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Candace Hunsaker

Valley Baseball beats Yuma in Semifinals, Advance to State Championship for the First Time in 12 Years

5/17/2023 4:59:00 PM

The #1 ranked Valley Christian Baseball has made it to the semifinals and is facing off against the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks. The semifinal game is a 3 game series and the games are being played at the Goodyear Baseball Complex – South, the same place where MLB spring training games are played. Yuma Catholic is ranked #5 in 3A and is coming off a close 4-3 victory over Pusch Ridge. 

The first game of the series was on Tuesday, May 9th. Junior Dylan Suzuki and Sophomore Caleb Sweeney were pitching this game. Yuma got off to a quick start and scored two runs in the first inning. Senior Hunter Heeringa got a clutch double play to end the top of the 2nd inning, which brough a lot of energy to the Trojan dugout. Junior Will Bastian hit a double, which started a rally of big hits by freshman Brock Jackson and then sophomore Caleb Danzeisen, bringing in two runs and tying the game 2-2 going into the third inning. Yuma continued to get hits off us and scored three runs, making the score 2-5. In the top of the fourth inning Yuma had bases loaded and we got a double play, keeping us alive. Junior Jimmy Twombly hit a triple and Caleb Danzeisen hit a double bringing in two runs and making the score 4-5, with Valley trailing by one run. At the bottom of the seventh the score was 4-5 and we had one last chance to tie or win the game. Hunter Heeringa led with a single. We had one out, but sophomore Carson Grier got on base as well. The game ended with Will Bastian striking out, leaving runners on 1st and 2nd. The final score was 4-5, but the Trojans brought a lot of energy and didn't leave anything on the field. They are ready to come back and win on Thursday.  

Game two of the series took place on Thursday, May 11th. In the first inning Valley got three outs in a row and the score was 0 – 0 going to the top of the second. Junior Jake Harrison and sophomore Carson Grier got on base, but Yuma got three outs before they could score. Yuma earned zero runs in the second inning and going into the third the score was still 0 - 0. In the top of the third, Jimmy Twombly got on base with a single and Jackson and Danzeisen were able to advance Jimmy to third. Gavin Smith, with two outs on the board, had a big hit to get Jimmy Twombly into home, and the score was 1–0. In the top of the fourth, Carson Grier led off with a double and then Jake Harrison got on base as well. Valley eventually had the bases loaded and then Jimmy was walked, which scored a run to make it 2–0. Yuma had a double play to end the fourth and the two teams held each other to zero runs in the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth Valley did not score and in the bottom of the sixth Hunter Heeringa made two great plays at first. In the top of the 7th, Caleb Danzeisen hit a single with one out and Gavin also hit a single. Carson Grier had a great hit, which resulted in two runs, which allowed the Trojans to increase the scoring gap to 4–0. In the bottom of the 7th. Gavin made two great plays at short stop to end the game. Sophomore Kyle Grier was the pitcher for the entire game, except in the last inning. Valley had two outs, but he had reached his pitching limit, and could not pitch anymore. His twin brother, Carson Grier, came in to pitch and got his first batter out to win the game. Valley Christian finished the game with a 4–0 win.  

The series was now tied 1-1, meaning the winner of the third game would go on to play in the finals. It was win or be done. Game three of the series took place on Saturday, May 13th. In the first inning Gavin Smith drove in Caleb Danzeisen with a single to take the lead 1-0. The Trojans ended the second inning with two fly outs and a strikeout by pitcher Carson Grier. Danzeisen hit a single in the third inning, driving in Brock to make the score 2-0. The score remained 2-0 in the fourth and fifth innings, and then at the end of the sixth inning freshman Brock Jackson hit a single to bring in sophomore Ethan Gomez. The boys finished strong and won 3-0, shutting out Yuma Catholic two games in a row and earning themselves a spot in the state championship game. The last time the Trojans were in the finals was when they won their first and only title in 2011!  

The State Championship game will be played on Monday, May 15th, against Northwest Christian at Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the Angels play for Spring Training.  

We want to see you there in your victory blue! Let's go Trojans!  

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