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Ray Junior High School Bearcats are, from left, (front) Christian Day, Daniel Ortiz, Theodore Alvarado, Morgan Bray, Skylar Hughes, Jando Felix, Angel Manriquez, Ivan Hetrick; (back) Head Coach Frank Lechuga, Spencer Bryce, Guillermo Ortega, Tyler Goodwin, Danny Garcia, Jaden Pace, Anthony Lopez, Julian Becerra, Jayden Lagunas, Asst Coach Shane Olsen. Not pictured Asst Coach Shawn Walters.
Copper Basin News
The Ray Jr. High baseball team advanced to the second round of the CJHL playoffs after holding off San Manuel last Thursday, 4 – 3. Unfortunately, the second round is where the Jr. Cats’ season ended after an 11 – 1 loss to High Desert Middle School last Saturday.
Ray starting pitcher Tyler Goodwin pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of first, getting a flyout and two strike outs to keep the Miners from scoring the first runs of the game.
The Miners took a 1 – 0 lead in the second before Ray tied it when Jando Felix scored on a wild pitch. The Jr. Cats scored three more runs in the inning on RBI hits by Theo Alvarado and Jaden Pace.
Strong defensive play behind Goodwin preserved Ray’s lead until the fourth inning, when San Manuel cut the lead Jr. Cats lead to one, 4 – 3. Danny Garcia came on in relief of Goodwin to shut down the Miners to earn the save and send the Jr. Cats to the second round where they faced No. 2-seed High Desert last Saturday.
Ray scored first against the Tigers thanks to a leadoff triple by Jaden Pace and a sacrifice RBI by Skylar Hughes. But the Tigers answered in their half of the first, tying the game 1 – 1 on two hits in the inning.
High Desert added another run in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 4 – 1 lead. They blew the game open in the fifth with a three-run homerun the key hit in a seven-run inning that doomed the Jr. Cats, effectively ending their season.
“We had a great successful season,” Ray head coach Frank Lechuga wrote in an email to the Copper Basin News. “The players deserve a lot of credit for all their hard work and dedication, both on and off the field. It has been a privilege to be able to coach a great bunch of young men.”
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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