Photo: Cooper Magnett receives a bullseye throw from catcher Jacob Patterson before tagging out Mason Davis attempting to steal second base
The Prescott Badgers closed out the Grand Canyon Region portion of their season with a 10-3 win over the Mingus Marauders on Senior Day at Prescott High School. The pre-game recognized 11 seniors with their families. Prescott finishes at (10-2) in the GCR with Bradshaw Mountain now at (8-2) with two games left to play.
The Badgers got busy scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. A walk, and back to back errors set the table for Cooper Magnett who delivered a bases loaded single, scoring Nick Martin and Luke Tobin for the first two runs. Colton Champion picked up an RBI grounding out as Adrian Sanderford scored. Then it was starting pitcher Coley Fundalewicz helping his own cause with an RBI single to center, scoring Magnett.
After a quiet first inning, Mingus was able to counter when they got Fundalewicz into a little trouble, scoring a pair of unearned runs to cut the Prescott lead in half at 4-2.
Photo: Starting pitcher senior Coley Fundalewicz
“I was a little nervous at first, but it was fun while it lasted,” said senior Coley Fundalewicz, who made his first start of the season. About his RBI single, Fundalewicz added, “I just went up there looking to make some contact and I got a good pitch to hit.”
Prescott would get a run back in each of the second and third innings when Ivan Schuster singled and scored on a wild pitch. An inning later Jacob Patterson doubled and then scored on an error.
Sebashtyn Vanderploeg came in to relieve Fundalewicz and shutout Mingus for two innings before giving way to Travis Gates. The Marauders picked up a run in the top of the fifth on a RBI single by Silas Scott to cut the lead in half at 6-3.
Photo: Travis Gates pitched three innings to earn the win
The Badgers gave themselves more breathing room with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Gates started it off with a single, followed by a walk by Patterson. Parker Reed came through with deep fly ball to center, resulting in a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3. After an error and another run on the board, Schuster walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Schuster then scored on a single by Martin, who went to third on an error. Tobin’s sacrifice fly added one more run to make it 9-3.
Photo: Ivan Schuster goes up for the ball as Manuel Munoz slides into second base
Prescott added their final run when Magnett singled and scored an RBI single by Dominic Cruz. Then Gates closed things out in what was a memorable day at PHS.
Photo: Luke Tobin crosses home plate as Colton Champion looks on
Junior pitcher Travis Gates earned the win and is now (3-1) with a 1.85 ERA. “This was nice, getting the win for our seniors and getting to pitch at home again,” said Gates. “I haven’t pitched here since the Deer Valley game. I just wanted to get in there and get some innings in and get some outs.” Gates also went two for two at the plate, added, “It felt good to make some solid contact and get the hits.”
Currently third in Division 4A and leading the Badgers in hitting with a .562 average, Cooper Magnett said, “Obviously we came off a high from the Bradshaw game. Then get right back at it with senior day. I’ve been playing with a lot of these guys for a long time now and it’s been great. Been a long week but it felt good to get the win and now we have to focus on Gilbert North.”
Luke Tobin is also having an amazing season batting .548, and had this to say “I honestly thought I would be crying at some point. This is a day I have thought about and dreaded all in the same. It’s a moment to smile and reflect on all the good times we have had. A lot of fun and we’re not done yet.”
Ivan Schuster said, “It didn’t really set in a whole lot since we still have at least one more home game on Monday. I thought we could have played better, but it was fun day though, everybody got to play and be a part of it.”
Adrian Sanderford said, “I thought I would be more sad than I was. It was kind a hard to get motivated for game like today, but we did what we had to do and now have to get ready for two big games to get ourselves into a better playoff spot.”
Prescott leads Bradshaw Mountain in the GCR standings at the moment with the Bears scheduled to face Lee Williams in a doubleheader on Saturday. The Volunteers sit at #25 and will be playing for a play-in game spot as only the top 24 teams will move on.
The Badgers will meet two top ten teams with a game at #7 ALA-Gilbert North on Saturday at 3:45pm before returning home for their regular season finale versus #5 Crismon on Monday at 3pm.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 10, MINGUS MARAUDERS 3
Innings- 123 456 7 – R H E
Mingus 020 010 0 – 3 8 6
Prescott 411 031 x – 10 11 2
WP:Gates
LP:Pusi
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Prescott 10-2 15-5
Bradshaw Mountain 8-2 17-5
Flagstaff 8-4 17-9
Lee Williams 6-4 9-10
Coconino 4-7 8-15
Mingus 3-8 8-16
Mohave 0-12 6-20
SCOREBOARD
Prescott 10, Mingus 3
ALA-West Foothills 12, Chino Valley 0
Flagstaff 8, Coconino 1
ALA-Queen Creek 10, Crismon 5
ALA-Gilbert North 15, Combs 1
Deer Valley 23, Agua Fria 0
Saguaro 5, St. Mary’s 2
AIA DIVISION 4A RANKINGS TOP 20
# School W-L # School W-L
1 Salpointe Catholic 20-3 11 Saguaro 14-11
2 ALA-Queen Creek 21-3 12 Paradise Honors 22-3
3 Yuma 19-5 13 Deer Valley 17-8
4 Cactus Shadows 22-3 14 Mesquite 18-8
5 Crismon 19-6 15 Walden Grove 12-10
6 Prescott 15-5 16 Douglas 15-8
7 ALA-Gilbert North 16-9 17 Mica Mountain 11-11
8 Ironwood Ridge 19-7 18 Flagstaff 17-9
9 Sahuarita 17-5 19 St. Mary’s 14-10
10 Bradshaw Mountain 17-5 20 Cholla 10-7
