The Nogales High baseball team beat rival Sahuarita 4-3 on Friday in the championship game of the AMSA Transportation Lancer Baseball Classic at Reid Park Annex.
“Coming to these tournaments we usually expect to face some other teams but we ended up facing our rival, which made the victory even sweeter,” said Nogales senior pitcher/third baseman Angel Chavez.
Nogales coach O.J. Favela said he has friends in the Sahuarita program and a nephew there.
“We have our battles all year, we have a good relationship, we play a lot,” Favela said. “It’s bittersweet because you hate to see them lose.”
The game’s winning pitcher, freshman Jorge Bojorquez, made his tournament debut Friday after Favela called him on Thursday and said to come because they might need him.
Bojorquez struck out four in two hitless innings.
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“Wow, he came in clutch,” Favela said. “He got out of both innings with a strikeout to give us a chance to bring in our main guy, our closer for the seventh inning.”
Sahuarita scored first on a sacrifice fly by junior middle infielder Rigo Leon in the fourth inning. Then, senior outfielder/pitcher Kevin Morales drove in a run to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
In its next at-bat, Nogales tied it up after scoring runs on a wild pitch and an error.
In the top of the sixth, the Apaches took the lead on a wild pitch with the bases loaded and then scored again on a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman/catcher Gera Lopez.
“It was a great tournament for us,” said Nogales junior outfielder Sergio Gonzalez. “We came together as a team and when we play together as a team we play to full capability and we can achieve great things.”
Sahuarita scored in the home half of the sixth when senior first baseman/pitcher Sergio Santa Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk, but senior Angel Zuniga was able to get the save in the seventh.
“When you play six games in five days, seven for us, you’re digging deep,” Favela said.
The Apaches won despite getting outhit 5-3. Sahuarita’s Morales and senior middle infielder Jacob Teso were the players who got more than one hit.
Sahuarita got to the title game by beating Sabino 7-6 in walk-off fashion earlier Friday.
After losing the opening game of the tournament 6-3 to Sunnyside, Nogales beat Marana 14-9, Tecumseh (Oklahoma) 17-2, Rincon/University 4-1 and Salpointe Catholic, the tournament’s hosts, 3-1. Then, earlier Friday, the Apaches topped Bellflower (California) 4-2 in the semifinals.
“It was amazing, especially knocking off Salpointe in their own tournament, that was a crazy game last night and today another great game,” Gonzalez said.
