Eagles
perfect at spring tourney
O’Connor
goes 8‑0 during break; key region games upcoming
by Jason Stone
NORTH
VALLEY – If only the playoffs could start now. That must
be what the Sandra Day O’Connor baseball team is thinking
after a hot stretch of recent play during spring break
vaulted the Eagles to among the top 5A‑II teams
in Arizona.
O’Connor
(16‑3 overall, 3‑1 Northwest Region) last
week wrapped up eight wins in eight games in the Eagle
Invitational, which featured mostly teams from out of
state. The Eagles put the finishing touches on the perfect
tournament record with wins last week over Centennial
(Ore.), Tualatin (Ore.) and Monarch (Colo.).
The
tournament success is part of a larger stretch of excellent
play by the Eagles. The team has only lost twice since
opening day and they’ve been victorious in 11 of their
last 12 games entering the week.
The
Eagles opened play this week with a .366 team batting
average, which includes four players batting higher than
.400. O’Connor has also smacked 11 homers so far this
season.
Pitching
has been coming up big for the Eagles as well. Three players
(Clark McCarthy, Josh Moody and Jacob Robinson) have 3‑0
records
Jaguars,
Bulldogs back
to region slate
NORTH
VALLEY – Boulder Creek returns to Northwest Region play
again this week after more than two weeks of games against
mostly out‑of‑state teams.
The
Jaguars (13‑11 overall, 3‑1 Northwest Region)
were scheduled to return to region play on
the road at O’Connor and Trevor Browne April 3 and 4,
respectively. Only region games remain on the schedule
for Boulder Creek.
Goldwater
(8‑11 overall, 0‑4 region) was scheduled to
play three region games this week with hopes of picking
up the school’s first league win. All of the Bulldogs’
remaining games– excluding the April 13 game at Alhambra–will
count in the region standings.
Notre
Dame shocks Falcons
back‑to‑back
CAVE
CREEK – Back‑to‑back losses to Notre Dame
last week put a slight damper on Cactus Shadows’ early‑season
success.
The
Falcons lost 9‑1 on the road March 27, then didn’t
fare much better at home two days later in an 8‑5
loss. Cactus Shadows (12‑4 overall, 1‑2 Wells
Fargo 2 Region) had won 12‑of‑13 games before
facing Notre Dame, which took the early lead in the region
race.
Cactus
Shadows has one more chance to beat Notre Dame at home
(April 13) and will try to make up ground in other games
as all but one remaining team on the schedule is a region
foe.
