Brandon Snyder hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and then Horizon held on to nip Chaparral, 7-6, in a Scottsdale Invitational Tournament game at Chaparral that was called because of darkness after six innings. The win was the second in as many games for the Huskies while the Firebirds lost their second straight one-run decision. Snyder's homer game Horizon a 6-1 lead with none out in the top of the second, but Chaparral rallied with three runs in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer by Will Dyer (his first as a varsity player) and two more in the bottom of the sixth behind a hard double down the left field line by Jordan Weymouth and a sacrifice to left by Joel Hayden.
Horizon opened the game with four quick runs on hits by Tommy Joseph, Dylan Scott, Colby Everett and Conner Clancy. Clancy had two hits and three RBIs for the Huskies, including a double in the third to score Reece Kanter with what would turn out to be the winning run. James Larkis made an over-the-shoulder catch in the third to rob Chaparral's Aaron Levy of extra bases and prevent at least one additional run for the Firebirds. Weymouth had two hits for Chaparral, which stayed in the game with standout pitching over the last four innings from Preston Hill and Will Abram.

Desert Ridge beat Desert Mountain 16-5 on Friday. Desert Mountain got lead 5-0 after 3 before the Desert Ridge bats woke up scoring 16 runs in 3 innings. Desert Ridge was lead offensively by Alex Villar who was 3-5 with a 2B, 3B and 4 RBI's. Scotty Hoffman was 3-4 with a 2B, Taylor Kaczmarek was 2-3 with a 3B, Jake Barrett 2-4 with 2RBI's and Connor Daly was 1-3 with 2 RBI's.
Kris Ashby pitched 6 innings, with only a rough 3rd inning when he hit 3 batters, but recovered strong with 3 shut out innings to close the game out.

Brophy had to rally late to tie North Canyon and send the game to extra innings. The Broncos then prevailed 11-10 in 9 innings. Brady Maus homered for Brophy. Jason Walker had  a long homer and a double off the wall for the Rattlers.

Mesquite topped Mountain Pointe 14-8. Steven Harrington was 3-5 with a homer. Jason Gonzales was 4-4. Sophomore left hander Cesar Mayorga picked up the win for Mesquite. For Mountain Pointe, Ryan Klem hit a massive homerun, his second of the year, and Josh Alexander was 2-4 with a double and triple. Mountain Pointe had a 7 run 4th inning to take the lead before Mesquite answered with an 8 run 5th inning to secure the win.

Mesa 0-1-1-0-1-0-0- = 3R / 7 H / 1 E
Saguaro 0-0-1-0-0-1-2- = 4R / 6H / 2E

Chris Wert pitched 6 innings for Mesa forcing Saguaro to play catch up. Through six innings Saguaro left 5 runners on base, 4 in scoring position.
Down one run in the bottom of the seventh inning Josh Chapman ripped a line drive off Dallis Parker to start the inning; he was pulled for a pinch
runner Austin Anderson. Zach Gibbons sacrificed for the first out. Wes Smith was intentionally walked to set-up the double play. Kyle Young hit into a fielder choice but beat out the potential double play. With two out in the bottom of the seventh inning, runners on the corners, Ryan Comford ripped a 2 run triple over the right fielder to win the game. Kurt Jahnke pitched 4 innings, Chris Salazar pitched 2 innings and Brian Faucher pitched the seventh inning and earned the win for Saguaro, Wes Smith caught all seven innings.
For Saguaro Comford was 3-4 with a triple, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases, Joe Christiano was 1-2 with a double, HBP and a run scored.
For Mesa Chris Wert was 2-4 with a double a RBI and 2 stolen bases, Matt Delgado was 2-3.

 The Liberty Lions defeated the Valley Vista Monsoon 6 to 5 earning their first varsity victory in the schools short existance. Lions pitcher Josh Sparks was credited with the win, while Ryan Benedict came on in the 7th to hold the Monsoon scoreless and earn the save. Lions Euston Smalley was 2 for 3 at the dish. Valley Vistas Chris Welch was 3 for 4 with 2 rbi's.

With a 12PM start time, the Ironwood Eagles traveled to Copper Canyon to play the Aztecs. Ironwood came away victorious by a score of 13-3 in 6 innings. Junior Ruben Hernandez got his first career Varsity start going 4 innings and striking out 4. Senior 1B Kevin Livermore helped the Aztecs going 2-3, with a RBI.

Bradshaw Mountian HS came to Copper Canyon in game #2 of the double header. Sophomore Rodrigo Lopez on the hill in his first Varsity start on the mound. Copper Canyon was able to hold off Bradshaw Mountain with a score of 9-5.. Junior Rudy Gutierrez added another stellar performance at the plate going 3-3 with a HR(3), and 2 RBI. Rudy also threw on the hill for innings 6 and 7 striking out 3 and getting the win. The Aztecs will play their final game tomorrow Saturday 2-28 at Home against the winner of Kellis HS and Tempe HS. Game is sceduled for a 9AM start.

Pinnacle beat a solid Kofa team 9-7 in a pretty good game. Marcus Jensen got a “no decision” after pitching 4 innings giving up 5 hits, striking out 6 with a walk. Claudio Valencia started on the hill for Kofa. Offensively for Kofa Albert Alvarez, Sergio Sanchez, Blake Johnston and Timmy Lee all had multiple hits. For Pinnacle Jake Peevyhouse, Ashton McCoy, Justin Winters and Eric Gower all had multiple hits with Peevyhouse and Winters both hitting jacks. Kofa had two tough games in a row as they lost by a run to Brophy the night before.

At the Desert Vista tourney:

Cole Gleason homered twice and tossed 5 string innings to pick up the win on the hill as Red Mountain dropped Mountain View 7-2. Derek Mendoza also went deep for the Lions and TJ Bennett had  a pair of hits. For MVT, Anthony Reda, Conner Knoles and Gus Monteverde had 2 hit games.

Cole Gleason on the hill for Red Mountain (L) Mike Knuepple throws a runner out for MVT

Yuma Cibola rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-8 win over Desert Vista. Daniel Vega was 2-2 with a 2B, Krysthian Leal was 3-4 with a big fly. For DV, Matt Wehrli had a 4 hit game and Cole Pembroke went deep.

DV's Jon Serfilippi connects (L) while Juan Pena strokes the game winner for Cibola

Justin Rosales and Aaron Hardenburg homered as Hamilton beat Salpointe 15-5. Preston Jamison had a pair of homers and Dan Slania also went deep for Salpointe.

Tyler Kem (L) and Dan Slania facing off at DV

February 27, 2009

Chris Sabanosh went 2-4 with a homer and Jackson Goulder tossed 4 shutout innings for the win as Cactus Shadows dropped Higley 11-3.

Corona Del Sol traveled to Buena and pounded out 18 hits en route to a 6 inning 16-3 win. Mike Felton was 3-4 with a homer and 5 RBIs, and Kirby Pellant knocked in 3 runs. Kevin Collinge earned the win on the mound. Ben Deem tossed 3 scoreless innings in relief.

 Valley Vista opened up the season by defeating Washington 13 to 3. V V Senior catcher Aaron Burchette led the offense with a home run and double. Sophomore Scott Squires had two hits including a single and ground rule double over center. V V senior Chris Welch started on the mound for the monsoon and pitched 4 complete innings earning the victory. V V freshman Matt Garringer came on to pitch the 5th and 6th inning which was shortened via the ten run rule.

Copper Canyon and Apollo HS squared off in game number 2 of the TUHSD Pre-Season Invitational this afternoon. The Aztecs run ruled the Hawks 15-4 in 6 innings. Senior Ramon Del Sol pitched a gem going 4.2 innings and striking out 5. Junior Marcos Gomez added 2 more doubles today going 2-4 with 4 RBI's. Ramon Del Sol and Junior 3B Rudy Gutierrez both added solo shots early in the game. The day was captured by Senior 1B Kevin Livermore who went 2 for 4 with 2 HR (including a GS in the 6th) and 6 RBI's.

Josh Alexander's second homer of the season, a 3 run blast in the first inning, jump started the Mountain Pointe attack as the Pride took down Casa Grande 14-8. Jake Waldren was 3-3 with a walk and a HBP, while Joey Rocha and Nick Mancuso were both 3-4. Sophomore Jordan Kipper tossed 3 hitless innings to earn his first varsity win.

Desert Ridge hammered Boulder Creek 17-3. With more then 50 pro scouts watching , Jake Barrett threw 5 solid innings for the win allowing only 3 hits while striking out 5 and didn't allow a walk. Desert Ridge was lead offensively by Jerry Kleman who went 4-4 with 3 RBI's. Barrett was 2-4 with another 3 run homer to center. Alex Villar was 3-3, and Taylor Kaczmarek went 2-3 with a 2B and 3 RBI's. Boulder Creek was lead by Bryce Eisenbart who had a 2B and a solo HR.

Jake Barrett took center stage at the scouting circus on Thursday

Pinnacle beat Amphitheater 18-5 in 5 innings. Matt McCallister went the distance for Pinnacle and got the win with 6 Ks and no walks. Lots of hits on the Pinnacle side with Eric Gower going deep along with T C Mark who picked up his first jack at Pinnacle while the bags were juiced.

Pinnacle takes the field against Amphitheater on Thursday

Tucson Sahuaro's Jake Cole hit home runs in both games, but it wasn't enough as Sahuaro lost to Coconino 9-4 and to Aqua Fria 16-15 in 9 innings. Sahuaro outhit Aqua Fria 14-9, but committed 7 errors as they lost a tough one. Cole now has 4 HR's in 3 games.

Tucson Catalina's Frankie Daniel doubled and hit 2 HR's as Catalina defeated Trevor Brown 9-4.

Down 8-3 after 5 innings, Cienega scored 5 runs in the top of the 6th to tie Douglas. Then they scored again in the top of the 7th to win a thriller 9-8

Scores from the Phoenix Union Tournament:

Chavez 21 Carl Hayden 0, Lake Havasu 15 Carl Hayden 0, Basha 22 South 1, Alhambra 19 Camelback 2, Catalina 9 Trevor Browne 4, Coronada 14 Trevor Browne 10,  St . Mary's 19 Maryvale 6, Cholla 12 Maryvale 2

February 26, 2008

Tucson Sahuaro defeated Rincon 5-4 to open the season. Junior Jake Cole hit 2 Home Runs and had 4 RBI's and pitched the 7th to earn the save for the Cougars.

Amphi defeated Sierra Vista Buena 10-7. Amphi starter Alex Brown threw 4 innings yielding 2 runs, and was 4-4 at the plate to lead the Panthers.
 

Sabino defeated Santa Rita 12-3 in 5 innings. Ryan Nance was 3-3 with 3 RBI's and David Lopez 3-4 with 2 RBI's to lead Sabino.

The Aztecs of Copper Canyon began the season against the Goldwater Bulldogs in the TUHSD Pre-Season Tournament Wednesday afternoon. The game ended in defeat for the Aztecs as they lost 3-2 in 8 innings. Junior Marcos Gomez went 3-4 with 2 doubles and Junior Rudy Gutierrez added a 2-run HR in the bottom half of the 4th finishing 1-4 with 2 RBI's. Sophomore Alex Gutierrez got the start and threw 6 and 2/3 innings fanning 7 and allowing 2 Earned Runs. The Bulldogs pulled through with a late 8th inning RBI to beat the Aztecs 3-2

Tyler Kamtz ripped a laser beam homer to deep left center in the sixth inning to propel Gilbert to a 4-3 win over Chaparral in the opening day of the Scottsdale Tourney. Cody Repenning tossed 5 scoreless innings before tiring in the  6th. The Firebirds tallied 3 times in the 6th to tie the game, setting the stage for Kamtz's heroics. Kevin Hamman tossed a solid 6th and 7th to get the win in relief. For Chap, Jack Diamond was 2-3 and Trey Ford and James McDonald both had triples. Thor Nelson was 3-3 and DJ Peterson added a pair of hits for Gilbert.  Chaparral used 6 pitchers in the game.

Tyler Kamtz (L) and Cody Repenning helped lead Gilbert to an opening day win

In front of a small army of MLB scouting personnel on hand to watch the season debut of Highland lefty James Pazos, the Hawks edged Desert Mountain 8-7 in 8 innings. The 2 teams pounded out 25 hits between them.

Mesa High rallied in their season opener to beat a fired up Chandler High team. Ryan Downs threw a solid 5 innings, striking out 7 and not giving up an ER or BB. Jordan Adair put the Jackrabbits out front with a lead off blast over the trees in left in 2nd. The Wolves countered in the 3rd with 3 of their own, led by a clutch 2 out, 2 RBI single by MacKenzie Handel.

Mesa would then chip away at the lead, battling against a crafty pitching performance by Senior Jason Kapler, who kept the Mesa batters off balance. With the score tied in the bottom of the 7th, 2 outs and runners at 2nd/3rd, Chris Wert came up huge with a walk off hit off of the centerfield fence.

For Mesa: Quinton Perry was 1-3 RBI, Michael Horton was 1-3, 2B, Chris Wert was 1-4 RBI, Jordan Adair was 1-2 HR, BB, RBI, Jessie Feinginger was 2-2, 2B
For Chandler: MacKenzie Handel was 1-4, 2 RBI's

Horizon blanked Mesquite 10-0 with Joey Danner getting the win on the mound. Tommy Joseph scorched a long homer over the batter's eye in center.

O' Connor hosted flowing wells from Tucson. The game ended in a 6-6 tie. Tyler Doolittle, Bryce Keffeler, and Colton Avery each had two hits for O'Connor.

The North High Mustangs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to come from behind and beat Trevor Browne 6-5. Edgar Porras had a 2 run single in the 8th to tie it up. Robert Alejo got the win in relief. Beto and Steven Montieth each homered in the game. Jonathan Cuellar pitched 6
strong innings.
In the 2nd game, Luis Gamboa pitched a complete game as the Mustangs beat Coronado 5-3. He also had a big 2 run single.

North Canyon upset Pinnacle in the first game of the Brophy tournament 9-8. Pinnacle found itself down 6-1 early as a result of pitcher control issues and some sloppy defense. North Canyon’s Kevin Baumgartner got the win on the mound and Pinnacle’s Justin Walker takes the loss. North Canyon made key defensive plays when they needed to and were able to hold the lead as Pinnacle had the bases loaded to end the game. For North Canyon Petyon Deiters and Connor Bolin both had multiple hits with Deiters picking up a jack. For Pinnacle Tyler Krause and Ashton McCoy drove in all eight Pinnacle runs with McCoy going deep in his first at bat as a senior and Krause (Sophomore) ending the day going four for four with two jacks

Desert Ridge beat Scottsdale Saguaro 14-5 in their opening game of the Scottsdale Quarter Club Tournament.
D.R. had 14 hits and was lead by Jake Barrett who was 2-3 with a 3 run bomb. Jerry Kleman, DW Warner, Kyle Raidy, and Scott Hoffman also had 2 hits each. D.R. received a solid relief performance from junior pitcher Xavier Sotello who picked up the win.

Ryan Klem, Jake Waldren and Josh Alexander went back to back to back in the 3rd inning to punctuate a 15-5 victory for Mountain Pointe over Sunrise Mountain. The Pride jumped out to an early 2-0 1st inning lead sparked by a Klem single and a Waldren ground rule double. Steve Skarsten's single plated the 2 runs. Jake Dzubczynski got the win on the mound, working the first 3 innings and allowing only one run. Sunrise was led by senior Vince Gillies, who went deep twice in the losing effort. For MP, Klem, Waldren, Kevin Cron, and Nick Mancuso all had multi hit games.

Marcos De Niza opened the season with a 19-4  5 inning win over LaJoya. Casey Maloney, Michael Kenneth, Andy Swan and Brian King all homered for the Padres.

February 23, 2009

Chaparral defeated Dobson, 7-3. Trey Ford and James McDonald both hit deep triples for the Firebirds, and Aaron Levy ripped a two-run single down the left-field line. The Firebirds were sharp defensively until the final inning, and Will Abram, Konner Wade, Jack Diamond and Preston Hill were
impressive on the mound.

On Saturday Cactus Shadows hosted Mingus who defeated Notre Dame for the 4A-II State Title last season. Cactus Shadows won the scrimmage by a score of 11-4

Mountain Ridge at Pinnacle (Scrimmage) 2/21/09

This was a surprisingly well played game by both teams considering that this was their first scrimmage. The game ended tied 7-7 after 7 ½ innings. It was obvious during pre-game that both squads are loaded with talent. It also became obvious during the game that both teams field lineups that can hurt you from top to bottom (no one got cheated on their cuts). As expected, all available pitchers got their work in. For Mountain Ridge Mike Reynolds, Ryan Freeburg and Cody Gray all had multiple hits with Cody Gray picking up a jack. For Pinnacle Ryan Plantier and Justin Winters had multiple hits with Winters going deep while the bags were juiced. Pinnacle has made a ton of improvements on their field and now boasts one of the premium yards on the north end of town. When you combine the facilities, perfect weather and a good game….it was a great start to a new year.

Pinnacle and Mountain Ridge doing battle on Saturday

On Saturday Thunderbird edged Sunnyslope 7-5 in a scrimmage in what would prove to be a very sloppy day defensively. Both sides committed numerous errors with Thunderbird committing 5 in one inning alone. In spite of the errors all 7 pitchers who threw for Thundebird pitched well not surrendering a single earned run in the contest.

Shadow Mtn. beat Prescott 12-7..Cody Davis launched a scud to deep left center and Tim Betkowski also homered for Shadow. Trevor Wimer and Tim
Contreras pitched scoreless innings.

On Friday the Copper Canyon Aztecs traveled to Tucson to scrimmage the Amphitheater Panthers. The Aztecs defeated the Panthers 8-3 in 7 innings. Copper Canyon was lead by the hitting of Sophomore RF Rodrigo Lopez who went 3-3 with 2 RBI. Ramon Del Sol was the starter on the mound; he went 3 innings and allowed 1 earned run. Cory Deskins came in to relief in the 4th inning and allowed 1 hit in 13 batters faced.
 

February 21, 2009

On Friday, Corona and Hamilton engaged in a slugfest with the Aztecs coming away with the 10-9 win. Juniors Trevor Allen and Greg Ryan both homered for CDS. Justin Rosales went deep for Hamilton. Ryan Casillas had 3 doubles for Hamilton.

Above from left: Matt Helm with a lead , Steven Bier takes a hack, and Red Mtn's Derek Mendoza deals

On Saturday, Desert Ridge put the wood to O'Connor by a double digit number. Jake Barrett and Steven Bier both launched scuds for Ridge. Bier added a pair of doubles as well. Bryce Keffler homered for the Eagles.

Rocky High homered twice and went 3-3 as Mesquite trumped Westview 16-10. High also pitched 2 scoreless innings. Zach Davies was 3-4 for the Wildcats.

February 17, 2008

With scrimmages being played at the end of this week its time to get serious. Once again this year I'm looking for coaches or parents to step up and file game reports with me for this section of the site. Last year I even had a couple of players who did a very nice job.

In addition, feel free to send me your digital photos (jpg format) for inclusion with the report.

You can use any format you like to e mail the game reports.

If you'd like to be the contact for your team please email me at rb@azdiamondreport.com

This year a new league will be starting for the benefit of any players who were cut from their high school teams or players needing a place to play this spring.

For further info and registration go to www.azprocamps.com

January 27, 2009

You've no doubt seen the news reports regarding the tragic death of 2 young boys in the East Valley at the hands of an alleged drunken driver. CJ and Nolan Smith were age 11 and 6 respectively at the time of their deaths, and the family is, of course, devastated. The 2 boys were avid baseball fans and both played on youth teams.

I thought it was appropriate to use this space to make everyone aware of a fund raising effort being put forth in the east valley. A youth clinic will be held on February 1, with a softball tournament a week later. Big time to props to Desert Ridge Coach Pat Herrera for stepping up and offering to lead this effort, and to the numerous baseball people who will be working the event.

For further information please visit the website at www.cjandnolanplayball.com

The Diamondback's scouting department held a workout on Sunday at Scottsdale CC that will be used to help select their fall scout team for 2009. The team reached out to Arizona high school coaches for player recommendations, and the turn out was very good. I attended the afternoon session of 2010 grads, and it was a solid group. In addition, the morning sessions featuring freshman and sophomores was reportedly very impressive.

The event was very well run, everyone got a lot of work and the format was very evaluator friendly. The Major League Scouting Bureau was in attendance as well. All in all it was a very good event and provided at no charge to the participants.