LONG BEACH – What looked like a game that would be Wilson baseball’s eighth win in a row quickly devolved into a frustrating loss for the Bruins.

Wilson carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning against Sonora before melting down, allowing eight runs in the frame, and losing 8-2 at Blair Field.

Wilson starting pitcher Cooper George went 4 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks. Jaaden Romero, who relieved George, suffered the loss.

Rudy Carlos led Wilson (13-7, 7-0) at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double and a single. Russell Centanni had a hit, a walk and an RBI.

Wilson coach Andy Hall explained his decision to pull George.

“Maybe I pulled the plug a little too soon on Cooper George,” Hall said. “He had a pretty good outing going with a two-run lead. I was kind of concerned about his pitch count.”

George got the Bruins out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning. He struck out Jeffrey Agalsoff on three pitches and induced a fly ball to Centanni to end the inning.

Hall complimented his young pitcher’s competitiveness.

“Cooper is a really tremendous athlete,” Hall said. “I’m encouraged by him. His disposition in the dugout when we took him out was that he wasn’t excited about having to come out of the game at that point and I understand that because he’s a competitive kid.”

Wilson’s Rudy Carlos led off the fourth inning with a double to deep left-center field. Hall elected to have Nicolas Guadamuz pinch run for Carlos. The next batter, James Mirabelle dropped a bunt to Sonora pitcher Caleb Orr. Orr threw the ball away on a bang-bang play at first, allowing Guadamuz to score the game’s first run and give Wilson a 1-0 lead.

Wilson doubled its lead later in the inning when Centanni drove in Mirabelle with an RBI single to left field.

The top of the fifth was a struggle for the Bruins.

With Sonora runners on second and third and one out and Jaaden Romero pitching, Anthony Abad cut the Wilson lead to 2-1 with an infield single to third base that scored Lincoln Webster. The next batter, Ryan Lietzau, hit an RBI single to right field that scored Luke Crowder and tied the game at 2-2.

A wild pitch by Romero scored Abad from third base to give Sonora its first lead, 3-2, still with one out.

Sonora tacked on five more runs while churning through four Wilson pitchers in the inning.

Sonora’s Tucker Hunnicut connects with a pitch during an 8-2 win over Long Beach Wilson in a nonleague game at Blair Field on Friday, April 18. (Photo by Anthony Ciardelli)

Lincoln Webster went 2 for 2 for Sonora with two RBIs.

Hall said he chose to use a pressure-filled situation in a nonleague game to see what some of his pitchers could do.

“We threw some guys in there who haven’t been in there for probably a while,” Hall said. “Under the heavy leverage situations that they were in today, and we’ve got to get better in those areas on the mound.”

Caleb Orr earned the win for Sonora (13-7, 4-1) pitching a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter.

Wilson starts the second half of its Moore League schedule Wednesday at Lakewood.

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