Jennifer Jimenez
For West Valley Preps

Sunrise Mountain senior Hanna Krosky was in the pitcher’s circle today in the No. 3 Mustangs 5-1 win over No. 6 Tucson Pueblo in a 4A quarterfinal.

Although she’ll shy away from any credit for the win, her coach was quick to say she pitched a stellar game in the state tournament.

“As the game progressed, Hannah got strong and stronger,” Coach Jody Pruitt said. “That’s the best I’ve seen her throw.”

Krosky said her confidence comes from her team. She said no matter what happens, or where she pitches the ball or the other team hits it, her team will back her up.

And her position is not naturally in the circle. Pruitt asked her to pitch this year and she has stepped into that role for her team.

Pueblo scored first after Karina Somoza hit a slow rolling ball and beat the throw to first. Danielle Ochoa also earned first  and with runners on first and second Mya Cabral hit a RBI single. The visitors ended the first with three hits on one run with one runner left on base and the 1-0 lead.

“I knew being in playoffs our team would have some jitters, so I wasn’t worried when we went down 1-0. I knew we had to play our game and we would be alright,” Krosky said.

Coach Pruitt agreed, saying the team knows they are strong offensively, so one run really wasn’t a big deal.

Sunrise found their way onto the bases with Kody Ramirez, Cheyllie Greenwood and Krosky all earning walks in their first at bat, but they were all left stranded. It wasn’t until the bottom of the second Sunrise was able to get on the scoreboard.

Summer Pells walked and Tori Nowlin followed her up with a single to right field. Ramirez hit a RBI single up the middle to score Pells for the 1-1 tie.

It was three up, three down for Krosky in the third, but offensively the Mustangs left two runners on base.

In the bottom of the fourth inning when Sunrise pulled ahead, Jaymie Moore had a hard hit into right field, followed by a single from Ramirez who advanced to second on a throwing error by Pueblo’s second baseman.

With runners on first and third, Pilar Gutierrez hit a RBI single to deep left field and Sunrise was up 2-1. Krosky hit a pop up into left field that was dropped and another run scored. Gutierrez hit a RBI single up the middle to improve the Sunrise lead 4-1.

The Mustangs added a final run in the bottom of the sixth after a single over the shortstop's head by Greenwood. More singles were hit by Grace Schmidt, Gutierrez and finally Zoe Lee to score the final run, 5-1. Pueblo had three girls on base in the final innings, but couldn’t bring them home.

Krosky said the teams are only going to get better and they just need to keep pushing and that means getting better themselves. Coach Pruitt says the team will get back to driving the gaps and push the envelope to make teams make plays on them knowing sometimes they will win and sometimes they won’t.

“Today we were trying to pull the ball and that is not our way of hitting,” she said.

Pueblo head coach Curtis Ruiz said after moving up a division, he didn’t think many people believed his team was this talented.

“They were the better team today, but I am proud of the girls and their effort,” he said. “They fought all the way to the final inning.”

Sunrise Mountain gets a third shot at Cactus Thursday after close losses in two regular season games.

The No. 3 Sunrise Mountain baseball team wrapped up the first round of the 4A state tournament with a 12-2 win over No. 14 Estrella Foothills by run rule in five innings.

Mustang head coach Eric Gardner said it was a good performance by Timmy Mendez, who threw for five innings and allowed four hits.

“I think he had six or seven strikeouts, so we had a good quality start from him and that is what we wanted,” coach Gardner said.

Coach Gardner said the team started out a little slow at the plate, but scored two runs off one hit. Estrella Foothills walked two guys and then two pass balls scored the Mustang’s first runs.

“Then in the second and third innings we produced runs. We drove runs with five hits,” coach Gardner said. “Ethan Snodgrass had a double, EJ Sua had a single and Troy Balko had a double. All three of those guys had 2 or 3 RBIs each.”

In the second through fifth innings the Mustangs manufactured 10 runs, which is the way Gardner said the team has been doing it all season. He credited the team for getting the win, saying the first game in the state tournament can be challenging.

“A lot of guys haven’t played in the tournament and there are jitters they have to work through,” coach Gardner said. “But it doesn’t get any easier. So just getting a win under your belt and winning a game 12-2 makes life a little easier. The quarterfinals will be challenging.”

Coach Gardner said he is confident in his rotation. With Mendez only giving up four hits in five innings and Grant Dowty with a hitless inning in relief, the Mustangs are set and have seniors Clay Schwaner, Aaron Broderick or a Dylan Sund available.

Sunrise Mountain will host No. 6 Tempe Marcos de Niza in a quarterfinal at 4 p.m. Friday/

“Looking forward, we just have to decide who is best for each match-up,” coach Gardner said.