Baseball: Can Basha bag D-I championship?

May 4, 2016 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


There's little doubt Basha has the tools to be the 2016 Division I state champions. They won 17 of 18 power-ranking games and survived much of the final month without two good pitchers. They've shown some moxie adjusting their staff down the stretch. Still, seven other teams are eager to test the Bears to see if they are invincible.

The race is on beginning Thursday (May 5) as the Elite Eight are set. Perry, Sandra Day O'Connor, Mountain Ridge, Hamilton, Campo Verde, Mountain Pointe and Chaparral are at the table as well. Here's a look at the teams vying for a spot in the May 17 title game at Tempe Diablo Stadium:

#1 Basha (24-4): What's not to like. Capable pitching that began with Johnny Morell and Casey Legumina and Jack Schneider. It's shifted with more reliance on Michael Perzan and Kyle Wullenweber the past few weeks. Schneider (8-2, 1.73 ERA) has been a rock, Perzan (3-0, 1-37)  effective in aany role and Wullenweber (1-0, 3.65) picking up the slack. Legumina may be cleared to pitch Thursday, but Morell is done for the year with a lat injury. Defense up the middle -- catcher Michael Goodrich, shortstop Skylar Dorn and second baseman Tyler Riddle (10 errors between them) plus centerfielder Ryan Tierney have been terrific. Top hitters are sophomore Gage Workman (.437, 3 HR) and seniors Legumina (.459, 5 HR) and Tierney (.397). First-round opponent: Mountain Pointe.

#2 Perry: (23-8): The Pumas had their ace Tayt Smith toss a beauty to reach the elite eight. Smith pitched a one-hitter in beating Centennial, 11-1, and only had to go five innings. Coach Damien Tippett, who took over as head coach prior to practice starting, has put seen a nice start to his career. The offense is keyed by the top half of the lineup wth Tommy Sacco, Wacy Crenshaw, Trevor Hauver leading the way. The Pumas will need solid mound work from the likes of Beau Brieske, Dustin Schorie and Logan DeMato to complement Smith to make a deep run. First-round opponent: Campo Verde. 

#4 Sandra Day O'Connor (27-5): The Eagles had an abbreviated run at state last year. They are definitely in the mix now. Starting pitchers Ryan Alexander, Colby Wyatt and Keegan McCarville have been outstanding -- Alexander (9-0, 0.92 ERA), Wyatt (7-2, 2.04) and McCarville (5-2, 2-08). Toss in four players with .400 averages or better -- sophomore Nolan Gorman ( .500, 9 HR, 42 RBI), Bailin Markridge (.442), Cade Biddle (.425) and Tanner Baker (.408) and there is plenty to make a title-run possible. First-round opponent: Mountain Ridge. 

#5 Mountain Ridge (23-5): The Lions made noise winning a national-caliber tournament last month and haven't been silent in state. Battling injuries to position players, deep pitching has eased the stress. Tommy Lowe (7-1, 2.18 ERA), Alex Roth (5-0, 2.41), Chase Sandman (5-1), Nolan Ruff (3-1, 2.21) and reliever Matthew Liberatore (0.64) have made the Lions a contender. Offensively Trent Turner (.455) and Tristan Thomas (.369) are RBI leaders. Catcher Matthew Dyer is hitting .447, but his defense stands out in controlling the opposition's running game.

#6 Hamilton (23-6): The Huskies appeared to be a runaway favorite early, winning their first 12 games. They are 11-6 since and have had to scratch and claw for wins more than they are used to. That happened in the second round 4-2 win over Queen Creek. The mainstay has been Zane Strand (9-2, 1.31), who locked down the complete-game win over the Bulldogs. Cole Bellinger (5-1, 1.71), Ryan Turner (3-0, 2.65), Logan Boyer (2-0, 3.23 and closer Drew Swift (2.56, 5 saves). Offense revolves around first baseman Nick Brueser ./459, 9 HR), Brayden Merritt (.444, 21 RBI), Drew Swift (.400) and Bellinger (.375, 28 RBI). First-round opponent: Chaparral.

#7 Campo Verde: (19-9): The Coyotes haven't torn the cover off the ball, but if the pitching hangs in they can be a factor. Cooper Williams is the ace, sporting a 7-3 record. He wasn't at his best in Tuesday's second round win over Horizon (five walks and three hits in four innings), but effective enough to give up only and unearned run in that stint. Junior Hayden Udall (3-1).  has been effective as a reliever and backing up Williams as a starter is Mike Adkinson (4-1). Williams is Campo's top hitter(.525, 5 HR, 22 RBI) and catcher Isaiah Garcia (.429) has 4 HR and 31 RBI to lead the team.  

#8 Mountain Pointe (15-11): The Pride have a chance to give coach Brandon Buck a going-away present, but it won't be easy with Basha first up. The teams played recently (April 25) with Basha prevailing, 9-4. Mountain Pointe has relied on pitchers Gene Ito, Alex Bookman, Brock Bell and Garrett Redaja down the stretch. Ito has been the most effective of late. The Pride has played well the final two weeks, winning four of its last fiive games, including a win over Hamilton.

#14 Chaparral (23-8): The Firebirds have endured a pair of harrowing games to reach the final eight. They rallied in the seventh to tie Sunnyslope and won in the eighth in the first round. On Tuesday they needed an 8-run rally in the fifth and bailing wire to hold on to upend Corona, 12-11. Chaparral starters in postseason have been Casey Candiotti and Alex Segal. Blake Flint, eligible to play the last three weeks, has made relief appearances in both games and has pitched well sporting a 1.17 ERA in less than 10 innings work overall. The Firebirds rely most on hitting. Top threats are Dylan Cole (.449), Jacob Gonzalez (.430, 7 HR, 42 RBI), Gianni Tomasi (.359, 27 RBI) and Harrison Jones (.352, 6 HR, 32 RBI).