The Valley Christian Trojan baseball team has won their first playoff game on Tuesday, May 2nd, against Thatcher. It was a hard-fought game and showed how intense the playoffs really are. In the first inning, Caleb Danzeisen had a triple, which brought in a run and got the energy going for the game. Although, even with this strong start from the Trojans, Thatcher was able come back and tie the game 3-3. Hunter Heeringa hit a solo homerun to give Valley the lead 4-3. That was another energy boost for the Trojans to keep pushing forward. Our Trojans had three solo homeruns from Hunter Heeringa, a senior, Carson Grier, a sophomore, and Brock Jackson, a freshman. This was also the first home run for both Hunter and Carson. Dylan Suzuki led the game off pitching and then Caleb Sweeney came in and put Thatcher down. Carson Grier came into pitch in the last inning and closed the game. Valley won 11-4.
Two sophomores, Caleb Danzeisen and Carson Grier, were able to talk about this game and the upcoming game. They shared about the adversity the team faced and that they cannot underestimate any team in the playoffs. They added that once they got their first pitcher out, they were able push forward and add on to our score. Caleb said, "We need to stay on the path that we are on right now and we need to do our jobs." The next playoff game is on Saturday against Santan Foothills. They expect a good game and are ready to play. Carson said, "We need to be ready and expect everything." This is the playoffs, and the boys cannot let up an inch. They know how hard-working the team is and have belief in their pitchers.
Some juniors also gave us their thoughts about the first playoff game. Will Bastian said, "Thatcher came out strong, but no one folded. We were able to battle adversity and hit some bombs." It was an exhilarating game but there are some areas that need to be crisp. Gavin Smith and Dylan Suzuki pointed out that, "We need to hit our spots and have a good approach at the plate." Even though we have won the first round we need to stay prepared and be ready for the next game.
Those changes were made for the quarterfinal game this past Saturday, May 6th, against San Tan Foothills. The Trojans played a great game against the Sabercats. It started out close, but we were able to come back quickly and stay in the game. In the 3rd inning a triple off the wall from Will Bastian gave the team the spark they needed, and by the end of the inning we took the lead 4-0. Also, a sac bunt from Gavin Smith scored an important run. Going into the 5th inning the Trojans were up 10-0. Kyle Grier was the starting pitcher and shut SanTan down. Senior Ryan Kao came in to close the game, we continued to stay on that track and took the victory and won 11-1.
After an exciting game there are now only four teams left and it's now time to get ready for the semifinals. The semis are are best of three series and are held at Goodyear Baseball Complex. The first game is today, on Tuesday, May 9th. Make sure to go and support your Trojans!
Ticket Link: https://gofan.co/app/events/976272
