by 
Copper Basin News
After a 24 – 4 victory at San Carlos last Wednesday and an 8 – 5 win at San Manuel last Thursday, the Jr. Bearcats baseball team finished the regular season with a 6 – 2 record, good enough for the third seed in the upcoming playoffs that begin on Thursday, Apr. 23.
The Jr. Cats jumped out to a 4 – 0 lead against the Braves thanks to first-inning doubles by Jaden Pace and Jayden Lagunas. Anthony Lopez followed, scoring the fourth run of the inning on an inside-the-park homerun.
Lopez cleared the bases in the second inning with a grand slam, his second homerun in as many innings.
Lagunas, who was the winning pitcher, was followed in relief by Danny Garcia, who was making his first appearance of the season. Garcia didn’t disappoint, fanning four Braves’ hitters in only two innings of work.
As stated previously, the playoffs will being on April 23 with the finals scheduled for April 25 at Eloy.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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