Tuesday, May 5, was not a day for pitching at the old Mingus Union High School ballpark.
Both MUHS [25-5] and its first opponent in the Division II state baseball tournament, visiting ninth seed Verrado High School, had overcome four-run deficits, combining for 23 runs on a home run, multiple doubles and triples — as well as unearned runs off wild pitches and throwing errors into the other team’s dugout.
“We knew if they could score seven runs in the seventh inning, we could at least score five to beat them,” said senior shortstop Tom McCarty, whose three runs scored were all needed by MUHS in a 12-11 victory over the Vipers. “No pep talk — we didn’t really need it. We just swung the bats.”
His belief would be validated by junior center fielder Tristan Clark, whose walk-off single with two outs capped a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“I lost my voice,” McCarty said. “You can’t describe that type of feeling, the adrenaline that’s running through you. It’s incredible.”
Either freshman Tyler Kelly or junior Zack Abrigo will start at pitcher Wednesday, May 6, against top-seeded Tucson High School at 6:30 p.m. in Tempe Diablo Stadium.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, May 6, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
