Red Mountain catcher Nate Acosta throws the ball towards first against Corona del Sol at Corona in Tempe Tues. March 25, 2008.

Laura Segall, For the Tribune

LOOSE BALL: Corona del Sol’s Mike Felton fields a ground ball against Red Mountain on Tuesday at Corona del Sol.

Laura Segall, For the Tribune

Mesa Red Mountain spent a good portion of its Monday practice working on defense. The regimen worked well for Tuesday’s game at top-ranked Tempe Corona del Sol.

Red Mountain pitcher Mark Hawkenson depended on his defense often, getting 12 ground-ball outs in his complete-game effort, as the Mountain Lions topped the host Aztecs, 5-2, in a 5A-I nonregion game.

“We had some problems with our defense in the (Mesquite-Skyline) tournament last week,” Red Mountain coach Henry Faccio said. “We came back sharp, and it helped today.”

Red Mountain leadoff hitter Dean Espy did his part at the plate in helping Hawkenson improve to 3-0. Espy was 2-for-3 with a walk, and he scored three times. His last at-bat was his most productive as he lofted a high fly down the right-field line with a runner on in the seventh that just cleared the 310-foot sign for his second homer of the year.

Espy’s homer improved Red Mountain’s lead from 3-1 to 5-1. The game was tied 1-1 through five innings with Hawkenson and Corona del Sol starter Kevin Collinge locked in an impressive duel.

“(Collinge) was in trouble early, but he figured it out,” Corona del Sol coach David Webb said. “He’s pitched real well for us. He finished strong.”

Collinge went five innings. The only run he allowed came in the first on a single, two walks and a steal of home. Collinge retired the final 11 batters he faced before giving way to relievers Brock Abbadini, Austin Doll and Trevor Allen in the sixth and seventh innings. Red Mountain scored twice off Abbadini to break the 1-1 tie in the sixth, getting RBI singles from Derek Mendoza and Hawkenson.

Red Mountain improved to 10-6 on the season. The Aztecs (14-4) won three games last week and scored 48 runs in recording those wins over Yuma Cibola, Phoenix Central and Phoenix North Canyon.