The Camp Verde High School baseball team needed only the first inning to prove which squad was the better team Friday, April 8, scoring 10 runs on Tonopah Valley High School to go on and win, 12-4.
“We had some good hitting,” second-year Camp Verde Head Coach Steve Hicks said. “It was a good win. It wasn’t real pretty, but we did some things well.”
In one of the weirdest outings from a starting pitcher Cowboys fans will ever see, Gavin Collins twirled his first no-hitter of the season Friday against Tonopah Valley High School.
Collins pitched seven innings, allowed four runs, three earned, on six walks while striking out eight and allowing no hits.
“It wasn’t a clean game. He pitched a good game, though. Technically, it’s a no-hitter,” Hicks said.
The defense behind Collins committed five errors in seven innings. Combine that with six walks and one can see why the Phoenix scored four runs.
Tonopah Valley came out and scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead but the Cowboys answered with 10 runs to take a 10-3 lead.
Camp Verde added two more runs in the fourth inning and surrendered one in the top of the sixth to win, 12-4.
At the plate, junior center fielder Cody Rayburn was 4-5 with three runs scored, three stolen bases and an RBI.
“Cody [Rayburn] has been solid all season for us,” Hicks said.
Second baseman Jesse Fullbright was 2-4 with three stolen bases, two runs scored and two RBIs while designated hitter Andrew Teague was 2-3 with an RBI. As a team, Camp Verde had 14 hits in the 12-4 victory.
With the win, the Cowboys improve to 12-8 overall this season and are 7-3 in Arizona Interscholastic Association power point games. The 7-3 record puts the Cowboys at No. 16 in the 2A conference standings.
Camp Verde was in action again Tuesday, April 12, when it played host to Chino Valley High School. Results were unavailable at press time.
Next up, the Cowboys will welcome cross-valley rival Mingus Union High School on Friday, April 15. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
