When the heat was on the Verde Valley Little League All-Stars, head coach Jeff Lynch had two words for pitcher Josh Schlegel.
Ice them.
Which Schlegel did, striking out two of the three 11-and 12-year-old batters from Prescott he faced with nobody out and runners on second and third base Saturday, July 9, to lift Verde Valley to the District 10 title, 4-3.
“All-around, our defense was pretty good,” said Schlegel, who, along with most of his All-Star teammates and coaches, will advance to their second state little league tournament, which begins with pool play Thursday, July 21. “I felt amazing — just wanted to get them all out.”
The second win in two days over Prescott at the Riverfront Baseball Complex was also the closest of the season for most of those same All-Stars, coming off a District 10 Tournament of Champions crown as Diamondbacks.
“Not our typical hitting team, but you know what? They did it with defense,” said Lynch, whose All-Stars rallied from the consolation bracket for five wins in as many days after their only loss, a lightning-shortened 5-4 decision July 1 to Camp Verde. “If we can’t get it done with our sticks — which is rare — those guys have a backbone of great defense.”
With wins over Prescott, Camp Verde, Wickenburg and Prescott Valley by more than 40 runs combined in their previous elimination games, July 9 provided the true championship test for Verde Valley.
“Our bats weren’t the best, though,” Schlegel said. “I just hope our bats come alive.”
Help is on the way, however, in the form of Jan Alvarez and Ryan Lindsay, who combined to knock five home runs out of the Chino Valley Community Center fields in three Tournament of Champions games.
Both players missed all of Verde Valley’s elimination games for family and medical reasons but should be back for the first State game July 21, Lynch said.
“These kids have battled, fought, played tough ball all week long,” he added. “We really don’t have subs anymore. We have 13 players, and we can count on any of them at anytime. They showed their true heart.”
Winning pitcher Ben Miranda, who scored what appeared to be the go-ahead run on a Schlegel groundout in the bottom of the fourth inning, nearly saw it all slip away on Prescott’s second straight single in the top of the sixth.
“I just let him know that, hey, you’ve got two pitches left: Try to get an out,” Lynch said. “[Schlegel] came in with a closer mentality and shut the door on them.”
Zane Torrey, Miranda’s mound rival who went the distance and put Prescott on the board first with a solo home run to left field in the fourth, scored on the play, as the throw from right field bounced over the head of catcher Garrett Hagstrom.
It was the rare error for a team that had just forced eight miscues from Prescott the night before in a 12-2, five-inning collapse, forcing a second game.
After spotting Prescott two first-inning runs, Hagstrom outdueled rival ace Tyson Potts, shutting out Prescott, which had been undefeated in tournament play prior to July 8.
“We just want to go play our game and whatever happens, happens,” Lynch said of his goals for the team at State. “They’re ballers. I wouldn’t put anything past them at this point.”
Zach Harrison evened the score July 9 on a 225-foot solo shot to the batting cages behind Field 4 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Outfielder Johnny Ayala followed that up with a single to left field and would come around to score courtesy of two wild pitches and a steal of third base.
The aggressive strategy has been the hallmark of Lynch’s team, which took every base — and every run — it could get in all of what were ostensibly home games, defeating Wickenburg, 25-7, and Prescott Valley in a four-inning run-ruling.
Lynch will travel to State for the second time. Assistant coach Troy Hoke coached a 9- and 10-year-old team that finished sixth five years ago but believes this team is better.
Verde Valley also run-ruled Camp Verde on July 7, avenging the July 1 loss and officially eliminating head coach John Frisch’s team from the little league postseason, 16-6.
“To be honest, I thought we would be in the championship game,” said Frisch, who was named All-Star head coach after leading the Camp Verde Mariners to the best Majors record of four teams in the regular season. “Unfortunately, we fell short. That happens when you let a team score 11 runs in an inning.”
The only other Verde Valley All-Star coach with a postseason win was Jane Lee, whose 8- through 10-year-old softball players broke the scoreboard the week prior in an opening-round win over Prescott Valley before falling to Williams in the championship.
“We got 16 runs in the first inning,” she said following the 40-37 win in six innings with 9-year-old Peyton Budd getting the win. “She’s a stud. We’re a very young team.”
For more photos and the Verde Valley Little League state tournament schedule, please see the Wednesday, July 13, issues of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
