Stranded runners end Canyon View baseball season in Tempe
(Richard Smith/West Valley Preps)
Canyon View senior Brody Meyer prepares to swing at a pitch durig the seventh inning of a 5A baseball playoff game against Arizona College Prep May 11 i Tempe.
TEMPE — Canyon View had opportunities to get into a slugfest with Chandler Arizona College Prep in their 5A playoff baseball elimination game May 11.
Trailing 3-0 in the top of the third inning, the Jaguars loaded the bases with no outs. Then No. 5 Canyon View loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth.
Only one of those runners scored. Then, the Knights knocked in five runs in the bottom of the fourth and glided to a 9-3 win.
“We were trying to do too much when we got down a little bit. We weren’t competing enough with two strikes,” Canyon View Coach Rocky King said.
The Knights pitching plan of using senior Aiden Schnepf as an opener, then bringing in senior Grant McInterf to get through the next three innings worked ideally.
McInterf came on with one out in the third and limited Canyon View to a sacrifice fly by junior Ricardo Yuriar Jr. He pitched for 3 2/3 innings.
“We wanted Aiden to come out strong and go through their lineup once, and then bring Grant in,” Arizona College Prep Coach Andrew Pollak said.
Sophomore CJ Estrella drove in a run on a ground ball out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Cash Groppenbacher then drove a two-run triple to deep center.
Senior outfielder Austin Longfellow added his second RBI of the afternoon and the Knights led 8-1.
No. 4 Arizona College Prep avenged a 6-3 loss to Canyon View in the quarterfinals of the double elimination bracket. Wednesday, the Knights face top seed Tucson Canyon del Oro at HohoKam Stadium in Mesa looking to extend their season.
The team is in its fifth year of varsity baseball and is led by 15 seniors.
“This group of kids is so gritty and tough and experienced. Last Monday was a game. We turned the page, and then we had to go beat Desert Mountain.,” Pollak said. “We talked a little bit about how they pitched us last week. We trust these players and their talent.”
King finished his first year as coach. He was an assistant to founding coach Nick Swanson, who led the Jaguars to the 5A title game last year.
Seniors were foundation pieces for the program during this changeover. Cason Hagerman started and was a top pitcher, ad Eli McBryde, Daniel Martinez and Brody Meyer were lineup mainstays.
Canyon View's lineup also includes Yuriar and four sophomores: Mattox Murray, Alfonzo Alcaraz, Benjamin Mercado and Max King. Sophomores Tyson Hood, Oliver Higgins and Murray were mainstays on the mound.
“It’s been a great group. We have a great culture with our senior guys. We have a lot of young guys. Three sophomores threw for us today,” King said. “It was a great year trying to develop and coach. They got the experience we need as we move into 6A next year.”
Richard Smith Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps
Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.
An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.
For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.
As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.
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