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POSTON BUTTE
Baseball – After going 2 – 2 in the preseason Thomas Pinon/Matt Hoffman Memorial Tournament in February, the Broncos opened the regular season with losses at Williams Field and Higley last week. Senior starting pitcher Keegan Vercoe took a tough-luck loss at Williams Field on Mar. 2, allowing only two earned runs on two hits with five strikeouts in a 4 – 2 defeat. He earned Player of the Game honors for his performance. The Broncos managed seven hits in the game, including two each from Cameron Vercoe and Juan Navarrete. Poston Butte avoided a shutout with two seventh-inning runs that were driven in by Navarrete and Josh Touey.
Softball – The Lady Broncos opened the regular season with an 8 – 4 victory at Douglas on Mar. 2. Player of the Game Megan Clark had two hits in the win, including her first homerun of the season. The junior shortstop also drove in three runs. In addition to Clark, Amanda Pachello, Kayla Faust, Kaily Candell, and Lindsay Lopez had two hits in the game and the quintet accounted for 10 of the team’s 14 hits. Lopez had two RBI and Pachello had one. Lopez, a one of three freshman in the starting lineup, picked up the complete-game win, allowing four runs – only one earned – on seven hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.
QUEEN CREEK
Softball – The Bulldogs opened their regular season last week, going 1 – 2 with a win over Vista Grande and losses to Desert Ridge and Red Mountain. The young Bulldogs were competitive in both losses, including in the 5 – 4 extra-inning defeat against perennial powerhouse Red Mountain. In the 5 – 2 win over Vista Grande in the home opener on Mar. 2, senior Ryann Holmes had two hits – a double and a triple – and three RBI. Freshman Jaylei Bechler went 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Senior center fielder Taryn Simmons had two hits in the last opener of her high school career.
SAN TAN FOOTHILLS
Baseball – The Sabercats pounded out 13 hits during their first win of the year, a 14 – 4 victory against visiting Gilbert Classical Academy on Mar. 3. Junior Norman Touey was named Player of the Game as the winning pitcher of record and going 3-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore Johnathan Singh went 2-for-4 with three RBI and was one of five Cats to have more than one hit in the game. Hunter Clark, Pedro Lopez, and Bryant Lopez each had two hits. Clark, Lopez, and Estevan O’Dell each had two RBI. Singh picked up the three-inning save in relief of Touey.
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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