May 30, 2006

Scottsdale Chaparral's Charles Brewer has capped off an outstanding high school career by being named the 2006 Gatorade Player of the Year. He'll have to make space on the mantel after also receiving the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year Award earlier this month. 

Brewer, a UCLA signee, led the Firebirds to their 4th straight 4A state title, going 11-0 on the mound with 3 saves. During his high school career at Chaparral, "Chucky" has never been on the losing end of a decision, a remarkable feat to say the least.

Congratulations to the whole Brewer family for a wonderful accomplishment.

On Sunday, Yavapai College lost a 6-5 decision to Wallace State Community College (AL) in the first round of the NJCAA D1 World Series. The Roughriders lace 'em up today against Butler in an elimination game.

Mesa Community College was eliminated from the NJCAA D2 World Series after St. Louis CC rallied for 7 runs in the ninth inning to take a 13-8 win. Mesa completes an outstanding season, finishing  46-19 and going into the tournament as the #1 team in the nation in JUCO Div 2.

Congratulations to Head Coach Tony Cirelli, Assistants Bill Moore and Doug Rose, and all of the Thunderbird players on a super year.

I'm still looking for Connie Mack schedules and rosters. Players and parents, don't assume I've received these from your coach. 

May 27, 2006

I've been quite scarce around here this week and for that I apologize.

 My family is dealing with yet another crisis as my older  sister has been in a Tucson hospital for the last 2 weeks in a vegetative state after a "routine procedure" went terribly awry. Its a very life threatening situation and is obviously consuming much of our attention.

If you are so inclined please include us in your prayers.

Big time congrats to Head Coach Sky Smeltzer, Assistants Jeff Casper and Trevor Mote, and all of the players at Yavapai College for  advancing to the Junior College D1 World Series in Grand Junction Colorado. The Roughriders open play tonight against Wallace state Community College from Alabama.

Here's a link to follow the action http://www.jucogj.org/#Congratulations

Mesa CC lost a heartbreaker last night in the first round of the NJCAA Divv 2 championships. Mesa fell to Elgin CC 6-4 in 10 innings. They are currently playing St. Louis CC (as I type this) and are knotted up at 5 in the 5th inning

If you are a Pitching instructor  who is looking for clients, or if you know of a good pitching instructor in the area that you would recommend to me, I would like to hear from you. I have several people who are looking for help immediately and need some quality instructors that I can provide referrals to on an ongoing basis.

May 22, 2006

Connie Mack coaches, please send me your rosters (with numbers) and schedules so that I can make these available to any coaches or scouts that are interested e mail to rb@azdiamondreport.com or fax to 480-763-6934

Mesa Community College's baseball team is set to continue its postseason next Saturday in Tennessee in the D2 Juco World Series. This past weekend the Tbird's came from behind to beat Redlands CC(Ok) 5-4 at the Southwest Super Regionals playoffs in Hesston, Kan. 
Mike Levi (Chaparral High) and AJ Montano (Gila Bend) were named Co-MVP in the regionals. Levi hit a 430 ft two run home run in Mesa 's first victory and also was 3-3 with 3 RBI all with two outs in the championship game. Montano came in to pitch in the 3rd inning in the championship game and pitched 5 2/3, giving up no earn runs, walked one, one HBP, three hits. and pitch off a man at third. Mesa opens with Elgin CC from Chicago, Ill. on Sat. at 9am, this will be the third year in a row that Mesa will play in the D2 World Series.

May 19, 2006

If you are a varsity level middle infielder or pitcher and are interested in playing on a Connie Mack team this summer, please contact me at rb@azdiamondreport.com

May 18, 2006

Here's some better late than never shots from the Horizon Brophy game 

Arizona Action Photography

Congratulations to Charles Brewer for being named the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Player of the year. 

Also, congratulations to Brophy Head Coach Tom Succow for being named coach of the Year.

May 14, 2006

Brophy jumped out to an early 3-0 first inning lead and never looked back as the Broncos claimed their first state baseball title 11-1 over Horizon in 5AI at Phoenix Muni.  Horizon starter Kevin Roderick was clearly amped up, sitting 91-92 in the first inning but struggling to find the zone. He walked 3 and hit a pair of hitters in the inning. A bases loaded walk to Andrew Tonner started  the scoring and a 2 RBI single by Josh Garcia plated two more. Brophy loaded the bases again in the second, but this time Roderick K'ed Tonner to get out of the jam. Horizon broke the ice in the 3rd on an RBI single by Tucker Rubino to move to 3-1. Things got ugly after that. The Brophy fourth was a marathon, as the Broncs plated 7 runs on six hits. Tony Strazzara had a 2 RBI knock and Garcia, Austin Shackelford and Kevin Beale all drove in runs, chasing Roderick. Horizon brought in Jordan Mitchell. who was effective the rest of the way, but the damage had been done. On the other side, Brophy starter R.J. Preach was dealing. After a sub par outing last Saturday against Hamilton, where I thought he looked very tired, Preach brought the A game to Championship Saturday. He was 88-89 in the first and is a 3 pitch guy who can throw all for strikes. His change was effective and he showed a 2 plane breaking ball with late movement. Husky hitters were clearly uncomfortable in the box. On the night Preach scattered 4 hits had seven punchouts. Brophy takes home the 5AI hardware to place along side their State Football trophy.

At Tempe Diablo, Deer Valley's Calvin Lewis and Sunrise Mountain's Trey Burks locked horns in a pitcher's duel before Deer Valley prevailed 2-1 in nine innings in the 5aII title game. Lewis, one of the top lefthanders in the 2006 class, allowed only 4 hits in going the distance. Burks was his equal, allowing a first inning run on a Blaine Schmidt leadoff double and a sac fly RBI courtesy of Khris Davis. Burkes then settled in and tossed six shutout innings. Sunrise threatened in the second with 2 on and no one out. Lewis, however, rose to the occasion by striking out the side. In the 8th, DV's Nick Salahub unloaded a leadoff double to the wall in right center. After an intentional pass to Nick Loggia, Sunrise reliever Jaff Decker K'ed Brandon O'Sick on a failed bunt attempt. Schmidt then lined a rocket to second basemen Ryan Oesterle who doubled off the pinch runner at second for an inning ending double play. In the 8th, DV's Davis reached on a one out base hit, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. SM elected to issue a free pass to cleanup hitter Kevin Burbank, and Decker proceeded to blow cheese by Chase Johnson for the second out. Freshman Josh Dahl followed with a game winning base hit down the left field line, scoring Davis and giving the Skyhawks their 1st state baseball title.

Khris Davis scores the game winner (L) Ryan Oesterle turns two

         Trey Burks (L) and Calvin Lewis were brilliant on Saturday

Chaparral made it 4 in a row, but not without making it interesting, in a  4-3 win over Amphitheater for the 4AI crown. Jason Jarvis got the win for Chap, alowing only one run and striking out eight in six innings of work. The Firebirds jumped to an early first inning lead, with a single by Kyle Williams and an RBI knock by Casey Lytle. In the second, Chap struck twice more, with Spencer Rothery's double the big blow. Amphi starter Richie Sandoval, working for the third time in the last seven days, worked scoreless innings in the third, fourth and fifth and was very efective all day. He allowed only 6 hits on the day. In the seventh, Chaparral went to ace Charles Brewer to seal the deal. The Panthers, however, were not ready to go away. Four straight singles scored 2 runs, pulling the Tucson group within a run. With 2 outs and and the tying run at thirds, Brewer got Ben Humphreys on a come backer to end the threat and send the 'birds into their annual victory dog pile. 

In 4AII, Cactus Shadows continued their late season surge by smoking Arcadia 13-7 for the state title. The Falcons jumped on the Titans with both feet and never let up. A 10 run first inning explosion removed any suspense. Shadows sent 16 hitters to the dish in the inning. Jerome Pena cruised threw six innings for the Falcons in earning the win. To their credit, Arcadia never quit, slapping out 12 hits on the night, but the early hole was too deep.

In 3A, Seton defeated Fountain Hills 11-8 to claim the school's thrd state baseball title. The Sentinels carried an 11-2 lead into the seventh when Fountain Hills scored times to trim lead but cam up short in the end. Kip Simmerman, Nick Meyers and Chris Wrobel combined for the win. Tim Fiorito was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI for the winners.

May 13, 2006

I want to take a second to give a shout out to my man Mike McKindles, the guy responsible for many of the photos you see on this site, and all of the shots that appeared yesterday from the 5A1 games. Mike rose to the occasion as I was on the sidelines Thursday attending my wife's graduation from ASU. You can view Mike's work at his site Arizona Action Photography

While I'm doling out the kudos, I'd like to take a minute to single out the players and the fans from Mesquite High for their performance not only this season but for the last 3 years. This senior class was a special group, not only for their obvious talent, but for the way they played the game and conducted themselves on and off the field. There were no tossed helmets, they ran out fly balls, and basically respected the game at all times. The parents and fans supported the team as well as anyone in the state, and they did it in a classy manner with no umpire ridicule or verbal abuse from the peanut gallery. Thanks for making your group fun to watch.

Congratulations to Deer Valley and Sunrise Mountain for persevering and making it to the title game. While they were both on my short list of preseason favorites, I'll confess to jumping off the bandwagon when both teams struggled in the early going. Yet more proof that its not a sprint, but a marathon.

In  4AII action yesterday at Phoenix Muni, Cactus Shadows broke out the lumber early and cruised past Coronado 14-4 to advance to today's title game. Sophomore Matt Summers tossed five innings and freshman Mike Basco worked the final two for the win. The Falcons jumped out to an arly 3-0 first innnin lead and never looked back. A seven run seventh served as an explanantion point. Summers and Ollie Goulder led the way offensively, each with a double and a homer. 

Arcadia's Casey Reynolds tripled in Jake Kriston with the game winner in the seventh inning and earned the win in relief of Connor Whalen as the Titans dropped Notre Dame. Reynolds hit was an oppo line drive that rolled into the right field bullpen and caromed off a chair before the Notre Dame outfielder  could get a glove on it. He scored on a  passed ball monets later for an insurance run. JJ Nace was 3-3 with a triple for the Titans. Sophomore lefty Kyle Conroy threw a very solid six innings for Notre Dame.

              Kyle Conroy (L) and Connor Whalen

Fountain Hills advanced to the 3A final with an 8-4 win over Sahuarita. Tyler Ruch earned the win in his first start of the year.

Seton Catholic defeated Wickenburg in 13 innings 3-2 and will meet Fountain Hills in the final. Stan Minatogowa knocked in the game winner with a double.

Unbelievably, Wickenburg's Quinton Marsh, a very promising lefthander, was allowed to throw 12 innings and record 20 strikeouts. Luckily, the AIA has a rule that limits daily use to ONLY 12 innings. For crying out loud, is it necessary to reduce this number to save some young arms??

May 12, 2006

And then there were two............

The State Finals matchups are set in both 5A divisions and in 4A1 with the 4AII semis taking place today.

Matt Newman in control for Brophy

In 5AI, Brophy spotted  Hamilton a 2 run lead courtesy of RBI singles by Huskies Kyle Peterson and Andy Workman, but the Broncos answered with 5 in the first and 3 in the second en route to a convincing 12-2 win and a state final berth on Saturday. Brophy's 5 runs came about with a Riccio Torrez double and an RBI knock by Thomas DeAngelis. Andrew Tonner followed with a bases loaded single that was misplayed and went to the wall, resulting in 4 runs scoring. Matt Newman settled down after the first and shutout the Huskies the rest of the way, allowing only 6 hits on the day. Riccio Torrez was 2-3 and Tonner went 3-4 with 5  RBIs for the Broncos. Harlyn Griffiths was 2-4 with 3 RBIs.

Raoul Torrez throws on the run (L) Matt Helm corrals a pop up for Hamilton

Justin Lindsey throws over (L) Austin Shackelford swings the pole

 Mesquite, facing do or die elimination, crossed the plate 7 times in the opening inning and boat raced Horizon 14 -3 to force a deciding second game for the right to play Brophy in the Saturday final. The 'cats chased Husky starter Evan Foreman in the first inning, and Seth Furmanek kept the Horizon bats in check, scattering 7 hits in the five inning affair. Ronnie Welty went 2-3 with a bomb and 3  RBIs. Ty Forney (2-2) and Austin Gibbs (3-3) both had 3 RBIs for Mesquite.

Joe Cuttone is late with the tag (L) Tucker Rubino lays out for Horizon

In the second game, Horizon did some chasing of its own, sending Mesquite starter Chris Jensen to the showers in the first with a 5 run outburst and holding on for an 8-5 win. Doubles by Kevin Roderick and Tim Alderson and a solo blast by Payden Yarmer punctuated the opening inning. With Alderson on the mound, even the Mesquite bats were a long shot to dig out of the early hole. Still, the 'cats didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 6-0 going into the third, Mesquite tallied 3 times courtesy of shaky Horizon defense. All 5 runs scored by Mesquite were unearned. Alderson allowed 6 hits on the night and struck out the last 4 hitters of the game to total 10 Ks on the night. Alderson and Richie Lee each had 2 RBI for Horizon. Colby McGinn was 2-3 for Mesquite.

Jeff Hibner tries to put out the fire (L) Payden Yarmer with the home run trot

In 5AII. Deer Valley's Brandon O'Sick had a walk off double, scoring Nick Loggia from first with the winning run as the Hawks downed Goldwater 5-4. Sophomore lefty Kevin Burbank got the win in relief. Burbank entered in the first with DV trailing 3-0 and facing a 2 out bases loaded nightmare. He proceeded to get out of the jam and work the next 6 1/3 innings. allowing only one run and three hits the rest of the way.

Jaff Decker tossed a complete game 3 hitter and went 2-2 at the dish to lead Sunrise Mountain to a 10-2 win over Paradise Valley in the other 5AII semi-final. Sunrise scored 3 times each in the first and second innings and chased two PV pitchers. With Decker on the mound, things were well in hand. Javi Molina contributed a 2-2 day for SM.

In 4AI, Chaparral will play for a  4th straight state title after ousting Tucson Sabino 9-3. The 'birds broke open a close game with a seven run fifth inning, sending 11 men to the plate in the process. Charles Brewer got the win on the mound and Kyle Williams and Adam Bailey both homered. 

Tucson Amphitheater scored 6 times on only 2 hits in the sixth inning to eliminate Pinnacle 9-7. The runs came courtesy of 4 walks and three hit batsmen. Brett Nicholas and Drew Palen both homered in the losing cause for Pinnacle. 

May 11, 2006

Well here we are. After almost 3 months we boil it down to 2 days worth of games to decide the champs in 4A and 5A.

In the 5AI bracket, no one will be surprised to see a quartet of Horizon, Brophy, Hamilton and Mesquite. A 4 team parlay card in Vegas would have given a pretty lousy return on this group. 

Today's games feature Hamilton and Mesquite trying to rise from the loser's bracket in the new double elimination format. Both face daunting challenges: win the first game and immediately try to double up in game 2.

For Mesquite, the job looks particularly difficult. The 'cats murderer's row offense is capable of hanging crooked numbers on anyone in the state, but a Tuesday night slugfest with Gilbert to get here may have taken its toll on the pitching staff. Mesquite used Nolan Church, Ronnie Welty and Jeff Hibner to combine for the win. They'll likely roll out ace Seth Furmanek in game 1 and go by committee if they advance to the night game. Horizon, who has been idle since Saturday's thrilling 6-5 win over the 'cats, has the rested trio of Tim Alderson, Kevin Roderick and Evan Foreman teed up and ready to go. 

Hamilton faces a similar challenge, but they'll show up with a rested Kasey Piersen and Jason Kudlock to take the bump. Brophy has the entire staff to work with, and the prospect of sweeping a double dip from the Broncs is not a promising one. 

In 5AII, Desert Mountain, the top ranked club all season long, is making summer plans. Two good battles are looming, with Goldwater trying to sweep a pair from Deer Valley and Paradise Valley needing to do the same against Sunrise Mountain.

In 4A1, an interesting matchup features #1 Chaparral against Sabino. The Sabercats will likely throw flame thrower Josh Crooks, one of the livest arms in the state. If his command is on, Crooks can be tough. He'll get up in the 90s and shows a plus curveball with some downward tilt. The Sabercat offense will have to deal with Chap's Charles Brewer, so runs will come at a premium.

In the other semi-final, Pinnacle will try to eliminate another tough Tucson squad after shocking Catalina Foothills on Thursday. This time its an  Amphitheater team that won a thrilling extra inning affair with Tempe McClintock to advance.

May 10, 2006

I made the comment early in the Mesquite /Gilbert game on Tuesday night that it would take 10 runs to win the contest. I was wrong. as Mesquite needed an 11th run in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the Tigers 11-10. In a sign of things to come, Ronnie Welty hit the second pitch from Devin Fuller between the 4 and the 1 on the 410 foot sign in center field for a lead off solo homer in the 'cat half of the first. Two batters later Seth Furmanek drove an opposite field ground rule double to right and scored to make it 2-0. Gilbert wasn't impressed, however, as the Tigers scored 4 times in the top of the second, led by a Bill Wellnitz RBI base hit and a 2 RBI knock by Thomas Gutierrez. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Ronnie Welty entered in relief of Nolan Church and blew away Fuller with an 88 MPH heater to end the carnage. In the top of the 4th,with Gilbert leading 4-3 and Chris Reese aboard,  Wellnitz unloaded a rocket off the wall in left center that scored Reese and after a throwing error, Wellnitz came all the way around to score to make it 6-3. Mesquite wasn't nearly done, however, as the 'cats scored 2 in the 4th, one in the fifth and 3 in the sixth to enter the seventh inning with a 9-6 lead. The never say die Tigers rallied again in the top of the seventh, plating 4 runs and taking a 10-9 lead. Lefthander Shane Scally entered in relief of Fuller for the seventh inning, and retired the first two hitters before issuing a walk to Joe Cuttone and a two strike base hit to Seth Furmanek. Chase Frampton followed with a game tying RBI single, and advanced to second on the throw to the plate. With 2 outs and runners on second and third, Gilbert then elected to issue an intentional walk to Nolan Church, who had K'ed twice in the game, to face Brett Whiteside with the bases loaded. Whiteside was 3-3 at the time with a pair of triples. Predictably, this strategy backfired as Whiteside walked, scoring the winning run and sending the 'cats into a do or die meeting with Horizon on Thursday.

Devin Fuller battled for Gilbert

Hamilton withstood a 7th inning rally from Red Mountain to hold on for a 6-4 win. Colin Laufenberg got the win on  the mound with Lucas Kirkland's tie breaking 2 run shot in the fourth providing the big offensive damage.

                       Colin Laufenberg on the hill   

Pinnacle defeated the #2 ranked Catalina Foothills baseball team 4-1 on
Tuesday. Andrew Danner's fine pitching performance shutdown the Falcons
for six innings, and his 2 run bomb off the fair poul proved to be the game winner. Danner allowed only 5 hits on the mound.Pinnacles Solid defense was led by Chris Rogers and Drew Palen both making highlight catches in the Outfield. Garisson Hensley and Bryan Karraker played a flawless infield.  Also Contributing were Brett Nicholas and Drew Palen who were both 2-3 and knocked in a  run apiece. Brett Nicholas closed the game out pitching the 7th inning striking out the side. Joey Rohe took the loss for Foothills. Pinnacle will face Amphitheater Thursday @ 7:30 with the winner playing for the 4A-I championship against the winner of the Chaparral-Sabino game.

               Andrew Danner (L) and Joey Rohe faced off at Maryvale

Adam Bailey homered and knocked in a pair of runs as Chaparral outlasted Moon Valley 6-3. Jason Jarvis got the win with 7th ining relief help from Corey Bannister. Jarvis and Kyle Williams were both 2-4 for the 'birds. Moon wa sled by Vince Barreda and Steve Castillo with 2 hits apiece.

Jake Schlander scores (L) as Moon's Steve Thomas delivers

Junior lefthander Richie Sandoval scattered 5 hits as Tucson Amphitheater ousted McClintock 3-2 in an 8 inning affair. Two of the hits were solo homers by the Chargers' Mason Ramirez. McClintock carried a 2-1 lead into the seventh inning, but a two out laser beam double to center by Rafael Neda scored the tying run. His brother Ricardo, drove in the winning run with a two out pinch hit single in the eighth that caromed off pitcher Justin Anderson and just past shorstop Marty Rover into left field. Justin Anderson was solid in defeat, throwing 7 strong innings and allowing only 8 hits.

Amphi's Richie Sandoval (L) Mason Ramirez takes a cut for McClintock

Rafael Neda drives in the tying run for Amphi in the seventh

In Tucson, Sabino used a seven run sixth inning to defeat Canyon Del Oro 10-8. CDO's Bandon Penick and Sabino's Jerry A'Hearn engaged in a
pitching duel early on with Sabino ahead 3-2 after five innings. But both pitchers were chased in the 6th when the game suddenly turned into a slugfest. In the top of the seventh, with CDO runners at second and third, Sabino's Karl Whitley struck out Zack Lush, to end the game and preserve a 10-8 Sabino win. Sabino sophomore Justin Zumwalde homered for the second straight game in only his fourth at bat of the season. For CDO, Nick Ziegler cranked his state leading 17th bomb and Mike Weldon was 4-4.

Desert Mountain, the #1 seed in 5AII, was eliminated in loser's bracket play as Goldwate prevailed 10-9 in 8 innings. The Bulldogs came back from a five run deficit for the win.

Also in 5AII, Paradise Valley held on to defeat Sandra Day O'Connor 9-8. SDO scored 3 times in the seventh but came up short. Ryan Carlson had a key  2 RBI double in a 4 run fourth inning for the Trojans.

May 9, 2006

I need to ask for some help here. A number of you are sending me All Region info that is apparently coming from posts on a message board. While I appreciate the help, I'm finding that much of what is coming in is inaccurate or incomplete. 

Coaches/AD's....I'd really prefer to see an emailed copy from you of the All region teams so that I don't have to do extra verification as to authenticity. Please send to rb@azdiamondreport.com

Saturday 4A reports from our "Tucson Bureau":

 Sabino prevailed over Sahuaro by the score of 8-2. Justin Zumwalde went yard on his second AB of the season, a tape measure blast down the left field line. Karl Whitley pitched a complete game for the win to improve to 8-2 on the season. Kino Region "Pitcher of the Year" Mike LaChapelle took the loss for the Cougs. 

Also in Tucson, Canyon Del Oro posted a convincing win against Cactus by the score of 10-1. Arizona-bound Mike Weldon recorded two home runs on 
the day while Nick Ziegler hit his 16th of the season. Taylor Lewis went the distance for the Dorados improving to 6-5 on the year. 

May 7, 2006

More from Saturday :

Deer Valley took advantage of some shaky Desert Mountain defense to upend the 5AII #1 seeded Wolves 8-7 in eight innings. The Skyhawks a jumped out to an early 1-0 lead courtesy of a solo Khris Davis rocket to center field. The Hawks scored 3 runs on a dropped fly ball and scored the eventual winning run in the 8th on a walk to Nick Loggia , a wild pitch and 2 passed balls. 

Joe Gustafson cranked a grand slam and got the win on the mound as the Bulldogs eliminated Marcos De Niza 11-1.

Trey Burkes worked a complete game as Sunrise Mountain dropped the 5AII #2 seed Paradise Valley 12-9. T.J. Geith and  Taylor McGregor both went 2-4 for the Mustangs. Richard Hodgeson was 3-4 with a double and a triple for PV.

McClintock's Jimmy Patterson allowed only 5 hits and went 2-3 at the plate as the Chargers eliminated Lake Havasu 3-2. David Hartley went long for McClintock.

Pinnacle beat Tucson Pueblo 6-5 as Brett Nicholas homered and earned the win on the mound.

May 6, 2006

We were treated to a simply incredible day of high school baseball on Saturday as the 4A and 5A tournaments really began to pick up steam:

At ASU, Chaparral really drew the short straw in their first round matchup. The #1 seed in the tourney, the Firebirds got no bargain in the 16th seeded Agua Fria Owls with the electric lefthander Sammy Solis on the hill. Chap scratched out  a pair of runs in the first on a base hit by Jon Bagley. After that, Solis settled in, sitting at  86-88 on the gun he allowed only one hit through the next four innings. Meanwhile, with Charles Brewer on the mound for Chap, things looked secure. The big righty carved through the Owl lineup, carrying a shutout into the fifth inning and a slim 2-0 lead. In the top of the fifth, Agua Fria struck twice to tie the score at 2, and Solis worked a quick bottom half of the inning. In the sixth, Kenny Houser, the losing pitcher in last year's semi-final matchup with Chap, ran into a Brewer heater and deposited it over the right center fence and onto Rio Salado Parkway for a solo homer and a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Bagley came through again with an RBI double to score Casey Lytle and tie the score, and Jason Jarvis followed with a base hit knocking in two and sealing the deal. Jarvis closed the seventh for Chaparral.

Casey Lytle beats the throw (L). Sammy Solis workin' for the Owls

At Papago Park, the four field complex was rockin' and rollin' as the 5A 1 winners and loser's bracket games all took place at 4:00. It was a tad overwhelming for the senses at times, but the games were fantastic.

 The Brophy - Hamilton game was a great one. R.J. Preach started for Brophy and Jason Kudlock for Hamilton. Thomas DeAgelis started the scoring for Brophy with a homerun in the 2nd. Austin Shackelford followed with another solo shot to give the Broncs a 2-0 lead. Brophy had a 5-1 lead going into the 4th before Hamilton scored 5 runs - 3 on a Danny Quiroz double to right, and took a 6-5 lead. Brophy struck again  in the fourth on a monstrous solo shot to center by Raoul Torrez making the score 6-6. Stephen Streich came in to relieve Preach with 2 men on and 1 out in the top of the 5th. He struck out Andy Workman and got Cory Bernard to ground out to short. Brophy struck twice in the 5th making the score 8-6. Hamilton refused to die, scoring twice in the 6th on a double by Marco Mosquiera to tie the game. In the bottom of the 6th, Kasey Piersen  relieved Kudlock, who had thrown 111 pitches. Tony Strazzara singled, Andrew Tonner followed with a double. Josh Garcia then ripped a base knock, scoring Strazzara and Tonner. Shackelford then cranked a double plating Garcia to  make it 11-8. Raoul Torrez entered in the seventh and after a great diving catch by Tonner in right field to rob Helm of a hit, struck out the last 2 hitters to earn the save. Streich gets the win in  relief.

Kasey Piersen scores for Hamilton (L) Austin Shackelford gets props from Coach Tom Succow after a solo homer

On the field adjacent to the Brophy/ Hamilton barnburner, Horizon and Mesquite were teeing it up in a battle of the state's top power team against one of the southwest's top right handed arms in Horizon's Tim Alderson. With Mesquite ace Seth Furmanek on the bump for the 'cats, this had the making of a dream matchup. In the end, the game lived up to its billing, but the script was rewritten a tad. Alderson was solid in the early going, sitting 91-92 and touching 93 on the gun. The Horizon bats, considered suspect by some, scored a solo run in the first and three in the second off Furmanek. Meanwhile, Alderson was cruising, tossing shutout ball threw four innings and seemingly in control with a 5-0 lead. In the fifth, with the help of a botched force at second and a dropped third strike to Ronnie Welty, the Mesquite bats came to life. Base hits by Joe Cuttone and Furmanek plated 3 runs. Chase Frampton then stood all over an Alderson fastball and crushed it to the right center fence to double in a pair of runs and knot the score at 5. Jef Hibner relieved Furmanek in the fifth and Kevin Roderick entered for Alderson in the 6th. In the seventh inning both teams had bases loaded scoring opportunities but couldn't capitalize. Alderson's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth drove in Brandon Snyder with the game winner.

Tim Alderson deals (L) as Brandon Snyder scores the game winner for Horizon

Gilbert's Mike Dibiasi tossed a 3 hit shutout to oust Mountain Ridge 4-0. Bill Wellnitz and Jon Vareelman both had a pair of hits while Thomas Guttierez knocked in two runs.

Mike Dibiasi tames the Lions (L) as Kameron Kasik lifts a fly ball

Red Mountain withstood a late Tucson High rally and held on for a 6-5 win over the Badgers. Chris Love got the win with relief help from Jon Dupuy and Alec Lewis. Dean Espy was 2-4 with a doub;e. Chris Moon had a pair of hits and Nate Valdez was 3-3 for Tucson.

  Chris Love gets the sign as Steven Ivanoff deals 

The 5A2 10 th Seed O'Connor Eagles defeated 3rd seed Sunnyside 7-5 @ Tempe Diablo Stadium. Nick Carrillo was the starter and winning pitcher for the O'Connor Eagles. Carillo went the distance yielding 6 hits. In a 5-5 tie in the 7th inning Travis Lane single in courtesy runner Josh Moody for the go ahead run. On the play Travis Lane circled the bases and score on a double error by the left fielder for Sunnyside. Cliff Shepard went 3-3, Trevor Allred 2-3 with 2 RBI's, Travis Lane 2-4 with 2 RBI's., and Adrian Ramariz 2-4 for the Eagles. Sunnyside battled back for a 5-2 deficit to tie the game in the 6th innning, only to lose the lead in the 7th. O'Connor advances to play Paradise Valley on Tuesday @ 7:30 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

May 5, 2006

Red Mountain sent archrival Mountain View packing with an 8-5 win on Thursday night at Tempe Diablo. Jonathan Dupuy picked up the win on the mound with late relief from Alec Lewis. Alex Schultz led the way offensively with a 2-3 night and 2 RBIs

May 4 , 2006

Cactus qualified for the 4A1 state tournament by beating Greenway 9-3 and claiming the #3 spot out of the 4AI Wells Fargo region. Geoff Whitaker tossed a complete game and Chas Brunke and Eric O'Brien homered.

Coronado scored 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to down Queen Creek and claim the #1 spot out of the East Sky 4AII region. Joe Jacobson's sac fly drove in the game winner. He was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBIs.

Elsewhere in the East Sky, Arcadia defeated Higley 4-1 to claim the #3 slot. Kellen Hope tossed 6 innings for the win. Jack Regan had a double and 2 RBI for Arcadia.

May 3, 2006

Mesquite pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of 5 Mountain Ridge errors as the Wildcats took a 15-7 win. Ridge grabbed a early 1-0 lead in the opening frame before Mesquite erupted for 3 in their half of the first and 4 in the second. Seth Furmanek  tossed a workmanlike complete game with 10 Ks and 9 scattered hits. Nolan Church did the damage at the plate, going 3-4 with a double and triple and 7 RBIs. Ronnie Welty was also 3-4 and Chase Frampton and Joe Cuttone both had 2 hits. For Ridge Kameron Kasik went yard twice and had 3 RBI. 

Seth Furmanek delivers (L). Kamerron Kasik gets some love after the first of two homers

Horizon won a thriller in the early game at Phoenix Muni with a 3-2 decisin over Mountan Pointe. Evan Foreman threw 3 1/3 innings before giving way to Kevin Roderick in the 4th. Roderick shut down the Pride the rest of the way, striking out 7, but living on the edge in the final inning. In the top of the seventh, nursing the 3-2 lead,Roderick faced a bases loaded situation with cleanup hitter Jason Mitchell at the dish and 2 outs. Mitchell was rung up by a Roderick slider on a check swing for the final out of the game, enraging the Mountain Pointe faithful who had been rather vociferous in their criticism of the umpiring crew all afternoon. For Horizon, JV call up Eric Bond (2-3) was an unlikely hero, knocking in all 3 runs,  including a 2 out Texas leaguer that drove in two runs in the third. Bryan Anderson was  a hard luck loser for Pointe, going the distance and allowing only 6 hits.

You make the call: Jason Mitchell can't hold up on a Kevin Roderick slider for the final out  (L)  Roderick flashes the evil eye at the Pride.

Deer Valley overcame Centennial 8-6. Centenial jumped out early with 4 in the second. It then turned into the Khris Davis show. The senior outfielder cranked a 2 run bomb to left center that landed well up the hill to the flag poles, followed by a triple with the bases loaded. His 5 RBIs earned an intentional walk his last at bat.For good measure he also made a circus over the shoulder running catch in center field.

      Khris Davis launches a scud and goes web gem for Deer Valley

Brophy outlasted Mountain View 6-5 . Matt Newman started for Brophy and except for the 4 unearned runs in the 2nd inning - pitched a 5 hit shut out. Harlyn Griffiths came in for the 6th and the Toros got their only earned run. Raoul Torrez came in to close and with the tying run on third, got Aaron Rhodes to fly out to right. Nick Shannon pitched the entire game for the Toros. Austin Shackelford was 3 for 3 with a double and 2 singles and Tony Strazzara was 2 for 3 for the Broncos. Jesse Hudson was 2 for 4 and Fierro was 2 for 3 for Mt. View. 

Shadow Mountain beat Ironwood yesterday 11-2. Woody Nisbet was the winning
pitcher. Sam Cassel had 2 hits, 3 rbi's and 3 runs scored to pace the Matador 12
hit attack. 

The Paradise Valley Trojans defeated The O'Connor Eagles 15-4 in a 5 inning mercy rule contest. Paradise Valley collected 13 hits, Uriel Munoz and Jason Nassi went 3-3 for the Trojans in the victory. Nick Carrillo went 2-3 for the Eagles in the loss. Trent Armijo was the winning pitcher surrendering 6 hits. Brian Carr was the starter and losing pitcher for the Eagle, only going 2 2/3 innings surrendering 7 runs/ 3 earned.

Danne Quiroz sixth inning triple drove in Matt Helm with the eventual winning runas Hamilton downed Tucson High 4-2. Tucson loaded the bases in the 7th before Jason Kudlcok came in to relieve colin Laufenberg and struck out Nate Valdez on 3 pitches to get the save. Laufenberg reprised his role from last season, when he tossed a gem in the state semi-finals, This time he allowed only  4 hits  against a scrappy Badger lineup in his 6 2/3 innings. Kudlock and Kasey Piersen both had 2 hits for the Huskies.

Kyle Brule allowed only 2 hits and went 3-3 at the plate as Marcos De Niza eliminated Tucson Flowing Wells 10-0. Doug Snover was 3-4 for the Padres.

Gilbert came back from a 7-0 deficit to score 14 unanswered runs and eliminate Fiesta Region rival Highland 14-7. JonVarrelman was 3-4 with a homer and 4 RBI. Devin Fuller was 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI.Shane Scally came on in rleief in the second inning and threw shutout ball the rest of the way for the Tigers.

Other scores:

5AII

Desert Mtn 16 Goldwater 2

Desert Ridge 9 Kofa 5 

5AI

Red Mountain 5 St Mary's 4

Desert Vista 7 Chavez 2

Cibola 4 Chandler 3

A strange story has surfaced at Arizona State. Outfielder J.J Sferra and his father Jay, an ASU assistant coach and the program's recruiting coordinator, have apparently left the team after a disagreement with Head Coach Pat Murphy. The rift apparently developed over a disagreement over the team's plans for the younger  Sferra. Neither Sferra made the trip to Stanford with the team last weekend. Murphy and Jay Sferra   are longtime friends who grew up together in Syracuse New York. 

May 1, 2006

Here's a preview look at tomorrow's 5AI Winner's Bracket matchups:

Horizon vs. Mountain Pointe @ Phoenix Muni 4:00

Likely Pitchers: Horizon- Kevin Roderick or Evan Foreman  Mountain Pointe: Bryan Anderson

Horizon Coach Eric Kibler has the enviable luxury of having perhaps the 2 most dominant pitchers in the tournament in Roderick and Tim Alderson, who threw on Saturday against Cibola. Foreman often gets ignored but he's on my short list of top LHPs in the 2007 class and has already been selected as a Sunbelt participant. He won't blow you away with velocity but he's a respectable 83-85 with good command of a breaking ball with some pretty good tilt to it. The question is who will Coach Kibler keep in the pen and who gets the start. Pointe's Anderson has had an excellent year. He made a drastic change in his arm slot from last year and comes at hitters from a sidearm to low 3/4 slot. The result is an 8-2 record with a 3.35 ERA as of last week, with 35 Ks in 53 IP. Maybe the biggest offensive surprise of the year is has been the power generation of Pointe's Mike Ford. He's always been viewed as a pitching prospect primarily, but he has a pair of 3 homer games (both against Basha) this year and 14 for the year. Pointe is a pretty balanced lineup without many holes and some good speed (Josh Reed, Dan Black and David Darnell can all fly). Horizon probably won't win many slugfests, but Alderson (.456) and Roderick (.452) are run producers and center fielder Mike Acosta is a tough out (.386) who can run.

Mountain Ridge vs. Mesquite @ Phoenix Muni 7:30

Likely pitchers: Mesquite- Seth Furmanek / Mountain Ridge- Ben Zierten

Furmanek gets the ball tomorrow and he's a hndful. He comes at hitters agressively with upper 80s gas that runs in on righties and a changeup that can be filthy. Ridge has Zierten, Zach Anderson and Ricky Lasker all ready to go but I'm guessing Zierten starts and Coach Jeff Williams plays it by feel from there. Mesquite can certainly thump the ball, with Furmanek and Ronnie Welty having 12 and 13 bombs respectively . Joe Cuttone, Brett Whiteside and Chase Frampton are big power guys as well. One of the big questions every year is which teams get negatively impacted by the move to the big stadium fields, where high school home runs often become fly ball outs. Mesquite may be suspect here, but I doubt that's enough to make a huge impact. Ridge is more of a gap to gap team but they'll have a tough time outscoring the potent 'cat lineup.

Brophy vs. Mesa Mountain View @ Tempe Diablo 4:00

Likely pitchers: Brophy Steven Streich/ Mountain View Nick Shannon

Two of the more dependable arms in the state over the last 2 years square off. Neither is a radar gun guy, but both have exceptional command, good stuff and will battle. Brophy's lineup is formidable 1-9 and they typically play great defense. Matt Newman, and Raoul and Riccio Torres are elite talents. MVT always has athletes, and this year is no exception. Shannon, with 11 homers, is also one of the state's top power guys at the dish. Riley Nielsen (.390) and Camden Gosch ( .360) lead the team in hitting.

Hamilton vs. Tucson High @ Tempe Diablo 7:30

Likely pitchers: Hamilton Kasey Piersen or Colin Laufenberg / Tucson: Chris Moon or Marc Damon

Moon is Tucson's workhorse, but he's reportedly battling some arm issues., He tossed 2 innings in relief Saturday against Red Mountain and hasn't started since April 18. Still, he's one of the liver arms in the Tucson area and a real competitor. Damon threw 6 1/3 solid innings, allowing only 2 runs in a  win over Salpointe last week. The badgers have 3 starters (Moon, Matt Macias, and Alfredo Talamantes) hitting over .400. Hamilton seems to once again be peaking at the right time, winning 6 in a row and 9 of their last 10. Outfielder Andy Workman is one of my top 50 2007 guys, very athletic with real good speed and a .442 average to boot. Kyle Peterson (.415) is a top 10 2008 player. Piersen was rehabbing a leg injury earlier in the year but he's back on the  bump and throwing well. Laufenberg is a crafty lefty who gets a ton of ground balls when he's keeping the ball down.