Diamond Notes May 2009

May 17, 2009

Corona Del Sol's Tyler Giannonatti tossed a 2 hit, 6 inning complete game to lead the Aztecs to their first state championship since 1993 11-1 over Hamilton. Corona's offense cranked out 11 hits and scored 9 times in the final 2 innings to leave the Huskies standing on the field in the 6th. In the bottom of the 4th with CDs leading 2-1, the Aztecs loaded the bases for Greg Ryan, who ripped a  line drive missile to the fence in right, clearing the bases and starting the rout.

Earlier, in the top of the 6th, Justin Rosales tagged a deep blast to the gap in right center that Aztec center fielder Ryan Moore flagged down while running into the fence.

It was Planet Orange's night. Seven different players knocked in runs. Giannonatti and catcher Andy Nist, who's ground ball base hit down the line at third ended things in the 6th, had 3 hits apiece.

How fitting that a team named Corona should where the Crown.

Geo gets his ring on Saturday night at Diablo

Travis Flores cracked a double deep to the right center gap to score the winning run and send Desert Ridge to their first state title 9-8 at Phoenix Muni. Ridge took a 7-0 lead into the 5th and were looking good with Jake Barrett on the hill. The Huskies would rally, however, the inning started on a dropped pop up and went downhill from there. When the dust cleared Horizon led 8-7. Ridge would tie things in the bottom of the 6th, and Horizon wouls start the 7th with a lead off triple by Nick Stein. Eric Kibler would go small ball with the squeeze play, but pitcher Alex Villar's toss to Russell Vaughan foiled the move. With 2 outs and 2 on, center fielder Kyle Raidy then made a diving grab on a Dylan Scott shot to right center to end the threat. Flores would put on his hero hat in the bottom of the inning and Pat Herrera and the Jags were hoisting the hardware.

Flores was a monster for Ridge. In addition to the game winner, he added another double and  a bomb to go 3-5 with 3 RBIs. Steven Bier was 3-4.

Canyon Del Oro took advantage of some shaky Cactus defense to jump out to an early 9-0 lead and claim the 4AI title 15-5. CDO scored in the first 4 innings and the Cobras couldn't overcome the deficit. David Metz got the win on the mound with relief help from Ryan Retz. Hayden Cota-Robles had a 4 hit game and Doug Steele added 3 knocks for the Dorados.

Mingus 7
Notre Dame 4


Notre Dame's 4 costly errors in the field combined with a couple of Mingus 5th inning bloop hits were too much to overcome as Notre Dame lost to the Marauders for the second consecutive year in the State Championship game by a score of 7-4. Casey Upperman, on short rest, took his first loss of the season giving up 4 unearned runs in 5 innings of work before the Notre Dame Bullpen took over. Relievers Kevin Ryan and Nick Barber gave up the final 3 runs that Mingus scored. Tony Vocca went the distance for Mingus shaking off a furious Notre Dame come back. Notre Dame rallied to score 4 runs in the 6th inning and had cut the lead to 3 with runners at 2nd and 3rd and only one out but Vocca regrouped and retired 5 consecutive hitters to end the Saints hope of winning their first State Championship.

Mingus ripped 11 hits on the night, led by Hunter Zwart who was 3-5 including a deep double to the left center gap. 

Tony Vocca in control (L) Hunter Zwart smokes a double for Mingus

Andy Wilder can't beat the throw to Vocca

May 16, 2009

Canyon Del Oro continued their pattern of last at bat wins as the Dorados advanced to the 4AI title game with a 6-5 victory over Sandra Day O'Conner. It was CDO's 3rd straight last at bat win on the tourney. In the bottom of the 7th, after tying the score and with runners and first and  third and no outs, CDO's Doug Steele layed a bunt down the first base line. SDO's Aaron Copfer had a play at third, but the ball sailed wide and Alan Drake trotted home with the winning run. O'Connor had a slew of missed opportunities and ran themselves out of several sure fire scoring opportunities. Defensively things weren't much better, but despite the mistakes, this game was very winnable for the Eagles, who actually took a 5-4 lead into the last frame. O'Connor's Bryce Keffler was money on the hill, working 6 strong innings.

On the final play of the game, it appeared the CDO runner missed the plate, and in fact the home plate umpire stood waiting for the appeal which never came.

Tyler Doolittle waits for the throw (L) as Ryan Gerber gets under Brendon Erickson

It's a pickle: 2 potential runs are wiped out by CDO

Ruben Rivera shows the ball (L) Big Doug Steele deals for the Dorados

Top-seeded Cactus used a power pitching performance by senior right-hander Andrew Walter and four RBIs from Eric Goetz, including a three-run homer down the left-field line the fifth inning, to take a 5-1 victory over No. 4 Chaparral, the defending state champion, and advance to face Canyon Del Oro in the title game of the Class 4A, Division 1 state tournament this afternoon at Tempe Diablo Stadium. It is the first time ever in the state championship game for Cactus, 26-5. Chaparral ended its season at 19-13, but went 14-3 down the stretch. No. 3 Canyon Del Oro advanced with a 6-5 victory over No. 10 Sandra Day O'Connor.
Walter went nearly the entire way, throwing 121 pitches and limiting Chaparral to four hits while striking out seven. He threw hard and mostly accurate and kept the Firebird hitters off balance with effective off speed pitches.
Chaparral senior right-hander Oliver Craig nearly matched Walter through four innings. He gave up just two hits and struck out three before leaving after walking Skylar Maestas with one out in the fifth. All he had surrendered of meaning until that point was a two-out double down the right-field line by Goetz to score Colton Vaughn who had walked.
For Chaparral, the game was a story of what-ifs. The Firebirds played strong defense early - including a pair of double plays - but then were undone by a three uncharacteristic errors down the stretch (which led to four runs). The key moment came with one out in the fifth and Maestos on first with the walk against Craig. Mark Winniker bunted. Chaparral reliever Will Abram fielded
the ball on the third-base side and elected to throw to second in hopes of beginning a double play. But the ball sailed into center field, leaving runners at first and second. Abram then struck out Colton Vaughn - which would have been the third out - before Goetz delivered his game-changing home run.
Chaparral threatened in the second on an infield hit by Konner Wade and a walk to James McDonald, but right fielder Austin Brunke went back near the fence to catch Trey Ford's dive and end the inning. The Firebirds came close again in the fifth after Wade led off with a double, but Chaparral again came up empty after loading the bases when Joel Hayden and Ford were hit by
pitches.
In the seventh, pinch hitter Blake Spiekerman walked for the Firebirds and McDonald singled to center, prompting Cactus coach Mike Tirella to bring in senior righty James Fajardo to end the threat. Ford hit a hard line drive to center that Ryan Wescott caught for the second out before Jordan Weymouth singled to right to load the bases. But then Fajardo struck out Jack Diamond
to end the game and enable to Cobras to advance.
Cactus finished with four hits and scored its final run in the sixth after a two-out errant throw by Ford gave John Schott the chance to hit a high fly that dropped in safely behind first base and enabled Colton Vaughn, who had walked, to score all the way from first.

Jordan Luvisi went the distance allowing only 4 hits and one earned run in a closely contested semifinal playoff game. Luvisi struck out 9 and improved his record to 11-1. In the process Luvisi set 4 more Notre Dame pitching records for strikeouts in a season, career strikeouts, wins in a season and career wins.
The Notre Dame(30-1) offense was led by Tony Piazza's and Matt Ozanne's home runs. Tayler Scott also came up with a clutch 2 out 2 run double in the 6th inning to give the Saints a couple important insurance runs.
The Saints going back to last year have now won 52 out of their last 54 games but need one more win to bring home the state championship. That win will need to come against Mingus in Saturdays State Championship game which will begin at 3pm at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mingus upset Notre Dame in last years finals but Notre Dame is back in the championship game for the 3rd year in a row.

Defending Champ Cottonwood Mingus reached the 4AII title game with a 6-2 win over Greenway. Trevor Sanderlin went the distance for the win.
 

May 15, 2009

The final pairings in the 5A Championship games are set.

For the first time since the AIA adopted the double elimination tournament in 5A, a loser's bracket team has team has won a doubleheader to advance to the state title game. Hamilton, with senior righthander Cory Bernard getting wins in both halves of the double dip, defeated Highland 4-3 and 4-0.

In the early game, Highland would take a 3-0 lead in the 3rd off Hamilton starter Jake Andrews. Zach Gulley's homer was the key blow. Bernard would enter in the 4th and work the remaining 4 innings. The Huskies would rally in the 6th, scoring a pair to cut the lead to 3-2, and would take the lead in the top half of the 7th. Ryan Casillas  was 2-4 with a pair of RBIs and Tyler Kem had 2 hits.

In the nightcap, Bernard went the distance while Highland starter James Farris was victimized by shaky defense. He allowed only 7 hits and one earned run. Highland had no answer for Bernard. The Hawks would manage only 3 hits on the night.

Bernard would throw 172 pitches on the night.....102 of them coming in the nightcap after a one hour break.

Justin Rosales (L) and Cory Bernard

Corona Del Sol took care of business against region foe Desert Vista. The Aztecs would advance to the title game with a decisive 11-4 win. DV had no solution to the relentless CDS attack. Corona pounded out 13 hits on the night while DV helped out with 3 errors. Trever Allen was solid in his start on the mound, departing after 4 with a 10-4 lead. Brock Abadinni would toss 3 shutout innings to seal the deal for CDS. Mike Felton was 3-3 for Corona, Evan Ritchey doubled and was 2-3.

Tyler Gianonatti throws across (L) Brock Abadinni delivers for CDS

Jake Barrett and Steven Bier cracked 3 run homers as Desert Ridge eliminated Deer Valley 9-3. Zach Odom tossed 4 inning of scoreless relief for Ridge.

Horizon advanced to the title game with a 9-1 victory over Pinnacle. Brandon Snyder got the start and worked 6 innings for the win.

Brandon Snyder on the hill (L) Dillon Everett and Johnny Rubino give a celebratory fist pump

May 14, 2009

The No. 4 Chaparral Firebirds rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday to take a dramatic 4-3 victory over a tough Nogales team, seeded fifth, in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A Division 1 state championship tournament at Tempe Diablo Stadium. But before that, Chaparral junior right-hander Preston Hill and Nogales senior lefty Juan Espiricueta
engaged in a classic pitcher's duel for six innings.
Ironically, the outcome was decided after both pitchers had left the game and neither was involved in the decision.

Chaparral now plays No. 1 Cactus in the 7 p.m. semifinal Friday at Tempe Diablo. Cactus got past No. 8 Catalina Foothills, 6-3 at Tempe Diablo. In the other half of the bracket, No. 10 Sandra Day O'Connor won, 3-0, over No. 2 Cactus Shadows at Surprise Stadium and No. 3 Canyon Del Oro outlasted No. 6 Cienega, 4-3, in a game played in Tucson. O'Connor squares off against Canyon Del Oro at 4 p.m. Friday at Tempe Diablo. The state championship game is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. Saturday.
Nogales had taken a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh on a two-run, two-out single to right by Bobby Torres off Chaparral reliever Will Abram, who then ended the inning by getting Espiricueta to fly out to right. Paul Valenzuela opened the inning with a single to right off reliever Jack Diamond. But Diamond was forced to leave when he twisted his ankle fielding a sacrifice bunt by Joselo Ahumada. Paul Stockfish then walked Kevin Rosas and was replaced by Abram (who was credited with the victory). Lead-off hitter Daniel Zuniga then sacrificed the runners over before Torrez's delivered his slow grounder that just got by Chaparral second baseman Jordan Weymouth.

The Firebirds responded quickly. Joey Bielek led off with a single up the middle, and James McDonald followed with a hard line-drive to center, forcing Espiricueta from the game. Keith Zuniga came in throwing hard, but struggling with his command. Weymouth singled to right to score Bielek. After pinch hitter Matt Harjung walked to load the bases, Zuniga hit Blake Spiekerman with a pitch to bring in McDonald with the tying run and the bases still loaded. The Apaches played their infield back in hopes of turning the double play, but Aaron Levy's grounder to second was too slow,
and Weymouth came in with the game-winner.
Until the seventh, neither Hill nor Espiricueta - described by the Firebirds as the toughest pitcher they had faced all year - would give in. Hill scattered six hits, while striking out six. He was threatened in the third by consecutive hits and a run by Daniel Zuniga, Torres and Espiricueta, who delivered a run-scoring single to right. But then Levy made a running catch of Cory Calixtio's line drive to right center and doubled Espiricueta off first to leave the game tied at 1.
Espiricueta limited Chaparral to six hits - but only four in the first six innings - and struck out five. Chaparral scored its first run in second inning on consecutive doubles by Nate Sherman (down the left field line) and Bielek (to the gap in right-center). Bielek, with two hits and two RBIs for Chaparral, and Torres, with his three singles and two RBIs for Nogales, were the only players with multiple hits.

"Speedy" Espiricueta and Preston Hill duelin' on Wednesday

Joey Bielek squeezes the throw to beat Daniel Zuniga (L) Bobby Torres can't find the handle as Chap scores the game winner

James Fajardo tossed a complete game as cactus advanced to play Chaparral 6-3 over Catalina Foothills. Fajardo, who transferred from Sunnyslope, scattered six hits on the night.

O`Connor advances to semi finals with a 3-0 victory over Cactus Shadows. Aaron Copfer pitched a 3 hit shutout complete game masterpiece, striking out 8. His 2nd complete game in 3 days, and his 5th complete game and 3rd shutout of the year. Devon Turner made a brilliant throw from right field to cut down a Cactus Shadows runner at the plate for the 3rd out of the 5th inning, keeping the shutout in tact. The O`Connor defense was stellar, with many fantastic plays. Tyler Doolittle laid out vertical to make a fantastic diving play. Then a pop up in foul territory over near the Cactus Shadows dugout was caught by Brad King as Copfer, Sutton, and King raced towards the dugout to make the catch, ending up in Kings glove for yet another great play.
O`Connor plays Canyon Del Oro Friday at 4pm at Tempe Diablo.
 

Ryan Retz stroked a walk off RBI single to lift Canyon Del Oro to a 4-3 7 inning win over Cienega at Hi Corbett Field.

In 4AII, Hank Yates went 5-5  with 4 RBIs as Arcadia eliminated Higley 12-9 in 8 innings. The Titans scored 3 times in the top of the 8th to win it. Hayden Petka had 4 hits for Higley , including a homer.

Greenway defeated Sahuarita 7-1.

Shaun McCarty got the win on the mound and Tony Vocca homered as Mingus topped Page 6-1.

Shaun McCarty on the hill for Mingus

Desert Edge 1100000 - 2
Notre Dame 000313X - 7

Casey Upperman gave up 2 runs and 5 hits in the first 2 innings before finding his groove and pitching a complete game victory. Upperman ended up allowing a total of only 7 hits as he continued to get stronger as the game went on including striking out the side in the final inning. Upperman finished with 9 strikeouts and no walks.
Matt Ozanne had a huge night at the plate blasting a 2 run homer and a 2 run triple to lead the Saints offense. Andy Wilder drove in a run with a double while Tayler Scott and Nick Barber each added a hit on the night. Tony Piazza and Casey Upperman drove in a run a piece on sacrifice flies. Notre Dame received 10 walks on the night which added a bizarre twist to the game until the Saints finally broke the game open.
Notre Dame who is now ranked #2 in the United States by Baseball America's latest rankings released on Tuesday improves its record to 29-1. The Saints now advance to the semi-finals at 7pm Friday night vs Arcadia at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

May 13, 2009

In the 5AII tournament, Pinnacle beat Centennial 14–4 in five innings. Pinnacle jumped on Centennial starter Todd Orta with 5 in the first and another 4 in the second before chasing him with 1 out in the second inning. Pinnacle scored 2 more before Michael Pomeroy could end the inning. Ryan Plantier ended the game in the 5^th with a 3 run walk off bomb. The blast was his first of the year as he is the last starter to homer for Pinnacle. Justin Walker went the distance on the mound for Pinnacle striking out 7. Offensively for Pinnacle Ashton McCoy, Justin Winters and Steve Casey all had three hits. Centennial’s Michael Pomeroy and Todd Orta had two hits each.  

Steve Casey bounces off second (L) Todd Orta on the mound for Centennial

Pinnacle players mob junior Ryan Plantier after his first bomb (a walk off) on the season

Deer Valley beat Kofa 5 to 4 on Tuesday in the late game at Phoenix Muni. Deer Valley Senior Chris Capper threw a complete game to put Deer Valley back at Surprise Stadium on Thursday against Desert Ridge at 4pm for the first of a necessary 2 wins if Deer Valley is to make the finals Saturday. Two very sharp double plays ended potential big innings for Kofa and Capper was dominating in the final 2 innings for the win. Offensively the SkyHawks got 2 in the first when Sophomore Darian Ramage got on as the lead-off and Junior Jacob Doyle followed with a ground rule double to left. Ramage scored on a pass ball and Senior Steven Sakata singled home Doyle. Ramage had a double and Doyle a single as both got rbi hits in the second for a 4-0 lead for DV. Deer Valley scored its last run on an infield hit by Doyle.

In 5AI Hamilton took down Basha 9-1. Sophomore righthander Zach Johnson threw six innings, scattering 4 hits and Tyler Kem cleaned things up in the 7th. Kem al;so went 3-3 and had a pair of RBIs. Patrick O'Connell and Justin Rosales both had 2 hits for the Huskies. Brandon Merrell had a pair of hits for Basha.

Patrick O'Connell rips  a line drive (L) Hamilton celebrates after defeating Basha

Trent Wilson tossed a complete game, allowing 7 hits and Casey Thomas went 3-3 as Desert Vista eliminated Desert Mountain 7-3. DM's Brain Foster worked the last 5 innings in relief and kept the Wolves in the game, allowing only 2 runs. In the 7th, trailing 7-1, DM scratched across a pair of runs and had the bases loaded for Adam Sonabend with 2 outs. The junior slugger just missed a fastball, flying out to center field. Cole Pembroke and Sean Smedley each had 2 hits for DV.

May 11, 2009

From Saturday's Tournament action:

Cactus Shadows wins a thriller over Prescott in the first round of the 4A-I State Playoffs. Cactus Shadows won 9-8 in 9 innings. The game lasted almost 4 hours. Cactus Shadows jumped out early with a 7-2 lead after 2 innings but Prescott came back to take the lead going into the bottom of the 7th. Cactus Shadows scored in the 7th to force extra innings and than won it with a walk off single with the bases loaded by Logan Davis in the bottom of the 9th. Ismael Castro picked up the win in relief to move his record to 6 and 1. Cactus Shadows were led offensively by Chris Sabanosh - 3 for 5 with a double, Jackson Goulder - 2 for 4, Nick Francis - 2 for 3 with 2 BB, Austin Edwards - 2 for 3, and Logan Davis - 2 for 6. Cactus Shadows - the 4A-I Desert Sky Region Champions move their record to 22 and 6 and advance to the State Quarterfinals to be played at Surprise Stadium.

Fourth-seeded Chaparral used another standout pitching performance from junior right-hander Preston Hill and a pair of home runs by senior Jack Diamond and sophomore Joey Bielek to take a 10-0, home victory Saturday over No. 13 Tucson Pueblo in the opening round of the state Class 4A-Division I championship tournament. . The game ended after six innings because of the
10-run mercy rule. The Firebirds, 18-12 and winners of 13 of their last 15, will play No. 5 Nogales in the second round 4 p.m. Wednesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Nogales won, 9-1, on Saturday at home against Agua Fria.
No. 1 Cactus will play No. 8 Catalina Foothills in the 7 p.m. game at Tempe Diablo. Cactus handled No. 16 Sabino, 7-2, and Catalina Foothills edged No. 9 Apollo, 7-6 in eight innings.
In the other half of the bracket at Surprise on Wednesday, No. 3 Canyon Del Oro will face No. 6 Cienega at 4 p.m. and No. 10 Sandra Day O'Connor will play No. 2 Cactus Shadows at 7 p.m. in the single elimination event. Canyon Del Oro edged No. 14 Tucson Sahuaro, 7-6, and Cienega got past Scottsdale Saguaro, 9-8. Sandra Day O'Connor defeated No. 7 McClintock, 9-2, and Cactus
Shadows outlasted No. 15 Prescott, 9-8.
For Chaparral, Hill limited Pueblo to four hits and was efficient enough to do it on just 58 pitches. He was helped by three double plays. The first came after Adam Marquez and Tele Ramirez had opened the second inning for Pueblo with consecutive singles and ended what would turn out to be the only difficulty Hill would encounter.
Diamond provided all the scoring the Firebirds would need with a two-out, two strike blow over the left field fence in the first inning to score James McDonald, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch. It appeared at first that left-fielder Steve Maze had made a spectacular leaping catch to rob Diamond and retire the side, but the ball was jarred loose when his glove hit the top of the fence on his descent.
Beilek provided important insurance runs with a shot to deep left-center in the fourth inning to score Joel Hayden, who also had been hit by a pitch. Matt Harjung and Nate Sherman brought the game to a close with a singles in the sixth to score Trey Ford, who had singled and Jordan Weymouth who had walked. In all, the Firebirds had 12 hits. Weymouth, with a double to deep  left-center a run and a stolen base, had two hits as did Harjung, who had a double and a pair of RBIs, Levy and Sherman, the junior catcher, who also had a double and two RBIs. Hayden reached base all three times he came to the plate and had a double to the opposite field in deep right in the fifth inning to drive in Sherman with Chaparral's eighth run.
 

May 10, 2009

Highland took their 8th straight victory over Hamilton in a marathon struggle at Tempe Diablo 15-14. The first inning alone took almost an hour, as Hamilton touched Highland starter James Pazos for a 4 spot in the top of the first. Highland would answer , however, with 5 of their own in the bottom half off  Cory Bernard and followed that up with another 5 spot in the second to take an early 10-4 advantage. James Farris had a key double to right center for the Hawks. Hamilton would continue to chip away, and sophomore reliever Jake Andrews would keep Highland at bay for 3 innings. In the top of the sixth, railing 10-7, Hamilton loaded the bases for Justin Rosales, who would line  a shot to center where Trey Maldonado would make an ill advised attempt at a diving catch. Rosales circled the bases for what was ruled an inside the park grand slam and a 11-10 Husky lead. Highland answered back in the bottom of the 6th courtesy of a long homer from Zach Gulley for a 13-10 lead. Hamilton would take a 14-13 lead in the top of the seventh before Tyler Wilson would stroke a solo shot to send the game into extra innings. Tanner Johnson would get the eventual game winner on a sac fly in the bottom of the 9th. Highland prevailed despite committing 8 errors on the night. James Farris was 5-5 with 5 steaks and tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for the win.

Tanner Johnson connects for Highland (L) while Justin Rosales applies the tag

Corona Del Sol's Tyler Giannonatti pitched 6 strong innings scattering 4 hits and allowing only 3 runs as the Aztecs defeated Desert Mountain 9-3.
Greg Ryan was 3-4 and scored 3 times for Corona. Andy Nist was 3-3, and Evan Richey was 2-3. Ryan Moore had a pair of RBI's, and Kirby Pellant put the game out of reach with a 2-run double in the 7th inning.
Taylor Lindsey and Cam Teich each had a pair of hits for Desert Mountain. Hunter Thompson picked up an RBI double in the 4th inning-when the Wolves closed Corona's lead to 1 run. DM had the bases loaded and no outs-with a chance to tie or regain the lead. Giannnonatti then induced a double play ball and struck out a batter to get out of the jam.
Corona awaits the winner of Desert Mountain/Desert Vista on Tuesday night at Tempe Diablo. Vista defeated Desert Mountain twice during the season-so the Wolves will be looking for revenge and a chance to stay alive in the state tournament.

Desert Vista got a pair of homers from Ryan Box to lead the Thunder to a 6-3 win over Salpointe in an elimination game.

Basha eliminated Chandler 6-5 with Tony Asta going the distance for the Bears. Brandon Merrill drove in the eventual game winner with a sac fly in the 5th.

In 5AII action, Horizon beat Pinnacle 8 -7 in the third round of the state tournament. It looked like another Pinnacle blowout in the first when the pioneers doubled twice, tripled and Justin Winters hit an opposite field blast to put them up 4-0. Pinnacle’s lack of clutch hitting and base running blunders keep them from putting Horizon away and went into the fifth inning only leading 5-0. Horizon has proven over and over that if you leave the door open long enough they’ll find a way back in.  Horizon scored 4 runs in the fifth and Pinnacle answered with 1 making it 6-4 in the sixth. Horizon scored again in the sixth and Pinnacle answered with another run making it 7-5 going into the seventh. Horizon scored 3 runs in the seventh to take the lead for the first time of the night and Pinnacle could not answer and took the loss. Starters were Johnny Strickland for Horizon and Matt McAllister for Pinnacle. Horizon’s Brandon Snyder closed it for the Huskies. Pinnacle was able to keep Tommy Joseph at bay but didn’t have any answers for Johnny Rubino hitting behind Joseph as he went 4 for 4 with three singles and a double. The win puts Horizon in great position to make another run for the title and Pinnacle will have to beat a tough Centennial team on Tuesday to get another shot at the Huskies.

Joey Danner scores for Horizon as Johnny Rubino strokes a base hit

Jake Barrett K'ed 8 in his 5 innings of work and Desert Ridge topped Deer Valley 13-3. Travis Flores homered for DR. Daniel Schneider went deep for DV.

Kofa eliminated Marcos de Niza on Saturday, 11 - 6.
Blake Johnston started the game for the Kings, and pitched very well for 4 innings, giving up 3 runs; and Claudio Valencia finished up and also gave up 3.
Kofa started the game with 2 in the first of Padre lefty Brian King. Timmy Lee led off with a double over 3rd base, and scored on a single to center by Albert Alvarez. Gustavo Albernon then singled to left, and Simon Corea scored Alvarez with a single to right.
Marcos answered back with 2 in the top of the 2nd on a walk to Kyle Becerra, a double by Mike Kenneth, who moved up on a wild pitch, a walk to John Botelho, and a Sac Fly by Kendall Konopka. The Padres took the lead in the top of the 4th on a single by Zach Schira, a walk to Becerra, a walk to Kenneth, and a Sac Fly by Botelho. The Padres could have completely changed the course of the game on a deep drive to center by Konopka, if not for an exceptional running catch by King CF Timmy Lee, who turned his back and caught the ball going full speed back toward the track.

In the bottom of the 4th, Kofa answered back again on a BB to Gustavo Albarran , a single by Jared Helms, and Alberran scored on a single to right-center by Cesar Valenzuela. Kofa took control in the 5th when a walk to Valencia ended King's day. He was relieved by Phil Timm. BBs to Alvarez, Alberran, a single by Johnston, and a BB to Helms brought on Padre's Bias Alvarez. Valenzuela then walked, Lee & Valencia singled, and Sergio Sanchez doubled and the Kings scored 8, to break the game open 11 - 3.
The Padres made one last run in the 7th, when Donavan Evashenko opened the inning with a single and scored on a double by Jeff Anderson. Kasey Koepke walked, Kyle Koepke reached on an error, scoring Anderson, and Casey Maloney (running for Koepke) scored on a wild pitch. The game ended on an exceptional diving catch in right field by Cesar Valenzuela off the bat of Chris Martinez.
 

Blake Johnston on the hill for Kofa (L) Michael Kenneth beats the throw to Gustavo Albarran

Centennial advanced to play Pinnacle by defeating Ironwood Ridge 9-3.

Brad Williams lays one down for Centennial (L) Brandon Matthews dealing for Ridge

In 54AII Mingus holds off a game Coronado team and wins 7-6 in a thriller. Mingus leading into the 6th inning 6-2 when Coronada explodes with 2 HRs and ties the game in the top of the 7th. Mingus in the bottom of the seventh gets the hits going again to load the bases for Tony Vocca who hit the game winning walk off single. Vocca was on fire again! Going 5 for 5 with 3 RBI's and HR #9. Other multi hit players was Shaun McCarty pushing his ave near .500 with 3 for 5, Hunter Zwart 2 for 5 and Nick Allred goes yard. Sanderlin got the start going 5 and 1/3. Vocca picks up the win. Vocca touched 92 with his fastball. Mingus will play Page at 7:00 Pm at the Municipal Stadium Wed. 5-13-09

Tucson Amphitheater 000000 - 0
Notre Dame 101128 - 13

Jordan Luvisi(10-1) threw a 3 hit complete game shutout helping Notre Dame win their playoff opener. Luvisi was dominating on the mound as he struck out 12, walked none and pounded the strike zone with 67 strikes out of the 90 pitches he threw, breaking the Notre Dame school record with his 10th win of the year.
The Notre Dame offense was led by Tayler Scott who drove in 5 runs with a  double and a triple. Tony Piazza also added a pair of hits and drove in 2  runs as well. Eric Knight drove in a run with a 2 for 2 effort at the plate. The final blow came when Casey Upperman belted his second grandslam of the year to end the game early in the bottom of the 6th inning. Notre Dame(28-1) moves on to the quarterfinal round next Wednesday at 7pm at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Arcadia blasted Seton Catholic 17-5. Junior shortstop Jake MacWilliam was 4-4 with a pair of homers.
 

May 8, 2009

Cactus Shadows won the 4A-I Desert Sky Region Title outright by beating Paradise Valley twice. Cactus Shadows in just its second year at 4A-I stops Chaparral's 16 year region title streak. Hats off to Chaparral great streak. Cactus Shadows is now 21 and 6 on the season as they open up the State Tournament on Saturday against Prescott. On Tuesday's Region Title clinching victory, the Falcons were led by Chris Sabanosh's 2 for 2 (homerun and double) with 2 walks, Austin Edwards 3 for 3, and Anthony Pena's 2 for 4. Ismael Castro picked up the win in relief as he moved his record to 5 and 1.

Jason Kalber tossed a complete game as Chandler upended Mountain Ridge 7-4 at Phoenix Muni. Ridge took a 4-2 lead into the 7th with starter Austin Buelow on the bump. Chandler loaded the bases and Marcus Kalber stroked a  2run double to tie things at 4. Chandler would scrape another 3 runs across before the inning would end. Dan Will would come on to get the final out for Ridge. Marcus Kalber led the way for Chandler with a 3-4 day.

Isaac Rodriguez throws across (L) Danny Cardinal scores the go ahead run for Chandler

Mikey Reynolds dives to make a tag

Basha jumped out to a 9-0 lead and boat raced Brophy 14-5. Matt Potter worked 5 innings for the win and also went 2-3 with 2 RBIs. Tony Asta homered for the Bears who move on to face Chandler on Saturday.

Matt Potter bustin'  Broncs (L) Joe Maggi looks in for the sign

Desert Vista played long ball to break up a 1-1 ballgame and advance in the state tourney over Mesa Mountain View. Ryan Box slammed a solo shot to right center to give DV a 2-1 lead. Shaun Chase would stroke a solo blast to left in the 6th,, and winning pitcher Trent Wilson would go tape measure to finish the scoring. Wilson tossed a complete game 3 hitter for the win.

Salpointe's Jacob Hunter tossed a complete game and went 2-4 with  a triple as the Lancers sent Red Mountain packing 9-6. Mark Duarte was 3-4 with a double and homer and Dan Slania and Joe Serrano each had 3 hits.

Ina 5AII elimination game at Peoria on Thursday night, Marcos defeated North 12 - 1.
Junior Garrett Taggart threw a 5 inning complete game, giving up 1 earned run on 3 hits and 7 punch-outs. North started got to Taggart in the 1st on a lead-off double to right by Roberto Aleo followed up by a single by Jonathan Cuellar. Cuellar was cut down stealing by Padre catcher Zach Shira. After that, Taggart settled in, giving up only one more hit in the 2nd; a double by Preston
Van Buren.
Marcos got on the board in the 2nd on a walk to Mike Kenneth, a triple by Kendall Konopka, and a triple by Jeff Anderson. The 3rd was uneventful for both teams, but the Padres exploded for 10 in the 4th. The inning got started on a single by Kyle Becerra, an RBI double by Kenneth, a single by Konopka, RBI singles by Anderson and Max Sankey, an RBI double by Schira, a HBP to Andy Swan, a 2 RBI single by Brian King, another single by Becerra, an HBP to Kenneth to load the bases, and a 3 RBI double to right by Konopka to finish the scoring.

Simon Corea threw a complete game as Yuma Kofa ended Sunrise Mountain's season 13-4. The Kings had 16 hits in the game, including 4 triples, 2 of them coming in a 7 run 4th inning. Kofa will face Marcos on Saturday in a rematch of a first round Marcos win.

Centennial eliminated Tucson Sunnyside 5-2. The Coyotes scored 4 runs in the top of the first and never looked back.

Kyle Kilgore tossed 5 scoreless innings and Ironwood Ridge drilled Tolleson 14-0 to end the Wolverines season. Ridge pounded out 17 hits on the day and led 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth before hanging an 11 spot for the run rule.

May 6, 2009

In the 5AII State Tournament, Todd Orta got the win on the mound, striking out 6 and allowing only 3 men to reach base through 5 innings as Centennial eliminated Willow Canyon 10-1. The Coyotes tallied 6 times in the third inning en route to the win.

Pinnacle beat Sunnyside 8 -1 in the second round of the state tournament in a well played game. Pinnacle’s Steve Casey went 5 innings on the mound giving up 4 hits and striking out 7 and Justin Walker came in to close the last two innings.

The Pinnacle “Red Mohawks” struck quickly scoring two in the first and followed up with six in the second capped off by Jake Peevyhouse’s three run bomb on the big Peoria yard. Offensively for Pinnacle’s Jake Peevyhouse, Ashton McCoy and TC Mark all had multiple hits. Sunnyside’s Jose Gomez takes the loss. The Pinnacle win sets up another meeting with Horizon on Saturday at 4:00 in Surprise.

Sophomore Jake Peevyhouse is greeted at the plate after hitting his 3 run bomb in the 2^nd inning at Peoria

Deer Valley beat Sunrise Mountain 6-4 in the 2nd round of the 5AII State Tournament at Surprise Stadium Tuesday afternoon. Deer Valley started off the top of the 1st with singles by lead off sophomore Darian Ramage, Senior catcher Blaine Schmidt and Junior 3rd baseman Kyle Herrington. Schmidt's single drove in Ramage for the first run and Senior Steven Sakata pushed across the second run with a sacrificed fly. Junior Jacob Doyle pitched a shut out for the first 3 innings. In the 3rd, Schmidt led off with a double followed by Herrington's RBI double to give DV a 3-0 lead. DV increased their lead in the 4th on a Senior Chris Capper single, Junior Tyler Cohen sacrifice and a Ramage RBI single. In the  bottom of the 4th, Sunrise Mtn. scored 2 on 2 bases loaded walks, in an inning that included  a single and 4 walks. DV tried to expand the lead with Herrington getting his third hit of the game, but on a squeeze play gone bad, Sunrise Mtn. turned it into a double play.

Sunrise Mtn. scored 2 more in the 5th to tie the game at 4. In the 6th, DV Senior Daniel Schneider hit a single, followed by a Cohen double to deep center. Later in the inning, Doyle drove in the go ahead run and an insurance run with a single to center. Sunrise Mtn. had their 6th inning cut short, when Capper came in to relieve and got the third out with 2 runners on. Capper pitched
a scoreless 7th to close out the win. DV next plays Desert Ridge at 7pm on Saturday at Surprise Stadium.

Jake Barrett and Travis Flores both homered as Desert Ridge dropped marcos De NMiza 7-5.

North High stayed alive with an 11-8 win over Marana Mtn. View. The Mustangs pounded out 16 hits in their victory. Robert Alejo and Deray Gomez each collected 3 a piece, with Steven Monteith, Preston Van Buren, Andrew Romo, and Eduardo Ramirez each collecting 2. The game was tied at 8, when Monteith walked, stole second and was driven in by Gomez. In the 7th, the Mustangs added 2 insurance runs. Alejo and Jonathan Cuellar walked and Montieth doubled them in to put the Mustangs ahead 11-8. Jonathan Cuellar Pitched the last 2 innings for the save. Alejo picked up the win in relief, and also had 3 stolen bases.

Yuma Kofa eliminated Skyline 9-7. Albert Alvarez was 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Kyle Pietryga homered for Skyline.

Dylan Scott and Johnny Strickland combined on a shutout as Horizon dropped Tolleson 2-0.

Ironwood Ridge run ruled San Luis 12-1 in 5 innings.

In 5AI action, Tyler Wilson's walk off grand slam capped a 5 run seventh inning as Highland defeated Basha 8-6 at Phoenix Muni. Taylor Whatcott had 3 hits for Highland. Starting pitcher Tony Asta was brilliant for Basha, working 6 strong innings and leaving with  a 6-3 lead. Jared McClaughlin had a double and a homer for Basha.

In the nightcap, Zack Johnson allowed  a pair of runs in the first and then closed the door on Mountain Ridge as Hamilton defeated the Lions 6-2. With the score 3-2 entering the 7th, the Hamilton's Cory Bernard doubled high off the wall, and Ryan Casillas and Jorge Flores followed with back to back scuds to seal the deal. Cody Gray threw 6 strong innings for Ridge.

Zach Johnson looks in for the sign

Corona Del Sol held off a furious Desert Vista rally and sent the Thunder to the loser's bracket 15-12.  Trailing 15-4, DV, with the help of a severe cases of Corona leather allergy, would cut the deficit to 15-12. With 2 out and 2 on, Cole Pembroke's line shot was speared by Aztec reliever Brock Abbadini to end the game. Kirby Pellant was 3-5 and Greg Ryan knocked in 4 runs for CDS.

Desert Mountain stayed in the winner's bracket with a 14-6 victory over Red Mountain. DM starting pitcher Jamie Young went 4+ innings. He struggled at times but worked out of a couple of jams aided by some great defense. Brian Foster picked up the last 3 innings on the mound-giving up only 1 run.

Desert Mountain bats were led by Lance Harper who went 4-4 with a double, triple and 5 big RBI's. Taylor Lindsey also had a double and a triple. Tyler Pretzlaff was 2-3 with 2 doubles, two runs and two RBI's. Pretzlaff also made a number of web gems at 2nd base. Cam Teich also chipped in two hits for the Wolves-and made a great catch to rob Derek Mendoza of a potential base clearing double.

Red Mountain's Cole Gleason hit a monster home run to the trees in leftfield in the 3rd inning-giving his team a temporary lead. Gleason finished 3-4 with 3 RBI's. Ryne Dean was also 3-4 with 2 RBI's

Chandler High traveled to Tucson and eliminated Tucson High 3-2

The North Canyon Rattlers season ended last night with a 6-4 loss to Brophy. The Rattlers dug themselves a hole early giving up 6 runs in the first three innings. Canyon then battled back scoring 4 in the top of 4 to turn the game into a thriller.
Senior Miles Moeller threw an outstanding game in his last outing as a Rattler hurler. Miles threw all 6 innings, holding second ranked Brophy scoreless over the last 3 innings and also led the charge offensively with 3 hits and 2 RBI's. Conner Bowen had a huge 2 run single in the 4th inning to help NC get back in it.
Brophy put up 3, 2 , 1 respectively in the first 3 innings and held on for the win.
 

Salpointe pushed across a run in the bottom of the 7th to eliminate Gilbert 13-12 in Tucson.

Brian Williams and Hayden Rogers combined for the win as Mesa Mountain View sent Mountain Pointe packing 3-2. Derek Bailey's 2 run homer proved to be the differnce as the Toros move on. For Pointe, Josh Alexander was 3-3 with a home run and Jake Waldren was 2-4 on the day.

In 4AII action Mingus wins the Grand Canyon Region Tournament over Page. Mingus bats stay hot pounding out 17 hits in a 14-4 six inning game. Mingus got multiple hits from Nick Allred, 3-5 2-Triples and a double. First Team all Region -Shaun Mc Carty went 2-4 triple,double and 3 RBI. Tony Vocca- MVP of Grand Canyon Region shows why going 3-4 HR, triple,single and 3 RBI. First Team - Treavor Sanderlin heats up with 2 for 3 . But the Hot bat of First Team Grand Canyon Region- Hunter Zwart continues to show power and consistancy going 4 for 5 with his 4th HR in as many games. His 7th of the year with 3 singles and 3 RBI's. Tony Vocca got his 10th win going 6 inn. striking out 12 and walking 2.

Notre Dame 10
Glendale 0

Jordan Luvisi (3 inn), Eric Knight (2 inn), and Nick Barber (1 inn) combined to pitch a 1 hit shutout. Glendale got their only hit when they were 2 outs away from being no hit for the second time this year by the Saints pitching staff.Tony Piazza hit his first home run of the year,added another single and had 3 rbi's to lead the Saints offense. Matt Ozanne, Drew Ozanne and Eric Knight added 2 hits a piece. Knight also collected 3 rbi's and Drew Ozanne collected 2 rbi's. Notre Dame improved their season record to 26-1 with this 6 inning run rule victory


Notre Dame 12
Seton 1

Casey Upperman dominated Seton allowing 1 unearned run on only 3 hits while striking out 14 in another run rule shortened 5 inning game for the 27-1 Notre Dame Saints.For the second day in a row Tony Piazza came up big as he blasted a grand slam home run in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Piazza finished with 2 hits and 5 rbi's on the night.Six other Saint players added 1 hit a piece to the offense. It was senior night and Notre Dame played only seniors for the entire game which officially ended their regular season schedule.

The Southern AZ 4 A Region Titles were settled Tuesday night at Cherry Field in Tucson. While the games may have seemed meaningless (No Power Points), a title is still a title as far as bragging rights, and a few teams will enter the playoffs on a positive note.

In the 4A-I Sonoran Region, Catalina Foothills defeated #1 CDO 15-8. Christian Muscarello led the Falcons 15 hit attack with 2 doubles, a homer and 4 RBIs. CDO had 11 hits of their own led by Hayden Cota-Robles who homered for the 4th straight game. Catalina Foothills will be a #8 Seed and will host #9 Apollo in Saturday's opening round of the State Playoffs. CDO dropped from the top spot following wins by Cactus and Cactus Shadows and will now have a #3 seed and host cross town rival #14 Tucson Sahuaro on Saturday.

In the 4A-I Kino Region, Nogales remained hot and defeated Cienega 8-3 in the rubber match between the two schools. Nogales will carry a #5 seed and host #12 Aqua Fria in Saturday's first round, site TBD pending the Nogales Schools decision regarding closing schools until Monday. Cienega will be seeded #6 and will host #11 Scottsdale Saguaro.

In the 4A-II Gila Region, regular season champ Sahuarita defeated Amphi 5-0. Sahuarita will be a #3 seed and will host league rival and #14 Douglas in Saturday's opening round. Amphi, which sneaked into the playoffs based on their 2nd place Gila Region finish will be the #16 seed and have to face #1 Notre Dame on Saturday in Scottsdale.

Should Cienega advance Saturday, it will be interesting to see if the AIA will change the location of Wednesday's quarterfinal location. They would face either Tucson CDO or Tucson Sahuaro. Surprise is a great venue, but a long bus ride on a school day during finals. There are a few empty fields in Tucson that should be utilized if that scenario takes place. The same scenario could exist in other games if some Tucson teams can pull off some upsets, although Diablo is much closer than Surprise.
 

May 5 , 2009

Marcos de Niza defeated Kofa HS in a first round game in Yuma 3 - 2 on Saturday.
In the top of the third Kendall Konopka reached on an error. Jeff Anderson followed with a single to left; both moved up on a wild pitch and Konopka scored on an error on the throw to 3rd. Max Sankey and Zach Schira walked, and a sacrifice fly by starting pitcher Mike Kenneth brought home Anderson for a 2 - 0 lead.
In the 4th, the Padres got a 2 out single by Kyle Becerra, who scored on a triple by Konopka to right center to give the Padres a 3 - 0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, 3 singles by the Kings' Cesar Valenzuela, Claudio Valencia, and Albert Alvarez produce Kofa's first run, making the score 3 - 1.  In the sixth, Blake Johnston walked, was sacrificed to second by Jared Helms, and scored on an error to the right side hit by Valenzuela.
For the Kings, Alvarez had 3 hits while Valenzuela had 2, and the Padres got 2 hits from John Botelho.
Valencia started the game for the Kings and gave up 2 earned runs. For the Padres, Kenneth pitched 6 solid innings, with 5 strikeouts and 1 earned run, while spacing out 7 hits, and Brian King pitched a 1-2-3 7th to get the save.

After winning 13-3 at home over Apache Junction on Monday, the Chaparral Firebirds can earn at least a share of the Desert Sky Region title today at Apache Junction. The Firebirds, 16-12 overall and 8-3 in the region, were tied coming into the week with Cactus Shadow, which had games Monday and Tuesday against Paradise Valley. Both teams should enter the state tournament ranked in the top eight, which carries with it a first-round home game.

In Monday's game, Matt Harjung delivered two hits and four RBIs to lead the 13-hit Chaparral attack. Konner Wade, Trey Ford, Jack Diamond, Aaron Levy and Jordan Weymouth also had two hits apiece in helping junior right-hander Preston Hill to his fifth victory in five decisions. Paul Stockfish pitched the fifth to record the save. Mike Davalos accounted for two of Apache Junction's five hits.
Chaparral got on the board right away by loading the bases on a walk to James McDonald, an infield hit by Ford and another walk to Weymouth. Diamond then delivered a two-run double to deep left. Harjung brought in the fourth run of the inning with a grounder to first. He also had a two-run single to left in the fourth and a run-scoring hit to right in the fifth. Levy, who had a pair of RBIs, brought the contest to a close in the fifth with a run-scoring single to center that scored Diamond and gave the Firebirds the 10-run margin that invoked the mercy rule.

Cactus Shadows took a 12-1 run rule victory over Paradise Valley yesterday at PV. Mike Basco went the distance for Shadows.

Malcolm Purdy grabs a pop up in foul ground (L) Logan Davis laying one down for Cactus Shadows

Tucson High's New Cherry Field is the site for the 4A Southern Region Tourneys.

In last night's semi-final action, Sonoran Region #2 Catalina Foothills defeated #3 Pueblo 7-6 in 8 innings. The Falcons' Breck Ashdown hit the game winning RBI single in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded and no outs. Ashdown also tripled earlier to lead Foothills. Catalina Foothills will meet #1 CDO in the Sonoran Title game Tuesday evening. It will be the 4th meeting this season with CDO winning the 1st three.

In the Kino region semi-final, #2 seed Nogales thankfully was allowed to play, despite school being closed for a week. The Apaches defeated #4 Sabino 8-3 to advance to the title game where they will meet #1 Cienega. Juan (Speedy) Espiricueta led Nogales on the mound and at the plate. "Speedy" doubled and homered and picked up the win on the mound. Nogales and Cienega split during the season.

In the 4A-II Gila Region semis, Amphi picked up a big break and may have punched a ticket to the playoffs. #3 Amphi defeated #2 Douglas 10-3 to reach the final where they will take on #1 Sahuarita. Regular season contender Catalina was forced to forfeit most of their games earlier in the week and was unable to qualify for the Region Tourney. They appealed to the AIA and will be allowed to participate in the State Playoffs that begin Saturday, but were ruled ineligible for the Region Tourney. Amphi's worst case scenario of a 2nd place Region finish may catapault them into the the playoffs despite falling just shy on Power Points. (Currently 17). This one should prove interesting, because someone from the North will most likely get booted from the playoffs.
 

May 2, 2009

In today's 5A tourney action:

Hamilton scored 5 runs in the top of the 8th to break a 2-2 tie and beat Brophy 7-2. Cory Bernard threw 7 very strong innings for the Huskies. Justin Rosales beat out a high chopper to 3rd with a headfirst slide to start the 8th inning. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out in the 8th, Brophy intentionally walked Ryan Casillas to face Matt Helm. Helm made the Broncs pay be lining a 2 run double to the fence in right center.  Two batters later, Manny Mancillas would line a shot over the right fielders head for another double to finish the scoring. Jake Williams started and threw very well in his 4 innings for Brophy. The Broncs scored 2 unearned runs in the 3rd on a pair of infield errors.

From left above: Cory Bernard and  Jake Willams faced off in round 1. Matt Helm pumped after breaking the tie

Desert Mountain opened the 5AI playoffs with convincing 11-6 win over Mountain Pointe. Cam Teich started on the mound for the Wolves, and threw 4 solid innings scattering 4 hits and allowing only 3 runs. Matt Petello's grand slam and Lance Harper's 3-run bomb were the big hits for Desert Mountain. Hunter Thompson had 2 hits for the Wolves. Nick Mancuso was 3-4 with a home run for the Pride.

Desert Mountain jumped on Mountain Pointe ace Ryan Klem for 3 runs in the first. Tyler Pretzlaff walked, moved to third on a hit by Michael Janikis, and scored on Taylor Lindsey's groundout. Adam Sonabend singled Lindsey to third and Harper got the first of his 4 RBI's with a sacrifice fly. Thompson then doubled home Sonabend.

Mountain Pointe came back in the 2nd. Josh Alexander walked and Mancuso homered to right center.

The Wolves broke the game open in the 3rd. Harper walked and Thompson was aboard on an error. Harper scored on a wild pitch. Teich then doubled to put runners at 2nd and 3rd-and chased Klem. Jeremy McNeely walked. Matt Petello then unloaded to deep leftfield for the grand slam. After two groundouts, Lindsey singled and Sonabend walked. Harper then went deep for the Wolves to complete the 8 run inning.

The Pride picked up a couple of runs in the 5th on a single by Ross O'Callaghan, a HBP to Klem-and Kevin Cron's 2 run double.

In the 6th inning, the Pride almost got back in the game. Mancuso singled, Joe Rocha was aboard on a fielder's choice and O'Callaghan walked to load the bases. The Wolves brought in Brian Foster to pitch. A walk to Klem forced in a run. Jake Waldren then ripped a ball into the gap in right-center field, that Teich made a running grab on to save at least 3 runs and end the inning. It was the second time Waldren was robbed of extra bases-the first by McNeely with a leeping grab in the third inning.

Foster did a nice job finishing off the game for the Wolves with no further damage in the last inning-aided by a spectacular play behind the bag by 2nd baseman Tyler Pretzlaff. Jordan Kipper did a nice job for the Pride on the mound, shutting down Desert Mountain's bats over the last 3 innings.

Corona Del Sol run ruled Tucson Salpointe 14-2 behind Tyler Giannonatti.  Ryan Moore, Kirby Pellant and Trever Allen all had 3 hit games. Allen knocked in 4 runs for the Aztecs. Harrison Graham homered for Salpointe.

Cole Gleason tossed a complete game as Red Mountain knocked off Mountain View (Mesa) 3-2.

Desert Vista came back from the dead to defeat Gilbert 14-10. The Thunder trailed 8-0 early and were down 10-7 entering the bottom of the 7th.  After tying the score at 10, Cole Pembroke would launch a walk off grand slam to win it.

Mountain Ridge defeated  a very game North Canyon team on a walk off blast from Tanner Murphy.

Basha defeated Tucson High 13-10 on Jared McLaughlin's game winning bomb in a  wild affair. Basha had led 5-2 in the 6th inning. Matt Potter tossed 5  plus innings for Basha for the win.

James Pazos tossed 6 innings as Highland dropped Chandler 4-1.

In 5A II, Desert Ridge smoked Skyline 11-1. Jake Barrett went 4 innings. Travis Flores and Taylor Kaczmarek played long ball.

Marcos De Niza made the roadie to Yuma and defeated Kofa 3-2 with Michael Kenneth tossing 6 innings for the win.

Deer Valley beat Marana Mountain View 8 to 3 in the first round of state. Senior Chris Capper pitched a complete game, working out of only a couple jams. Marana tried to make a game of it when they scored 2 in the 5th on two hits and a sac fly before Capper shut them down and then shut them out in the 6th and 7th. Deer Valley started scoring in the first after two walks and Junior Kyle Herrington hit a 3 run homerun. The SkyHawks scored in the 3rd on a Senior Blaine Schmidt walk, Herrington single, Senior Josh Dahl was hit, and Senior Daniel Schneider was also hit to force in a run. Deer Valley continued scoring in the 4th when Sophomore Darian Ramage got a single, Junior Jacob Doyle had a rbi triple, and Schmidt had a sac fly rbi. In the 6th Deer Valley tacked on two more when Ramage was hit by a pitch, Doyle bunted him over, Schmidt hit a deep triple to right center, Herrington followed with his third hit and 4th rbi, and Senior Josh Dahl finished the hitting for the day with a single. Deer Valley will play Sunrise Mountain on Tuesday at 4 pm at the Surprise Stadium in the next round.
 

Sunrise Mountain dropped North 6-4 in a tough game. Tyler Crawford tossed 5 strong innings for SM but trailed 2-1 in the 5th. David Hall had a 2 RBI single to win it and Vince Gillies earned the win in relief.

Pinnacle beat Ironwood Ridge 11-1 in five innings in the first round of the state tournament.

Without the coaches knowledge the Pinnacle players spent Friday night preparing for the tournament by shaving in Mohawks and dying their hair red. The Mohawks were for team unity and the red dye was in defiance to the administration for the decision to deny them the opportunity to wear the “lucky red jerseys” as the school colors are blue and white. 

Pinnacle was led defensively by senior pitcher Matt McAllister who went the distance on the mound giving up three hits and striking out seven. Seniors Ashton McCoy and Justin Winters led the way for the offense and combined for 3 jacks. McCoy set the tone in the first inning sending the first pitch he saw over the centerfield wall….TC  Mark walked, Justin Winters was hit by a pitch and Tyler Krause proceeded to hit a three run bomb to put Ridge in an early hole. Pinnacle chased starting pitcher Tray Higginbotham after an inning and a third and the Ridge pitching staff didn’t have any answers to quiet the Pinnacle sticks. Leadoff hitter Jake Peevyhouse hit a line drive to center that somehow bounced off the yellow fence cap and back into play for a stand up triple and Steve Casey added a couple of hits for Pinnacle. Senior Justin Winters homered in the 2^nd and then again in the 5^th to end the game. For Ridge offensively Kyle Kilgore had two of Ridge’s three hits with a solo jack.

Justin Winters is greeted at the plate by McCoy and other red headed Mohawk sporting Pioneers after hitting the game ending bomb In the 5^th.

Tolleson defeated Centennial 14-4. Jose Sierra and Austin Trujillo homered for the Wolverines.

Horizon topped Willow Canyon 6-4. Joey Danner tossed 4 plus innings for the win and had a 3 run homer. Cody Anderson had 2 homers for WC.

On Friday Eric Urry tossed a complete game and McClintock held on to defeat Millenium  5-4. Urry struck out Jerry Hawkinson on a controversial call with the tying and lead runs in scoring position to end the game. Brent Davis' RBI single in the 6th put McClintock ahead t stay. Nate Ring homered for Millenium.

 From left above: Xavier Carrillo lays out, Tyler Booth runs one down, Eric Urry delivers and Ty Johnson gets the sign

Cactus Shadows moved their record to 19 and 6 on the season with an 8-2 victory over Shadow Mountain on Thursday afternoon. Jackson Goulder moved his record to 9 and 0. Cactus Shadows was led offensively by Steffen Miner who was 3 for 3 and Anthony Pena - lead off guy who got on base 3 times.

Mingus and Page set for 4AII Grand Canyon Region Tournament Final on May 5th. Mingus got by Bradshaw 8-6 to advance to the Divisions Championship game. Mingus got help from Hunter Zwart going 2 for 4 with another HR , double and 3 RBI's. Nick Allred went 2 for 4 with a HR. Shaun Mc Carty, Tony Vocca went 2 for 4 and Trevor Sanderlin went 2 for 3. Page got by Flagstaff to get into the final game.

May 1, 2009

Dominic Portocarrero lined a walk off solo shot over the left field wall as North Canyon ended Alhambra's season 6-5. For Portocarrero, it was his second bomb of the day. His 3 run shot started the scoring for NC, who would expand their lead to 5-1 entering the 4th. Alhambra battled and tied things at 5 before the 7th inning dramatics. The NC win gives Mountain Pointe the #16 seed in the state tournament.

Notre Dame 12
Moon Valley 7

Jordan Luvisi did double duty again with a big day at the plate and on the mound. Luvisi went 4 for 4 at the plate including his team leading 10th home run of the year. Drew Ozanne and Nick Barber also homered for the Saints. Matt Ozanne added 3 hits and Casey Upperman added 2 hits to the 14 hit attack by Notre Dame. Jordan Luvisi (8-1) was sharp on the mound as well,
going 6 strong innings allowing only 1 earned run on 3 hits while striking out 11. Notre Dames bullpen didn't fare quite as well giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning before finally getting Moon Valley retired to end the game.

O'Connor defeated Copper Canyon 9-0. Bryce Keffeler threw a 7 inning 2 hit shutout, striking out 8. Brad king had three hits with two jacks, Tyler Doolittle and Taylor Bolton both had 2 hits.

Cactus defeated Lberty 4-3 to clinch its 3rd straight region championship. James Fajardo raised his record to 8-2 on the mound while Ryan Wescott homered and Austin Brunke had a game winning 2 run double in the bottom of the 6th. The Cobras are now 9-1 in region and 21-5 overall.

Preston Hill was not at his best to start Chaparral's Desert Sky region game at Paradise Valley on Thursday, but it did not take the junior right-hander long to settle down and lead the Firebirds to a 7-1 victory, their 10th in 12 games. Chaparral is now 15-12 overall and 7-3 in the region. Paradise Valley faces a pair of must-win games next week against Cactus Shadows if it is to make it into the state playoffs.
Hill hit leadoff batter Johnny Galvez with his second pitch and, after a ground ball to third base for an out, walked Sean Koster. The bases were left loaded with one out when Malcolm Purdy reached on an error. But after Jordan Dee hit a line-drive out to center field for a sacrifice and a run, Hill was virtually untouchable. He proceeded to retire 16 of the remaining 18 hitters he faced. The two PV players to get hits - Jose Leal with a single in the second and Dee with a single in the fourth - were promptly retired on a pickoff play and a double play ball, respectively. In all,
Hill, who left after striking out the leadoff hitter in the seventh, allowed only two hits while striking out five. All of his pitches were working, and he had command anywhere in the strike zone in improving his record to 4-2.
Chaparral got all the scoring it needed in the top of the first, opening with three consecutive infield singles by Jordan Weymouth, James McDonald and Matt Harjung, whose hit up the middle brought in Weymouth after Trey Ford was hit by a pitch to load the bases. McDonald then came in with what would prove to be the winning run on a hard-hit double play ball by Jack Diamond, who got the save for a second straight game by relieving for Hill in the seventh and getting the final two outs after allowing a hit by Dee.
Chaparral added another run in the third on a singles by McDonald and Harjung and an RBI double to deep right by Diamond. The Firebirds scored two more in the fourth inning on a two-run hit to right by McDonald after Joey Bielek had walked and Weymouth had singled.
The scoring was completed in the seventh on consecutive doubles by Blake Spiekerman, Konner Wade and Aaron Levy.
McDonald led the way for the Firebirds with three hits in four at bats, a pair of RBIs and runs and a stolen base. Weymouth had two hits and two runs and Harjung had two hits in Chaparral's 11-hit attack.