Corona del Sol had a parade of base runners in the first inning Tuesday and the only thing that disappointed coach David Webb was not scoring the last of those runners who was on third.

The three runs Corona picked up in its first at-bat, however, proved to be the difference as the Aztecs topped  Desert Vista, 5-2, in a Division I baseball game at Corona del Sol.

"We had a lot of guys get on, but I didn't like leaving the last one especially since there was noone out," Webb said. "Other than that we got a well-pitched game and did enough to win."

For the second time this season, Corona del Sol junior left-hander Chris Tate and Desert Vista senior southpaw Hunter Rodriguez matched up with one another. Corona won the first meeting, 4-3. Tate prevailed again on Tuesday with an inning of relief from sophomore Nathan Birecki. Tate is now 5-1 on the season.

When Tate and Rodriguez hooked up on March 6 at Desert Vista, it was a scoreless duel through three innings. This time Tate got a nice chunk of runs in the bottom of the first after an easy 1-2-3 inning in the top half.

Rodriguez put himself in a hole in the first by hitting two of the first three batters -- leadoff hitter Jeff Carter and No. 3 hitter Josh Ethier. He hit both players ahead 1-2 in the count. In between was a single from Colby Hamilton -- all of which served to load the bases. It brough Corona RBI leader Kyle Jorgensen to the plate and Jorgensen lined a two-run single to left. An wild throw from left field allowed another run to score and Jorgensen ended up at third for a 3-0 Aztecs' lead.

Corona (12-5 overall, 5-2 power-point games) made it 4-0 in the third on an Ethier single and two stolen bases, which advanced him to third. Designated hitter Rick Riley grounded to second, but the throw to the plate trying to cut down Ethier was late.

Tate rolled along to the fifth with the 4-0 lead, sporting a one-hitter. He got hit hardest in the fifth with a leadoff single from Kyle Gunderson and then a long, two-run homer to left from Austin Hicks. Tate gave up three hits in the inning, but made it through. He issued a two-out double and a his only walk in the sixth. He finished up by striking out Hicks in tough at-bat. Birecki pitched the seventh to earn the save, giving up a walk and three ground outs. Desert Vista is now 8-10, 5-3 ppg.

"The only mistake (Tate) made was the home-run pitch," Webb said. "He did a good job keeping them off balance with a fastball and change-up."

Tate allowed five hits, one hit and struck out four in his six innings. Rodriguez scattered seven hits, walked one and fanned six.