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Miners’ Christian Dietz (#1) is ready for the pitch. Kelli Luberda | Miner
San Manuel Miner
The fifth-ranked San Manuel baseball team cooled off a hot Panthers team in both games last week, 16 – 2 and 14 – 4. The Panthers, currently ranked 16th, entered the week coming off a win over 7th-ranked Ray.
“It was a great win for the team,” Miners head coach Steve Elmore said after Friday’s 14 – 4 win. “We had a little adversity in the third inning when they scored four runs off a couple of errors.”
Miners’ starting pitcher Richard Romo pitched a complete game to earn the win.
“Richard Romo pitched a great game,” Elmore said. “Everybody on defense picked it up and offensively we turned it on.”
Elmore was pleased with the defensive effort after the third inning against the Panthers. The Miners’ defense has been consistent this season and they’ll need that to continue with the playoffs approaching.
“Every time I pitch the defense has been solid,” Romo said. “They’ve been playing great especially heading down the home stretch here.”
After the two wins last week, the Miners have now won six of their last seven games. They are playing some of their best baseball of the season, which is what good teams want as they begin the postseason.
“We’re starting to peak here at the end, which is what we want to do,” Elmore said. “Pitching is coming together, fielding is coming together, and timely hitting is what we need right now.”
Upcoming schedule: Apr. 23 vs. Miami (2:00 p.m.), Apr. 24 @ Desert Christian (4:00 p.m.), Apr. 25 @ Cibecue (3:45 p.m.), Apr. 29 vs. Ray (2:00 p.m.), and Apr. vs Bowie (3:45 p.m.).
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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