Pitchers made a statement at Sedona Red Rock High School’s preseason baseball and softball tournaments.

Despite a slow start from both teams, which saw them combine for all of their three losses Feb. 27, SRRHS responded with a third-place finish in baseball Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Phoenix Christian High School Cougar Classic. If the Scorpions could have mustered more than one run on two hits in a five-run loss to Central High School, they could have played for the Classic championship in their first baseball tournament under head coach Craig Eagle.

“We were just a couple runs behind Central from facing Valley Christian,” Eagle said. “Our pitching during the tournament was awesome.”

After senior staff ace Scott Moker makes his first start in the Scorpions’ first sectional game Thursday, March 5, at the Trojans, they will return home Friday, March 6, to play American Leadership Academy prior to a two-week spring break hiatus.

“This will be our first time we’ve played them,” Eagle said. “They actually were in the same tournament as us, just in a different pool, so we never saw them. They really wanted to play against us.”

Sophomore Randy Rodriguez got the surprise first start of the season at the Classic, allowing just two runs on 38 pitches over four and 1/3 innings in a 9-2 win over South Mountain High School.

“He worked quick, threw strikes and got guys out,” Eagle said. “He was really efficient.”

Senior outfielder Zeke Saxman drove in three runs on two hits to lead SRRHS in its first win, but it was junior second baseman Justice Keane who made the Scorpions’ biggest statement with the bat. In a three-run fifth inning that sealed a 7-2 win over Phoenix Christian High School, Keane slammed a two-run home run more than 400 feet to left field that hit the Scorpions’ bus.

For the full story, please see the Friday, March 6, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.