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Ray High Bearcats
The 6th-ranked Ray baseball team won its first three-games of the Chandler Prep Baseball Classic to reach the championship game, which took place last Saturday at the Tempe Diablo Complex.
The Cats defeated San Pasqual Valley before beating former No. 1-ranked Bagdad, 4 – 1, to reach the Platinum Bracket Semifinals versus Round Valley. The Cats defeated the Elks to make the championship game, where they were defeated by Joy Christian, the top-ranked team in 2A, 18 – 2.
In the Apr. 7 game versus Bagdad, the Cats fell behind early after a first-inning run, but that’s all the Sultans would get for the remainder of the game as starting pitcher Noah Warren and reliever Brett Fackiner followed with five combined innings of shutout baseball.
Warren allowed a run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts and three walks. Fackiner, in an inning of relief, did not allow a hit, fanned one, and walked one.
The Cats scored in each of the last three innings, beginning with two runs in the fourth and solo runs in the fifth and sixth.
Morgan Bray, a sophomore, had two hits while Anthony Acuna, Jaden Pace, Fabian Valenzuela, Jordan Pace, and Fackiner had a hit apiece.
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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