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San Manuel’s pitcher and catcher confer on the mound. Photo by Samantha Roan, SMHS
The San Manuel baseball team is battling through a current six-game winless streak, mainly due to lack of run support.
The Miners’ offense has scored three or fewer runs in five of their last six games and pushed across four runs in a 12 – 4 loss at Santa Cruz Valley on Feb. 28.
Good pitching and little offense was story in a 5 – 3 loss against San Tan Foothills on Mar. 4 in the Joe S. Padilla Tournament.
Sophomores Frankie Gonzales and Christian Estrada each had a hit and an RBI against the Sabercats. Estrada’s knock was a double, one of four in the game for the Miners. Benny Laguna, Saul Quijada and Alejandro Camacho hit the others.
Pitchers Angel Barriga and Josh Sharp were the bright spots. The duo combined to allow five runs, four earned. Barriga, a sophomore, did not allow a hit in his inning and two-thirds outing. Sharp fanned two and did not allow walk.
A Miner batter watches a pitch go by in last week’s game against Ray. Photo by Kiana Dietz/Samantha Roan
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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