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Falcon baseball looks sharp at home

Posted 4/12/22

The Fountain Hills High School varsity baseball team improved to 7-10 on the season with a 10-1 home win over region opponent Camp Verde last Friday, April 8. The Falcons are now 2-0 at home, and …

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Falcon baseball looks sharp at home

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The Fountain Hills High School varsity baseball team improved to 7-10 on the season with a 10-1 home win over region opponent Camp Verde last Friday, April 8. The Falcons are now 2-0 at home, and junior Devyn Hernandez said it was one of the most well-rounded wins of the season.

“These past few games, we haven’t been playing our best,” Hernandez said. “This was the first time we got our stuff together and really played as a team. The whole team was playing right.”

The Falcons lost 4-0 at Wickenburg on Tuesday, April 5. The Falcons’ defense allowed three runs in the first inning, but they tightened up and didn’t allow another run until the sixth inning. Only four Falcons managed to get a hit against the Wranglers, sophomores Ty Flynn and Nathan Hughes, senior Zack Langer, and Hernandez.

“I think it was just we couldn’t hit the ball,” Hernandez said. “The pitcher…[was] about the same as [Camp Verde], we just couldn’t put the bat on the ball. Nobody could. It was just a bad game. We just weren’t all there. Our defense was okay, but not the best.”

Pitchers against Wickenburg were Hughes and freshman Aidan Cronican. Hughes pitched two innings, allowed one hit and had three walks and one strikeout. Cronican allowed five hits in four innings and he had four strikeouts and four walks.

At home on Friday, sophomore Lucas Williams pitched six of the seven innings against Camp Verde. Williams allowed the lone run in the first inning but struck out four after. Williams also hit a batter in the top of the sixth inning, but he stayed in to finish the inning after the pitching coach, Paul Langworthy, came to speak at the mound.

“He came to tell me to throw strikes, get back on top and start fresh, like he usually does,” Williams said. “Then I just went out, threw strikes and do what I do.”

Hughes pitched the final inning on Friday and he struck out three of the five batters he faced. The Falcons’ offense was also hitting well, led by Flynn, who had three RBIs and two doubles on two hits.

Junior Zack Mendello had one double, two hits and two RBIs. Freshman Lucas Grieco had one double and one RBI, and Hernandez and senior Zack Langer each added one RBI as well.

The Falcons have started more freshmen than usual this year, but they also have an older rookie. Hernandez played summer baseball when he was younger, but he stopped playing before he got to high school. After the pandemic, Hernandez wanted to find a reason to go outside again.

“All I did was go home and be home,” Hernandez said. “I wanted to get out of the house and do something for a couple of weeks…I’m really liking it. It’s fun and I’m definitely playing next year.”

Despite being away from the game for years, Hernandez is a crucial part of the Falcons’ offense this season. He has a .323 batting average in 15 games, which is good for fourth best on the team. Hernandez is also second in RBIs with 11, only behind sophomore Ty Langer who has 24.

The Falcons hosted Chino Valley yesterday, Tuesday, April 12. The Falcons lost 7-3 before on March 25, but Williams said the mindset for the remainder of the season is “just win.”

Following Tuesday’s game, the Falcons will travel to Bourgade Catholic today, Wednesday, April 13, and play at 3:45 p.m. The Falcons have struggled in their recent road games, losing the last five, but they hope to turn things around at Bourgade.

The Falcons have put together two well-played games at home so far, and they’ll need their best one of the year next Tuesday, April 19. The Falcons host No. 1 Northwest Christian at 3:45 p.m. at Fountain Hills Middle School. Fortunately for the Falcons, they will have several days to practice and prepare by bumping up the speed of their pitching machines between Bourgade and Northwest Christian.