PHOENIX – A day after going toe-to-toe with Sunnyside in eight innings, Ironwood Ridge baseball coach Dennis Toia summoned his bulldog to the mound, senior Josh Darang.
Darang answered the call as he pitched a gem against second-seeded Glendale Apollo in the third round of the Division II state tournament, lifting the No. 10 Nighthawks to a 7-3 win.
The lefty, who slung six strong innings, fanned five and surrendered five singles as I-Ridge moved within two wins of reaching the state championship game. The Nighthawks face No. 19 Mesa Westwood on Saturday at Maryvale Baseball Park of a trip to the winner's bracket semifinals.
“I'm feeling really good right now, I love all these guys in that dugout right now,” Darang said after Wednesday's win. “All of them supported me and had my back and I love them for it. Every single one of them had my back, no matter what. Even when I doubted myself, no matter what. There were some times, but they pulled me through that.”
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Toia said because Darang was able to pitch backwards, tossing his curveball over the plate for strikes early in the count, he dialed up his fastball usage to keep hitters off-balance.
“I like how we're playing right now,” Toia said. “The guys are healthy, everyone is feeling good and Josh pitched lights out tonight.”
The Nighthawks pounced for two quick runs in the first inning when junior Greg Brown drove in leadoff man Jacob Allen with a single to right field. Senior Jared McKemy singled home Allen for a 2-0 lead. McKemy finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
Senior Jake Engel started a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth innings with a single back up the middle, which was followed by three straight hits. By the end of the frame, I-Ridge added three more runs. Engel was 3 for 3 with two RBIs.
“It's just one game at a time now,” Toia said. “At the beginning of the year this is what we expected. The No. 10 in front of our name doesn't mean anything.
-Chuck Constantino
Defending champ CDO limited offensively in loss
PHOENIX – Michael Santorelli was visibly drained after tossing a complete game in a 4-2 loss to No. 19 Mesa Westwood in the Division II tournament on Wednesday in Phoenix.
The Canyon del Oro junior pitcher struck out six and pitched well enough to earn the win, but was ultimately doomed by a fourth inning in which the sixth-seeded Dorados surrendered two doubles, committed two errors and let a run score on a balk.
“I thought Michael pitched well enough, he had one bad inning,” Francis said. “But we didn't support him defensively obviously. I thought we played like a bunch of sophomores. I'll let it at that.”
With the loss, the defending state champion Dorados fall in to the loser’s bracket. CDO returns to Maryvale Baseball Park on Saturday, for a win-or-go-home game against second-seeded Glendale Apollo at 1:30 p.m.
CDO’s bats didn't exactly come to life on Wednesday, as they were held to four hits and were no-hit through the first three innings. The Dorados have relied on their offense all season, outscoring opponents by nearly 200 runs,.
“We have to come out and swing the bats better than that,” Santorelli said. “We should have put up some more runs up on the board. We have to be more aggressive with everything, we can't be shy about anything and need to jump on everything we get from the start.”
Though his team came out flat against the lower ranked opponent, Francis has no qualms about whether his team will be ready to go in a do-or-die situation in the double-elimination round.
“I'm not worried about the mental bounce back at the moment,” Francis said. “I'm going to let them soak in their own misery and they'll come back, they have enough days to get over it.”
-Chuck Constantino
Tucson High gives up four runs late, falls to loser’s bracket
TEMPE — Tucson High led most of the night but gave up four runs late to fall 4-2 to No. 1 Phoenix Thunderbird in the third round of the Division II state tournament on Wednesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium
“We pride ourselves on having to win 2-1 ball games, 3-2 ball games and today obviously our defense let us down and that’s part of the game, they’re young men,” Tucson coach Oscar Romero said. “We’re lucky we’re in a double-elimination situation, so they’ll see another day and have an opportunity to do better than they did today.”
The ninth-seeded Badgers face No. 4 seed Phoenix Paradise Valley on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix in an elimination game.
Tucson High struck first on Wednesday, when senior shortstop Martin Garcia hit an RBI double and then senior right fielder Ricky Martinez drove him in in the first inning.
Tucson High starting pitcher Andy Morales had a no hitter through 4-2/3 innings but after he gave up two knocks, senior Carlos Cordova game in to relieve him. Thunderbird tied it up on a two-run error and then took the lead on a bloop single.
“I thought we came out pretty good; Andy threw his butt off, as the No. 3 pitcher, that’s what he has to do,” Garcia said. “In the last couple of innings, we made a couple mental/physical errors, nothing that can’t be fixed at practice.”
Thunderbird added an insurance run on an error in the sixth inning.
Tucson High’s last trip to Tempe Diablo was for the Division II state championship game last May, which Canyon Del Oro won.
“This is always a place that we want to be, it signifies championships,” Romero said. “You want to be in this situation at this location.”
-James Kelley
POSTSEASON GLANCE
BASEBALL
DIVISION II STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, double-elimination after second round. Winner-take-all championship game)
First-round results
No. 9 Tucson 2, No. 24 Scottsdale Notre Dame 1 (11 innings)
No. 10 Ironwood Ridge 5, No. 23 Mountain View 3
No. 19 Mesa Westwood 7, No. 14 Catalina Foothills 5
No. 21 Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain 8, No. 21 Sierra Vista Buena 2
No. 11 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 9, No. 22 Cienega 3
Second-round results
No. 19 Mesa Westwood 8, No. 3 Salpointe Catholic 7 (8 innings)
No. 6 Canyon del Oro 5, No. 11 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 3
No. 10 Ironwood Ridge 3, No. 7 Sunnyside 1 (8 innings)
No. 9 Tucson 3, No. 8 Buckeye Verrado 1
Wednesday’s third-round results (double elimination)
No. 19 Mesa Westwood 4, No. 6 Canyon del Oro 2
No. 1 Phoenix Thunderbird 4, No. 9 Tucson 2
No. 10 Ironwood Ridge 7, No. 2 Glendale Apollo 3
Winner quarterfinals (double elimination) – Saturday at Maryvale Baseball Park
No. 19 Mesa Westwood vs. No. 10 Ironwood Ridge, 4 p.m.
Loser bracket, first round (single elimination) – Saturday at Maryvale Baseball Park
No. 6 Canyon del Oro vs. No. 2 Glendale Apollo, 1:30 p.m.
No. 9 Tucson vs. No. 4 Phoenix Paradise Valley, 11 a.m.
DIVISION III STATE TOURNAMENT
(32 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 2 Nogales 7, No. 31 Empire 0
No. 7 Sahuarita 4, No. 26 Glendale Cactus 1
No. 17 Payson 8, No. 16 Rio Rico 7
No. 12 Phoenix Washington 8, No. 21 Walden Grove 7
Second-round results
No. 7 Sahuarita 7, No. 10 Maricopa 1
No. 18 Phoenix Northwest Christian 5, No. 2 Nogales 2
Quarterfinals – Friday at Surprise Baseball Complex
No. 18 Phoenix Northwest Christian vs. No. 7 Sahuarita, 6 p.m.
DIVISION IV STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 12 Catalina 4, No. 21 Flagstaff Northland Prep 2
No. 13 Benson 4, No. 20 Tempe Prep 0
No. 18 Phoenix Valley Christian 9, No. 15 Tanque Verde 3
No. 22 Amphitheater 12, No. 11 Chinle 0
Second-round results
No. 1 Desert Christian 12, No. 17 Morenci 2
No. 7 Pueblo 7, No. 10 Sedona Red Rock 1
No. 5 Yuma Catholic 2, No. 12 Catalina 1
No. 4 Apache Junction 8, No. 13 Benson 7
No. 6 Buckeye 5, No. 22 Amphitheater 0
Quarterfinals – Friday at Goodyear Baseball Complex
No, 8 Camp Verde vs. No. 1 Desert Christian, 6 p.m.
No. 7 Pueblo vs. No. 2 Glendale Joy Christian, 6 p.m.
DIVISION V STATE TOURNAMENT
(24 teams, single elimination)
First-round results
No. 10 Elfrida Valley Union 18, No. 23 Sanders Valley 2 (5 innings)
No. 11 St. Augustine Catholic 10, No. 22 Mogollon 0 (5 innings)
No. 9 Kearny Ray 11, No. 24 Tombstone 7
Second-round results
No. 4 Bisbee 12, No. 20 Winterhaven (California) San Pasqual 5
No. 7 Superior 12, No. 10 Elfrida Valley Union 8
No. 6 Miami 11, No. 11 St. Augustine Catholic 1 (5 innings)
Quarterfinals – Friday at Tempe Diablo Baseball Complex
No. 5 Eloy Santa Cruz vs. No. 4 Bisbee, 6 p.m.
