No. 6 Sahuarita pulled away late against No. 11 Goodyear Estrella Foothills 10-4, advancing to the second round of the 4A state baseball tournament.
“This is my first playoff win in all my four years of high school, it’s nice to win this one,” pitcher Josue Martinez said.
Estrella Foothills (24-6) crowded the basepaths in the first inning after a double and a single by its first two batters.
After Sahuarita (22-5-1) secured the first out, the Wolves scored on a fielder’s choice to first. The damage was limited to one run after Sahuarita secured a pop-up to third base for the third out.
In the first inning, the Mustangs loaded the bases with hits from Robbie Garcia, EJ Mayer, and Martinez.
The next batter, Alex Guzman, was hit by a pitch, scoring Garcia, and a wild pitch scored Mayer.
Alex Leon grounded out on a fielder’s choice, scoring pinch runner Roman Tellez. Another wild pitch by Estrella Foothills added another run for Sahuarita, giving the Mustangs a 4-1 lead going to the second inning.
“Their first pitcher had a great ERA, so we just had to put it on him to be able to frighten him and go from there,” Martinez said about Estrella Foothills starter Michael Wax, who had not allowed an earned run in his previous eight games this season.
Wax allowed seven earned runs in two-plus innings against the Mustangs. He is now 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA.
Estrella Foothills loaded up the bases again, scoring one, and looked to do more damage. That plan was halted by Guzman making a diving catch and throwing a runner out at second for the double play, ending the inning.
Estrella Foothills brought the game back to within one after a throwing error on a bunt to first, scoring Brody Manley from first.
“I trusted my defense. The biggest thing about us is we have a great defense,” Martinez said about his defense limiting the damage in the first few innings.
A single from Mayer, a double from Martinez, and a walk from Guzman loaded up the bases for the Mustangs with no outs in the third.
Sahuarita scored two runs due to Leon getting hit by a pitch and Ayden Martinez getting a walk.
The Mustangs tacked on another run with Javi Lopez hitting into a fielder’s choice, scoring Guzman, increasing the lead to 7-3.
Robbie Garcia and Gabe Felix hit back-to-back singles, scoring their respective runners from second, adding two more runs to Sahuarita’s lead.
The Wolves got a run in the sixth with a single from Alec Schaeffer to right field, scoring the runner from second.
Josue Martinez got the win, scattering eight hits over six innings with three earned runs, three strikeouts and two walks. He went 3 for 4 at the plate.
Mayer finished 2 for 4 with two runs, and Guzman and Leon each had two RBIs.
Martinez hit a triple, leading off the sixth. Guzman hit a double to shallow right, bringing in another run for Sahuarita. The Mustangs extended their lead to 10-4.
“Why not us? Everybody thinks we’re the underdogs, but we got to go to work and eat,” Martinez said about Sahuarita making a deep run in the playoffs.
The Mustangs travel to Gilbert Monday afternoon to play No. 3 ALA Gilbert North (21-6) in a second round game. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
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