RAMONA -- Almost every day, the wind blows straight out to center field at the Ramona High baseball diamond.

When he saw the wind blowing straight in on Friday afternoon, Poway coach Bob Parry made a decision.

"We needed to play small ball," Parry said. "We weren't going to hit the ball out of the ballpark into that wind. So we had to move the runners, play hit-and-run, steal some bases."

The Titans did the little things well. They executed two hit-and-runs in a three-run third inning, stole four bases in a four-run fourth and cruised to a 7-1 win over Ramona in the North County Times Tournament.

The Titans got a big hit too, a two-run homer by Trevin Lipe in the fourth inning.

With the win, the Titans -- ranked No. 10 in the state by CalHiSports.com -- improved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in their tournament bracket. Ramona falls to 5-3 and 2-1 in its bracket. With two tournament games to play, the Titans have the inside track to next Friday night's championship game at Escondido High.

"We played Ramona in the summer and the winter, and they beat us both times," Parry said. "So we knew we were facing a good team. But we played a good all-around game. We put the ball in play, put runners in motion, got our short game going. We got good pitching and made some good plays in the field."

Left-hander Bennett Parry (no relation to coach Bob Parry) started for the Titans and allowed one run on three hits over four innings. Matt Rossio, Evan Thomas and Chad Smith all threw a scoreless inning in relief.

Shortstop Steve Halcomb and second baseman Brett Friedman made outstanding defensive plays for the Titans and center fielder Brett Thomas made several fine plays while battling the sun.

"The wind was a little tough," Bennett Parry said. "One inning it was blowing in, another inning it was swirling. You always want to keep the ball down, but I made that an emphasis today. I tried to establish all my pitches. My curve was there, but my other pitches weren't.

"Our defense is unbelievable, though. And (catcher) Austin Wynns called a great game. He puts the fingers down, and I throw it.

"I didn't have command of the fastball, but what this shows me is that I can beat a good team like Ramona without having my best stuff."

Ramona scored its only run in the third inning when Alex Muren doubled home Erik Ernst, but Brady Wilson was thrown out at the plate on a bang-bang play. Muren's double was Ramona's last hit.

"That was a good gamble in that spot," said Ramona coach Dean Welch, who also coaches third base for the Bulldogs. "Just like Poway, we were trying to make something happen.

"They had to make a good relay and a long throw by an infielder, and the catcher made a nice play on a short-hop throw.

"We need to believe we're a good team because we are. We just need to play with a little confidence.

"Poway is a really good club. They pushed the envelope today, made things happen, kept the pressure on our defense. We had two bad innings, and they certainly made the most of their opportunities."

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com