Casteel baseball's offense revs up, rolls to another 5A playoff run-rule win
Queen Creek Casteel pitcher Tyler Hatch gave up a run in the top of the first inning.
No problem.
Not with the way he and his teammates mashed at the pate Monday en route to a 13-3 run-rule win over Peoria Centennial in the second round of the 5A state baseball tournament at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
It was the second straight game in the playoffs Casteel needed just five innings to dispatch an opponent due to the 10-run rule. On Saturday, Casteel (22-6), ranked No. 1 in the Super 10 by The Arizona Republic, defeated Goodyear Millennium 10-0.
This time, Hatch pitched four strong innings, as the Colts built their big lead. But after Centennial scored twice in the top of the fifth, they needed two more runs to end the game in the bottom half.
Hatch delivered with two hits and four RBIs, including an inside-the-park home run that nearly got out of Diablo.
Landon Hairston also came through with three hits and two RBIs, as the Colts collected 10 hits. Bobby Pierce added two hits, driving in two runs.
"Giving up one early, I had no doubt that our offense would come back," Hatch said.
Hatch got help in the big park with deep flies that would have been home runs at a high school but were outs at Diablo.
"Some of them might been gone at a normal field," Hatch said. "But the big field played to my advantage and let the outfielders track them down."
Casteel bounced back with a run in the first, then scored three times in the second, and put the game away with six runs in the third.
"These guys grind out every at-bat," Hairston said. "We pride ourselves in not giving up any at-bats. We try to get every run possible. We just try to play baseball the right way every day."
Casteel is living up to the preseason hype. The defending 5A champions came into the season ranked No. 1 in the Super 10 by The Republic. But after hitting a couple of speed bumps midway through the season, the Colts showed they belong atop the state, at any level, with a strong performance in North Carolina at the National High School Invitational, then outslugging two-time defending 6A champion Chandler Hamilton 13-10 in eight innings late in the season.
Coach Matt Denny realizes as good as his team can be at the plate, it's going to take pitching to win a double-elimination tournament.
"We're deep on the mound," Denny said. "We're trying to piece it together."
Casteel next plays Thursday in the winners bracket against the Scottsdale Notre Dame, which defeated Phoenix Mountain Pointe 4-2. The play each other at 7 p.m. At 4 on Thursday, No. 3 Nogales takes on No. 2 Peoria Sunrise Mountain in a winners bracket game. Nogales defeated No. 6 Tucson Catalina Foothills 14-4, and Sunrise Mountain beat No. 7 Gilbert Campo Verde 5-1 Monday.
Campo Verde will play at Catalina Foothills and Centennial will play at Mountain Pointe in Thursday losers bracket games to try to keep their seasons alive.
The championship game isn't until May 14, so ace left-hander Matt Russell, who gave up just one hit in five innings Saturday against Millennium, a game in which he needed 95 pitches, could have two more starts.
Saguaro gets another standout pitching performance
Once again, Scottsdale Saguaro held back ace left-hander Cam Caminiti. And once again, another pitcher came through in the clutch.
This time it was right-hander Billy Gregory, who pitched the top-seeded Sabercats to an 8-2 victory over Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain to advance to Wednesday's winners bracket of the 4A double-elimination tournament.
Gregory struck out nine and yielded one earned run, setting up a showdown against red-hot Tucson Salpointe Catholic on Wednesday night at 7 at Diablo Stadium. No. 4 Salpointe needed just five innings to beat Flagstaff 13-1 on Monday.
On the other side of the 4A bracket, No. 2 Goodyear Estrella Foothills run-ruled No. 7 Glendale Deer Valley 13-0 to advance against defending state champion Oro Valley Canyon del Oro for a 4 p.m., Wednesday game at Diablo.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Casteel's offense revving up as it rolls to another playoff run-rule
