By Richard Smith
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Estrella Foothills’ path back to a baseball region title started nearly 11 months ago.

The Wolves finished 4A West Valley play 9-1 and locked down the crown with a 12-0 win at Cactus April 22.

“We struggled last year and had a lot of injuries last year. June 1 we met as a team and basically said there are going to be some things that are going to be a little bit different moving forward, mainly from a cultural standpoint,” Coach Patrick McCubbins said April 22. “Is it validation? 100% because these guy bought in hook, line and sinker to me after being gone for a year. They absolutely worked their tails off. It started in June and continued in August in the conditioning.”

Estrella Foothills is 8-2 in April to finish ranked No. 11 in 4A, higher than any other West Valley team.

That stretch included a 14-8 win over Gilbert Mesquite April 2. These teams will have a play-in rematch at 4 p.m Wednesday in Goodyear.

“We beat ourselves a couple of games earlier, but I don’t see us doing that in the playoffs,” senior infielder/pitcher Schaeffer said.

The Wolves found their offensice identity in the season's second half, McCubbins said.

The work seniors Schaeffer, Jose Olivas, Josh Vargas and Jon Bonilla put in all summer leading this group paid off.

“If we don’t show up, I know nobody else will show up, so we kind of had to set the tone for everyone else so they know the standard,” Schaeffer said.

The team had a commitment to getting better physically from the beginning.

“It became apparent a couple weeks ago that we had locked up an opportunity to play in the playoffs, but we were going to focus on our region games and win region. Wherever the chips fall, they fall because we don’t have any control over it.

Schaeffer gave the rotation a boost returning from an injury to start April. Bonilla has been big out of the bullpen with a pair of saves and is second on the team with a .512 average at the plate.

Estrella Foothills starters are undefeated Michael Wax, who has not allowed an earned run in 33 innings, Olivas and  Schaeffer. Wax did give up 12 unearned runs.

“I was mainly ready to see how we responded after a loss, and I thought everyone did well coming to practice and being ready to go/ We got after it the next game and went on a winning streak,” Schaeffer said.

For most of the month, it looked like Paradise Honors would also host a 4A play-in. But a 14-8 final-day loss to No. 21 Phoenix Arcadia dropped the Panthers from No. 14 to No. 18.

There’s some deja vu in the matchup as Paradise Honors plays No. 15 Phoenix St. Mary’s Catholic a year after the Knights upset them at a play-in game in Surprise. This year’s game starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Washington High School in Phoenix.

Still, Coach James Lofton said he feels better about this team’s chemistry, saying it is coming together at a good time

“Everybody who was here and remembers what happened to us last year is starting to step up and do the right things this year,” Lofton said. “In the play-in game we got a little timid. By them going through that last year it’s a little bit easier this year.”

Paradise Honors also went 9-1 in the Skyline region. The Panthers tied Phoenix Thunderbird for first.

Lofton credited juniors Boeden Forquer and Noah Rodriguez with setting the tone for this team alongside senior Josh Tourek.

Rodriguez is the Panthers' ace, with 55 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings and a 1.47 ERA. He is likely to take the hill against St. Mary's.

Lofton realizes Paradise Honors might need more arms ready to survive and advance. 

“Once you get to the playoffs, you and I know there’s some pretty good teams out there from the east side that we’ll have to face. We’ve just got to be ready for them,” Lofton said. “The relievers are big. Don’t get me wrong, the starters are big too.”

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

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.