Quinton Shamsabody went 2-for-4 Friday, reaching base three times and scoring twice — including once a solo home run to left-center field — to lead the Havasu Heat to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Casa Grande Cotton Kings.

It’s 13th win in a row and runs the Heat’s PSWL record to 5-0.

“Right now, the secret is I’m just having fun, playing loose,” Shamsabody said.

Shamsabody’s first hit, a double that bounced off the fence in left-center, led off the fourth inning. He moved to third on a Cody Lassley single and scored on a deep sacrifice fly to right field by Graham Martin.

That broke a 1-1 tie and the Heat never relinquished the lead.

Shamsabody led off the sixth with his homer that cleared the fence in almost the exact spot as his double.

“He got behind in the count and I was sitting for one pitch in one spot. I got it,” Shamsabody said.

The Heat added a fourth run in the seventh when Dan Vargas singled, stole second, then went to third when the second baseman mishandled the throw. He came around to score when the Cotton Kings’ catcher dropped Clint McKeever’s third strike and fired the ball to first.

Havasu wrapped up the scoring in the eighth on a series of errors. Both Lassley and Martin reached base on errors by the shortstop. A bad throw by the catcher on Martin’s steal of second allowed Kevin Pillar — pinch running for Lassley — to score and Martin came around a Vargas double.

Brent Varnado started the game for the Heat, pitching five innings and giving up one run — a solo homer to lead off the second.

“I struggled with my command today, trying to get ahead of the hitters,” Varnado said. “The defense did a great job making big plays behind me. I give credit to the hitting and the defense for doing a great job.”

Varnado gave up five hits and walked two. He also struck out six in earning his third win of the season.

Chris Cappo relieved Varnado. Cappo also gave up a solo homer in the eighth inning — his only run in three innings of work. He allowed two hits while striking out three.

Nate Russ came on to shut down the Cotton Kings in order in the ninth.

“I felt a lot better today. My arm felt strong,” Russ said. “I was throwing the fastball, spotting it up pretty well, then I got them on the change.”

The score of Game 2 of Friday’s doubleheader was not available as Today’s News-Herald went to press. See Sunday’s edition for a full game recap.

You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com.