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The Ray Jr. High baseball team entered last Wednesday’s game versus rival Hayden with a record of 3 –1, the lone loss coming against Globe after three-straight victories to start the season. The Jr. Bearcats won their fourth game of the season, defeating Hayden at home, 20 – 2. The Jr. Cats, now 4 – 1, are off to a surprising start so far in 2015.
“After last years undefeated season, we returned 6 players and 4 of them were starters,” Jr. Bearcats’ head coach Frank Lechuga said. “This has been a challenging season so far after losing our main core of players from last year and bringing in 11 new players to the team.”
Lechuga credits assistant coaches Shane Olsen and Shawn Walters with helping him keep the players’ attention while maintaining a good work ethic and a fun atmosphere. It’s obviously working, as the team’s record indicates.
In their most recent win, the Jr. Cats scored early and often, beginning with a four-run first inning. Doubles from leadoff hitter Jayden Lagunas and Skylar Hughes sandwiched walks by Anthony Lopez and Tyler Goodwin, helping the Jr. Cats grab the early lead.
Goodwin, who was the starting pitcher for Ray, pitched around trouble in the second inning after striking out two Lobos’ hitters in the first. He allowed a run before his defense made a play with the bases loaded to prevent any more runs from scoring.
The Jr. Cats put the game out of reach in the third, scoring 13 runs, highlighted by two hits in the inning from both Jando Felix and Julian Becerra. Six other Jr. Cats added singles while Danny Garcia and Anthony Lopez came through with run-scoring doubles.
The Lobos were able to plate another run before Jr. Cats’ closer Anthony Lopez came on in relief and recorded two strikeouts. Catcher Morgan Bray threw out a Lobos’ runner caught in a rundown for the final out of the game.
“After a tough loss and a two week break, this game is what the Bearcats needed,” Lechuga said after the game. “The offense came out and showed a lot of patience while being aggressive at the plate, but we still need to improve on the defensive side and eliminate the mental errors.”
Upcoming schedule: Apr. 7 at San Manuel and Apr. 15 at San Carlos.
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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