Ashley Stevens is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Masters Student assigned to cover Mountain Ridge High School for AZPreps365.com.

GLENDALE– The Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions bested the Liberty Lions 12-2 for back-to-back mercy-rule victories, completing the sweep of the series, triumphantly declaring victory in five innings.

The Mountain Lions managed to score 12 runs off 10 hits, staying patient at the plate, earning six walks while capitalizing off Liberty’s three fielding errors.

“They're working really hard,” Mountain Ridge head coach Eddie Bonnie said. “They're believing in the process. And realistically, they come to the yard ready to just get after it.” 

The impressive lineup of Mountain Ridge scored four runs each in the first and second innings, tagging Liberty pitchers Gerardo Gonzales and Trevor Powell before Max Charles, the Lions' ambidextrous sophomore utility player, held them to one run in the third. 

After a scoreless fourth inning, Mountain Ridge senior Shaun Cottrell worked a walk to lead off the bottom of the fifth. The Mountain Lions, leading 9-2, needed three runs for the mercy rule to take effect. Senior Aj Singer reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Daniel Osborn, who tried to force out Cottrell at second base. 

Sophomore infielder Jackson Forbes continued the fifth-inning rally, bringing Cottrell to the plate on a base hit to right field. 

Sophomore Jackson Forbes steps up to the plate in the second inning, before notching a base hit to bring in a run for the Mountain Lions. (Ashley Stevens/ AZPreps365)Cannon Peery, who went 2-for-3 at the plate, singled on a base hit to left field, scoring Singer. Then catcher Zach Yorke notched his fifth RBI of the game with a base hit to center field to score Jacaruso, who pinch-ran for Forbes, from second to end the game.

“You don't really have to kind of readjust or redirect the energy realistically,” Bonnie explained. “The offense has been doing a great job of being a really, really difficult out. We're going on almost two weeks of putting together good solid games throughout the whole lineup.”

Mountain Lion sophomore pitcher Smith Bailey completed an impressive outing as he went four of the five innings pitched, earning the win. Bailey, after giving up two quick runs in the first inning, managed to settle in, utilizing his off-speed pitches. The right-hander gave up just two hits and didn’t allow a runner past second base after honing in on the strike zone. 

“He's a striker thrower, he mixes it up,” head coach Bonnie said. “He also hadn't pitched in two weeks.” 

Mountain Ridge’s lineup did what they do best, providing timely hitting and entering the box with maturity you see from college hitters. Singer, Forbes, and Peery all led off the first inning with singles before Yorke brought two runs to the plate with an RBI single. 

“When the offense comes back and puts a four spot up behind (Bailey), we got to put a zero up to keep the momentum on our side,” Bonnie emphasized. “So he did a great job with just trusting in his ability, trusting the stuff coming back out the next inning, throwing multiple pitches in the strike zone, and giving us a chance.”

Yorke carried the majority of the offensive prowess the Mountain Lions have been possessing on a game-to-game basis, going 3-for-4 at the plate, bringing in five of the 12 runs. 

“We just stuck to our approach,” Yorke said of their mentality at the plate. “Every guy is just trying to hit low hard line drives then getting into the next guy up. So just trusting the guys behind us to get the job done, and taking our selfless at bats all the time and then playing good defense (won the game).”

Another Mountain Lion that’s been hot at the plate, Jackson Forbes, stuck true to his utility form, going 3-for-3 in the batter’s box, with 2 RBI and two runs scored. 

Forbes also entered the game in relief of Bailey, pitching the fifth inning. The other half of the battery? His younger brother, Joe Forbes, who entered the game in the fifth inning, shifting the defense behind Jackson around and moving Yorke to first base. The freshman catcher was behind the plate for all three put-outs of Jackson’s three-up, three-down performance. 

“Those brothers are gonna be special,” Yorke smiled. “They're both really young and they're both already really good. So it's fun to be a part of that and watch them grow up.

The Mountain Lions are 6-1 overall, entering the contest ranked second in 6A standings. This is their fourth win in a row. Their only loss came from the college-bound lineup of the Hamilton Huskies, who sit at number one in the 6A rankings. 

The Mountain Lions head into enemy territory on Tuesday as they take on Sandra Day O’Connor at 3:45 p.m. in Phoenix. The Eagles sit just a spot behind the Mountain Lions, sitting at number two in the 6A Desert Region rankings and number four in the 6A conference.

“It's another one of those high-emotion community baseball games where you've known those guys for a long time,” Bonnie smiled. “(Jeff) Baumgartner does an amazing job over there of getting those guys prepared. It'll be a fun game.”