Behind the talented young pitching of freshman Ezekial Casillas, timely hitting from junior shortstop Ezra Church and both from freshman John Castillo, Camp Verde High School baseball has charged back to win its last two games after an 0-4-1 start.
Church singled twice in two at-bats Saturday, March 8. The lone senior for CVHS, Tyler Dickey, had two runs batted in as well, but it was Carson Zale’s sixth-inning double scoring fellow freshman Wyatt Howe that gave the Cowboys a 4-3 lead over Mogollon High School they would never relinquish after seven lead changes in their final game of the Thunderbird Invitational in Bullhead City on Saturday, March 8.
The Cowboys managed to break even in that tournament with a 2-2 record after only managing a tie against two losses the week before in the Fountain Hills Tournament. CVHS and Holbrook High School tied 14-14 in a game timed out after six innnings.
“Throughout these tournaments, it’s been a lot of who can play where, and the picture’s become a lot clearer,” said CVHS head baseball coach Will Davis. “Tyler — the last game — did a really good job, but our one returning starter, Ezra Church, has been a leader since the Mogollon game, when he kept us positive and helped us keep coming back and taking the lead when we kept losing it.”
Casillas struck out eight Mustangs on only one walk in 51/3 innings pitched, while sophomore Logan Conrad got the win with a strikeout and allowing no baserunners to get the final two outs for the Cowboys.
“Zeke Casillas has been a huge surprise,” Davis said. “I had no idea he was going to throw as well as he had so far. He has a sharp curveball and keeps hitters off-balance.
“Logan Conrad is real strong, throwing lots of innings for us. Logan’s the only guy who’s shown he can throw 90 to 100 pitches so far.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, March 12, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
