Casteel leaves no doubt, cruises to second straight 5A baseball title
May 14—If there was ever any doubt Casteel was the best team in the 5A Conference for the second straight year, the Colts proved themselves Tuesday afternoon in the championship game against Sunrise Mountain.
And they did so quickly.
An onslaught of runs through three innings allowed Casteel to cruise to an 8-1 victory to win its second straight 5A state title.
"We knew trying to get them off schedule was important for us and scoring early was important," Casteel Head Coach Matt Denny said. "Taking a little pressure off Mason [Russell] was important for us. I think his command was really good because of the early runs. We take a lot of pride in scoring every inning."
Casteel's bats were hot from the start. Sunrise Mountain didn't help itself with multiple errors, either.
Leadoff hitter Kyler Anderson reached first base on an error by Sunrise Mountain. Bobby Pierce, batting in the two-hole for the Colts, reached second on another error that also scored the first run of the game.
Landon Hairston followed it up with a sacrifice fly to give Casteel an early 2-0 lead.
By the end of the second inning, that lead had increased to 4-1. Sunrise Mountain's only run came in the top of the second, when Ryan Haseltine hit a single that allowed a runner to cross home plate. It was one of the few mistakes Casteel made defensively behind starting pitcher Mason Russell, who turned two straight 1-6-3 double plays in two consecutive innings before allowing the run.
"I think it's important any pitcher has that support from their defense," Russell said. "It allows me to come in and just be more comfortable. It's not like I'm going to throw a no-hitter every time. Just having that mentality that I'm going to beat you."
Casteel broke it open in the bottom of the third.
Freshman Baylor Denny, Matt Denny's son, drove in a run on a single to center. Two batters later, Connor Russell drove in two more with a two-RBI single. The onslaught came to an end after Casteel plated another run in the third to take a commanding 8-1 lead, which they held until the end.
"We just try to put pressure on them every inning, we take a lot of pride in that," Matt Denny said. "People call it small ball. We call it scoring runs. Doesn't matter how we do it we just want to execute. They followed the plan and did a good job tonight."
Matt Denny was nearly moved to tears thinking about the senior class. He was with them all four years, watching them develop into one of the top teams in Arizona, regardless of conference.
He also had the chance to win a title with his son for the first time.
Baylor Denny said in March he still felt like he was still earning his role as a freshman in a lineup filled with Division I players.
He went 2-for-3 Tuesday with an RBI and reached first on an error. Most importantly, he won a state title with his dad.
"There's a lot of talented guys. We have guys on our bench that can go play at other schools like that," Baylor Denny said. "The fact that I was able to stay in the lineup all year is really ... it's meant a lot to me and it's improved my confidence a ton.
"Obviously, I've been with him when he's won in the past. But this is a different experience. Being able to really go through every day with him and then coming out here and winning one, it's awesome."
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