Falcons flying even higher
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – Cactus Shadows baseball fans must be wondering how the Falcons lost their first game this season.

That’s because ever since a 10‑0 loss to Flowing Wells March 1, the Falcons have reeled off 11 straight wins in dominating fashion. A week after rolling to a 5‑0 record and championship at the Patriot Classic tournament, Cactus Shadows bashed two more teams last week.

The Falcons pounded Moon Valley on the road 13‑2 March 12, then opened the Wells Fargo 2 Region season two days later with a 21‑1 rout of Washington.

The games were the eighth and ninth in double figures for Cactus Shadows and the 21 runs against Washington marked the third time the Falcons have topped at least 20 runs in a game. Even more impressive is the team has accomplished that in only two weeks.

Matt Summers went 3‑for‑5 with two doubles in the win over Moon Valley. The Falcons scored five runs in the second inning to break the game open. Starting pitcher Mike Basco only allowed a pair of third‑inning runs to earn the victory.

Jerome Pena improved to 3‑0 with the pitching win over Washington, but the obvious story of the game was the Falcons’ bats. Cactus Shadows knocked in six runs in the third inning, then nearly doubled that with 11 runs in the fourth.

Pena entered the week as the team’s leader in batting with a .561 average and RBIs with 25. He also has the most homers on the team with three.

Boulder Creek quietly putting wins together

ANTHEM – Timely hitting and improved pitching has helped Boulder Creek quietly put together a stretch of victories.

The Jaguars entered the week with a four‑game winning streak and wins in 10 of their last 13 games thanks to a .321 team batting average and a pitching unit that has toughened up of late.

Since Boulder Creek pitchers gave up 10 runs in a one‑run loss to Westwood March 9, the Jaguars have given up only 14 runs total over a six‑game stretch that saw the Jags win five.

Two of last week’s win came during a doubleheader sweep at Kingman by scores of 6‑2 and 4‑1. The other two wins in the streak that carried over to this week came in the first two games of the Eagle Invitational.

Boulder Creek whipped Pinnacle 15‑0 in the March 17 opener, then beat up on Montgomery Bell, a team from Tennessee, 9‑3 in the day’s second game.

The spring break tournament carries through March 29.

O’Connor rallies for Northwest Region win

NORTH VALLEY – Sandra Day O’Connor is busy this week with the Eagle Invitational, but the team had to take care of some local business first.

The Eagles split a key two‑game series with Northwest Region rival Mountain Ridge, losing the first one 8‑7, then rallying for a 6‑4 win in the second.

O’Connor (8‑3 overall, 3‑1 region) scored four runs in the top of the seventh in the second game to stun Mountain Ridge at its field. Sophomore infielder Ryan Skube drove in two of those runs.

The Eagles continue play over the next two weeks at the Eagle Invitational, a tournament they are co‑hosting with Boulder Creek.

O’Connor will not return to region play until April 3 when it hosts Boulder Creek for the first of two games the schools will play the first week of the month.