Camp Verde High School’s young baseball team won its home opener, scoring in five of six innings during a 12-2 run rule victory over Bourgade Catholic High School on Tuesday, March 13.
Despite putting up double-digit runs, the Cowboys [3-1] could have had more. They stranded six runners and turned in a handful of unproductive outs.
“We struggled tonight, especially with the slower pitching and staying back, we got on our front foot, which caused those pop ups,” Camp Verde head coach Will Davis said. “We just talked about that in our huddle, too, making sure that we top-half the ball in that situation, get the ground ball, get the run in.”
Cowboys junior Dominiq Bruno led the team with a four for four, two-RBI effort at the plate while pitching all six innings, giving up just two hits while striking out nine and walking three. Bruno had three of the team’s six stolen bases.
It was the slowest game of the season so far, Davis said, with Golden Eagles [3-3, 0-2 Metro West Region] junior pitcher Isaiah Jaurigue walking two batters and hitting three. Davis added that it was not one of his team’s best games either, but getting the victory was the most important thing.
Bruno is the lone returning starter from last year’s team that graduated 10 seniors. But this group is coming together faster than Davis expected, and after the game emphasized his belief that it can truly compete for the Central Region title again.
“Not as good as we need to, but we’re improving. We’re going to get better all the time. Once again I’m going back to the young thing. We’re young, and when you’re young you put a little extra pressure on yourself and you don’t make a play you should make,” Davis said. “But we’re getting better; our outfield looked great tonight, it’s looked great all year. The infield’s coming, we’ve just got to slow it down a little bit and we’ll be fine.”
Camp Verde had the bases loaded with two outs in the first inning, but came away empty handed after a ground out. It got two runs on the board in the second. Freshman left fielder Peyton Kelley took first to lead things off after getting hit by a pitch.
Kelley stole second and was driven home by sophomore right fielder Kelton O’Grady. O’Grady later scored the second run on a Bruno base hit.
Two more runs came in the third frame, the rally again starting with another hit batter, this time junior third baseman Braden Schuh. Kelley’s single to right field scored both runs, but with runners at second and third, junior catcher Dakota Battise hit a fly ball that ended the inning.
The Cowboys added one run in the fourth and fifth innings to make it 6-0 on a sacrifice fly from junior first baseman Dawson McCune and another O’Grady single. They put the game away in the sixth inning by scoring six runs.
Camp Verde freshman shortstop Mason Rayburn drew a leadoff walk, Bruno singled and McCune was hit by a pitch, this time by Golden Eagles senior Chad Sticler, to load the bases with zero outs.
Schuh then wore a pitch for a free RBI, and Sticler was replaced by sophomore Calvin Kahler. Kahler walked in a run, then Kelley’s fielder’s choice ground ball drove in two more to make it 10-2. Two more walks again loaded the bases, Battise hit a sacrifice fly, Rayburn walked and Bruno put the finishing touches with another RBI single.
Bourgade Catholic’s best inning offensively was the sixth as well, during which Bruno started to struggle. Bruno hit two batters after the leadoff batter, junior second baseman Michael Morales, reached on an error, and the bases were loaded with zero outs.
A sacrifice fly scored the first run and the second crossed home on a passed ball. Bruno had two strikeouts for the final two outs.
“There in the last inning I got a bit little wild, lost my groove, but I found it and got back on it, kept living in the [strikezone],” Bruno said.
Before the season began, Davis said pitching would be one of the weaker points of the team. Asked about where the team has progressed the most during the early stages of the year, he pointed to his guys on the mound.
“Honestly I would say it’s pitching. We didn’t know what we were going to have pitching-wise coming into the season. Dom has really looked good so far. Dakota has been a frontline guy — he’s faced good teams, so his numbers don’t show it, but a team like this he would dominate without question,” Davis said. “Then behind that the defense, so we’re getting better every day and our offense still needs a little work as you probably saw tonight, but we’ll get there too.”
Camp Verde played on Tuesday, March 20, at Tonopah Valley High School before returning home for a matchup with Scottsdale Preparatory Academy on Thursday, March 22, with the first pitch set for 4 p.m. Its last tuneup before Central Region play comes at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at home against a strong 3A team in Payson High School.
