After suffering its first loss of the season to rival Chino Valley High School, the Camp Verde High School baseball team has bounced back with six straight victories, most recently a 13-1 mercy-rule win at Bourgade Catholic High School on Tuesday, March 14.
The Cowboys [3-1] are undefeated in tournament play this season with 10 wins, although they do not count toward their official record.
“I think we responded well, we knew we were going to have to work hard,” head coach Will Davis said. “We can’t expect to win, we’re going to have to work hard for it. Chino Valley helped show us that.”
Against the Golden Eagles, Camp Verde jumped out to an 8-1 lead after the second inning. Senior third baseman Ryan Cain, senior pitcher Carson Zale and freshman courtesy runner Kelton O’Grady scored the team’s three first-inning runs.
In the second, sophomore Dawson McCune sacrificed to send senior outfielder Nathan Pineda to second, who then scored on an RBI triple by senior second baseman Wyatt Howe. The Cowboys came through with two-out hitting, scoring four more runs by the inning’s end.
After Zale singled, he and Cain touched home on an RBI double by senior outfielder Rafael Zapata. Senior catcher Easton Braden batted home Zapata, and sophomore infielder Dakota Battise singled home Zapata.
“We came out and hit the ball well on him [Golden Eagle sophomore pitcher Kenneth Jackson],” Davis said. “We didn’t commit errors and we have speed, so we took bases and put a lot of pressure on them and that was kind of the story of the game.”
Battise was three for three with two RBI to lead the Cowboys. Zapata had four RBI while three Cowboys tied for a team-high three runs scored.
Zale got the win on the mound, giving up one earned run on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts in four innings. Braden got the save by striking out all three batters he faced in the fifth.
In the Route 66 Baseball Classic, played from March 9 to 11, the team was placed into the small schools bracket.
Davis admitted that during his team’s winning streak, it has not met a team of the same caliber as Chino Valley.
What the games have done for the Cowboys is give them more experience and bring them closer to their desired form.
“Every game we’re closer to midseason form, we’re not making errors, our pitchers are throwing strikes and we’re making good decisions fielding,” Davis said. “We have some good games coming up here and we’re expecting to be competitive in all of them.”
Davis mentioned that the team will gain another good pitcher with the return of senior Darren Franklin, who has been sidelined with a thumb issue on his catching hand.
Camp Verde’s next big test will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Scottsdale Preparatory Academy and at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at Payson High School.
It hosted Tonopah Valley High School on Tuesday, March 21, beating the Phoenix 17-1 in five innings. Howe, Cain, Pineda and sophomore outfielder Dominiq Bruno each finished with two hits, and Howe and Cain had three RBI each in the win.
Senior John Castillo gave up just three hits while striking out four with no walks in four innings of work, and Braden finished the game with two strikeouts in the fifth.
