On Mingus Union High School’s baseball and softball diamonds, pitching is the name of the game.
Especially the last three weeks, in which the fortunes of head baseball coach Bob Young and head softball coach John Brown have risen — and fallen — behind their staff aces.
But while the performances of senior Zack Abrigo have only gotten stronger since March 8 — an 8-0 shutout loss at Moon Valley High School — junior Krista Earl hasn’t even been available since straining a tendon in her shoulder the same day during a 9-4 loss at Mesquite High School.
Although Earl has seen four different doctors since the injury, any reports of her return to the mound for the Marauders’ home section opener against St. Mary’s High School at 3:45 p.m. Friday, April 1, would be an April Fool at this point to Brown.
Softball
“She’s not going to be back for at least another week,” Brown said Friday, March 25. “She’s going through physical therapy, and we’ve exhausted all our resources trying to protect her rotator cuff.”
Sophomore Sonya Saucedo, with support from senior Laria Serna, has moved in from the outfield to try and fill Earl’s role — with 5-8-1 results overall.
“Neither one of them have pitched since Little League,” Brown said. “We’re definitely competing on an offensive level and can play the game on the bases defensively. The downside is, we’re getting hit really hard.
“When you score five, six runs a game, you should be in the game. But with three games a week, honestly, the teams we could’ve been competitive with, we aren’t, now.”
That includes Ironwood High School, which touched Saucedo for seven runs through the first three innings before getting another eight off Serna in a 15-5 loss March 23 for the Marauders in their Division II, Section II opener in Glendale.
After visiting Shadow Mountain High School on Tuesday, March 29, MUHS gets one more home break from sectional play Thursday, March 31, against Coconino High School.
Then the Marauders open sectional play at home Friday, March 1, at 3:45 p.m. against St. Mary’s High School. In a 14-team section, they cannot afford to fall to 0-3 against the Knights.
“Without pitching, it’s going to be a struggle to beat them,” said Brown, whose powerhouses at the plate have been junior catcher Morgan Mabery and freshman shortstop Maddie Bejarano. “You’ve got to win a lot more games than in a smaller section. With Krista, hopefully we’ll start to be competitive in these games.”
Mabery batted in two MUHS runs March 23 against the Eagles, while Bejarano has moved from center field to starting shortstop, where she is batting .683 with two home runs and has only struck out once in the first 14 games of her high school career.
With senior center fielder Tori Fanning struggling against Division II pitching, Bejarano went three for three with the team’s three other RBIs against the Eagles, collecting two doubles and her fourth triple on the season.
“They just can’t get down on themselves,” Brown said. “We knew this was going to be a building year. I just say to them, stay the course.”
Baseball
Good advice for Young’s team [10-3] heading into its Division III, Section I home opener Wednesday, March 30, at 3:45 p.m. against Winslow High School.
“They usually have one good pitcher, and I’m sure we’ll see him,” said Young, whose team opened up an early sectional lead March 19 with a 16-9 win at Blue Ridge High School. “I’m sure we’ll see everybody’s best pitcher going forward.
“If we want to do anything in the state tournament, I think that’s our next progression — hitting better pitchers. We’ve shown we can hit young pitchers.”
Which Abrigo did to the tune of six RBIs against the Yellowjackets, scattering five hits through the first three innings to get the win despite allowing three earned runs.
“With this group, it’s still hard for me to say who our staff ace is,” Young said. “I would say Zack is No. 1 as far as being the most consistent. After that, a lot of guys can throw well.”
Including Young’s only southpaw, sophomore Jordan Huey, who struck out seven in over six innings in his strongest start of the season March 21 — a 4-3 home loss to Prescott High School, which remains undefeated in Division II play.
“They’re just better than just about anyone we’ve played,” said Young, who held a 3-2 lead going into the seventh and final inning. “Jordan pitched a great game against a really good fastball-hitting team. He keeps people off-balance.
“It stinks to lose to our rival, but it’s not a disgrace losing to a good pitcher.”
The next day, senior Fernando Chavez — who had two of the Marauders’ three RBIs against Prescott — hit a triple to plate another two against Chino Valley High School, throwing a technical no-hitter in a 20-0 run-ruling of the Cougars in three innings.
“I think our seniors have really stepped up,” said Young, who was led by four RBIs each from Abrigo, Huey and junior catcher Gus Henley. “Some of them were question marks going into the season offensively. That to me has been the key to our offense. I put my best nine hitters out there, always.”
Young hopes that select group will soon include sophomores Tyree Kim and Andrew Kulis, just coming off shoulder and foot injuries.
For Mingus Union High School baseball tournament results and upcoming schedule, please see the Wednesday, March 30, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
