Falcons in postseason form
Prep Baseball Roundup
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – For Cactus Shadows’ baseball team, it was five‑up, five‑down at the Independence Tournament last week.

The Falcons blew by the competition in five straight games March 7‑10, and earned easy wins by a combined score of 69‑14 to continue their torrid play to start the year.

The defending 4A‑Division II state champions looked back in playoff form as they polished off in succession Trevor Browne (9‑1), host Independence (16‑6), Pueblo (24‑1), Fountain Hills (6‑2) and Arcadia (14‑5).

Through the first two weeks, Cactus Shadows is batting a staggering .397 as a team and they’ve already hit nine home runs and scored 134 runs. Chris Manship and Jerome Pena have been virtually unstoppable in the early going. Manship, who took over as the starting catcher this season, entered the week with a .548 batting average and 17 RBIs. Pena, meanwhile, is batting .515 and has driven in a team high 19 runs.

Pena has also been tough on the mound as he has started the season with a 2‑0 record and a 1.62 ERA. Matt Summers and Jackson Goulder have also won their first two pitching decisions.

Cactus Shadows opens Wells Fargo 2 Region play March 14 at home against Washington.

O’Connor gets better of Bulldogs in pair of games

NORTH VALLEY – It didn’t take long for Sandra Day O’Connor to claim early baseball supremacy over Goldwater.

The Eagles, who have started the season on fire with wins in seven of their first nine games, swept Goldwater in a pair of games to start the Northwest Region season last week.

O’Connor (7‑2 entering the week) pounded out a total of 19 runs in a 9‑8 win March 5 at home, then backed it up with a 10‑3 rout at Goldwater two days later. In the first meeting, the Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of seventh to earn the dramatic victory.

Besides the two games against O’Connor, Goldwater (4‑6 overall, 0‑2 region) split another pair of games last week. The Bulldogs routed LaJoya March 6 as they scored a season‑high 13 runs thanks to two grand slams–  one each from Miles Kizer and Garrett Lee.

Marcos de Niza turned the tables on the Eagles later in the week, however, as it pinned a 14‑2 loss on the Eagles March 8.

Jaguars narrowly win Northwest Region opener

ANTHEM – Boulder Creek eked out a 3‑2 win over North Canyon on March 10 in the Northwest Region opener for both teams. The win was also the Jaguars’ sixth in their last seven games.

Boulder Creek will try to keep it going on the road this week as the Jaguars have an away rematch at North Canyon and a doubleheader trip to Kingman upcoming.