March 19, 2007

Additional Notes from last week's action:

Nolan Church was 3-3 with a Grand Slam, a double and 4 RBIs as Gilbert topped Skyline 15-3. Mike Dibiasi got the win on the mound. Thomas Gutierrez was 2-3 with a pair of doubles and Mike Voight homered for the Tigers.

Gilbert downed Desert Vista 11-10. David Coronado had 3 hits in the losing effort. Gilbert was led by Braden Nolan Church and Chris Reese, all with 2 hits apiece.

Desert Ridge went 5-1 in Highland Tourney losing in the championship 10-8 to Chavez. They were down 7-0 in the 4 inning. They went up 8-7 in the bottom of the 5th. Lost it in the 7th as Chavez scored 2 in the top of the 7th.

In Saturday action, Ryan Makis threw a shutout improving to 3-1 on the season. Brett Nicholas was 2-3 with a HR and 4rbi's, Ash McCoy was 2-4 and Justin Winters added 3 more hits as Pinnacle blanked Boulder Creek 15-0 in 5.

Queen Creek swept through their triple header Saturday. Fantastic pitching led the Bulldogs through a hot never-ending day. They took the double-header against Page 10-2 and 5-0. Then traveled across town to beat a scrappy Apollo team 11-6. Senior and Mesa Community College bound Heath Nichols picked up the win in the first game going 6 innings and yielding only 1 earned run while striking out 6. In the second game, freshman Matt Schmit went 6 2/3 scoreless innings, walking only one and striking out 5 for the victory. Sophomore Alonzo Martin picked up the W in the finale going 6 innings, giving up 3 earned runs striking out 5. On the day; Senior Aaron McRae 6-8 with 5 rbi, Junior Jr. Lemalu 4-9 with an oppo-field bomb, Senior Dayton Jones 4-10 2 doubles and a triple, and Alonzo Martin 4 rbi.

Cactus Shadows won the Championship at the Patriot Classic last week. The Falcons have won 11 straight since their opening loss to Flowing Wells and get a nice test today when Chaparral visits.

At the Best of the West Tournament, being held at various locales in the west valley, Cactus split a pair of games on Saturday on their home field.

The Cobras rallied back from a 4 run deficit in the bottom of the seventh to take a 10-9 victory over Willow Canyon. Freshman Eric Goetz got the win in relief. Mike Planeta homered twice for Canyon.

Cactus' John Navarro makes the tag

Later, Notre Dame jumped out to an early 3-0 first innning lead and held on for a 3-2 victory over Cactus. Craig Kinneberg got the win on the mound for the Saints, featuring a change up that was as good as I've seen this spring. Casey Collins, after a rocky first, settled down and threw very well for Cactus.

Craig Kinneberg (L) and Casey Collins squared off on Saturday

Colton Vaughn prepares to lay the leather on a Saints runner

Millennium visited Shadow Mountain and came way with a 9-3 win over the Matadors in Saturday action. Zac Livingston earned the win for the Tigers. Alfredo Yanez was 2-3 for Shadow. Colby Cress went deep for Millennium.

 Millennium's Greg Solomon tags out a Shadow runner (L) Zac Livingston dealin' for the Tigers

Shadow Mountain's Westin Sherlock (L) Nate Ring rounds second for the Tigers as Chase Hunter awaits a throw

A quick note here:

I want to reaffirm what my goal is with this space and the website in general.

My primary purpose is to identify players who I feel can play at the next level and have the desire to do so. My focus is primarily on sophomores and juniors who show the potential for advancement, to help them with developmental opportunities, and to serve as a bridge between the players, the summer and fall programs, and eventually colleges. I also provide assistance to the area's MLB scouting personnel.

I really have no interest in being a reporter. The game reports given here are a side note to me and are a service I offer.

I need the help of all of you who read this site (and there are a lot of you trust me) to help me with the information that goes in this space.

When you see me at games, I'm not keeping score. I'm not even making game notes. I take some pictures for the site, but I am primarily watching individual players.

We have had a huge amount of success in increasing the visibility of Arizona players to colleges who never considered this as a fertile recruiting ground. I want to continue to add to the number of schools who use the info in the coach/ scout section and that will always be the primary focus.

So please, don't assume someone else is sending me info. Done be bashful when it comes to giving props to your kids.

If you go over the edge with your homerism, I'll  tone it down with some slick editing.

If necessary, ask your scorekeeper to send me info.

Finally, make sure I have your player's contact info for the database.

The teams crossed over between the Mesquite and McClintock tourney sites on Thursday as play concluded in the Central/Fiesta/East Valley Tournament.

McClintock's Jimmy Patterson struck out 17 and scattered 9 hits as the Chargers topped Dobson 8-2. Patterson also had a 3 run homer, his third in as many days I believe and fifth on the season. Xorge Carrilo  and Andy Tulumello each had 2 hits.

Desert Vista cranked out 14 hits and took down Chandler 10-0 in 6 innings. David Coronado was 3-4 and Cole Pembroke 2-3 for Vista. The Thunder got a long fly from freshman Jaycob Brugman. Trent Wilson got the win on the mound with late relief from Roy Metter.

Cole Pembroke just beats the tag of Trever Benjamin (L). Ryan Davis on the hill for Chandler

Desert Mountain's Merrill Kelly  and Jason Butler combined to limit Gilbert to 4 hits in an 11-2 win. Robert Neil was 2-3 with a homer and 5 RBIs. Lars Liguori was 3-4 with a pair of doubles. Chris Reese went deep for the Tigers.

Corona Del Sol got multi hit games from Andrew Pollak and sophomores Ryan Moore and Mike Felton as the Aztecs downed Skyline 10-3.

Mountain View edged Marcos de Niza 5-4 as Matt Shannon scored the game winner on a 7th inning wild pitch. Todd Wooton and Hunter Reynolds each had 2 hits for MVT. Coltin White got the win on the mound.

Basha took down Mesa 11-1. Ryan Downs and Frankie Valles limited Mesa to 3 hits. Ryan Leasure had a 3 run pinch hit bomb. Josh Melendez also homered for the Bears.

Kevin Rhoderick and Conner Hulse combined on a 2 hitter as Horizon took their second straight over Paradise Valley 12-2. Tim Alderson homered and had 4 RBIs.

Westwood's Daniel Zapata and Mesquite's Casey Rana locked up in a pitcher's duel as Westwood edged the Wildcats 2-1. Zapata and Jaime Baack each had 2 hits for the Warriors.

Zach Hayden tossed a 3 hit shutout and was 2-2 at the dish as Chaparral blanked Coronado 8-0.

Gilbert and Chandler both finished 4-0 at the EV tourney but won't face off due to both teams being from the same region.

Gilbert barely escaped with a win over Red Mountain after an apparent Lion grand slam was disallowed when the batter passed a teammate on the basepaths. The batter is ruled out in this instance and Gilbert held on for an 8-7 victory.

Also at Mesquite, Desert Vista clubbed Skyline 16-4 with lefty Zach Fort earning the win on the mound. Cole Pembroke led the way, going 3-4 at the dish.

At McClintock, Corona del Sol bested Mesa High 12-3 with Travis Kniffen allowing only 3 hits. Kirby Pellant was 3-4 with 3 RBIs for the Aztecs. Mike Felton, Ryan Moore and Justin Klett all had 2 knocks for CDS.

McClintock outslugged Mountain View 14-13, with Kelly Kurzman homering twice and knocking in 3 for the Chargers. Jimmy Patterson added a gargantuan blast as well. Dan Milner's slow roller knocked in the game winner in the seventh after Xorge Carrillo had knotted the score at 13 with a base hit. For MVT, Blake Shumway was huge, going 3-4 with 2 doubles. Hunter Reynolds also had 3 hits for the Toros.

Jimmy Patterson goes gone-zo (L) MVT's Tim Willsey dealin' for the Toros

In other action, Pinnacle run ruled Greenway in 6 innings 15-5. Justin Winters was 4-4 with 3 rbi's and Brett Nicholas was 3-3 with 2 rbi's. Colin Lowe got the win on the mound with Bryan Karraker closing things off. Andrew Ray was 3-3 with a double for Greenway.

On Tuesday, Sunrise Mountain hammered Peoria 12-3. The Mustangs launched a total of six bombs, with Trey Stiner going yard twice, and Jaff Decker, Woody Nisbet, Vince Barreda, and Cory Lee all playing long ball.
 

The Arizona Baseball Coaches Association has updated its rankings. See the list at http://azbca.org/rankings.html

Mtn. Ridge topped Sandra Day O'Connor by the score of 8-7. Leading the way at the plate for the Lions was Kyle Stiner, Kyle had a big two out bases clearing triple. The Lions host O'Connor on Friday at Mtn. Ridge.

North Canyon dropped Kingman 12-6. In his first start since fully recovering from surgery, senior righthander Jason Davis picked up the win. North Canyon moves to 2-1 in Northwest Region Play.

Sophomore Travis Eggert was nearly perfect on the mound for Queen Creek against Cortez. Eggert went 6 innings in the win and surrendered only 2 hits while giving up no earned runs. The win runs Eggert's record to 2-1.

In a battle of Westside 4AI powers, Agua Fria bested Cactus 3-0. Kenny Houser of the Owls threw a complete game 2 hitter, striking out 13 Cobras. Agua Fria improved to 9-1 while Cactus dropped their first game after winning the first nine. Mitch Wolfe and Aaron Altherr hit back-to-back solo home runs for the Agua Fria in the first inning.

At the McClintock side of the EV Tournament:

Mountain Pointe and McClintock broke out the lumber on Wednesday and when the dust had settled, Pointe came away with a 17-12 win. The Pride jumped out to a 7-0 first inning lead but McClintock battled back and a 3 run Jimmy Patterson bomb cut the deficit to 10-9 in the third. There was no quieting the MP sticks, however. Junior outfielder Nick Lira launched a pair of scuds. JJ Ethel, Philip Konieczny and C.J. Cron all had 3 hit days for the Pride. For McClintock, Kyle Heckathorn was 3-5 and Patterson was 2-4.

  Nick Lira of Mountain Pointe

Kevin Hennessey tossed a 6 hit shutout as Chandler blanked Mountain View 7-0. Sean Lewis and Mike Handel both homered.

Chandler also dropped Corona del Sol 6-1 with Landis Ware scattering six hits. Lewis homered again for the Wolves.

Desert Mountain got the better of Westwood 4-2. Wes Kipley was 2-3 with a double. Riley Welch tossed a 5 hitter for the win.

At the Mesquite site:

Marcos De Niza outslugged Basha 19-12. K.C. Boyles homered twice for the Padres and was 4-5. Shaun Deisler was 4-4 for Marcos.

Desert Vista took down Mesquite 11-5. Aaron Mees was 3-3 for DV.

Gilbert downed Vista 11-10. David Coronado had 3 hits in the losing effort. Gilbert was led by Braden Nolan Church and Chris Reese, all with 2 hits apiece.

Red Mountain beat Dobson 14-4. Junior righty Mark Hawkenson got the win on the mound and homered. Nate Acosta was 3-4 with 4 RBIs. For Dobson, Eric Henkel was 2-3 with a double.

In other action, Junior Lefty Danny Coulombe tossed 6 solid innings and struck out 12 as Chaparral took an 8-2 win over Saguaro.Tommy White was 3-4 and Casey Lytle was 2-3 with a double and triple. Jordan Weymouth added 2 hits for the 'birds.

Kevin Rhoderick and Steven Defreitas both went deep as Horizon hammered Paradise Valley 10-0. Tim Alderson got the win for the Huskies.

Tournament play continues in the Phoenix east valley..be patient west siders...your turn comes next week.

At Mesquite, Gilbert topped Basha 5-4 as Chris Reese scored the game winner on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh. Kenny Hatcher went yard for the Tigers. Jake Swift got the win for Gilbert.

Gilbert's Jake Swift

Mountain View's Aaron Rhodes allowed only 2 hits as the Toros edged Corona del Sol 3-2. Jesse Scoular of CDS was equally as impressive, scattering 3 hits in the losing effort. Riley Nielsen got the game winner with a sixth inning triple.

Corona sophomore Kevin Collinge got his first varsity win in relief of fellow soph Tyler Giannonatti as the Aztecs dropped Westwood.

Desert Vista took a 7-4 decision over Red Mountain.  Jaycob Brugman and Aaron Mees both had 2 hits. Mees homered for the Thunder.

Dobson won a pair of games at Mesquite, dropping Skyline 9-3 behind Scott McGaughey and taking an 11-6 decision over Basha with Brandon Holdridge getting the win.

McClintock got the best of Westwood on Saturday 6-3. Jimmy Patterson tossed a complete game with 10 Ks, and was 3-4 at the dish with 2 doubles and a homer. Kyle Heckathorn was 2-4 with a pair of RBIs.

Pinnacle won 6-3 over Desert Sky rival Saguaro on Saturday. Garrison Henlsey and Colin Lowe both had 2 hits for Pinnacle.
 

Kyle Petersen had three homers, a triple, and 7 RBIs to lead Hamilton to a 15-4 win over Sierra Vista Buena. Cory Bernard got the win on the mound and also had a run run blast for Hamilton.

Nolan Church was 3-3 with a Grand Slam, a double and 4 RBIs as Gilbert topped Skyline 15-3. Mike Dibiasi got the win on the mound. Thomas Gutierrez was 2-3 with a pair of doubles and Mike Voight homered for the Tigers.

Later on Church got the ball on the bump against Marcos de Niza and took a 1-0 lead into the sixth when Marco's Shaun Deisler hit a solo shot to tie the game at one. Gilbert exploded for 8 runs in the top of the seventh to take a 9-1 win. Chris Reese was 4-5, Riley Hooks was 3-4  and Gutierrez and Church each had 2 hits in the win. Kenny Hatcher homered for the Tigers and Marco's Mike Kenneth had a pair of doubles.

At the McClintock side of the Central/East Valley/Fiesta  Tournament, Desert Mountain took an early lead over Corona Del Sol behind homers from Jason Butler and Mike Galterio. Merrill Kelly took a shutout into the sixth inning  before Corona  rallied to force extra innings and eventually win 6-5 in the eighth. Mike Felton got the walk off game winning knock for Corona.

Moments later, Chandler High eeked their way past Mesa 4-3 as Jose Bracamonte knocked in the game winner in the ninth to win it for the Wolves. Michael Handel had  a pair of hits for Chandler.

Walk Off! Corona's Mike Felton (L) and Chandler's Jose Bracamonte get the game winners on Saturday

Mesa High's Chris Wert (L) DM's Merrill Kelly

In Saturday's late game at McClintock, Desert Mountain rebounded with a 9-3 win over Mesa Mountain View. Mike Galterio and Mike Marsillo each had 2 hits for the Wolves. Jason Butler got the win on the bump.

Above from left: DM's Jason Butler and Kevin Gottlieb, MVTs Bryant Romero

Garret Gale had a game tying 2 run homer and later singled in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as Mesquite edged Red Mountain 4-3. Gale had 3 RBIs for Mesquite. Sophomore Derek Mendoza had a solid complete game effort for Red Mountain and added 2 hits in the losing cause.

Ty Forney puts the tag on Nate Acosta

Mtn. Ridge beat Salpointe 17-7, Logan Spiers had 6 RBI's with a grand slam. Kyle Stiner added 2 base hits with 3 RBI's. Mtn. Ridge takes on Sandra Day O'Connor next week

Pinnacle beat Agua Fria on Thursday by a score of 10-4. Colin Lowe started for Pinnacle with Brayan Karraker relieving. Pinnacle posted 6 runs in the first with insurance runs later including a solo HR from Marcus Jensen. About a dozen scouts were in attendance to see AF ace Sammy Solis.

Cactus Shadows moved to a record of 7 and 1 after winning 2 games on Thursday - March 8th in the Patriot Classic Tournament. The Falcons defeated Independence 16-6 and Tucson Pueblo by a score of 24-1. Jerome Pena led the way for Shadows by going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles against Independence and going 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns against Pueblo.

Scott Mcgaughey pitched a 2 hitter, striking out 12 and showing an outstanding curveball as Dobson beat Mesquite 2-1. Rocky High gave up only 4 hits striking out 8 with 1 walk for Mesquite. This was a pitchers dual the whole game long with only one earn run being scored between both
teams.

Queen Creek won its 5th straight game against a scrappy Kellis team. Brock Fultz, Junior Lemalu, Josh Fultz and Aaron McRae all had multi hit games for the Bulldogs. Brock Fultz also added 3 rbi. McRae picked up the win in relief.

Thursday afternoon Cactus went on the road to play Ironwood Ridge near Tucson. The boys once again prevailed with a 5-1 victory led by a gutsy pitching performance by Matt Tassinari who struck out 9 and raised his record to 2-0. Ryan Underwood went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 more RBI to up his team
leading total to 10. Ryan Wescott pulled a 2 run home run down the left field line and Colton Vaughn chipped in with a single and double. The Cobras are now 8-0.

Kyle Brule threw a 2 hitter and Shaun Deisler had 3 hits as Marcos de Niza romped over Goldwater 14-2 K.C. Boyles launched a bomb for the Padres.

Kyle Brule (L) and Shaun Deisler of Marcos

Matt Helm went 3-4 with a homer and Marco Mosqueira also went deep as Hamilton handled Desert Vista 8-4. Helm also got the win on the mound for the Huskies.

Corona del Sol- 13
Red Mountain- 8

Corona del Sol let up the skies with 13 hits and a 10-run inning to topple Red Mountain on Thursday.The Corona hit parade included 7 doubles. Andrew Pollack was 3/4 with a double. Dustin Campos was 3/5 with two doubles. Ryan Moore and Justin Cooper were 2/4 with 3 RBIs each. Travis
Kniffen got the win. Aaron Foshie and Tyler Tripp pitched in relief.
For Red Mountain, Jon Dupuy, Derek Mendoza and Mark Jarrett all had 3 hit games for the Lions.

If you buy into the concept of national rankings of high school teams, you'll be pleased to know that Brophy Prep comes in this week at #2 on the Baseball America national rankings. Scottsdale Horizon is #8.

Cactus Shadows, the defending Arizona 4A-II State Champions, have now won 5 in a row after losing the first game of the season. In their last two games - Shadows defeated Greenway by a score of 20-9 and yesterday they defeated Trevor Browne by a score of 9-0.

Casey Rana tossed a three hitter as Mesquite won their second in a row 3-2 over Paradise Valley. Rocky High was 2-2 for the 'cats.

Kevin Rhoderick spun a 5 inning one hit shutout with 12 Ks as Horizon blanked Deer Valley 11-0. Junior catcher Steve Defreitas had a grad slam and was 3-3 for the Huskies.

Deer Valley has had a tough week, facing Matt Newman and Harlyn Griffiths from Brophy and Rhoderick in successive games.

Higley played host to Greenway and came away with a 7-4 victory. Catcher Justin McDavid was 4-4 for the Knights. Jeff Giangregorio got the win on the mound.

Justin McDavid slaps a double (L) as Mike Romero scores for Higley

Ryan Downs was 2-3 as Basha took a 6-5 win over Phoenix North.

Jake Barret had nine strikeouts and threw his second shutout of the season as Desert Ridge dropped Skyline 2-0.

Mtn. Ridge beat Red Mtn 12-2. Strong pitching performence by Ian Campbell who moves to 3 and 0. Kyle Stiner added needed power with a grand slam, he went 3 for 4 in the game. Jon Ott was 1 for 1 with 3 walks and 2 stolen bases.

Richie Sandoval allowed only 2 hits and struck out 7 as Tucson Amphitheater run ruled Canyon del Oro 10-0 in 6 innings. Rick Patton took the loss for the Dorados. Rafael Neda had a pair of doubles for Amphi.

In what proved to be a very close game, Heath Nichols led Queen Creek to a 5-1 win @ Notre Dame Prep. Heath had another fantastic outing, going 6 innings giving up one earned run (only the 2nd of the season) on 6 hits while striking out 5 and walking none. Junior Lemalu had an outstanding day @ the plate going 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Tim Alderson, working on only 3 days rest, tossed a complete game with 5 Ks as Horizon got the best of Desert Vista 7-4. Kevin Rhoderick had a lead off homer to key a three run Husky first.

Chris Jensen tossed a six hit shutout as Mesquite edged Marcos de Niza 1-0. Rudy Jaramillo was a hard luck loser, allowing only 2 hits for Marcos.

Chandler High's Kevin Hennessey tossed a 3 hitter as the Wolves hammered Basha 10-1. Hennessey also homered and went 2-3. Landis Ware and Sean Lewis added a a pair of knocks for Chandler.

Kevin Hennessey spikes the breaking ball as Basha's Josh Melendez makes the pivot

Chris Moon scattered 4 hits in a 3-0 complete game shutout effort over Corona Del Sol. Alex Murietta was very sharp for CDS as well, taking a shutout of his own into the sixth inning. Alfredo Talamante and Alexis Batista each had 2 hits for the badgers. Andrew Pollak had a pair of knocks for the Aztecs.

Jacob Saenz avoids Andrew Pollak's tag as Tucson's Chris Moon gets the sign.

Matt Newman got the win with relief help from Harlyn Griffiths as Brophy won a squeaker over Deer Valley 1-0. Newman also scored the game's only run and was 2-2. For Deer Valley, junior Kory Willis was outstanding, allowing only 2 hjits in a complete game effort.

Deer Valley's Kory Willis

Goldwater defeated La Joya 13-2 in five innings. John May threw a complete game, giving up a two run homerun in the bottom of the fifth. Garrett Lee and Miles Kizer each had a grand slam in the game.

The O'Connor Eagles had to come from behind and scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th. to defeat the Goldwater Bulldogs 9-8. Ryan Skube got a bases loaded single with in the bottom of the 7th to lift the Eagles to victory. Skube went 3-3 at the plate. Josh Moody got the win in relief for the Eagles. This lifts the Eagles record to 6-2 in the tough Northwest conference.

A couple of notes on Saturday games:

Justin Klett went long twice and Tyler Gianonatti added his 3rd bomb of the year as Corona del Sol defeated Mountain Ridge 11-6. Andrew Pollak was 3-3 for the Aztecs and Jesse Scoular worked 5 strong innings for the win.

Kevin Rhoderick allowed only 2 hits and had 11 Ks in 6 1/3 innings as Horizon dropped Deasert Mountain in the champiosnhip of the Scottsdale QB Club tournament. Tucker Rubino had 3 hits for the Huskies and Tucker Rubino and Brandon Snyder each had a pair of knocks.

If you've been reading this space for the last several years, you know that I don't spend a great deal of time on team rankings.

Frankly, I think most rankings are pretty tired and redundant. I will, however, from time to time give my takes and may give a top 10 list at some point.

I've seen all of the top dogs in 5AI at least once now, and as expected, I really see another two horse race between Brophy and Horizon. Pitching depth seems to be at a premium this year, but these two squads are deep with arms.

Brophy is rolling out a lineup that is good as any we've seen in recent memory and defensively they're strong up the middle. Horizon features the top 2 arms in the state in Alderson and Rhoderick, and with the large number of returning players, the offense seems to be greatly improved.

After these two top teams, there's a logjam of teams that would comprise the 2-10 slots. Gilbert, Chandler and Hamilton from the Fiesta, Mountain View in the East Valley, Desert Vista, Corona Del Sol and Mountain Pointe in the Central all can lay claim to a  spot. Mountain Ridge in the Northwest region has a decent club. Tucson High is in the mix from the Southern region.

 I think 5AII will be much more interesting, although I'm a strong opponent of the watered down system the AIA has created. Sunrise Mountain, Sandra Day O'Connor, Marcos De Niza and Desert Mountain seem to be the cream of the crop. Defending champ Deer Valley has some holes to fill, but they're off to a strong start against a pretty soft schedule. The South features a decent Flowing Wells team and Sunnyside who will always be around. Keep an eye on Boulder Creek, they're off to a strong start and have some guys that I like.

OK... soapbox time.

Last week the MLB Veterans Committee failed to elect a single player into the Hall of Fame.

Another year, another whiff on a player who by virtually any standard, deserves to be in the hallowed Hall.

I'm speaking about former Chicago Cub third sacker Ron Santo,  a player who not only stood out on the field during his 15 seasons, but who played a huge role in helping turn the Cub franchise into one of the game's most popular. I was one of the Chicagoland kids who grew up in the area in the 60's and lived and died with the Cubs of Santo, Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. For thousands of kids, Santo's # 10 was the coveted number you had to have on your Little League jersey.

Statistically, he ranks with the games best third basemen both offensively and defensively. When compared to HOFer Brooks Robinson, Santo's season averages offensively are vastly superior. His career OPS of .826 is significantly higher than Robinson's .723. He had 11 seasons with over 20 bombs a year in an era when those were serious power numbers. Defensively, he won 5 Gold Gloves. His career Defensive range factor numbers were comparable to Robinson and in fact were better when expressed as a ratio to the league average.

This was also a man who played his entire career while battling diabetes. Complications from the disease would lead to the amputations of both legs, but the dude's spirit is as strong as the day he entered the game almost 50 years ago.

Hey Veterans Committee...you have another shot in 2008.....get it right next time.

While I'm up here on the box, lets talk about another topic that is under my skin.

I spent the day on Saturday in Tucson. I attended games from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

In the morning, I saw a scary sight. Tucson Sunnyside pitcher Stefen Romero was hit in the face with a line drive off the aluminum rocket launcher of a Catalina Foothills batter. He's going to be ok, but it was scary indeed, and left many observers visibly shaken.

Over the course of the day, I saw 5 more instances of line drives striking pitchers...luckily none in the face or head area, although Andy Hunter of Foothills took one in the upper back as he was falling off the mound.

Earlier this year, Sandra Day O'Connor horse Nick Carrillo was struck near the temple by a line drive in a scrimmage. Again, luckily he is okay and has now returned to action wearing a face guard.

Also this spring, a freak accident occurred in Grapevine Texas, not far from where I played high school ball. A player, tossing pre-game batting practice in a batting cage, was struck in the temple by a ball that was hit from a nearby cage and found its way through openings in both nets before hitting the young man. He died in the hospital last week.

I played high school ball in the early days of the aluminum baseball bat. As anyone who used the pipes we swung in the middle 70s can tell you, they barely resembled the thin walled weapons that are on the market today.

How many tragic accidents and near misses must we see before someone steps up to the plate and really addresses the issue of  safety and the aluminum baseball bat?

The economic realities have been hashed and re-hashed many times. The supply of quality forest products is not everlasting. However, I truly believe that the technology probably exists to produce a composite type bat that will perform like wood, and when produced in quantities similar to the levels of today's aluminum models, may be cost effective.

The problem, as I see it, is that until someone with some power (and money) addresses the issue, nothing will change. It unrealistic to expect Easton, TPX and Demarini to step up when they all have gargantuan investments in plant and equipment to produce aluminum baseball bats at a handsome profit.

It will probably take the combined efforts of government and major league baseball to ever seriously address the issue. Until then, we'll continue to play Russian Roulette on the baseball diamond.

It was a very busy couple of days for the kid, as I checked put a pair of local games on Friday and headed to Tucson for the final day of Cactus Classic action on Saturday.

Horizon hosted Gilbert High Friday in a semi final match up of the Scottsdale QB Club Tournament. The Huskies went to work early and laid the wood to the visiting Tigers 13-3. Horizon jumped out to a 9-0 first inning lead, and with Tim Alderson on the bump Gilbert's chances were slim indeed. Alderson dominated in front of his normal throng of scouting personnel, scattering 4 hits in his five innings of work. Kevin Rhoderick, who had 5 RBIs on the day, was 3-3 with a triple and a scud over the batters eye in center. Derek Smiegel, who's been a pleasant power surprise for the Huskies, homered as well. Tommy Joseph was 2-3 with a double. Riley hooks and Braden Hamel each had doubles for Gilbert.

Kevin Rhoderick gets props after going long (L) while Tim Alderson pumps strikes

Chaparral played host to Dobson on Friday and dropped the Mustangs 5-3. Sophomore Jordan Weymouth had the big blow, a walk off two run shot in the bottom of the seventh.

Attaboys abound for Jordan Weymouth after his walk off blast (L) as Eric Henkel takes a pitch for Dobson

Tucson Canyon Del Oro defeated Yuma 10-0 in 5 innings to go to 3-0 in their bracket and advance to Saturday's quarterfinals of the Cactus Classic. Senior righthander Rick Patton got the win, pitching the first 4 innings yielding only 1 hit and striking out 5. CDO jumped on Yuma starter Edgar Lopez with 4 runs in the first and 4 more in the 3rd. CDO improves to 6-0 on the season.

Willow Canyon in Surprise is off to a great start, going 5-1 and showing a powerful offense as well as solid pitching. With wins over Hayden, Central, Maryvale, Tempe and Coronado, Coach Brandon Martin and his staff has this group on the right track.
 

Queen Creek High School picked up its third consecutive win behind a terrific start from another sophomore in two straight days. Sophomore Travis Eggert got the victory, a 7-3 win against Washington. Eggert threw 6 strong innings surrendering 1 earned run on 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking nobody. Heath Nichols and Brock Fultz mounted the charge for the offense. Nichols hit a monster 2 run jack and was 2-4 on the day. Fultz was perfect at the plate going 4 for 4.

On Saturday, The O'Connor Eagles came from behind in the 7th and 8th inning to defeat Mountain Pointe 10-9 in the semi finals of the Aztec Classic at Corona Del Sol and set up a rematch in the tourney finale. Tyler Ermish's bases loaded single in the bottom of the 8th inning was the winning hit for the Eagles. Nick Carrillo got the win for the Eagles. Ryan Skube was 3-5, Adrian Ramirez 2-5,Nick Carrillo 2-4 and Derek Blackwell was 2-4 for the Eagles in the victory.

In the Championship game. O'Connor, the top seed lost to Mountain Pointe 9-5. Alex Williams suffered the loss for the Eagles. Ryan Skube went 2-2, Zack MacPhee went 2-4 for the Eagles. Mt. Pointe played long ball hitting 2 home runs. Austin Woolridge and Philip Konieczny both homered for the Pride.

Chaparral dropped Mesa high on Saturday 13-1 as Jorday Weymouth went 3-4 at the dish. Cody Yount earned the win on the hill.

CDO and Catalina Foothills met in the finals of the Cactus Classic for the second year in a row, with Catalina Foothills winning again by a score of 8-4. It was Foothills' 3rd consecutive Cactus Classic Championship and fourth in the last 5 years.
Sophomore righthander Tommy West pitched a complete game for the Falcons to pick up the win. He gave up 9 hits, struck out 4 and walked 3, while working out of several jams as the Dorados stranded 10 runners.
Junior righthander Andy Martinez suffered the loss for the Dorados with most of the damage occurring in the 2nd inning when Foothills scored 5 runs on 6 hits including back to back doubles by Catcher Brent Opdyke and rightfielder Mike Rohe. Foothills finished with 11hits.
Senior SS Zach Tarbet and Junior Catcher Ray Nettling tripled for CDO in the defeat.
 

CDO's Andy Martinez on the bump (L) as Nick Ziegler takes a lead

Foothills advanced to the title game with wins over Sunnyside and sunrise Mountain earlier in the day. CDO dropped San Luis 6-5 in the semis to set up the championship game.

Jaff Decker tries to drag one for Sunrise as Foothills' Andy Hunter goes in head first against Sunnyside

The speedy Devin Veal on the bases for Buena. (above left) Rafael Neda goes downtown in the first 

Buena's Cody Moncayo forces out Amphi's Stanley Muller (L) Woody Nisbet on the bump for Sunrise

Sunrise 2B Ryan Oesterle turns a pair as Foothills' Kayvon Bahramzadeh deals 

CDO advanced to the title game with 3 mercy rule victories over Palo Verde (11-0), El Paso Irvin (11-0), and Yuma (10-0) in pool play.
Then on Saturday morning, CDO defeated El Paso Riverside in the quarterfinals 13-5. Sophomore righthander Ryan Retz was the winning pitcher, throwing 5 innings, yielding 5 hits while striking out 7. Retz also went 3-4 with 3 doubles. Senior 1st baseman Brian Gross homered for the Dorados.
In the semi-finals later Saturday afternoon, CDO defeated San Luis 6-5 in a terrific baseball game.
With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 5th, Senior SS Zach Tarbet, hit a solo home run, which proved to be the game winning RBI. Junior righthander Matt Bittles earned the win for CDO with 3 strong innings of relief of starter Taylor Nintzel and Senior ace righthander Rick Patton retired the last two batters to pick up the save. Patton was also the winner in Friday's shutout of Yuma as the starter, with 4 shutout innings while yielding only 1 hit and striking out 5.

Both CDO and Catalina Foothills finished the tournament with records of 5-1.
Catalina Foothills defeated Marana Mountain View 7-3 on Wednesday and El Paso El Dorado 6-2 on Thursday, before losing a close game 7-8 to Peoria Centennial on Friday to finish 2-1 in Pool Play. The Falcons advanced to the quarterfinals by winning the 3 team tiebreaker with Centennial & El Dorado, having allowed one less run than El Dorado. The Falcons then beat Tucson Sunnyside 10-2 in the quarterfinals and Peoria Sunrise Mountain 4-2 in the semi-finals before defeating CDO 8-4 to win it all. CDO is now 8-1 overall and travels to cross town rival and 2006 4A State runner-up Amphitheater on Tuesday and Tucson Sahuaro on Thursday.
Catalina Foothills moves to 6-1 overall and hosts Tucson Palo Verde on Tuesday.

Prescott beat McClintock 8-3 in Prescott Thursday. Rick Anton threw a five hitter and struck out nine and walked none and gave up one earned run.
Cam Shiller hit two triples and Colin Gray drove in three runs. Kyle Heckathorn took the loss and Adam Foster hit a home run for McClintock.

Tucson Canyon Del Oro posted another 5 inning mercy rule victory in day two of the Cactus Classic, defeating El Paso Irvin 11-0. The Dorados exploded for 9 runs in the first inning on 7 hits including a 3-run homer by Junior 1st baseman Brent Lush. Sophmore righty Ryan Retz picked up the victory, throwing 3 innings while only facing the minimum 9 batters and yielding only 1 hit. Senior righthander Brian Gross pithched a scoreless 4th and Sophmore righthander Matt Bittles retired the side in order in the fifth to secure the shutout.
CDO faces Yuma on Friday to conclude pool play for their bracket.

Horizon beat Higley 10-4. Jordan Mitchell got the win with Nathan Mueller and Conner Hulse in relief. Brandon Snyder went 3-3 with two doubles and a home run. Tommy Joseph and Derek Smigiel also added home runs. Gilbert travels to Horizon Friday.

The Bulldogs of Queen Creek (2-4) took another game from a 4A DI opponent downing Moon Valley (2-3), 10-5. Sophomore Alonzo Martin was fantastic on the bump going 6 innings to pick up the victory. Martin gave up 6 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 4 and walking only 1. Alonzo also looked great at the dish knocking in 2 runs on a double and triple. Four other Dogs had a pair of hits as well.

At the Cactus Classic in Tucson, in front of more than thirty professional and college scouts, Sahauro prevailed over Sabino, 2-1. The key to the game was Pat McCoy's two run double in the fourth for the Cougs. The Cougars moved to 3-0 on the year and the Sabercats dropped to 1-1. Both pitchers went the distance with Pat McCoy improving to 2-0 on the year and Jerry A'Hearn evening his record at 1-1.

Tucson CDO defeated Palo Verde 11-0 in a 5 inning mercy rule victory in the opening round of the Cactus Classic Wednesday afternoon.. Senior Right-hander Taylor Nintzel picked up the win giving up only 2 hits while striking out 6. The Dorados once again had a balanced attack with 8 hits, two by Senior center fielder Nick Ziegler.

Gilbert Highland beat Millenium 22-14. Devyn Rivera threw 4 innings for the win and also went 4-5 at the plate. Philip Redfiled homered for the Hawks.

Mountain Ridge beat Mountain Pointe 2-1 under another great pitching performance by Ian Campbell for Ridge. Campbell threw 6 innings giving up one run on 3 hits. Mike Wales had 2 Rbi's for Ridge. And Ryan Freeburg and Kyle Stiner both added a hit. Austin Woolridge had an RBI double for the Pride. Both teams will be meeting up again on Friday in the Aztec tournament.

In a classic pitcher's duel the Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles defeated Mesa Mountain View 1-0 on a throwing error in the bottom of the 7th inning. Maverick Lasker pitched a no hitter for the Eagles striking out 9 in the victory. Aaron Rhodes was the starter for Mountain View yielding no runs and 8 strike outs, and 2 hits in 6 innings. The game was decided by a bases loaded error in the bottom of the 7th inning by Mountain View's catcher. Maverick Lasker's no hitter was the first in school history at O'Connor High School.


Chaparral dropped Mesquite 9-7. Danny Coulombe picked up the win for the Firebirds. Coulombe, Casey Lytle, Cody Yount and Zach Hayden all had 2 hits for the 'birds.

Chase Rose motors around third with a Chaparral run

Desert Mountain drilled Mesa High 12-1 with Steven Hudeman earning the win on the bump. Skylar Helmbeck homered and Ryan Thompson hammered a grand slam for the Wolves.

Jason Butler just misses one (L) as Mike Woodbury tries to find the handle for Mesa