For the 14th time in the past 16 years, the high school baseball team will be heading on to the state tournament final four.

Enjoying a bye through the first round of the season-ending tournament, the Falcons went on to beat Tucson Amphitheater and Yuma Catholic over the weekend, sending them on to the semi-finals.

The team will face off against Walden Grove this Friday, May 15, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.

If victorious, the Falcons will go on to play the winner of the Scottsdale Christian/ Northwest Christian game at 7 p.m. the following evening for the state championship. Both games will be hosted out of Surprise Stadium.

Tucson

This past Friday, May 8, the Falcons played in the second round of the state tournament, taking on what head coach Mike Briguglio called “a big school,” Tucson Amphitheater.

“We’ve never played them before, so we didn’t know what to expect,” Briguglio added.

That didn’t stop the Falcons from earning a win, though, going up 3-0 in the first inning and eventually clinching a 6-4 final victory.

Despite that end result, the game wasn’t actually a close one until the final inning.

“We were up 6-0 at one point,” Briguglio said.

“Devin Foyle was on the mound and had a perfect game through five and three-quarter innings. They got a scratch hit and a double in the seventh to clear the bases after a walk and a hit batter. Add in one error, and they ended up scoring four runs in the seventh on just one hit.”

The Falcons may not have stuck the landing, but a rough seventh can’t take away from an otherwise standout performance. Foyle, for instance, struck out 15 batters all told.

“Once the mess cleared in the seventh, we had two outs and no one on, so we just had to strike out the last batter for the win,” Briguglio added.

“It was close, but it wasn’t a real threat. The game wasn’t as close as that final score.”

At the plate, Paul Bryniarski represented the Falcons well, hitting a double, a triple, four RBIs and two runs scored.

Foyle added in a triple and a run scored, while Cory Kukkola was walked three times from the lead-off position, going on to score two runs.

Tiger Horikawa also did well, getting some hits and earning another run.

“Our runs were all scored by the top of the lineup,” Briguglio said.

“We only had three hits, but they were timely and got us the runs we needed. It was kind of a funny game.”

Yuma Catholic

Back in action the following evening, the Falcons went on to face Yuma Catholic on May 9, earning a 6-5 victory.

“We were up 3-0, then we ended up losing the lead and were down 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh,” Briguglio said.

Backs against the wall, the Falcons managed to muscle through one final offensive push, gaining the upper hand and the win.

The bottom of the seventh opened with Cory Kukkola grounding out to lead off, followed by a base hit to right field from Horikawa.

“Their coach came out to talk to their pitcher and Devin Foyle was up to bat,” Briguglio explained.

“They talked about a couple of things and then Devin hit the ball out of the park to tie the game.”

The Falcons got another out before Teo Vargas managed to get on base on an error. Andy Szwiec knocked a base hit to right field to put a runner at first and third before their pitcher decided to walk Connor Gevirtz.

“They loaded the bases to pitch to sophomore Cody Phillips,” Briguglio said.

“I called a time out and asked him, ‘Who is the pressure on?’ He said, “It’s on them, coach.’ Cody took the first two pitches as strikes, fouled off a couple more, then hits a base hit to right-center to win the game.”

Briguglio said the final hit was “one of those slow motion moments,” as two outfielders dove for the catch and the ball bounced on the ground between them.

On the mound, Matt Woltkamp started for the Falcons, pitching nearly four and striking out seven in the process, giving up three runs.

Horikowa came in for another two and a third, giving up two runs, before Szwiec came in to pitch a scoreless seventh and set the stage for the Falcons’ last offensive push to earn the win.

“We’re on a mission,” Briguglio said.

“The kids believe we can win, and that’s how we’ll be practicing this week.”