Prep Baseball: Raiders shut out Hawks | Sports

Gila Ridge came out of the gate threatening, putting runners on with no outs on the board, but a timely double play from the Raider defense put an end to the threat.

Cibola got in the board in the second, a rally started by senior infielder Andrugh Yee, who doubled to left center. Sophomore Rodrigo Orozco Araiza brought him in with a RBI single.

Senior infielder Sebastian Orozco Arazia brought in another Raider run with a RBI single. Senior outfielder Gabriel Diaz laced a ball to first base, which was mishandled by the Gila Ridge defender, resulting in another run to cap off a three-run flurry to start the game.

The Raiders tacked on another in the third inning before truly getting after Gila Ridge senior lefty Caleb Rosado on the bump.

Junior infielder JJ Robles led off with a single, then came in on a RBI double hit by junior Jason Garcia, who advance to third on the throw. Senior Mason Doherty brought in Garcia via sacrifice fly.

Yee walked, then scored a few batters later on another RBI single from S. Orozco Araiza. Diaz capped off the inning with a two-run single, electrifying an already juiced Cibola dugout.

“Later in the game, sometimes our guys let off the gas pedal a little bit,” Cibola head coach Anthony Clayton said. “I thought we did a better job with that today, it’s something that’s gotten us in trouble in a few of these recent games.”

The Raiders blew a three-run lead on Tuesday at Mountain Ridge in Glendale, allowing six runs in two of the final three innings to fall to the Mountain Lions 8-6.

The Raiders were also bolstered by a lights-out day on the bump from senior righty Kadyn Marks. The senior threw a seven-inning shutout, allowing just one Gila Ridge hit. He surrendered five walks, but doubled down that number with 10 strikeouts.

“Kadyn was great for them today,” Gila Ridge head coach James Kuzniak noted of the Cibola starter. “He fastball was really good and it got them out of a lot of jams.”

Yee and S. Orozco Araiza led the Raiders with multi-hit days at the plate. Yee was 2-for-3 with a RBI double, walk and two runs scored. Orozco Araiza was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Yee leads Raider starters in batting average and walks, and is tied for the RBI lead on his team. He’s recorded six hits and five RBIs in his last 12 plate appearances.

“I was really struggling earlier this year, seeing too many pitches come behind me,” Yee said. “I’ve been getting on it early and seeing the first pitch well. Other than that, I’ve just tried to stay aggressive.”

For Gila Ridge, Friday was the 12th straight loss for the Hawks, and senior Elijah Jan was the only Hawk to record a hit. With a young group, Kuzniak has limited time to right the ship with his team around the halfway mark of the season.

“We’re having good days at practice, but I think we have to get them to buy in at the plate,” Kuzniak reflected. “We have to make some adjustments there and we’ve also had some funky stuff happen to us… We’re just trying to take it one at a time and keep playing for pride instead of packing it in at this point. There’s no way that’s going to happen.”

The Raiders visit Mountain View Mesa next Thursday, while Gila Ridge visits Gilbert.

Celebrating Gila Ridge legends

One bright note for the Gila Ridge program on Friday came before first pitch, when the Hawks inducted former coach Greg Osowski and former player Irving Lopez into the Gila Ridge Baseball Wall of Fame. Both Osowski and Lopez are the first members to be commemorated with banners hanging near the entrance to the field.

Osowski was the first baseball coach in school history, coaching from 2008 to 2017 after a 16-year career as an assistant at Cibola. Under Osowski, the Hawks won the Gila Valley region three times, and reached the state tournament in 2013, 2014 and 2016, when the Hawks were quarterfinalists.

Lopez, Yuma’s first-ever MLB player, was a four-year starter for the Hawks. He held a .434 career batting average, never struck out in his junior and senior seasons and is the all-time leader in program history in career hits and triples. He made three Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club All-Region teams during his time at Gila Ridge.

“It’s really cool to honor both of these guys,” Kuzniak, who played for Osowski at Cibola and coached Lopez at Gila Ridge, said of the ceremony. “It was special working for Coach Osowski when he brought me on the staff here and I’ve learned a lot from him… For Irving, we’ve talked about doing something special since he made his MLB debut at the end of last season. He was special when he played here and we’ve wanted to recognize that.”

“It’s awesome for us to honor those guys because now we have some history to commemorate and a tradition to honor. It gives those two something to look at when the come back and it gives our current players something to look up to and strive for.”