Baseball: Seton batters error-prone Apache Junction

April 1, 2017 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Seton Catholic and Apache Junction brought identical records to Friday's windy, chilly showdown of top teams in the current 4A baseball power rankings.Their performances were not matching in this one. 

A rash of errors helped doom the hosts as No. 2 Seton made No. 3 AJ pay dearly for miscues with a pair of big innings in a 13-2 triumph. Apache Junction, last year's D-IV state champs, saw its eight-game winning streak end.

Apache Junction (15-4, 9-1 power-rankign games) committed six errors -- three in a row in the fourth inning when the game was tight -- and another three in succession in the seventh when Seton(16-3, 10-0) tacked on seven runs to a 6-2 advantage. 

Seton's Mike Kenney turned in his longest and perhaps best game of the season on the mound with six innings of work. Kenny (2-1), a sophomore, allowed four hits and two runs. He took a well-earned inning off in the seventh after the Sentinels broke things open. Kenny fanned eight and walked one.

Seton owned a 2-1 lead as it came to bat in the top of the fourth after Apache Junction scored its first run a half-inning earlier on Prescott Horn's home run to center. Seton tallied two runs after the first two batters of the inning reached and scored without a batted ball leaving the infield.

Am error at first, an errant throw by the pitcher and the bad throw rolling through the legs of the center fielder allowed Pat Cohn's sacrifce bunt to account for two freebies. Four hits in a row from Morrison Dietz, Mark Ossanna, Matt Bergevin and Matt Masciangelo brought in the other two runs for a 6-1 edge. Dietz, Bergevin, Masciangelo and Mike Venable finished with two hits apiece.

Eric Friedl drove in two runs in the seventh-inning uprising with his lone hit of the game. Seton scored all seven runs with two outs and on nobody on. Along with AJ's errors, Seton had 12 hits and drew six walks.

Horn was the only Apache Junction player with multiple hits, adding a first-inning double to his home run. Cody Uhl knocked in AJ's other run with a double in the fourth. Apache Junction attempts to rebound on Monday April 3 when it takes to the road to face Marcos de Niza.