they would finish the day with only four hits as a team.

Central improved to 1-1 on the year with the victory.

GIRLS SOCCER

Fruita Monument lost their season-opening contest, 3-2, on the road at Montrose. The Wildcats will remain on the road Friday, as they have a nonleague matchup scheduled against Roaring Fork; kickoff from Carbondale is slated for 6 p.m.