April 30, 2006

From Yesterday's 5A tournament action:

Tim Alderson tossed 5 shutout innings of 2 hit ball and Tucker Rubino and Steven Defreitas both had 3 hits as Horizon beat Yuma Cibola 10-0. Mike Acosta, Kevin Roderick  all had  a pair of hits for the Huskies. 

Hamilton scored 3 times in the first inning, courtesy of 4 doubles, and held on for a 3-1 win over St. Mary's. Jason Kudlock went the distance for the win. Andy Workman, Matt Helm and Kasey Piersen all had 2 hits games. J.D. Sprague and Anthony Maldonado had a pair of knocks for the Knights.

Chris Moon stroked a walk off 2 run blast as Tucson High beat visiting Red Mountain 4-2. Moon also earned the win on the mound in relief of Steven Ivanoff. Johnathan Dupuy was solid in going the distance for RM.

In a duel of 2 of the more promising righthanders in the 2007 class, Mountain View's Aaron Rhodes earned the decision over Desert Vista's Roy Metter 4-1. Rhodes allowed only 5 hits in a complete game effort. Metter provided the only run for the Thunder with a solo homer.

Mesquite scored 3 times in the first and 2 runs each in the next 3 innings to drop Highland 9-4. Ronnie Welty and Jeff Hibner combined on a 4 hitter. For the 'cats, Welty was 2-3 with a homer,  and Seth Furmanek and Nolan Church added a pair of hits. Derek Geisinger had a pair of doubles for HIghland.

Jeff Hibner on the mound (L)while Seth Furmanek fires a seed to the plate

Brophy's Matt Newman was 3-3 with a homer and a pair of doubles as the Broncos defeated Cesar Chavez 6-4.

Mountain Pointe scored 5 times in the sixth inning to take a 13-9 win over Chandler High. Brian Anderson earned the win in relief of Mike Ford. For Pointe, David Nash was 4-4 ,and Jason Mitchell was 3-4 with a homer. Fernando Blanco homered and was 2-2 for Chandler.

Mountain Ridge jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on to defeat Gilbert 8-6. Ian Campbell was solid on the bump for Ridge, tossing 5 innings and leaving with an 8-2 lead.

Kameron Kasik and Kyle Stiner give chase for Ridge (L). Devin Fuller brings it for Gilbert

In 5AII action: 

Sandra Day O'Connor scored 6 times and sent 9 hitters to the plate in a 6 run 6th inning as the Eagles dropped Desert Ridge 9-6. Josh Moody got the win with relief help from Clark McCarthy and Nick Carrillo. Adrian Ramirez homered while Bryant Burnett went 3-4, Cliff Shepard 2-4, Derek Blackwell 2-2 and Brian Carr 2-5 for the Eagles in the victory. Trent Manzanares was the starter and losing pitcher for Desert Ridge, and went 2-4 with a double and homerun for Desert Ridge.

Nick Carrillo fires across the diamond (L) as  Trent Manzanares deals for Ridge

Desert Mountain smoked Tucson Flowing Wells 13-0. Merrill Kelly and Jason Butler combined on a five inning one hitter. Jeff Fox had a grand slam and Hayden Parrot went deep for the Wolves.

Josh Lucas knocked in 3 runs and Uriel Munoz tossed a complete game as Paradise Valley took down Yuma Kofa 8-1. R.J. Etchebarren and Tyler Chatham both had  a pair of hits for the Trojans.

Goldwater's Joe Gustafson earned the win on the mound and homered twice to lead the Bulldogs past Marcos de Niza 11-7. Miles Kizer had a 6th inning grand slam. Shaun Deisler was 3-5 for the Padres.

Centennial scored 4 times in the 6th inning to overcome Shadow Mountain 6-3. 

Deer Valley smoked Ironwood 13-3. Joh Maldonado ed the way, going 4-5 with 3 RBIs for the Hawks.

Ryan Oesterle doubled in the game winner in the 8th inning as Sunrise Mountain edged San Luis 5-4.

Anthony (Tiger) Duarte was 3-3 with a double, triple and a homer as Tucson Sunnyside beat North Canyon 11-4. 

In the 4AI Desert Sky Region tournament, Chaparral took game one from McClintock 8-4.Charles Brewer earned the win with relief help from Jason Jarvis. Casey Lytle, Kyle Williams and Jon Bagley all had 2 hit games for the Firebirds. Marty Rover was 2-3 with a pair of RBIs for McClintock.

April 29, 2006

Former major league pitcher Steve Howe was killed in a one car accident early Friday morning as he traveled home to California from a  business meeting in Arizona. Howe was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers and had a career ERA of 3.03 in parts of 12 big league seasons. Unfortunately, his career was tainted with seven suspensions for drug and alcohol abuse, and the casual fan will certainly associate him with those episodes.

I had the opportunity to get to know Steve a little when his son Brian was playing for Lake Havasu High as a sophomore. The family moved to Valencia, California for Brian's junior season last year. Steve was an outgoing guy who, by donating money and a ton of his time, did a hell of a lot for the kids and the athletic programs at Lake Havasu and got little credit for it. While I certainly don't condone his past behavior, here's hoping he's remembered for more than being a guy who made some bad decisions and fought his demons while being in the glare of the spotlight.

April 28, 2006

Saguaro grabbed the 4th slot in the Desert Sky region tournament with a 14-4 win over Thunderbird. The Sabercats scored 6 in the first and 5 in the second before Mark Davis and Max Kemp slowed down the barrage in relief. Christian McDaniel got the win for Saguaro, and went 4-5 with a homer and 3 RBis. Chad Varga was 4-4 for the 'cats. Davis had a 2-3 day with a homer in his final game for TBird. Saguaro will meet Pinnacle in the region tournament to determine the 3 slot in

           Christian McDaniel (L) and Mark Davis 

Mike Petello (L) flags one down in center while Corey LaMay wears one at second on a pick off attempt

Charles Brewer and Race Hansen both had 3 hits and 2 RBIs as Chaparral took down Pinnacle 10-3. 

The 5A tournament brackets have been set and all games kick off Saturday at 1:30 for 5AII and 4:00 for 5AI.

April 27, 2006

In an emotional end to the 2006 regular season, Brophy overcame an early 9-0 deficit to shock Desert Mountain 16-10 on Wednesday night. DM came out on fire, with Mike Galterio homering and Hayden Parrot getting screwed out of his 15th bomb of the season when the umps failed to hear the metallic clank of the Brophy scoreboard being dented. DM starter Taylor Hubbell was cruising through 3 and after allowing a 2 run homer over the short porch in left to Thomas DeAngelis, he departed with a 9-2 lead.

That's when I also decided to hit the road, thinking this game was history, and was at the car when I heard the unmistakable sound of aluminum meeting horsehide. Like a moth to the flame I returned to gaze through an opening in the centerfield fence. Numerous line drives later Brophy had run through most of DMs pitching staff and hung an 11 spot on the board. In all, the Broncs tallied 16 unanswered runs before the carnage ended. On the mound, Harlyn Griffiths and R.J. Preach shut down the Wolves the rest of the way.

Taylor Hubbell on the bump for Desert Mountain

Cesar Chavez claimed the Metro region crown with a 10-8 win over Central on Thursday night. With the win the Champions earn a berth in the 5AI state tournament. Eligio Sonoqui got the win on the mound over Central sophomore Danny Gross.

Central's Danny Gross (L) and Chavez's Eligio Sonoqui

       Danny Victorio puts the tag on Central's Sergio Gutierrez

Gilbert defeated Mesquite 8-7 to create a 3 way logjam atop the Fiesta Region, but Mesquite earned the crown by virtue of head to head and power points over Gilbert and Hamilton. 

Mesquite opened with 3 runs in the first inning courtesy of  a first pitch bomb by Ronnie Welty and a 2 run shot by Seth Furmanek. Gilbert lead off man Chris Reese got Gilbert going with a line drive base hit,and the Tigers went on to put 5 runs on the board in their half of the first. In the top of the 5th, with Gilbert leading 7-3, Chase Frampton hit a 3 run dinger to pull the 'cats within one.  Nolan Church followed with a solo shot to tie the game at 7. In the bottom half of the inning Kenny Hatcher got the game winning run in with a ground out RBI. Eric Navarro came in in the top of the sixth and pitched two shutout innings  despite allowing the first two runners to reach base in both the sixth and the seventh. 

Colin Laufenberg tossed 6 strong innings and got relief help from Kyle Peterson as Hamilton dropped Chandler High 9-2. Peterson and Marco Mosquiera were both 3-5 for the Huskies. Hamilton, in their annual fashion, finished the year winning 5 straight and 7 of their last 8. 

Mountain View claimed the East Valley title wth a 6-3 win over Dobson.Martin Acosta earned the win Riley Nielson went 3-3 for the Toros and brother Ridge homered for MVT.

O'Connor won it's season finale defeating Kingman High 10-4. Brian Carr was the starting and winning pitcher for the Eagles, who now won 12 of their last 14 games. Arian Ramirez and Brian Carr went 2-3 , and Cliff Shepard and Travis Lane 2-4. The game had some interesting plays. In the 4th inning O'Connor turned it's 2nd triple play of the season, and in the bottom of the 7th Reliever Nick Carrillo struck out 4 Kingman batters. Nick Perrine went 2-4, and Thomas Perdue 2-4 for Kingman

Kameron Kasik homered twice as Mountain Ridge defeated Boulder Creek 13-2

Arcadia avenged an earlier loss to Coronado with an 11-5 victory. Connor Whalen threw six solid innings for the win. JJ Nace homered and had 4 RBIs. Joey DeMichele was 2-2 with a double.

Connor Whalen deals  (L) while Maxx Buchanan swings it for Arcadia

Jerome Pena tries to find the handle for Shadows (L). Chris Amhrein deals for 'slope

Desert Mountain laid the wood to Paradise Valley in an18-6 victory. Hayden Parrot cranked homer #14 and went 5-5 with 4 RBIs. Jeff Fox dropped bomb #12  for the Wolves. Drew Beurlein had a pair of doubles and 6 RBIs.

Evan Foreman tossed 6 shutout innings as Horizon blanked Shadow Mountain 4-0.

Calvin Lewis threw a complete game shutout as Deer Valley beat North Canyon 10-0. Nick Salahub had a grand slam and Khris Davis launched a scud for the 'hawks.

 April 24,2006

One of the downsides to a Power Points ranking system is that Region games count for little more than pride in the big picture, and some of the luster is gone from some of the matchups that usually are so compelling late in the year. 

Having said that, since region champs get an automatic bid to the tournaments, there is a chance that one or two teams in 5A1 will advance by virtue of a region title, leaving higher seeds in power points out of the party.

It appears that Yuma Cibola will get the bid from the Gila Valley region by virtue of its one game led over Casa Grande and holding the tiebreaker in heads up meeting

If you're looking for a big region game with something on the line, plan on attending the Central High/ Cesar Chavez game on Wednesday. It's conceivable that a Chavez win could give them the Metro region title and a bid to the big dance. 

In these scenarios, the #15 and #16 ranked teams in power points would be displaced in the tournament by lower ranked teams who garner region titles.

I think I now understand how the 4A state tourney will work. All  5 regions will send 3 teams to the tournament and the last spot will be an at large determined by power points. Region tournaments start later this week and I imagine will determine these spots in most cases.

I had assumed power points were being used as in 5A but that is incorrect.

There's a significant shakeup going on in the ongoing battle of showcase companies and national baseball media.

Perfect Game is launching a new website called PGCrosschecker, and has hired Baseball America founder Allan Simpson to head up the site.

Baseball America, the longtime leader in national baseball coverage, is apparently  joining forces with Team One after a longtime affiliation with Perfect Game.

In Tucson, Pueblo defeated Sabino 10-5 behind a gutsy pitching performance by lefty Jorge Martinez. After allowing 5 runs in the first inning, Martinez settled down to shut out the Sabercats the rest of the way. Carl Whitley suffered his first loss of the season moving to 6-1 on the season, while the Sabercat defense recorded 12 errors on the day.

April 22, 2006

The Gilbert Tigers won a key game (10-7) by sweeping the Chandler Wolves during Fiesta regional play. Bill Willnitz went 4-4 with 2 home runs (5 RBI's) along with a spectacular catch at the fence to rob a Chandler player of a home run in the bottom of the ninth. Mike Dibiasi (2-4) started the game with a double clearing the bases (3 RBI's), Thomas Gutierrez (4-3, 2.49 ERA) went six solid inning (70 pitches) including
surrendering 6 runs in the second inning. Eric Navarro came in for the save leaving two men stranded. 

Mike Dibiasi goes head first to score (L). Landis Ware deals for Chandler

Dan Connealy's 3 run jack in the 6th inning and Miles Christopher's game winning RBI in the 7th proved to be the difference as Shadow Mountain dropped St. Mary's 4-3. Sophomore Edgar Martinez tossed a complete game for the victory. 

Junior Nolan Church improved his record to 6-1 Friday afternoon as Mesquite entered round two of their series against the Highland Hawks. Succumbing to the heat, Church was relieved by Jr Jeff Hibner in the bottom of 5th with one out and the bases loaded. Hibner struck out the first batter and induced a weak fly to second for the third out, thus squelching any threat by the Hawks. Tying their season high of 16 hits, the 'Cats batting order, 1 through 9, continue to pound the ball. Sr Seth Furmanek was 4 for 5 with his 4th home run in three games. Furmanek now has 11 home runs for year. Sr Ronnie Welty did his own damage by going 2 for 4 and blasting his 10th home run of the season over the centerfield wall. Seniors Joe Cuttone, Chase Frampton, Colby McGinn and Jr Nolan Church were all 2 for 4 with a double a piece. Even pinch hitter, Jr Derek Lewis got into the act lacing a hard hit ball into the outfield for a single.

Nolan Church

Ricky Lasker and Zach Anderson combined on the win as Mountain Ridge defeated North Canyon 11-4. Ben Zierten had a 3 run bomb for Ridge.

Ben Zierten goes deep (L). Ricky Lasker on the bump.

             Jason Davis goes back headfirst for NC

Brophy took down Paradise Valley with R.J. Preach getting the win on the mound. 

PV has now lost Ryan Carlson for the season with a torn hamstring (he's had it all year) after losing R.J. Etchebarren a few weeks ago. Etchebarren may return in the next week to help Coach Roy Muller's crew.

Two of the East Valley Region's top arms squared off on Friday as Mesa edged Mountain View 3-2. Rudy Owens got the win over Aaron Rhodes with both pitchers tossing complete games. Owens allowed 4 hits while Rhodes surrendered only 3. Mesa's Sam Ashby had a 2 run blast in the fourth inning and Ray Gonzales' lead off shot in the seventh proved to be the game winner for the Jackrabbits.

Hamilton Kasey Pierson tossed a complete game to lead the Huskies to a 5-2 win over Desert Ridge.Pierson and Andy Worman had 2 hits apiece for Hamilton. Marco Mosquiera tripled in a pair of runs for Hamilton.

Chaparral's Jason Jarvis moved to 8-0 on the year and the Firebirds clinched the Desert Sky Region title with a 10-5 win over McClintock.

Mountain Pointe's Jason Mitchell had a 2 run blast to key a 9-4 win over Corona del Sol. Mike Ford tossed a 5 hit complete game for the win.

April 21, 2006

On Thursday, longtime Tucson rivals Canyon Del Oro and Sabino tangled at  Sabino High School with first place in the 4A Sonoran Region on the line. Sabino came away with a hard fought 4-3 win. The game was decided in the bottom of the 7th inning when Jerry A'Hearn followed Cody's Harshman's line drive triple down the left field line with a line drive down the right field line to score Harshman and break a 3-3 tie. Taylor Lewis and Jerry A'Hearn pitched complete games for their teams with A'Hearn improving to 5-0 on the year. 

Ben Kelley threw a three-hitter over 4+ innings as Prescott topped 
Apollo, 15-2 in 7 innings. Tex Salome went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run, David Yurs went 2 for 2 with two runs and an RBI and also pitched in relief. Rick Anton went 1 for 3 with three RBIs and a great suicide squeeze in the fourth. Todd Citron went 1 for 1 with 
two runs. Dillon Baird went 3 for 3, with three runs and two RBIs, 
getting in his 12th home run on the season. He's now thought to be one HR short of the school record.

Cactus came away with a hard fought 4-2 victory over Moon Valley. Matt Tassinari threw a complete game 4 hitter, striking out 7 and allowing just 1 earned run. Scott Manos hit a home run, his 2nd of the year. Chris Rouches was 2 for 3 with a double while Ryan Underwood went 2-3 with a stolen base. Cactus is now 15-8 overall and 5-3 in region play. 

Notre Dame defeated Sunnyslope 3-1to clinch the Wells Fargo II Region title

The Bulldogs of Queen Creek upset #3 ranked Arcadia, 12-5. Dominic Gamboa went the complete game for the victory, his 4th on the season. Aaron McRae led the way with a 3-3 performance. Along with his perfect day at the plate, McRae added 2 runs and 2 rbi. Ole Nevitt, Vinnie Guerrero, Jr. Lemalu and Heath Nichols all had a pair of hits for the dogs. Nevitt also contributed offensively with 4 rbi, while Lemalu had 3 and Guerrero knocked in a pair.

Garrett Redd was 3-3 including a game winning RBI in the bottom of the 7th with bases loaded as Pinnacle defeated Thunderbird 9-8. Chris Rodgers was 3-3 with 2 runs. Thunderbird's Kyle Drummond was 2-2 with a HR and Double. He also had 4 RBI's. Justin Biehler was the winning pitcher.

Charles Brewer homered and tossed a complete game as Chaparral beat region foe McClintock 7-1. Casey Lytle was 2-3 for the 'birds and David Hartley was 2-2 with a solo shot for McClintock.

Charles Brewer delivers (L). Kyle Williams cruises in with a stand up triple

Spencer Rothery is toast at third (L). Justin Anderson brings the circle change (note: he only looks like he has 3 arms.)

Desert Mountain sophomore Brad Douthit threw six solid innings in relief as the wolves downed Brophy 13-8. Douthit relieved starter Mike Dufek, who left in the first with an elbow problem. Merrill Kelly tossed the final inning for DM. Jeff Fox and Hayden Parrott both homered for DM  while Drew Beurlein went 3-5 and Bobby Lasker doubled twice. Riccio Torrez had a pair of long flies for Brophy.

Brophy's Mike Abbott on the hill (L) while DM's Jeff Fox takes a mighty hack.

Congratulations to 2004 Thunderbird High grad Eric Sogard of Arizona State for being named the Pac 10 player of the Week.

I had a discussion with a friend last night about Hamilton, and why they were not included in my comments of a couple of days ago. Actually, the comments were directed at the top 5 teams in Power Points at the time, and I included Mountain Pointe in the discussion. Here's my preseason comments regarding Hamilton: 

I stand by these comments. However, I've seen the Huskies 7 times this season, including 3 times in the last 2 weeks, and they haven't played particularly well recently. They lost big time to Desert Mountain and Highland and beat Gilbert 2-0. The bats have been pretty cold by Husky standards. There's little question that some transitioning is going on. Coach Woods has some outstanding young talent, and he's often starting 2 freshmen and 2 sophomores. Still, I expect the Huskies to make some noise in the tournament and, as with anyone, a couple of good pitching performances and they're in the mix.

Hamilton unloaded on Desert Ridge yesterday in a 14-1 victory. Marco Mosquiera went deep and Colin Laufenberg tossed a complete game 2 hitter.

Seth Furmanek moved to 6-1 on the year and became Mesquite's all time winningest pitcher with his 23rd career win in a 10-1 win over Highland. Ronnie Welty homered, doubled and had 4 RBIs. Furmanek also homered and Chase Frampton went 2-4 with a triple and 3 RBis. Brett Whiteside was 2-3 for the 'cats. Highland's Mark Matroni and Jake Bowyer both had a pair of hits.

Desert Vista came back from an early 4-1 deficit and dropped region foe Corona del Sol 11-8. Roy Metter got the win on the mound. Martin Gordon was 3-5 for the Thunder. Andrew Allen, Cole Pembroke, Clint Helling and David Coronado all had 2 hits for DV. Corona was led by Tim Martin's 3 hits.

Aaron Mees makes the pivot as Andrew Allen holds Ronnie Romo on first

                        Roy Metter(L) and Matt Ortiz dealin'

Bryan Anderson tossed a 5 hit shutout as Mountain Pointe beat Marcos De Niza 4-0. Mike Ford homered for the Pride.

Prescott took down Independence 11-1.Rick Anton got the win for Prescott, which produced great defensive plays throughout. Offensively, Prescott tallied a total of 15 hits and 11 rbis. Highlights: Cam Schiller, 2 for 3 with a single and a double, Tex Salome 2 for 3 (double and single), Anton 2 for 3, Mark Winslow 2 for 3, David Yurs 2 for 3, and Dillon Baird HR-ed twice, driving in a total of 5 runs. This represents Baird's second multiple HR game , and puts his total for the season at 11.

In a pitcher's duel, Queen Creek outlasted Tempe for a 2-1 victory. While
only giving up 5 hits, Heath Nichols earned the complete game victory,
his 5th on the season. Dominic Gamboa was a perfect 3 for 3 and swiped
his 20th base. Brock Fultz added two hits and an rbi. The Dogs play #3
Arcadia @ home on Thursday.

Brad Qualley went yard 3 times for Scottsdale Christian  in a losing effort (19-17) against Phoenix Country Day.

Gilbert dropped Chandler 12-11 as Jon Varrelman scored from second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The O'Connor Eagles won their 5th in a row and 9th out of their last 10 games defeating Trevor Browne 13-0. Brian Carr pitched a complete game, 2 hit shut out for the Eagles. Nick Carrillo hit his 7th home run of the season, and Cliff Shepard his 2nd for the victors.

Mike Nunez cranked a 3 run blast and chris shelley got the win on the mound as st. Mary's dropped Shadow Mountain 11-3 last night at Phoenix College. Logan Ganem had a pair of knocks for the Knights.

Chris Shelley (L) on the bump. Eric Smith swingin' it for Shadow 

April 17, 2006

With 2 weeks left in the regular season for 5A teams, the playoff picture is still extremely muddy for the majority of teams who are striving to make the 16 team fields. Not much has changed at the top of the pack, however, and as we near the new double elimination tournament here’s some thoughts on the contenders:

Phoenix Brophy: It seems like every year I’m saying that Coach Tom Succow has the best balance of any team in the state, and I’ll say it again this year. The numbers don’t lie, as the Broncos lead the state in runs scored per game at 9.93 and in runs allowed at 2.25. They are a solid defensive squad that always has a dugout full of arms to call on. Senior lefty Steven Streich and junior righty R.J. Preach are a very good 1-2 punch that probably doesn’t get enough credit.. The new double elimination format figures to help Brophy, as they always seem to draw a bad early round matchup that derails the train. This may be the year that makes us forget the past.

 Horizon: With the Huskies featuring the most dominant duo of arms in the state, the new format plays right into Coach Eric Kibler’s hand. One glance at the bracket and you’ll see that Horizon can roll out Tim Alderson and Kevin Roderick in a Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Thursday- Saturday rotation. Even the road through the loser’s bracket  provides enough rest to not tax the arms. With lefty Evan Foreman in the wings, things seem set. Howver, both Roderick and Alderson have been beaten recently, and this is not as solid a defensive team as is typical in Husky-land. In addition, the bats, while performing better of late (6.5 runs per game) remain a concern.

 Mesquite: The bats continue to produce ( 7.48 RPG), and the pitching rotation of Seth Furmanek, Ronnie Welty and Nolan Church has been quite good for the most part with a few rocky starts mixed in. The defense has been decent if unspectacular. When the offense rolls look out.

Tucson High: At 17-2 they hold the state’s top winning percentage at .895. The offense averages 8.8 RPG and the pitching staff has been very strong (3.47 RA). Chris Moon (6-0) is a legitimate arm at the top of the staff and Matt Macias  is banging the ball at a .492 clip with 5 bombs and 24 RBIs. Still, the schedule is pretty questionable, with only a handful of 5A1 teams represented, and the Badgers will enter the tournament as somewhat of an unknown commodity.

 Mountain Pointe:   First year Coach Brandon Buck has gotten limited use of the right arm of Jason Mitchell, but the staff has held together pretty well. Mike Ford is the workhorse, but Bryan Anderson and freshman Ryan Klem have filled the gap left by Mitchell’s absence pretty well. At the plate Ford is carrying an .847 Slugging percentage with 11 homers. The rest of the lineup isn’t putting up huge numbers, but production is coming from a number of sources and the end result is a #10 spot in the Power Points entering this week.

 Mountain View: They’ll roll out 2 very good arms in Nick Shannon and Aaron Rhodes, and the lineup is filled with athletes. However, the Toros have to be more consistent offensively to make noise in the tournament.

Mike Ford, for the second time this season at Basha High, cranked 3 homers to lead Mountain Pointe to a 10-2 win. Bryan Anderson got the win on the mound. Austin Woolridge, Dan Black and Josh Reed also went yard as the Pride feasted on Bear pitching.

Mesquite's Seth Furmanek recorded his third shutout of the season in a  2-0 complete game over Chandler. Furmanek threw 76 pitches, 63 strikes while striking out 6. Chase Frampton was 2-3 with a double and an RBI and Nolan Church had an RBI triple. Landis ware and Sean Lewis had a pair of hits apiece for Chandler.

Seth Furmanek delivers as Joe Cuttone creeps in the background (L). Austin Gibbs runs one down as Nolan Church avoids contact.

In a team effort, Queen Creek upset 4AII #1 ranked Scottsdale Coronado 11-1. The Dogs hitting attack was led by R.J. Clarke, Brock Fultz, Domonic Gamboa and Aaron McRae, whom each had a pair of hits. Fultz knocked in three runs while McRae knocked in two. Gamboa went the distance (5 innings) for Queen Creek while only surrendering 1 run on 3 hits. Gamboa also swiped two bags. 

Clark McCarthy threw 5 strong innings as Sandra Day O'Connor beat North Canyon 4-3. NC sophomore lefty Mark Lawson took a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning before the Eagles rallied for 3 runs.

       NC's Mark Lawson (L) and SDO's Clark McCarthy

Gilbert Highland's Blair Whatcott allowed only 6 hits in a complete game 10-4 win over Hamilton. The Hawks were led by Ryan Fair who went 3-4  with a double and 2 RBI. Whatcott, Mark Matroni, and Eric Nedeljkovic all had a pair of hits.

Blair Whatcott (L) deals for Highland while Derek Geisinger makes contact.

Gilbert got a lead off jack from Chris Reese to set the tone in a 9-2 win over Desert Ridge. Eric Navarro had a pair of bombs and 4 RBI for the Tigers. Thomas Gutierrez went the distance, scattering 4 hits for Gilbert. Trent Manzanares was 2-3 with 2 RBI for DR.

Chaparral scored 4 times in the top of the seventh, highlighted by Charles Brewer's bases loaded 3 RBI double in a 6-5 win at Saguaro. Jason Jarvis tossed 6 innings for the win and Brewer got the save after closing the 7th. Tyler Sanford and Christian McDaniel had 2 hits apiece for Saguaro.

        Chaparral players celebrate a big win over Saguaro

April 13, 2006

Desert Vista battled back from a  5 run 1st inning deficit to upend Brophy 11-8. After the rocky 1st inning, Billy Bowler settled in and threw 6 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs the rest of the way. Bub Delos was 2-2 and Cole Pembroke had a key bases loaded double. For Brophy, Andrew Tonner had a pair of hits.

Hamilton beat Mountain Pointe 11-7 in a slugfest. Hamilton got big flies from Mike Ford, Jason Mitchell and Dan Black while Hamilton's Andy Workman and Lucas Kirkland also went deep. 

Hayden Parrot had a pair of bombs and 4 RBIs to lead Desert Mountain to a 5-4 win over Horizon. MikeDufek outdueled Tim Alderson for the win. Alderson and Kevin Roderick were both 3-4 for the Huskies.

Jimmy Patterson pitched a complete game and Justin Anderson went 3-4 with a double, a homer, and 6 RBIs to lead McClintock past Pinnacle 7-5.

April 12, 2006

Nick Shannon became the first player in the state to reach double digits in long flies after his third 2 homer game of the season led the Mountain View Toros to an 18-5 win over Skyline. 5 MVT players had multi hit games.

Corona del Sol took their second win over Marcos De Niza with a 9-3 victory. Tim Martin tossed 6 strong innings and Cameron Smith picked up the save. Martin, Smith and Weston Stover all had 2 hits for the Aztecs.

Josh Moody took a shutout into the 7th inning as Sandra Day O'Connor dropped North Canyon 7-1. Andrew shriver took the loss for NC.

NC's Andrew Shriver (L) and SDO's Josh Moody

Coronado dropped an 8 spot on Arcadia in the 4th inning to highlight a 13-3 win in 4AII East Sky region action. Colin Dunlavey threw 4 1/3 innings for the win. J.J. Nace took the loss for the Titans. Cody Fortney homered for the Dons and Max Buchanan went deep for Arcadia.

Arcadia's J.J. Nace (L) and Coronado's Cody Fortney

Roy Metter tossed a complete game and homered and doubled as Desert Vista beat Basha 6-3. Martin Gordon was 4-4 for the Thunder. Randall Barrett had 3 hits including a bomb for Basha.

April 11, 2006

An opposite field grand slam off the bat of Philip Konieczny in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the difference in Mountain Pointe's 8-5 win over Mesquite. Mike Ford picked up the win and also crushed a monstrous solo homer. Ronnie Welty took the loss but went 2-4 at the dish with a long fly. Joe Cuttone went 2-3 and Colby McGinn added a home run for Mesquite. For Pointe, Austin Woolridge was 3-3.

Ronnie Welty (L) delivers while Pointe's Austin Woolridge hacks

Mesa Mountain View handed Horizon their second consecutive loss 9-2. Nick Shannon scattered 8 hits and got the win over Kevin Roderick. Shannon was also 2-2 with a Jack and 3 RBIs. Jake Fournier was 3-3 for the Toros. For Horizon, Mike Acosta and Tucker Rubino both went 2-3.

Saguaro spotted Thunderbird 3 in the first and then got 2 home runs from Mike Petello, his 8th and 9th for the year, to beat the Chiefs 8-6. Tyler Sanford and Neal Hardon also went deep for the Sabercats. Zach Hays got the win in relief for Saguaro. Chris Campbell and Jordan Peterson both had a pair of hits for the 'cats.

Brad Qualley homered twice, his second multi homer game of the week, as Scottsdale Christian edged Phoenix Country Day 17-0.

Chaparral scored six unearned runs in the 7th which was capped off by a grand slam by Kyle Williams. Neither of the starting pitchers figured in
the Scoring as Andrew Danner (Pinnacle) and Charles Brewer (Chap) left
the game in the 6th with the scored tied at 3-3. Jason Jarvis got the win and Bryan Karraker took the loss.  Williams and Race Hansen both went 3-4 for Chaparral.

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April 10, 2006

On Friday afternoon, Cactus traveled to El Dorado park in Scottsdale and came away with an exciting 8-7 victory over the #1 ranked 4a-II Coronado Dons. Travis Hawthorne gave Cactus the lead for the 1st time with a 2 run home run, his 2nd in 2 games. Eric O'brien and Bo Cuthbertson led the way with 3 hits each and Eric drove in his 29th and 30th runs as well. Soph transfer Casey Collins got his 1st win in 4a baseball while frosh Mark Winiker earned the save. The Cobras are now 12-7 overall.

The Mesquite Wildcats manhandled the Desert Ridge Jaguars 12-2 on Friday afternoon in a battle of the Aces, Mesquite Sr Seth Furmanek and Ridge Sr Trent Manzanares. The 'Cats pounded out ten hits and twelve runs in four innings, while Furmanek struck out seven and allowed only two hits in five innings of work.This brings Mesquite's record to a school best 18-3-1 for the year and 3-1 in Fiesta Region action.Both Furmanek and Sr Ronnie Welty each connected for their seventh home run of the season, both over the right center fence. Brett Whiteside went 2-3 with a single, double and a RBI and Chase Frampton was also 2-3.

St. Mary's took a  5-3 win over Paradise Valley on Friday. Mike Nunez pitched all seven innings allowing only 3 earned runs. I was 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI. Chris Shelley was also 2 for 4 with an RBI. 

Sandra Day O'Connor beat Boulder Creek 10-1 behind a 5 inning 4 hit, 5 strike out performance by Brian Carr. Joe Rodhouse and Jake Robinson shut down Boulder Creek in the final 2 innings of play. Brian Carr also went 4-4 at the plate. Ben Kaufman went 2-3. Travis Lane 2-4. and Cliff Shepard 2-3 for the O'Connor Eagles. Mikey Ciombor went 2-4 for the Jaguars of Boulder Creek. O'Connor has now won 5 out of the last 6 games.

Brophy took advantage of some shaky Horizon defense and delivered some key base hits to take a Desert Valley region win 6-4. RJ Preach got the win over Tim Alderson.  Raoul Torrez picked up the save. Preach threw a solid 5 innings, allowing only 3 hits and tallying  4K's. Tony Strazzara was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3RBI's for the Broncs.

Hamilton's Jason Kudlock, just back from a bout with Mono, tossed a shutout in a 2-0 win over Gilbert on Friday night. RBI singles by freshmen Matt Helm and Cory Bernard provided the only scores.

Hamilton's Jason Kudlock 

Junior right hander Aaron Rhodes got the win on the mound as Mesa Mountain View crushed Westwood 13-1. It was my first look at Rhodes this spring and he was impressive, cruising at 88-89 and touching 90 a couple of times. He also flashes a plus breaking ball at times and is definitely a name to watch in the future.

MVT's Aaron Rhodes brings the heat

Corona Del Sol hung up an 8 spot in the first inning and cruised to a 12-6 win over region rival Marcos De Niza on Friday. Casey Barnes threw 6 strong innings and got seventh inning relief help from Matt Ortiz to seasl the deal. Barnes and Ronnie Romo both had a pair of hits for the Aztecs.

Casey Barnes delivers (L) while MDN's Kasey Boyles beats the throw to Ronnie Romo

Scottsdale Christian and Yuma High split a doubleheader on Saturday in Scottsdale. YC took the opener 12-7 while SCC gort revenge in game 2 5-4.

SCC's Brian Jones on the bump while Brad Qualley drills a double on Saturday.

April 7, 2006

Jason Jarvis went 4-4 with 2 homers and 7 RBI as Chaparral drummed Thunderbird 13-0. For good measure Jarvis tossed a 5 inning , 2 hit shutout. Reportedly he drove the team bus home as well (not really). Kyle Williams and Race Hansen also played long ball for the 'birds.

Dan Black went 3-3 with  a pair of doubles and a game winning 3 run dinger in the bottom of the 6th as Mountain Pointe dropped Central Region nemesis Desert Vista 7-4. Philip Konieczny was 3-4 for Pointe while Andrew Allen and Roy Metter went deep for Vista.

The Queen Creek Bulldogs broke-out offensively with a 20 hit performance in a 14-3 regional, 5 inning game win @ Apache Junction. Austin Carnes picked up the win for the Dogs by throwing 4 strong innings. Aaron McRae was perfect on the day with 4 hits in as many attempts. He also recorded 4 runs and 4 rbi, as well as 3 stolen bases. Dominic Gamboa and Junior Lemalu each had 3 hits, while Lemalu went yard and knocked in 3 runs.

Basha's Trent Thompson went 3-4 with a homer and 6 RBI as da Bears dropped Corona Del Sol 14-6. Matt Hibbert went 2-4 with a double. 

Martin Acosta tossed a 5 inning one hitter and Mountain View cranked out 15 hits in a 13-1 lashing of Westwood. Camden Gosch and Ridge Nielsen each had 3 hits. Nick Shannon dropped bomb # 7 for the Toros.

April 6, 2006

With a 30+ mph wind blowing in from left field, the Mesquite Wildcats knew they were going to be tested not only by the number two ranked Trojans of Paradise Valley, but also by the elements of nature. The Wildcats prevailed 9-3. Sr Ronnie Welty took the hill and kept Paradise Valley in check all day long, giving up just one earned run, while striking out 9, as the Wildcats mounted a 12 hit 9 run attack that proved too much for the Trojans. While no knocks were recorded (the closest coming from Sr Seth Furmanek who hit a monster shot against the wind which backed the center fielder up against the wall in left center at the 390' sign), the 'Cats did come up with three triples, including two by Sr Joe Cuttone.

Senior Derek Geisinger went 3 for 4 with 2 Home Runs and 6 rbi's to lead the Hawks to a 9-8 victory over St. Mary's. Sophomore Devyn Rivera started and got the win.

Desert Mountain pounded out 13 hits in a 5 inning affair as the Wolves smoked Hamilton 14-4. Mike Dufek was a one man wrecking crew, going 3-4 with a bomb and allowing only 3 hits on the bump. Jason Butler and Jeff Fox also had 3 hits and 2 RBIs apiece for DM.

Hamilton's Kasey Pierson slides in past Hayden Parrot of DM

Gilbert continues to play well and claimed their 14th win of the season with a 6-5 decision over Mountain Pointe. Mike Dibiasi moved his record to 3-1 with 6 strong innings, and eric Navarro earned the save. Jon Varrelman was 2-2 with 3 RBIs and Mike Voight homered and went 2-4. Mike Ford, Phil Koniezcny and Josh Reed all went deep for Pointe. Ford had 3 hits and  J.J. Ethel went 2-3 with 2 RBI.

April 5, 2006

Chaparral took advantage of 6 McClintock errors and Charles Brewer scattered 5 hits as the Firebirds took a 15-1 win in 4A Desert Sky play. Spencer Rothery and Race Hansen both went 3-3 and homered for the 'birds. Marty Rover and Jimmy Patterson went 2-3 for McClintock.

Cody Harshman and Jason Hanson hit home runs with men aboard and Sabino pitcher Carl Whitley improved his record to 5-0 as the Sabercats beat Canyon del Oro 6-2. Hanson's home run was his ninth. Taylor Lewis took the loss for CDO.

Mesquite's offense proved too much for Desert Ridge as the Wildcats improved their  record to 16-3-1 (2-1 Conference) with a 10-4 win over Desert Ridge. Senior Austin Gibbs led the charge going 3 for 3 including a solo shot while Ronnie Welty just missed hitting for the cycle going 3 for 5 with a triple, double and a single. Junior Nolan Church picked up his fifth win of the season striking out six in 5 and 2/3's innings. Junior reliever Jeff Hibner shut the door on the Jaguars in the 6th and 7th to secure the victory.

The O'Connor Eagles defeated Boulder Creek 10-3 to win their 4th game in a row. Josh Moody again pitched a gem, holding Boulder Creek to 4 hits in 5 innings. Travis Lane went 4-4 for the Eagles. Adrian Ramirez went 2-3 also. Boulder Creek surrendered 5 runs in the top of the first, 2 scoring on a throwing error. Jordan Flittie was the starter and losing pitcher for the Jaguars.

Blair Whatcott hit a home run bringing his total to 5 on the year as Highland dropped Chandler 10-8. Chris Wolford went the distance and picked up the win.

Corona del Sol took a 12-2 decision over Basha in six innings. Tim Martin got the win on the mound, scattering 5 hits. Cameron Smith was 3-3 with a walk and Casey Barnes went 2 -3.

Horizon's Tim Alderson cranked a 3 run shot that proved to be the game winner in a 6-4 win over Brophy. Evan Foreman picked up the win on the mound and Alderson earned a save.

Cactus  broke out with a 5 run 6th inning to win a key region game 8-4 at Moon Valley. Harvard bound Chris Rouches led the offense with a 3-3 performance including a triple. Eric O'brien added 2 hits and another RBI upping his season total to 28. Geoff Whitaker picked up his 4th victory as he scattered 8 hits and Casey Collins came in and got the save. The win makes the cobras 11-6 overall and 3-1 in region play.

Geoff Whitaker (L) and Chris Rouches led the way for Cactus in an 8-4 win over Moon Valley on Tuesday night

Arcadia scored in the bottom of the seventh on a 2 out bases loaded error to claim a 6-5 win over Queen Creek. Casey Reynolds got credit for the win in relief of Kellen Hope while Heath Nichols was very strong in a complete game performance for QC. Maxx Buchanan homered and doubled for Arcadia while Brock Fultz and Ole Nevitt were both 2-3 for the Bulldogs.

                   Kellen Hope (L) and Heath Nichols 

April 4, 2006

Brad Qualley of Scottsdale Christian had  a big day yesterday, tossing a 5 inning no hitter and grabbing a spot in the Bomb Cellar with 2 dingers. Qualley struck out 9 in the 12-0 whitewashing of Arizona Lutheran.

J.C. Klatt stretches for Trevor Browne as North Canyon's Joel Mathers beats the throw. North Canyon took a 9-4 win.

April 3, 2006

Apparently there is a mistake in the Power Points rankings regarding the recent Sunrise Mountain v. Centennial game. The game was reported as a Centennial win when in reality SM prevailed 4-2.

Just a reminder please......I do not have anything to do with the Power Point rankings. I am merely  providing a link to the site. In other words, please don't shoot the messenger.

The tournament season has wrapped up and region play begins in earnest this week. The various tournaments around the state have provided some entertaining games, but for the most part the out of state competition has left something to be desired. Even the Cleats tournament, with all its hype, failed to live up to the standard set last season. Without a marquee team (i.e Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep in 2005) the event became a battle of local squads. 

The March numbers are in, and the traffic to this website continues to explode. There were 3760 of you who visited the site in March, up from 2300 in March of 2005. I ran into a bit of bandwidth issues  that resulted from running some pictures early in the month that were huge file sizes. As a result I had to cut back on pics towards the end of the month. That won't happen again. Look for more pictures in the weeks to come.

On Friday, Kole Calhoun threw a No-Hitter for Buckeye striking out 14 batters in 5 innings Vs Cortez. Kole helped his efforts on the mound by hitting two homeruns. Trevor Ohstahowski also went deep twice for   Buckeye.

Corona came out on top of Mountain Pointe 8-5 in Friday's game. Casey Barnes gets the win for Corona and Cameron Smith gets the save. Mike Ford went long for Mountain Pointe but Corona's bats were making contact. 

St. Mary's  got a little revenge from their Tuesday loss to Desert Mountain in an 11-10 victory. At one point, DM had a 9-2 lead. DM was winning 10-9 in the 7th when SM tied it up on a walk. The next batter was Mike Nunez and he hit a ball over the outfielders heads to bring in Joey Coronado for the winning run. Nunez threw the first 6 innings and then Manny Vila came into the 7th to pick up the win. Jorge Morales was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and scored 4 times in the ball game.