Baseball: Desert Vista wins Bob Everett Classic

March 15, 2018 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Desert Vista enjoys the bright lights and title plaque from its tourney triumph. (AzPreps365 photo)

There was no secret to how Desert Vista won the 3rd annual Bob Everett Baseball Classic this week. 

The Thunder pitched lights out in going 5-0 Monday through Thursday and capped the week with a 10-0, six-inning win over Williams Field in the championship game played at Highland High School.

"Our pitching was good, very good," Desert Vista coach Cody Brassfield said. "Eli Ankeney, then Brandon Childers a 12 strikeout game and 13 scoreless innings in a row. Then tonight  Tyler Magin. Tyler's struggled a little bit, but tonight he got some confidence....."

"We had some good energy. The guys are playing loose and having fun. We lost a few games early that we were boat-raced in and that shook our confidence a little."

Desert Vista improved to 10-4 for the season in winning its seventh game in a row on a cool Thursday evening. The teams the Thunder were "boat-raced) by were Hamilton, Pinnacle and Mountain View, all enjoying good seasons as well. Williams Field finished 3-2 in the tournament and is 6-7 overall as it comes closer to beginning a tough region slate with the likes of Mesquite, Queen Creek and Campo Verde.

In the title game, Magin was in control. He allowed two hits -- singles in the second and third - and survived a few knock-your socks off liners and comebackers before settling in for the shutout. He fanned four and walked two.

Desert Vista scraped together a run in the second and two in the third before unleashing a six-run rally in the fifth. Dylan Cuenca, Zach Paquette and Jax Chapman drove in two runs apiece. Paquette had three hits to lead a 10-hit attack. The Thunder also drew five walks and had four batters reach base via hit-by-pitch.

Williams Field used  four pitchers, three to get out of the fifth inning. The Black Hawks won a couple of games in the tournament with clutch hitting in the final inning, but it wasn't to be in this one as base runners were at a premium.