Johnny Casale pitches Brophy Prep into 6A baseball semifinals with clutch performance
Phoenix Brophy Prep clinched a 6A semifinal baseball spot after beating Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor 5-0 Saturday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
No. 2 Brophy (24-5), which has yet to give up a run in the first three games of the double-elimination tournament with left-hander Johnny Casale winning his second state game, doesn't play again until Friday at 4 p.m., at Hohokam Stadium.
It awaits the Tuesday elimination-game winner between Peoria Liberty and O'Connor
Liberty rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the fifth to eliminate two-time defending state champion Chandler Hamilton, 5-4, on Saturday.
For Brophy, ace left-hander Casale on Saturday worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings, pitching shutout ball in the five innings he worked before giving way to Benton Hickman.
Casale was the winner in Brophy's opening-round win a week ago.
Coach Josh Garcia could start Casale again next Friday because he'll have enough rest. He's yet to pitch 6-foot-6 junior left-hander Jack Lafflam, who is one of Brophy's top starters.
Garcia said he'll probably wait until Wednesday after watching Casale, Jack Ohman and Lafflam work bullpens to see who he will send to the mound Friday.
Casale came through with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth, getting the next two batters out, one a pop foul behind first base and the next on a ground out to first baseman Willie Cornejo-Farmer.
In the top of the fifth, with Brophy clinging to a 1-0 lead, Garcia came out to talk to Casale to see what he wanted to do with hard-hitting Ky McGary with first base open and runner on third with two outs. On deck was a left-handed hitter, which would have been a lefty against lefty matchup.
"He said, 'I want to go get this guy,' " Garcia said.
Casale got ahead in the count to McGary, who struck out swinging to end the threat.
"I just threw strikes and let my defense work behind me," Casale said. "We work on it every day. I trust them."
Brophy's small ball was working Saturday.
The Broncos (24-5) scored four runs in their half of the fifth on a passed ball, a two-run single by Matt Niezgodzki and a two-out RBI single by catcher Jonah Castle. The Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9 batter in Brophy's order combined for six hits and four RBIs.
No. 9 batter Brandon Wirtz's RBI single in the first would have held up the way Casale, Hickman and the defense came through.
Brophy also got help from O'Connor base-running mistakes in the sixth after Nathan Bayus led the inning off with a double. A single to left had the runner rounding third base hard, before being held up. He ended up getting thrown out at third trying to get back to the bag.
The runner at first ended up getting picked off at first by catcher Castle.
After going 13-16 and getting eliminated from state in the third round last year, the Broncos were poised for a big year.
"What I learned from last year was that the culture was tested," Garcia said. "I felt these guys have our coaches' backs. They showed that last year. The parents showed that last year, that we're going to stick together. That we're going to stick together no matter what."
Queen Creek clinches semi spot
In the upper bracket, No. 1 Queen Creek (23-7) defeated No. 5 Glendale Mountain Ridge 7-4 to clinch a 6A semifinal spot next Friday at 6:30 p.m., at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.
Starting Drew Abbott pitched well, and Caden Cooper and Alex Gamboa came through offensively to help the Bulldogs improve to 3-0 in the tournament.
Ryker Waite reached base four times and had stole bases, causing chaos on the bases. Coach Mikel Moreno said the team played well defensively.
The Bulldogs await the winner of Tuesday's elimination game between Mountain Ridge and No. 9 Chandler Basha. Basha stayed alive with a 6-2 win at No. 8 Phoenix Pinnacle.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Johnny Casale pitches Brophy Prep into 6A baseball semifinals
