Green Valley beats Centennial for 5A Desert League title — PHOTOS
Centennial’s baseball team manufactured a run in the top of the first Thursday, intentionally getting picked off to create a rundown that allowed the Bulldogs to take the lead.
Green Valley used a little different tactic to retake control.
The Gators blasted a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot by Caden Kirby in the second, en route to a 7-3 home victory to wrap up the Class 5A Desert League title.
“Kirby’s been great for us all year,” Green Valley coach Manny Llamas said. “He’s only a sophomore. One thing I love about Kirby, I don’t care if he’s got an 0-for-4 or a 4-for-4 game, he’s always happy. He’s always smiling. He’s always ready to go.”
The bottom of the order got things started with two outs in the second for the Gators (25-6, 9-2), No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s 5A rankings. Eduardo Tarango and Jacob Ferry had back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners, and Tarango came home on a wild pitch to tie the game against No. 5 Centennial (22-9, 8-4).
Brandon Jenkins then walked to bring up leadoff man Kirby, who deposited a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence for a 4-1 lead.
“He’s got two more years for us, and we’re glad he’s got two more years, because he’s going to be a good one,” Llamas said of Kirby.
Senior Chaz McNelis extended the lead on the second pitch of the bottom of the third, crushing a long home run to right field for a 5-1 advantage.
“I knew off-speed was coming every pitch, so I knew to sit back and drive,” McNelis said. “And I just caught barrel.”
McNelis also scorched a liner to right field in the first inning, finishing 2-for-4.
“Chaz has that raw power that everyone talks about,” Llamas said. “He’s hitting close to .500. Anytime he’s up there you know he’s going to do damage. We see it almost consistently.
“It flies off his bat. It’s neat to see.”
The Gators finished 12-14 last season and missed the playoffs, but will enter next week’s Class 5A Southern Region tournament as the Desert League’s No. 1 seed.
“This is amazing, because the last few years we’ve been struggling,” McNelis said. “We’ve been not too hot. But this year we came out hot, we stayed hot, and now we finished the job so far.”
Tarango went 3-for-3, and winning pitcher Brady Ballinger was 2-for-4 for the Gators.
“We know who we are,” Llamas said. “We know if we stick to our plan and our approach, it doesn’t matter who’s up there. Our guys are going to compete every pitch, and that’s what they’re all about.”
Carson Lee was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, and Noa Oyadomari went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs to lead Centennial. Brady Oliver added two hits for the Bulldogs.
