Entering the season with only three players on the roster — seniors Mason Rayburn and Peyton Kelley along with junior Cole Gillespie — having varsity experience, Camp Verde’s baseball team knew that there would be potential for growing pains, especially in the early part of the season. Despite that, the first slate of games were quite beneficial to the Cowboys — without any exceptions.
Camp Verde opened the season with a 5-4 10-inning win against Payson on Monday, March 22. A week later, the Cowboys knocked off Northland Prep Academy in another extra-inning game, defeating the Spartans 5-4 in eight innings. In between, there was a 27-8 beating of Tonopah Valley. That set Camp Verde up at 3-0 with games against Bourgade Catholic on Tuesday, March 30, and Thursday, April 1. And while it wasn’t easy, the Cowboys maintained their perfect mark.
Camp Verde got things going the right way, defeating the Golden Eagles in Tuesday’s road game, 7-5. Hosting Bourgade Catholic two days later, the Cowboys surrendered a two-run lead in the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings. But Camp Verde scored in the bottom of the eighth to come away with a 9-8 win and moved its record to 5-0.
If one had to pick a team MVP over the first five games for the Cowboys, it would be Rayburn. At the plate, he has recorded 12 hits, which leads the team. He also leads the Cowboys in home runs [1], triples [1], doubles [4] and stolen bases [6] and has .632 with a .652 on-base percentage and a 1.105 slugging percentage. Rayburn has additionally been solid on the mound, leading the team with 10.1 innings pitched and 20 strikeouts, all while posting a 0.68 ERA.
But while Rayburn has played well, it’s hardly been a one-man show for Camp Verde.
As a team, the Cowboys are hitting .353/.481/.449 over the season’s first four games and have a 3.22 ERA.
At the plate, six of the Camp Verde hitters to log 10 or more at-bats over the season’s first five games are hitting .300 or better. Rayburn’s .632 leads the team but behind him are sophomore Trey Battise [.562], Gillespie [.533], sophomore Kade Penrod [.400], freshman Chase Gillespie [.368] and senior Peyton Kelley [.300].
Pitching, Gillespie [Cole] has a 3-0 record with a 2.10 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 10 innings. Freshman Frank Molina has a 1.75 ERA with seven strikeouts over eight innings.
On Monday, April 5, Camp Verde moved its record to 6-0 with a Freedom Game victory over local rival, Sedona Red Rock High School. The Cowboys took the lead in the first inning and never looked back, posting a 16-1 victory over the Scorpions.
Camp Verde suffered its first loss of the season the following day, losing 9-1 to Northwest Christian. The Cowboys will host the Crusaders in a rematch on Friday, April 9 at 1 p.m and will wrap up a busy week on Saturday, April 10 with an 11 a.m. road game against Payson. conclude a busy week.
