Sabino High School graduate Jacob Wiltshire, a key player in the Sabercats’ state championship this spring, led the Santa Rita Warthogs to an upset win over the Catalina Aztecs in the Sun Belt College Baseball League championship series July 15 at Kino Stadium.
His performance in the Warthogs’ two-game sweep of the Aztecs merits him the Jet Sports Training Male Athlete of the Month honor for July.
Former @sabinobatcats standout Jacob Wiltshire @jacobwiltshire1 hits walk-off single to lead the Santa Rita Warthogs @SWarthogs to the @kino_league Sun Belt Summer League championship @NMStateBaseball pic.twitter.com/98qiSeo6xr
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) July 16, 2021
A two-out walk-off single by Wiltshire in the bottom of the ninth clinched the comeback championship and the Most Outstanding Player in the series trophy.
Wiltshire, a shortstop, outfielder and pitcher, has signed a national letter of intent to play at New Mexico State.
The Aztecs came into the championship series with a 17-4 record with five of those victories being lopsided tilts with the Warthogs by an average score of 15-1. The Warthogs had an 11-9 record, barely passing the Old Pueblo Kings (10-11) and the Desert Vaqueros (9-11) for the chance to play the Aztecs in the best-of-three championship series.
The Sun Belt College League is Arizona’s piece of summer baseball for college commits, prospects and current college athletes hoping to improve their game before they head back to their various campuses. The league is operated by Bill Leith’s Kino Baseball League, a non-profit organization that has benefited the development of youth baseball locally in the last decade.
Wiltshire’s brother Tyler, who also played at Sabino, is a junior infielder at Minot State in South Dakota.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH HONORS
January 2021: CDO golfer Beckett Carlson
February 2021: St. Augustine basketball player Thomas Reyna
March 2021: Sunnyside grad, Penn State wrestler Roman Bravo-Young
April 2021: Tucson High grad, Arizona track athlete Johnnie Blockburger
May 2021: Mountain View track and field athlete Sam Halaufia
June 2021: CDO grad, ASU track & field athlete Turner Washington
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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