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Angel Barrigan steals home. Photo by Ashley Madrid
The top 16 teams will qualify for the 2A State Championship Tournament, which begins next month. With only two games remaining and currently at No. 20 in the most recent 2A rankings, the San Manuel baseball team has work to do – and likely needs some help from other teams – to qualify for the playoffs.
The Miners, who had won five-straight, have split their last four games, which included a 14 – 11 victory at Desert Christian last Tuesday.
Antonio Gallego had two hits and drove in a run to lead the Miners’ offensive attack. Freshman Cezar Guerrero doubled and had three RBI in the win. Sophomores Louis Chavez and Kevin Carter each had a hit and two RBI against the Eagles.
Javy Tamayo gets a hit. Photo by Ashley Madrid
Guerrero and Gallego each pitched three innings and combined to allow five earned runs with four strikeouts.
The Miners finish their regular season this week with games versus Miami and San Carlos, which have to be considered must-win games if San Manuel has any hope of reaching the state playoffs.
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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