Diamond Notes March 2010

March 31, 2010

With almost 13' worth of starting pitching, it seemed like it was going to be a tall order for the PV and Thunderbird hitters. Two large number 20's, Johnny Woodward for Thunderbird and Malcolm Purdy for PV toed the rubber in what on paper was going to be a pitchers duel. Oops. Neither one was around for the end. Purdy was the first to go, leaving in the fourth giving up seven, some earned some not. In the top of the fifth trailing 8-1, PV put up a 5 spot chasing Woodward. Into the bullpens, Thunderbird added one in the fifth to make it 9-6 and PV came back with 3 in the sixth to tie at 9. In the bottom of six, Thunderbird plated 7 to put it out of reach.

Chaparral Blasts Libertyville, 12-1

Four Chaparral players had at least two hits and sophomore left-hander Nick Diamond was dominant on the mound Tuesday as the Firebirds won impressively, 12-1, over Libertyville, IL in pool play of the Big League Dugout National Invitational Tournament. Even though the game was played at Chaparral, Libertyville was the home team. The Firebirds, who advanced to 12-3, are at Hamilton at 3:45 p.m. today in their final pool game. 

Jordie Hein led the way at the plate. After pinch running for Aaron Levy in the third inning, he tripled in the fourth and doubled in the sixth (each to right-center) to drive in four runs and score another. Konner Wade, who had one hit, drove in three runs. James McDonald contributed three hits, including a double, and three runs and drove in one. Diamond had two hits, including a double and an RBI, and Colby Targun, hitting leadoff, had a double, a single and two runs. 

Diamond shut down Libertyville, a school north of Chicago, from the beginning. He struck out seven and allowed just five hits with no walks. Three times he ran the count full and recorded outs on all of them, twice with a strikeout. Libertyville could not score until back-to-back hits by Chad Uhler and Brad Martin with two outs in the final inning brought in the only run for the Wildcats. 

The Firebirds scored all the runs they would need in the first inning when Wade singled to center to drive in Tagun and McDonald, both of whom had singled. They ended all doubt with three runs in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Targun led off with a double before Nick DeRegis, McDonald and Spiekerman all singled and Wade walked. Hein followed with his two-run triple. Five more runs in the top of the sixth gave the Firebirds all the runs they would need to end the game one inning early.

MILLENNIUM 11        WESTVIEW  6

Austin Hoffman improved his record to 4-2 with a complete game victory over Westview.  He allowed 3 earned runs on 8 hits and recorded 6 strikeouts. 

On offense, the Tigers also got 8 hits - but 6 of them were extra-base hits, including 3 that left the yard. 

HITTING LEADERS
Ty Johnson led the way, going 3-5 and driving in 5 runs with a bases
loaded double and a HR .

Tyler Booth:  2-3 with a triple and a HR,  2 RBIs

James Castro: 1-3 with a 2-run HR

Tatum Hendrix:  2-5 with a double.

March 30, 2010

Paradise Valley outscored Cortez in a Black Canyon region tussle. After giving up three unearned runs in the 1st, PV hurler David Price set down the Colts w/o another hit thru 4. Tommy Moser finished the game in the fifth. Joe Economides had another pitch hit for PV, now 2 for 2 when called on. Spaulding (as usual) scored three runs as did Jose Leal. The young Cortez squad played with a lot of heart.

Last week, in a nationally televised game (or wherever Cox 7 is seen), Paradise Valley scored in every inning to beat Washington 8-1. What could have been a pitchers duel was marred by Washington defense which seemed to have trouble under the lights. Washington starter Murdoch pitched well scattering 6 hits and striking out 6. PV starter Purdy gave up 5 hits, (one of which was a dinger by DH Kline to start the 4th), and struck out 9, (12 if you count the 3 times he struck out himself). It was Purdy's fourth complete game in 5 starts with 40 K's in 32 innings and an ERA under 1.00. Spaulding continued his hot bat scoring 3 runs, one on a pinch hit single by Joe Economides.

Pinnacle Pounded out 15 hits and 15 runs in a 5 inning, 15-0 run rule of Valley Vista.  TC Mark was 3/3 w 2 HRs and 4 rbi, Alex Real was 4/4 w HR and 4 rbi, Connor Wessel 3/4 4 rbi.  Jake Winters gave up only 2 hits over 5 innings for the win

Greenway was off to the races early on against Liberty

Liberty 8- Greenway 6 

In a battle of two of the top teams in 4AII and two of the better arms in the conference, Liberty rebounded from an early deficit to defeat Greenway 8-6.

Greenway got on the board in the top of the first. Zach Williams led off with a  walk, Jorge Ozuna moved him around with a base hit, and Ryan Harper hit an RBI sac-fly.

Greenway added to their lead in the 2nd with 4 timely 2-out hits by Michael Milani, Williams, Ozuna and Scott Squier to build a 5-0 lead.

Squier was throwing well through the first 3 innings, keeping the Liberty bats quiet and allowing no-hits.

Liberty senior TJ Shedrick led off the 4th with the first base hit of the game, stole 2nd, and scored on a single by Sophomore Ryan Benedict.

Sophomore Nathan Bannister settled into a nice little groove, retiring 7 hitters in a row from the 3rd through 5th innings, and keeping Liberty in the ballgame.

In the bottom of the 5^th, with Greenway up 5-1, Liberty outfielder Austin Hasquet walked to lead off the inning.  Euston Smalley followed with what looked like a double play ground ball that was misplayed.

After a sac-bunt by Senior CF Kyle Benedict moved the runners to 2^nd and 3^rd, TJ Shedrick walked, and Nathan Bannister hit a bases clearing 3 run double in support of his own cause. The Lions continued the hit parade with a single by Junior 1B Thomas Gillies, an RBI double by  Ryan Benedict, and an RBI Double by DH PJ Catera. It was quickly 7-5 Liberty.

A misplayed flyball in the sun in RF allowed Greenway to get one run back in the Top of the 6th to make it a one-run ball game again (7-6).

However, Liberty answered right back in the bottom of the 6th with a well executed hit-and-run by Sophomore SS Paul Panaccione, who doubled in Senior Kyle Benedict from first base.

Senior closer (lefty) Dylan Waugh came in and slammed the door with a 1-2-3 inning to secure the 8-6 victory for Liberty. 

Notable box score stats:

W - Nathan Bannister, 6IP, 6 runs, 7 hits, 4 Ks

SV - Dylan Waugh, 1IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 Ks 

(So) Nathan Bannister: 1-3, 2B, BB, 3 RBI, 1 Run

(So) Ryan Benedict: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 Run

(Sr) TJ Shedrick: 1-1, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 Runs, 1 SB

(So) PJ Catera: 1-3, 2B, RBI

(Sr) Kyle Benedict: 1-2, Sac Bunt, 1 Run

(So) Paul Panaccione: 1-4, 2B, RBI

Nathan Bannister (L) and Scott Squier squared off on Monday

 The Coronado Dons (10-4) ran their region record to 3-0 with a win over Higley. Dons starter Harlan Gatewood fought through an early deficit to notch the win, leaving the mound after the fifth inning with Coronado staked to a one run lead. Senior Tim Stempkowski secured the save, striking out five of the seven batters he faced, walking one and holding Higley hitless in the final two frames. The Knights did flash some offensive firepower early on, with first inning home runs by Knights CF Brandon Boggs and 3B Greg Aguilar. Boggs also had a multiple run-saving, diving catch in left center, and made another highlight film-worthy effort on a second line shot into the right center gap. Dons CF Alex Buya had multiple hits including a triple. Tim Stempkowski doubled.

Chaparral Outlasts Taylorsville, 6-4 

Blake Spiekerman and Konner Wade each doubled, singled and drove in a pair of runs to lead Chaparral to a 6-4 victory over Taylorsville, Utah on the first day of Horizon’s Big League Dugout National Invitation Tournament in a game played at Horizon. Chaparral plays its second of three pool games today against Libertyville, IL in a 3:45 p.m. home game. The Firebirds, now 11-3, finish pool play on Wednesday at Hamilton. 

Chaparral took control of this game with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Joey Bielek, Colby Targun and James McDonald led off the inning with consecutive singles. Spiekerman hit a sacrifice fly to deep center and Wade singled to right to give the Firebirds a 5-3 lead. 

They completed their scoring in the fifth on a single to center by Spiekerman and a line-drive double to right by Wade. 

Taylorsville had taken a 3-2 lead with three consecutive hits and two runs off Chaparral starter Will Abram in the top of the third. Otherwise, however, Abram kept the Taylorsville hitters off balance through his six innings of work to pick up the victory. He struck out seven and scattered seven hits. 

Wade closed in the seventh by striking out the final two Taylorsville hitters after a walk, a hit and an error resulted in a run. Bielek capped off a strong defensive effort for Chaparral by snagging a throw in the dirt from catcher A.J. Schillinger after Austin Guevera struck out. 

Chaparral scored in the first on a single by Targun and a double by Spiekerman to the deep corner in left field. In the second, the Firebirds scored on a single by Aaron Levy, a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt by Joel Hayden. 

Targun and Schillinger also each had two hits for Chaparral.

March 29, 2011

March 27, 2010

Mountain Pointe 13 Westwood 1

Mountain Pointe and Westwood met each other in Mesa for a Region game with MP Junior Tony Balderama taking on Westwood's Nick Schuman.  The Pride would start the scoring off in the 1st by getting three runs with a lead of solo shot by Avery Konieczny,  Jordan Kipper then got on with a walk and was brought home when Kevin Cron put one over the wall. Westwood responded in the 1st by getting one when Whiting drove in Villanvera who had got on with a walk.  After the first the remaining scoring was all done by Mountain Pointe.  In the 3rd Josh Alexander hit a grand slam bringing in Konieczny, Kipper and Cron.  In the 4th Cron would go yard for the second time in the game bringing in Kipper with him.  The Pride would score again in the 6th when Alexander went deep with his second home run of the game.  In the 7th MP would bring in three more off of hits by Cron, Tyler Richards and Scott Kingery.

MP top hitters
Josh Alexander 4 for 5, HR(2), 5 RBI's
Kevin Cron 3 for 4, HR(2), 5 RBI's
Tyler Richards 2 for 3
Scott Kingery 2 for 4, 2B

Westwood top hitter
Gerardo Arzaga 2 for 4

Paradise Valley dropped Williams Field 4-1 with Ryan Orlowski getting the win on the mound. Jordan Spaulding had a a pair of hits for the Trojans. Jake McDavid and Mitch Allred each threw 3 solid innings for Williams Field in a  losing cause.

In the Grand Canyon Region Mingus gets a No Hit performance over Sinagua from Junior 1B/P Todd Scalf. Todd went all 7 innings with 9K- 5BB -and No Hits. He also helped his cause by going 3 for 4 at the plate. The only run that scored  was due to a walk, passed ball and sac. Mingus sprayed 15 hits over the 7 inn.

Notables;

Todd Scalf- 3 for 4 3 -singles 1-rbi
Logan Stewart- 3 for 4 single,triple and 3-rbi
Shawn Rojas- 3 for 4 3 -singles -2-rbi
Ronald Morones- 2 for 4- triple,double and 1-rbi
Hunter Zwart- 2 for 4 with 2-doubles and 1 rbi

North Canyon 13

Ashland, OR 1

The North Canyon Rattlers used outstanding pitching and the long ball to vault past the Ashland Grizzlies 13-1 in a 6-inning run ruled game Friday in the Greenway Festival.

Seniors Peyton Deiters, Connor Bowen, and Andrew Rogitz provided the power and Junior Coley Bruns was again solid on the mound, striking out 7 and allowing just one hit in four innings of work to move his record to 2-1 on the year.

Deiters (2 for 2, 6 RBIs) got things rolling in the first inning with a grand slam, his first homer of the year. Rogitz followed several batters later with a solo shot, giving him three home runs in his last 4 at-bats spanning 2 games. Deiters again went yard in the third with a two-run shot. Bowen (2 for 4, 4 RBIs) ended the game in the 6th with a line drive grand slam, his second slam in four games. Dom Portocarrero (3 for 3) and Tony Spiesman (2 for 3, 2-2B) each had multi-hit games for the Rattlers. Sophomore Ricky Hamilton saw his first varsity action, striking out two in an inning of work.

Chaparral Rallies Past Basha 7-6 

Sophomore Nick Diamond doubled to deep left-center to drive in Joey Bielek in the bottom of the seventh to give Chaparral a 7-6 non-region victory over visiting Basha in a non-region game Friday. The victory halted a two-game losing streak for the Firebirds, who improved to 10-3 heading into next week’s Horizon Big League Dugout National Invitation Tournament. 

Bielek opened the seventh with a single to center and went to second on a ground ball by Joel Hayden. With two outs, Diamond then lined the first pitch he saw from reliever Colby Keicher far over the outfielders who were playing in. 

Basha had tied the game with a run in the top of the seventh off Chaparral reliever (and winning pitcher) Will Abram. Mike Benjamin singled with one out and stole second. Sam Rector then singled to center and Antony Conforti singled through the gap between third base and shortstop. 

Chaparral rallied to take the lead with two runs in fourth inning and three more in the fifth. Hayden and Diamond each had RBI singles in the fourth. In the fifth, Colby Targun (who had doubled to drive in the first run for the Firebirds in the third) and James McDonald singled before Konner Wade (Chaparral’s starting pitcher) drove in one run with another single and Hayden hit to right to drive in two more and give Chaparral a 6-5 lead. 

Basha jumped out front, 4-0, with two runs in each of the first two innings. Brent Hendy, the Basha starter, singled to drive in the first run. Conforti followed with another single to make it 2-0. In the second, Keicher singled and Devin Reed was hit before Benjamin drove them both in with a single to center. 

For Chaparral, Hayden had two hits and three RBIs. Diamond had two hits and two RBIs and Targun and Wade each had two hits and one RBI. Sam Rector led Basha with three singles. Conforti and Benjamin each had two hits and two RBIs.

March 26, 2010

Jason Gonzales and Rocky High knocked in three runs apiece as Mesquite dealt Hamilton its first power-point game loss of the season, 7-4, on Thursday afternoon at Mesquite.
Gonzales belted a bases-loaded triple to highlight a five-run, second inning against Hamilton's Jake Andrews. High, who singled in Gonzales after his triple, gave Mesquite breathing room in the sixth inning with a two-run triple. Gonzales was walked intentionally to get to High. Dylan Giles went the distance for Mesquite, allowing nine hits, three walks and collecting three strikeouts. Ryan Casillas was 3-for-3 for Hamilton. Andrews also went the distance allowing eight hits. Five of the seven runs were earned.

March 25, 2010

March 24, 2010

Doyle No Hits O'Connor

March 22, 2010

March 21, 2010

Central improved to 2-2 in Region play with a 12-4 victory over Betty Fairfax on Friday. The Bobcats got a complete game performance from Ramon Grijalva. He went the full 7, giving up 2 hits, 3 K's, 2 BB's and 1 earned run.
The Bobcats bats continued to stay hot. They pounded out 15 hits. Yosvel Montes led the way going 3-4 with 3 RBI's. Brian Felix also contributed going 2-4 with RBI's, a double and a triple.

North Canyon 11
Alhambra 4

3 RBI's each by Seniors Connor Bowen and Peyton Deiters paced a solid North Canyon hitting attack as the Rattlers defeated a tough Alhambra squad 11-4 on Friday, March 19. Senior Eric Wise went 5 innings, giving up 7 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4. Junior Coley Bruns continued his solid pitching, throwing a scoreless 6th and 7th.

For Alhambra, Jose Jurado was money, going 3 for 3 with a solo HR. Julio Angulo was 2 for 4 and also collected a solo HR.

Verrado 0-0-0-0-0-0  0/5/0
SHS 0-0-0-1-0-0    1-2-1

 Pitchers duel at Saguaro.

 The Sabercats and Vipers sent dueling pitchers to the mound today. Saguaro's Travis Steinheiser had the upper hand relying an a double play from first baseman Brandon Demerest to catcher Ed Hufford to cut down Gian Mendoza at home in the bottom of the first inning. Steinheiser scattered 5 hits over 6 seven innings while striking out 14 Vipers. Varrado's David Abney was nearly as tough punching out 12 Sabercats and surrendering just 2 hits in 6 innings of work. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning Saguaro's Chris Akmon  drove an RBI double over right fielder Devon Jolly scoring Zach Gibbons from first.

 SHS:
 Akmon 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2K; Gibbons 01-, 2BB, R; Secemski 1-1
 WP: Steinheiser 6IP, 5H, 14K 

VHS
Meadors 2-3, K, Abney 1-3, 2K
LP Abney 6IP, R, ER, 2H, 2BB, 12K

Fountain Hills topped Blue Ridge 7-4 on Saturday in battle of 3A powers.

Nick Johnson can't corral the throw for BR (above L) Bryce Greager dives back for Fountain Hills
 

March 20, 2010

From Thursday's action:

Blake Spiekerman hit safely three times and drove a pair of runs to lead Chaparral to an 11-1 run-rule victory Thursday over Sandra Day O’Connor in a non-region game played at Chaparral. Konner Wade went the distance for the Firebirds, scattering four hits and striking our four to record his fourth victory in five decisions. Chaparral, now 9-1, is idle until next Tuesday when the Firebirds travel to Brophy.

Justin Amerson pitched four strong innings for O’Connor, limiting Chaparral to two hits and one run through four innings. The Firebirds, however, proved too much in the end, especially Spiekerman. 

The senior center fielder, who has reached base nine of his last 10 at bats, drove in Chaparral’s first run in the third inning when he doubled to deep left field, easily scoring Joel Hayden, who had singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Nick Diamond. 

The Firebirds took firm control with three more runs in the fifth. Diamond, who had two hits and an RBI, led off with a single and scored on Spiekerman’s second double. James McDonald followed with a single. The two then came in on consecutive run-scoring hits by Nate Sherman and Jordie Hein. 

Chaparral ended the game early with seven more runs in the sixth inning. Wade singled to center and came in on Diamond’s sharp double to right. Spiekerman singled and McDonald and Nate Sherman were both hit by a pitch. Hein walked and Colby Targun and Joey Bielek singled. All of that made it 10-1. Hayden then ended the game with a sacrifice to center to bring Targun in from third. 

Devin Turner had two hits and O’Connor’s only run.

 Basha played long ball in handing visiting St. Mary's a 12-1 loss in 5 innings. Mike Benjamin went deep twice, including a  3 run blast that left the Saints standing on the field to end it in the 5th. Benjamin was 4-4 on the day. Fellow Bears Brandon Merrill, Sam Rector, and Brent Hendy all had dingers. Merrill's was an absolute no-doubter scud that is still rolling somewhere in south Chandler. Hendy got the win on the mound working all 5 innings and allowing only 4 hits.

St. Mary's got some very bad news before the game, when stud outfielder Ryan Santana suffered a broken foot in a  PE class basketball game earlier in the day and is out for 4-6 weeks.

March 19, 2010

Arcadia stretched their winning streak to seven games with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Paradise Valley Thursday at Arcadia.  Titan soph. Andrew Naderer and Paradise Valley hurler Malcolm Purdy locked up in a  classic pitcher's dual as the scoring opportunities were few and far  between.  In the first, Naderer surrendered two hits and hit a batter to load the bases, but the lefty coaxed a ground ball to initiate a  6-4-3 inning ending double play. 

Meanwhile, Purdy cruised through the first two innings until he encountered trouble in the third.  Arcadia Jr. Colton Sanchez led off with a single, advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt, but was cut down at third when Jr. Andrew Serna reached on a fielders choice.  Serna stole second and Jr. Eddie Lyon drew a base on balls.  Sr. Jake McWilliam singled to load the 
bases and Jr. Tim Janssen grounded out to second on a high hopper which plated Serna for the only run of the game. Purdy then buckled down and struck out Frosh. Max Schuman to get out of the inning.  
Paradise Valley mounted their final threat in the fifth when Jordan Spaulding and David Price singled; however, Naderer escaped the jam inducing a second inning ending double play.  Both pitchers seemed to get stronger as the game progressed, but Naderer prevailed when he struck out the side in the top of the seventh to seal the victory.

Andrew Naderer in command (L) Colton Sanchez turns in as PV's David Price comes in hard

March 18, 2010

Highland Hawks Classic: Taylor Kaczmarek of Desert Ridge has homered 5 times in the last 2 days, including 3 bombs yesterday against Williams Field.

Desert Ridge 13
John Paul (TX) 2

Desert Ridge 21
Amphi (tucson) 1
Travis Flores, Taylor Kazcmarek and Russell Vaughan homered

Desert Ridge 10
Dobson 3
Kaczmarek homered

Desert Ridge 12
Williams Field 5
Kaczmarek homered 3 times ( 3-run and 2 solo) and hit 2B
Hoffman hit 2 Run homer and Austin Cain hit solo HR

Mountain Pointe 8 Basha 2

Mountain Pointe Junior Tony Balderama went head to head against Basha Senior Josh Tate on the fourth day of the Gilbert/Mesquite Invitational. Balderama got the win by pitching a complete game gem only giving up 2 runs and 6 hits with no walks. The Pride started the game by putting up three in the first inning off of a hit by Kevin Cron and an RBI double by Josh Alexander. In the third MP got two more off a two run double by Taylor Armijo who brought in Cron and Alexander who had reached on a HBP and a single respectively. In the fourth Senior Sean McElroy put one over the wall giving the Pride another run. Basha would finally answer in the 4th when Sam Rector would knock in Brandon Merrell who had got on with a double. Jordan Kipper got a single in the sixth for MP and scored on a Balderama sac fly. In the 7th Basha would load the bases, then hit a batter bringing in the 8th run of the game for the Pride. The Bears finished out the game by getting their 2nd and final run of the game when Tate hit an RBI double bringing in Merrell who had also gotten a double.

MP Hitters
Kevin Cron 2 for 3, 2B
Sean McElroy 2 for 3, HR, 2B
Josh Alexander 2 for 4, 2B, RBI

Basha Hitters
Brandon Merrell 2 for 3, 2B(2)
Josh Tate 2 for 3, 2B, RBI

Scores from the Salpointe Classic:

Marana 2 vs Ft. Collins 1
Sunnyside 14 vs Verdigris 7
Redlands East 1 vs Burbank 3 (9 innings)
Ironwood Ridge 16 vs Blanchard 8
Nogales 21 vs Mountain View 7
Buena 0 vs Yucaipa 10
Catalina Foothills 19 vs Poudre 6
Catalina 8 vs Cienega 8
Rincon 3 vs Douglas 6
Salpointe 8 vs Metro Christian Academy 1
CDO 5 vs John Burroughs 1



CDO remains undefeated on the season @ 11-0

 

Corona 11
Red Mountain 5

Corona avenged their last week loss to Red Mountain with a big win.
Lead by ASU bound Sr. Trevor Allen who went 3-3, including two doubles and a triple with 1-bb.
Corona moves to 6-5 on the year and faces Skyline on Wednesday.

Coronado 11 Maricopa 1

 The Dons opened regional play with a run rule win, beating Maricopa with potent offense and stingy, one-two punch pitching. Lefty Junior Harlan Gatewood allowed just one run over four innings before handing the ball to Senior Tim Stempkowski. The middle of the Dons lineup did much of the damage, with Stempkowski (3-4), Tony Smith (3-4) and Alex Buya (4-4) pounding out 10 of Coronado's 14 hits. Smith and Stempkowski provided much of the power in Coronado's run rule pounding of Bradshaw Mountain on Monday, hitting back-to-back homers in multiple hit performances. The Dons host Higley next Tuesday,
 

Central defeated Alhambra on Tuesday 10-3. Many Bobcats contributed to the win. Justin Montefalcon was 2-3, 2 RBI's. and double. Emmanuel Alvarez 3-3, 3RBI's, HR. Yosvel Montes 2-3, 2 RBI's and a triple, Brian Felix 2-3, 2 RBI's and 2 doubles.

Erik Michel was solid on the mound. He went 4 innings giving up 1 run, 2 hits, 3 K's, 3 BB's, 2 hits.

Cole Chaisson came in relief and shut them down. He went 3 innings, 2 runs, 1 earned, 1 hit, 2 K's, 4 BB's

Spring Classic Finals from Grand Canyon University; Greenway vs Copper Canyon

Greenway topped Copper Canyon 8-4. Jorge Ozuna threw a CG for Greenway (4-hits, 1-BB & 4-k's). Jorge aided his own cause with 2-RBI's on the night. Michael Milani and Ethan Percell each with 2-hits on the night for Greenway. Greenway sent (14) hitters to the plate in the 2nd inning, putting up a (7) spot on the Aztecs. Rudy Gutierrez went 5-innings for Copper Canyon and 2-hits on the night as well.

Higley 4- Highland 3

Marcos de Niza defeated Dysart at MdN on Wednesday afternoon 17 - 4. T. J. Garcia went the distance (5 innings) in the win giving up 5 hits and 3 BBs while striking out 4.
For the Padres, Kendall Konopka was 4 for 4 with 3 triples, 2 RBI's and 4 runs scored. Daniel Rodriquez was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Zach Schira 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, and Garrett Taggart 2 for 3 with a home run to right-center, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored, Kyle Becerra 1 for 3 with a SF 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Patrick Maloney also kicked in 2 RBIs. For Dysart, Austin Vitali & Luis Frisbi each had 2 hits.

Marcos de Niza defeated Camelback at MdN on Wednesday afternoon 12 - 0. Henry Sanchez and Aaron Fuller combined on the shutout. Sanchez gave up 3 hits, 2 walks with 3 Ks in 3 innings, while Fuller gave up 1 BB with 3 K's in 2 innings.
For the Padres, T.J. Garcia was 3 for 4 with a doube, HR, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Jesse Brooks had a double and scored 2 runs, Dylan Kahl had a double and 2 RBIs, Kendall Konopka a double & 2 RBIs, Cameron Larson 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and 2 runs scored. Noel Rodriquez was 2 for 2 with a double.

Marco de Niza's Nick Fatica takes a lead

March 17, 2010

Mountain Pointe 12 Gilbert 1

After an early season whooping by Gilbert, Mountain Pointe returned the favor when the two teams again faced each other on the third day of the Gilbert/Mesquite Invitational. Pointe Junior Kevin Cron faced off against Gilbert Senior Nolan Skowronek and got the win going 4 strong innings only giving up 4 hits and 1 run. Gilbert scored first after DJ Peterson hit a Sac Fly knocking in Drew Stankiewicz who had reached on a single. The Pride would not answer until the 2nd when Sophomore Joey Curletta went deep with a solo shot. The third would find MP going through the order scoring 4 along the way including a 3 run bomb by Cron. 10 batters would get up in the 4th for the Pride and they would bring in another 4 as a result of timely hits and troubled pitching in the form of 5 walks and a hit batter. In the 5th Senior Josh Alexander would go deep with a 3 run walk off bomb bringing the game to a run rule close.

MP Hitters
Avery Konieczny 2 for 3
Kevin Cron 2 for 3, HR, 3RBI
Josh Alexander 1 for 2, HR, 2BB, 3RBI
Joey Curletta 1 for 1, HR, 2BB

Gilbert Hitters
Drew Stankiewicz 2 for 2, 2B
Colton Thompson 2 for 2, 2 2B

At the Eagle Festival, Paradise Valley met up with a team from Nashville - MBA. The MBA players were complete gentlemen, calling everyone sir and maam, taking bad calls in stride and playing good baseball. Their fans in the stands were equally a pleasure to be around. They also won the game 3-0.

The PV highlights from the game are as follows:

And it was a beautiful sunny day.

Sunrise Mtn won 2 more games on Satruday on thier way to the semi finals of the Best of the west tournament. In game 1 Sunrise Mountain defeated Jenks, Ok 11-8. Sunrise Mountain started freshmen Seth Martinez who threw 4 innings allowing 6 runs to a very strong Jenks team. Freshmen Brick Paskiewicz pitched the remainder of the game and picked up his first varsity win. Both teams battled back and forth for 6 innings as Jenks led the entire game, but in the bottom of the 7th down 8-7 Drew Wolff led off with a single and back to back walks to Tyler Mussro and Tyler Crawford set the stage for Shane Johnson hitting is 2nd HR of thge game a walk off grand slam!

In game 2 Sunrise Mountain starter Aaron Bummer threw a NO-hitter defeating Centennial 13-0. Bummer struck out 8 Centennial batters in route to his 2nd win of the season. For the Mustangs Tyler Mussro was 3 for 3 and Kane, Wolff and Crawford all had multiple hit games. Shane Johnson hit his 3rd homerun of the day. Sunrise Mtn will play in the semi finals of the Best of the West Tournament Wednesday at 1:00 pm.

March 16, 2010

Copper Canyon is off to a school best 10-2 record. The Aztecs started off the Spring Classic w/ a victory over Peoria 9-5. Marcos Gomez and Alex Gutierrez both went 4-4, Dru Douglas collected 3 hits to bring his team high RBI total to 23. Ruben Hernandez added 4 RBIs.

In the 1st game of the DH Saturday CCHS defeated Westview. Alex Gutierrez picks up his 3rd win of the season(3-0) with 8k's. Marcos Gomez collected 7 consecutive hits(4h prev. game) before flying out to Left. Finished game 3-4.

In the 2nd game Rudy Gutierrez improved to a strong 3-0 in his 3rd start of the year defeating Top Ranked Queen Creek w/ (2-0) Dillon Freeman on the bump. Leadoff Hitter Marcos Gomez set the tone with a leadoff blast to center putting the Aztecs up 1-0. Rudy Gutierrez: 7ip 1R 7k's 6 hits. Marcos also added 3 clutch RBIs to secure victory as Copper Canyon won 6-1.

The last game of pool play faced Copper Canyon against a hot hitting Thunderbird. In his Senior Debut Johnny Woodard humbled Copper Canyons bats(4hits) with a strong performance for the Chiefs. His only hiccup was a monstrous HR surrendered to Marcos Gomez which landed about 2/3 up the tree in Right-center at Thunderbird.

Copper Canyon plays tomorrow at Greenway Semi Final Game versus Ironwood at 4pm.

MILLENNIUM 3 DEER VALLEY 1

Austin Hoffman picked up his third win of the season with a strong complete game effort against Deer Valley. The Skyhawks got 2 singles in the first inning and managed to avoid a shutout with an unearned run in the seventh, when they sandwiched 2 more singles around a Millennium error. In between, Hoffman held them hitless. He recorded 4 strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 1.59.
On offense, 7 different Tigers each had a hit. Michael Allard and Tatum Hendrix had run-scoring singles and Anthony Davison plated the other run with a double.

Scores from the Best of the West Tournament:

Pinnacle 8 Jenks 14
Pinnalce 3 Sunrise Mtn 4
Centennial 2 Mtn Ridge 5
Centennial 10 Union 12
Casa Grande 6 Union 7
Deer Valley 1 Stillwater 11
Deer Valley 1 Millennium 3
Desert Mtn 14 Stillwater 2
Cesar Chavez 5 Jenks 11

In a battle of two quality lefties in the state Tyler Crawford (6 inn) out lasted Jake Peevyhouse (4 inn). Both pitchers threw well for their teams and kept hitters off balance all game. Crawford scattered 5 hits and 3 runs (2 run homer by Real), Peevyhouse scattered 5 hits and also allowed only 3 runs. Peevyhouse handed the ball to Winters in the 5th and Crawford to Kane in the 7th. Early scoring by Sunrise coupled with a few Pinnacle mistakes seemed to be the difference as Sunrise Mtn edged Pinnacle 4-3. Crawford, Troftgruben, Johnson, and Bummer all had multiple hit games for Sunrise Mtn. Real had 2 hits including a 2 run bomb for Pinnacle. Both Sunrise mtn and Pinnacle will advance into the single elimination round of the Best of the West tournament beginning tomorrow afternoon at Sunrise Mtn and Mountain Ridge.

Tyler Crawford on the mound for Sunrise

March 15, 2010

March 14, 2010

Team                                    1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9       R       H       E
Mustang Baseball
                                              0       0       6       1       0       1       5                       13      20      0
Cesar Chavez (Tourney)
                                              0       1       0       1       0       1       0                       3       7       0

Sunrise Mtn pounded out 20 hits in route to a 13-3 win over Cesar Chavez on Saturday as part of the Best of the West Tournament.  Sophomore Nick White threw 4 innings in route to his 2nd win of the year.  Offensively for the Mustangs Tony Troftgruben was 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and Austin Byler hit two more home, 5 total in last 3 games.  Grady Oulton, Drew Wolff and Shane Johnson all had multiple hit games.  Eucinas for Chavez was 2 for 4 with a double.

Saturday Scores from the Best of the West Tournament

Pinnacle 12 Cesar Chavez 0
Sunrise Mtn 13 Cesar Chavez 3
Centennial 12 Casa Grande 3
Mtn Ridge 7 Casa Grande 3
Desert Mountain 11 Deer Valley 8 (10 innings)
Millennium 6 Desert Mountain 4
 

Mountain View 6 Mountain Pointe 4

MV Junior CJ Bahn faced off against MP Junior Justin Tippet in the Mesquite/Gilbert Tournament opener. Bahn ended up winning the battle going into the 5th only giving up 5 hits and no runs. The game started with the Toros putting up 2 in the first off some Pride errors and an RBI single by Nick Morales. In the second they got another one off of a Jacob Sorenson single who was sent home by a Korbin Walton RBI double. Things would remain 3-0 until the 5th when MV put up 2 more when Hunter Bryce, who had reached on a FC was knocked in by a Morals 2B. He then scored on a Pride error. In the 6th Pointe finally scored off of a lead off solo shot by Josh Alexander. The Toros scored their sixth run in the 7th when Travis Taylor doubled to drive in Morales, who had got on with a walk. The Pride finished off the 7th by putting up 3 after Taylor Armijo, Kevin Cron and Alexander reached on HBP, HBP, BB and were knocked in by Tony Balderama.

MV Hitters
Korbin Walton 3 for 4, 2B, 2RBI
Nick Morales 3 for 3, 2RBI

MP Hiters
Josh Alexander 1 for 2, HR, 2BB
Tony Balderama 3 for 4, 3 RBI

 

On Friday:

Corona Del Sol -1
Red Mountain -7
of Red Mountain's Cole Gleason fans 10 CDS batters and leads them to victory.

Red Mountain jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st and never looked back. They hand Corona their second consecutive loss. Corona looked flat and is expected to rebound against McClintock on Saturday at the Mesquite/Gilbert Spring Tournament.

CDO defeated crosstown rival Ironwood Ridge 10-4 on Friday to remain undefeated. Senior Bubba Metz went the distance on the hill scatterring 8 hits and he also tripled and scored to help his cause. Senior SS Ryan Gerber doubled and homered for the Dorados. Senior 1B Hayden Cota-Robles hit two doubles and Senior CF Ryan Cota also homered to lead a balanced 12 hit attack for the Dorados. Junior lefty Brandon Matthews suffered the loss and didn't get much help when 2 crucial errors led to 4 runs early.

CDO will play Sunnyside on Monday in the first round of the Salpointe Tourney at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson.

Millennium 6 Desert Mountain 4

Millennium scored 4 runs in the first 3 innings, and then held on to beat Desert Mountain 6-4. In the top of the first, Tatum Hendrix led off with a double, advanced to 3rd on a rounder and scored on a wild pitch. In the second, the bottom of the order produced a run when after 2 quick outs, Nyles Fowler, Reuben Rincon and Sammy Rimer hit consecutive singles with Rimer picking up the RBI. Then in the third, Hendrix again led off with a double and scored on Tyler Booth’s 6th homerun of the
year. Booth now has 19 RBIs in 10 games.
Desert Mountain stormed back in the bottom of the third with 3 runs on impressive back-to-back homers from Taylor Lindsey (2-run shot to right) and a mammoth solo shot by Adam Sonabend. After 2 scoreless innings for Millennium, Desert Mountain tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with Sonabend producing the run with a clutch 2-out single.
Millennium wasted no time in retaking the lead, scoring 2 in the top of the 6th. Austin Hoffman and Michael Allard contributed pinch-hit singles and Freshman Sammy Rimer loaded the bases with his second hit of the day. The Tigers leadoff hitter, Tatum Hendrix drilled his 3rd hit of the day, driving in what proved to be the winning runs.
Austin Hoffman picked up the win by pitching a perfect 6th inning and
Tyler Booth recorded his second save with a 3-up, 3-down 7th inning.

March 13,2010

March 12, 2010

Sunrise drops Desert Mountain 7-5

Team                 1       2       3       4       5       6       7         R       H
Desert Mtn        3       0       0       1       1       0       0         5       11
Sunrise Mtn      1       2       0       0       0       4       0         7       12

In a game that didnt start out to good for Sunrise Mountain it sure ended in dramatic fashion.  Desert Mtn started the game with a single off Sunrise mtn LHP Aaron Bummer then a bunt base hit to bring Taylor Lindsey to the plate where he hit fastball over the left field fence to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead without recording an out.  Bummer settled in for the next 3 innings scattering 6 hits while striking out 5.  The Mustangs struck back in the 1st and 2nd innings with RBI hits by Nick White, Austin Byler and Shane Johnson to tie the game a 3-3.  Bummer allowed one more run in the 4th before handing the ball over the Steven Kane.  Kane got the Mustangs out of a bases loaded jam and pitched the next 3 innings allowing 3 hits and 1 run.  Desert Mtn added an insurance run in the 5th on a sacrifice fly by Teich.  Teich who started the game for the wolves threw 4 solid innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits.  LHP Tokasey came in relief of Teich in the 5th. 

The Mustangs threatened to score in the 5th when Tony Troftgruben hit a double down the right field line to score Byler but a base running error by Byler (missed 3rd) negated the run and ended the inning.  Heading into the bottom of the 6th the Mustangs trailed Desert Mtn by two.  After a groundout by Crawford; White, Mussro and Kane all singled.  Drew Wolff hit s sacrifice fly to score White and with the Mustangs down by 1 with two outs Austin Byler hit a an 0-1 fastball over the left field fence for a 3 run homer.  Tyler Crawford came in the 7th to close things out with 3 strikeouts!  Mill, Janikis and Lindsey all had multiple hit games for the Wolves.  Kane, Byler and Mussro each had 3 hits for the Mustangs.  Both Sunrise Mountain and Desert Mountain begin play in the Best of the West tournament this weekend.

Central defeated Coronado today 7-6 in the Scottsdale Spring Tournament. The Bobcats held off the Dons behind the strong relief performance of Cole Chaisson. He went 3 innings striking out 2, walking 0 and giving up no hits or runs. Offensively, the Bobcats were led by Emmanuel Alvarez who was 2-4 with a double and a single and 3 RBI's and Yosvel Montes who was 2-4 with a single and double and 3 RBI's.
 

Verrado 8, Agua Fria 7

Verrado's David Abney improved to 3-0 on the year as he guided the Vipers over six innings with 8 K's (39 on the season). Junior Brady Bowen earned his first save of the year, closing the game in the top of the seventh.
Freshman shortstop Wyatt Hull went 3-for-3 at the plate for Verrado, falling just a HR short of the cycle, while sophomore catcher Tyler Boxwell was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Sophomore Gian Mendoza was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in his first game back since injuring his arm on opening day.
For Agua Fria, starting pitcher Hernandez went 4 2/3 innings while striking out eight in the loss, and catcher Day was 2-for-4 with two doubles, including a 3-RBI double to cap a 6-run sixth inning as the Owls tried to rally late.

Verrado travels north on Friday to face Bradshaw Mountain, while Agua Fria stays on the road to visit Liberty.

March 11, 2010

Chaparral Powers Past Ironwood, 17-2

Chaparral used it biggest hitting output of the season Wednesday to power past Ironwood, 17-2, in a non-region 5A II contest at Ironwood. The Firebirds, who advanced to 6-1, pounded out 19 hits in only six innings before the run rule ended the game early. 

Sophomore Nick Diamond hit his first varsity home run and singled to drive in four runs, while junior Colby Targun also delivered his first varsity home run, a double and an RBI (and scored four runs) to highlight the Chaparral attack. But there was much more. Senior James McDonald homered for the fourth time this season, doubled and drove in three runs. Senior Blake Spiekerman had three hits and an RBI, junior Joey Bielek had two doubles and two RBIs and junior Jordie Hein had a single and double. On the mound, senior Preston Hill gave up a single and a home run (to Kelby Holtorff) on his first two pitches, but then cruised through five innings. Junior Peter Lehnstrohm, in his first game action of the season, was impressive in retiring the side in order to close out the victory.

Ironwood opened fast on a hit to left by Tyler Acosta and Holtorf’s long homer to left. But then in the second Diamond lined a ball hard over the fence in right to score Targun, who led off with a walk. 

In the third, Chaparral ended the drama, McDonald doubled down the right field line and scored on an opposite-field double to the gap in right center by Aaron Levy. After Targun and Bielek were walked and hit, respectively, to load the bases, Diamond struck again with a single up the middle to drive in two more runs. Senior Konner Wade and Spiekerman drove in Chaparral’s fifth and sixth runs of the inning with two more singles to give the Firebirds an 8-2 lead. 

Targun hit a solo home run to center in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-2, and then the Firebirds broke out for a final time with eight runs in the sixth. The highlights were McDonald’s three-run homer to left center, two run-scoring doubles to the left-field gap by Bielek, a double by Hein and a hard line-drive single over first base by junior Kyle Toth, who later ended the game with an acrobatic catch and throw from second. Spiekerman joined him with a notable defensive play by making a diving catch of a sinking liner to left-center by Jimmy Maddox in the Ironwood fifth.

Peter Lehnstrohm closing it out (L) while Nick Diamond gets good wood for Chaparral

March 10, 2010

North Canyon 8 Millenium 3

North Canyon Junior Coley Bruns was outstanding on the hill Tuesday afternoon, striking out 7 and allowing only 2 hits in five innings as the Rattlers took advantage of seven Millenium Tiger errors en route to 8-3 victory in cold and very windy conditions.

Connor Bowen, Marco Burciaga, Dominic Portocarrero, and Jason Walker each collected two hits for North Canyon. Senior Eric Wise pitched a scoreless 6th and 7th to close the game.
 

Valley Christian's Will Lane tossed a 5 inning no hitter against Gilbert Christian in a  10-0 victory on Saturday.

March 8, 2010

March 6, 2010

Pinnacle 14 Millenium 4
Pinnacle shook off a tough loss from the day before to hand the tigers a 14-4 six inning run rule loss. The Pioneers were powered by the Pitching of Jake Peevyhouse (6 IP, 2 hits, 2 ks, 4 bbs,) and a great team offensive effort led by Mike Vaughn (3/4, 3 rbi, 2 runs, HR) TC Mark (2/3 2 rbi, 2runs, HR) Steve Casey (2/3, 2 rbi, 2 runs, Hr) and Steve Morris (2/3 1 run, 1 rbi). The Tigers damage was done by a monster 3 run homer by Tyler Booth.

Mountain Ridge 13
Notre Dame 1

Joe Brinkman went 3-5 including a grand slam homer in 7 innings of dominating baseball against Notre Dame. Brett Wilkey also added a 2 run homer and Kyle Kenzior added 2 hits to the Mountain Ridge offense. Dan Will picked up the win with 6 innings of work on the mound giving up only 5 hits. Notre Dame pitcher Jon Cohn gave up 5 runs in 5 innings and took the loss. Ridge exploded for 6 runs in the 7th inning which put the game out of reach.

Valley Vista defeated Marcos de Niza 3 - 1. Valley Vista got the scoring started as lead-off batter Nelson Benjamin homered on the 5th pitch of the game to right. In the second, walks to Freddie Jimenez and Bryce Stanage, a sac by Eric Correlson, and a single by Cesar Gonzalez produced 2 more runs. MdN got their only run on a double by Kendall Konopka and a single by Donovan Evashenko. Valley Vista was paced by Alex Gartner, who was 2 for 3, and Caleb Wood who had a double. Konopka was 3 for 3 with a walk for the Padres.
Both starting pitchers threw complete games. Ricky Jones gave up 1 earned run while spreading out 7 hits and 4 K's. T.J. Garcia gave up 3 earned runs on 7 hits and 4 K's.

Brophy defeated Horizon 8-5. The Broncos jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before the Huskies rallied to knot the score at 5. Brophy eventually pulled away for the win.

Brophy's Sean Maxon (L) Tommy Beeso snares one at the center field wall for Horizon

Desert Vista dropped Red Mountain 9 to 7. Red Mountain was up 7 to 4 going in to the top of the 7th. 3 RM errors and a bases clearing triple sealed the deal for DV. Dillon Elgin made a great over the shoulder catch in center field as he hit the fence for the Lions.

March 5, 2010

Centennial beat Deer Valley 2 to 1 on Wednesday. Reyes Murrilo pitched a complete game in the win.
Centennial scored enough to get past a 10 strikeout outing from Jacob Doyle.

Junior Brandon Jackson became the 3rd Queen Creek Bulldog, in as many days, to have an excellent outing on the bump. Jackson threw a complete-game 5-hitter to tame the visiting Rams of Maricopa. Queen Creek won the shortened contest 11-1. Brandon struck out five and walked only one on 77 pitches. The unearned run scored after 2 early miscues by the Dogs. The Bulldogs picked up 10 hits in the 5 inning game, led by Junior Julian Sandoval (2-2, 2 RBI, SAC, 3B) and Sophomore Nathan Flores (2-3, RBI). Jackson (1-1, 2 RBI, BB, HBP) also contributed with the bat getting a 2 run single in his only official at bat. The Bulldogs move to 7-1 on the year.

In a pitchers duel, Mingus holds on to get a 2-1 victory over Paradise Valley. Hunter Zwart pitched a strong 7 innings against a solid line up for PV, giving up only 4 hits, 1 BB, and 3k's. Mingus bats were quiet compared to their last game thanks to a solid performance by the PV pitcher Spalding. Spalding gave up 9 hits, 2K, 4 BB and kept Mingus off balance. Mingus left the bases loaded twice and stranded 10 total. PV has a solid group of players and should be a handful for most. PV is now 4-2 and Mingus goes to 3-0. Notables Sr. Hunter Zwart 2-3, 1B,2B,BB,1 rbi , Sr. Shaun Mc Carty 2-4, 1rbi, So. Cruz Chavez 2-2

Senior Jaron Long scattered 4 hits in 6 innings pitched and Sophomore Sean O'Grady pitched a perfect 7th for his first varsity save as Cactus Shadows won 2-0 over Kellis on Thursday night. Long was in command all night, striking out 5, and not allowing a runner past 2nd base. Senior Logan Davis put the Falcons on top in the 5th inning with a base hit scoring Charlie Dominick, who had reached on a hit-by-pitch. Davis also made several outstanding plays at shortstop as the Falcons evened their record at 3-3.

In what seemed to be a game completely controlled by Junior LHP Tyler Crawford didn't turn out that way. Crawford threw 5 complete innings allowing only 3 hits and striking out 7 heading into the 6th inning with a 6-2 lead. But in the 6th the Apollo bats came alive and after a couple Sunrise Mtn miscues Crawford handed the ball over to RHP Steven Kane with a 6-5 lead and runners on the corners. Apollo managed two infields hits and another Sunrise Mtn error and going into the 7th the Hawks had the lead 7-6. But Austin Byler led off the 7th inning with his second HR of the game to tie the score at 7-7 with a monster shot to centerfield that was gone when it left the bat. Kane pitched well in the bottom of the 7th to keep the score tied going into the 8th. In the extra inning the Mustangs had a leadoff walk by Grady Oulton and then missed an attempted bunt but after a single by Kane, Tony Troftgruben came to the plate with the infield in and hit a single up the middle to score 2 runs and put the Mustangs up 9-7. Steven Kane retired the Hawks in order in the 7th to end the game.
 

Saguaro beat Coronado last night 8-5. Chris Salazar started for Saguaro and went 5 innings with Travis Steinheiser pitching the 6th and Josh Chapman closing the door.
Saguaro got 6 runs in the 3rd off starter Tim Stempkowski. Chris Akmon did the damage with his 3rd homerun of the season. Zach Gibbons went 3-5 with a double and Kyle Young went 2-2 with a walk.
 

March 4, 2010

Pitching was once again the story for Queen Creek, as junior lefty Dillon Freeman threw a 7 inning no-hitter (1st ever in school history) against Apache Junction. The 6-0 win was the Bulldogs' first in their new region (Desert Sky). Freeman was outstanding on the bump and remained in complete control to tally 14 strikeouts. The 6-3 lefty threw only 82 pitches and didn't allow a batted ball out of the infield. It proved to be a very touching performance this evening after the Bulldogs honored the passing of a former player's parent. With the thought fresh in Freeman's mind, Dillon went into the game dedicating his outing to his father who passed away a few years back. His outing was unforgettable in the eyes of many. Adam Brzeczek had a great day at the dish going 2-2 (BB, 2 3B), along with Jackson Wodiuk (2-2, SF, 3 RBI, 2B), Matt Schmit (2-4, 2 RBI) and Nathan Flores (2-3, 2B, RBI). The Bulldogs move to 6-1 overall.

Dillon Freeman tosses the no-no for the QC

O'Connor defeated Willow Canyon 12-4 in the first region game of the year. O'C Kyle (Boomer) Slattery went 5 innings allowing 1 earned run. Bryce Keffeler threw the last two innings giving up no runs. O'C was led offensively by Tyler Doolittle who went 4-4 with two doubles. Devon Turner,Bryce Keffeler, and Wes Sutton had two hits.

Verrado beat Independence today, 14-6 (6 innings).

For Verrado, Senior David Abney improved to 2-0 throwing four innings, struck out 8 (29 on the season), and didn't give up any earned runs lowering his season ERA to 1.26 (16.2 IP). Junior Cory Knight belted his 3rd Home Run of the season, a 2-run shot, and Junior Ryan Trieber was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI's.
For Independence, Senior Stephen Armenta was 3-for-3 with a double, home run, and 3 RBI's. Prayers and thoughts go out to Senior catcher Carlos Perez who was knocked unconscious by a ball in the top of the seventh inning. As daylight was running out, the game was halted for his aid to make way for paramedics. He regained consciousness shortly after the play, and was taken by ambulance.

Both teams turn around for another game Thursday. Verrado visits McClintock and Independence travels to Cortez.

Sunnyslope edged Saguaro 2-1 in a great pitching matchup between 'slopes Blake Freeman and the Sabercats' Kurt Jahnke. Jahnke allowed only 4 hits and Freeman 5.

An arms race at Saguaro: Blake Freeman v Kurt Jahnke. Ben Tingley hangs on to the pop up.

 Phoenix Brophy Prep overpowered Laveen Cesar Chavez 11-1 in 5 innings on Wednesday. Senior Kasey Coffman gave up just 2 hits and 1 run in going the first 4 innings before giving way to Senior Trevor Stone, who threw a clean 5th. Brophy runs its record to 5-0 with the victory with Horizon up next at Horizon on Friday 3/5 @ 3:45 PM.
Sophomore centerfielder Chris Beall, Senior Kevin Kennedy, Junior Joe Maggi, and Sophomore Dave Graybill all had multiple hits as all the Broncos got involved offensively. Brophy's pitching has been rock solid, giving up just 7 total runs in 5 games so far.

Pinnacle 7 Goldwater 1

Ryan Buck threw 6 strong innings (6 hits, 1 run, 3k, 2bb) which allowed Pinnacle to take control of a close game with Goldwater. Jake Peevyhouse (4/4 1rbi, 2runs, intent. walk) and Mike Vaughn (2/4 w 2b, HR) led the Pioneers offensively.

Pinnacle 4-0, plays Millenium 3-1, Thursday at Pinnacle.

After a little more than 3 hours of agony, PV finally finished off a game Youngker team. PV scored 14 runs in the second inning and hung on to win 25-14. It got as close as 18-14. There may have been some errors in the game.

March 3, 2010

The Millennium Tigers improved their record to 3-1 with a 14-4 drubbing of visiting Willow Canyon. The Tigers scored 3 times in the first and put up runs in each frame to support Austin Hoffman’s one-hit effort on the mound. Austin allowed 1 earned run and recorded 5 strikeouts in the 5-inning contest.
The first five hitters in the Tiger line-up were a combined 12 for 16, scoring 12 runs and driving in 12. Leading the way was centerfielder Tyler Booth who had a monster 7 RBI day at the plate. He drove in the first 2 runs with a 2-run homer in the first and the last 3 with a 3-run blast in the fourth. In between the homers, he drove in 2-more runs with a triple.
Tyler had lots of help. Nyles Fowler was 3-3 with 2 singles and a double, driving in 4 runs. Tatum Hendrix chipped in 2 singles and a double from his leadoff position and continues to be the catalyst for the big innings the Tigers have had this year. Rounding out the offensive attack, Anthony Davison was 2-2 with two doubles and 1 RBI.

Boulder Creek finished the Tolleson Pre-Season Tournament 4-1 scoring 64 runs and hitting 7 Home Runs including 2 Grand Slams in 5 games. There were several highlights over the weekend and it all started in Game 1 with a 14-0 win vs Bradshaw Mountain with Bryce Eisenbart throwing a No-Hitter and Austin Trujillo going 3-4 with 4 RBI's with a 2 run opposite field blast. Game 2 vs LaJolla featured 5 Home Runs including 3 Home Runs and 7 RBI's from Austin Trujillo (a 2run HR and Grand Slam in the same inning), a solo shot from Bryce Eisenbart and also a Grand Slam from Jonny Pawling for a 22-5 win. Game 3 win 11-8 over Apollo saw an early Boulder Creek lead disappear as Apollo rallied to tie the score at 8 then Joseph Fant delivered a key 2RBI single (finished with 5RBI's on the night) in the top of the 7th to give BC the lead and also got 3 hits each from Cody Jones and Jonny Pawling. Chase Wagner pitched 3 solid innings of relief. Game 4 win 8-4 vs Verrado
saw Trevor Bonofasi pitch 3 2/3 innings of relief to hold off a late Verrado rally. Andy Felton was 2-4 1RBI, Braylon Cox 2-4 3RBI's, Austin Trujillo 2-5 with 2B and 1RBI, and Cody Jones added 3 hits. Game 5 loss 10-9 in 9 innings to Tolleson was a back and forth game all the way with Tolleson winning in the bottom of the 9th with a squeeze bunt. Good game from both teams. Joseph Fant added 3 hits for BC and a solid effort on the bump from Bryce Eisenbart as well as a solo blast to LF. Boulder Creek faces North Canyon, Tolleson and Desert Edge this week.

Senior Matt Schmit continued his early season excellence for Queen Creek on Tuesday, getting his 3rd win on the bump (in 12 innings overall)in a route of Arcadia, 11-1. Schmitty needed only 56 pitches in 5 innings to shutdown the Titans. Matt surrendered only 2 hits (4 ks), one of which was a bunt single. With the only run coming in unearned, Schmitty now has 12 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run. No slouch with the bat as well, Matt launched a 400 ft. scud to conclude his 2-4 (3 RBI) day. Pierce Arnett hammered a 2B and a 3B to pick up 2 RBI. Also contributing for the Bulldogs, was catcher Jason Frost (3-4, RBI). Queen Creek moves to 5-1 overal.

Leading hitters for QC were: Pierce Arnett 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI; Schmit
2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Jason Frost 3-4, RBI; and Dillon Freeman 1-2, BB, 3B,
RBI.

After Higley scored twice in the first without a hit, PV held them scoreless the rest of the way. Malcolm Purdy went the distance giving up 3 hits and striking out 12. Omar Dominguez went 2 for 4 with a single and a two run homer in the seventh to give PV some breathing room. Purdy went 2 for 4 with a single and double and an RBI. Jose Leal also had an RBI. Greg Aguilar pitched well for Higley going six innings, striking out 4 and giving up 2 earned runs.

Deer Valley beat Ironwood Tuesday 11-1 in a 6 inning game. Deer Valley got off to a goodstart with 4 runs in the first. Jr. Darian Ramage, Sr. Jacob Doyle, Sr. Kyle Herrington, Sr. Jacob Hernandez, and Jr. Zach Richter all had hits in the first. Richter's single plated 2 runs. Darian Ramage had 2 sac flies, and 2 hits. Zach Richter had a 3 hit game.
2 hits each by Jacob Hernandez, Kyle Herrington, including a homerun in the 6th, Jacob Doyle, 2 doubles, and Jr. Nick Rubino. Ramage got the win pitching 5 innings, with Soph J R Rudder closing out the game.

Corona. 8
Tolleson 0

Strong defense behind Senior Greg Ryan held Tolleson scoreless as Corona  rolled over Tolleson on Tuesday.
Ryan struck out 6, walked 6 and gave up only one hit in 5 innings of work.
For the second night, Corona had back-to-back homeruns. The first blast was delivered by Soph Kyle Jorgenson, and the second shot by Sr. Andy Nist put Corona up 5-0.

G.Ryan 1-hit 6-bb k-6
THS#2 O. Gonzales
8-hit 3-bb k-4.

North Canyon 2 Boulder Creek 1

Senior LHP Kevin Baumgartner was dominant on the hill, scattering 4 hits and striking out 11 as North Canyon edged Boulder Creek Tuesday at Boulder Creek 2-1. Baumgartner helped himself at the plate with a double in the top of the 7th to knock in the decisive run. Junior Cody Jones was outstanding for Boulder Creek, striking out 11 and allowing only 3 hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Mingus destroyed Bradshaw Mountain 35-6 in an ugly contest. The Marauders stroked 28 hits in the win. BM helped the cause with 9 errors. Todd Scalf pitched all 5 innings and went 5-5 w/2 RBIs. Austin Rogers was 5-6 w/2 RBI ,Logan Stewart  3-4 w/3 RBI, Carlos Abrigo was 3-4. Lead off hitter Hunter Zwart went 2-3 w/3 RBI

Highland jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Matt Repp's one out single scored the first run. A two run single by James Farris and a 3 run HR by Xavier Corrales highlighted a big inning. Highland added three more in the bottom of the 3rd on a three run HR by Gentry Kinsella.
James Farris cruised through the first three, but started to wear down in the fourth. Chandler got two back on four walks and a hit by pitch. Highland's DJ Jones drove in another with a single in the 4th for a seemingly commanding 11-2 lead. Then Chandler put together a big inning of their own with a 6 spot. Kevin Carr and Albert Blanco each had two RBI singles around a few walks and three Highland errors. Nolan Whittlesey relieved Farris and restored order throwing the final 2 2/3 to earn the
save.
Farris got the win going 4 1/3 with 8Ks, surrendering 4 earned runs. Whittlesey had 4 K's with no runs against. Kevin Carr got the loss for Chandler. DJ Jones had three hits while Xavier Corrales and Matt Repp each chipped in with two. Dallas Lopez had two hits for Chandler.

Gilbert proved to be very gracious hosts for Desert Ridge, committing numerous defensive miscues to stake the Jags to an 8-0 lead, and eventually falling 10-3. The Jags broke it open in the 4th when Travis Flores hammered a line drive homer to left that is still rolling somewhere. Taylor Kaczmarek followed with a towering shot to go back to back. Austin Cain then cranked a shot off the top of the wall in left center that was inches from the trifecta. DJ Peterson put the Tigers on the board with a solo shot. Scott Hoffman got the win for the Jags on the hill and was never really threatened by the Tiger lineup.

Scott Hoffman in control (L) Drew Stankiewicz pokes a base hit

Salpointe run ruled Basha 12-0 behind the one hit pitching of Dan Slania.

Hunter Miller - 3/3, RBI

Harrison Graham - 2/2, 2BB, 2 run HR, 2RBI

Joseph Serrano - 1/1, 2BB, 2 Stolen Base, 3 Runs

AJ Alexander- 1 / 2, 3b, 2RBI

Jack Hale- 1 /2, Sac Fly, RBI

Copper Canyon improves to 6-1 as they got after it with the bats yesterday at Verrado. The Aztecs pounded out 16 hits while scoring 17 runs. SR. Ruben Hernandez continues to see the ball well gathering 3 hits including his 2nd homerun to go with 4RBIs. Dru Douglas contributed with his team leading 15th RBI with 3 hits. Alex Gutierrez earns his 2nd victory of the season on the bump with 9ks en route to a 17-5 victory.
 

March 2, 2010

We didn't get a game report on it, but we should note that Boulder Creek's Austin Trujillo homered 3 times in a  game last week. Nice job AT.

Mountain Pointe 13 Chandler 0 (5 inning run rule)
Mountain Pointe's bats were alive Monday afternoon against Chandler High. Senior JT Moreno started for the Pride going 3 hitless innings. The Pride put up seven runs to start the game culminated by a 3 run bomb by Senior Joey Rocha. Josh Alexander followed up in the 2nd by putting one over the wall bringing in three. Kevin Cron then went deep in the third also bringing in three.

MP Hitters
Josh Alexander 3-4 HR
Kevin Cron 3-4 HR
Jordan Kipper 2-3 2B

Notre Dame 10
Tempe 0

Joe Luvisi belted a long 2 run homer while going 3 for 4 at the plate with 4 RBI's to help Notre Dame run rule Tempe in their opening conference game. Tayler Scott picked up the win on the mound pitching 4 strong innings striking out 7 and giving up only 2 hits before giving way to Schaefer Whiteaker who completed the shutout with 1 scoreless inning of relief. Brian Poupore was also a perfect 3-3 at the plate and Casey Scott continued his hot bat with a 2-3 effort for the Notre Dame offense.
 

From Saturday 2-27-10

Pinnacle 7
Notre Dame 6

Notre Dame lead this thriller 6-4 in the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs and 2 strikes on the batter which only set the stage for one of their most crushing defeats in recent memory. Pinnacle capitalized on a critical outfield error that brought home the tie run, and 2 wild pitches including one that brought home the game winning run in Pinnacles walk off victory.
The Saints jumped all over Jake Peevyhouse scoring 4 runs in the top of the first inning but Peevyhouse took out a little of his frustration to lead off the Pinnacle bottom of the first inning with an opposite field line drive home run to cut the Saints lead to 4-1.

The Pioneers added a couple runs in the second courtesy of Alex Real's(2-3 w/2rbi) double driving in a pair. They scored again in the third against Notre Dame starting pitcher Jon Cohn to tie the score at 4. Notre Dame regained the lead in the 5th when
Bobby Kohnen singled with 2 out. Peevyhouse ,who had not given up a hit since the first inning, was replaced on the mound by Jake Winters who was promptly greeted by a line drive single by Joe Luvisi(3-4 on base w/2 runs scored). Joey Greco(2-3 w/ 4 rbi's) then followed with a double to the gap driving in 2 runs to give the Saints a 6-4 lead. Cohn left with the lead in hand after 5 innings giving up 8 hits but wiggling out of numerous jams striking out 7 along the way. Kevin Ryan held the Pioneers scoreless in the 6th but gave up a one out single in the 7th and was replaced with Sam Napp who was unable to shut the door on the Pinnacle comeback. After a walk and a pop out, Napp, who appeared to throw strike 3 on 2 different pitches, gave up a huge 2 out hit to Justin Lindell (2-4 w/2 runs scored). The tie run scored and Lindell took second when Saints centerfielder Bobby Kohnen couldn't pick up the ball cleanly. Lindell proceeded to advance to third and home on a couple of balls in the dirt that went to the backstop and completed Pinnacle's second walk off win in 3 games during the Cleats Baseball Tournament bracket play.
 

Desert Ridge Blanks Chaparral, 8-0

Xavier Sotello and three other Desert Ridge pitchers limited Chaparral to three hits Monday, and left-handed hitting catcher Russell Vaughan homered deep to right to give the Jaguars all the margin they would need in an 8-0 victory to win the Scottsdale Quarterback Club Tournament championship. 

Sotello, in fact, no-hit Chaparral through four innings, before he gave way to Austin Cain. Corey Doser and D.W. Warner (who was outstanding at shortstop) also pitched for Desert Ridge. The game was played at Desert Ridge after a hard Sunday night rain rendered Chaparral’s field unplayable. 

Vaughn staked the Jaguars to a 1-0 lead with his blast in the second inning. In the third, center fielder Kyle Raidy tripled to right center and scored on a single to right by Taylor Kaczmarek to extend the lead to 2-0. That is where it would stay until the sixth.

 Chaparral, which stranded seven base runners, had an outstanding opportunity in the fifth. Joey Bielek led off with the first hit for the Firebirds and Konner Wade walked. A balk then sent the runners to second and third with no outs. But Cain settled down to strike out seniors Joel Hayden and Will Dyer in succession and third baseman Travis Flores snared a hard line drive by Blake Spiekerman to end the threat. 

The Firebirds also threatened – briefly – in the sixth. James McDonald reached on an infield single to the deep hole at short, but Desert Ridge then turned the second of three 5-4-3 double plays. The Jaguars did it again in the seventh after a single past first by Wade. 

DR's Conner Daly flips one to first (L) A.J. Schillinger drops one down for Chap

In the sixth, Desert Ridge ended all suspense. Cain and Vaughan singled and were sacrificed over by Conner Daly. Riley Unroe then brought in a run with a single to left, and Warner drove in two more with a double to right-center. After Flores was walked intentionally (he walked all four times he batted), Kaczmarek hit a three-run home run far over the left field fence for the final margin. 

In all, Desert Ridge had nine hits. Vaughn, Warner and Kaczmarek all had two hits for the Jaguars. Kaczmarek drove in four runs. Nonetheless, three of Chaparral’s four pitchers – Wade, Will Abram and Nick Diamond – were mostly successful in allowing two runs and four hits. 

5A II Chaparral and 5A I Desert Ridge, the defending 5A II state champion, meet again on Thursday at Desert Ridge in a game that will carry with it power points that are important in determining playoff teams at the end of the season.

Note: Pat Raidy, the father of DR center fielder Kyle Raidy, lost his battle with cancer yesterday and passed away during the game. Please join me in sending thoughts and prayers to Kyle and his family. RB

Tucson High Badgers-15
Corona Del Sol- 9

Host Corona never found a pitching groove, using 4 pitchers while giving up 13 hits. The Badgers of Tucson had a 7 run 5th inning and put away Corona.
One offensive highlight for Corona was the back-to-back HR in the 3rd. Greg Ryan had a 2 run blast and Chris Gammon added a solo shot that put CDS ahead 6-3. It was not enough as Tucson came on strong in the 5th and 6th inning to thwart any CDS comeback attempt.
Corona faces Tolleson at home on Tuesday.
 

March 1, 2010