Michael Lagorio got Big Park Community School’s final baseball season off to a memorable start.
The eighth-grader threw a no-hitter March 1 at West Sedona School, striking out 11 of the first 15 Wildcats hitters to win the Coyotes’ season opener in five innings, 18-0.
Lagorio helped himself at the plate, knocking a home run out of the West Sedona School field and hit safely two of his three other at-bats, batting in four total runs on the day.
Eighth-graders Jaiah Grondin and Jake Hobson each scored three runs, with Grondin going four for five at the plate and Hobson knocking in two RBIs to go two of his four at-bats.
In all, Big Park made the most of 13 hits, stealing 22 bases in the victory.
“Our team has a lot of speed this year,” said John Johnson, second-year Coyotes head coach. “Great batting and base-running by Michael, Jake Hobson and Joey Johnson.”
Johnson, a seventh-grader, also has been pitching the Coyotes to victory on the mound this season, along with Hobson, his father, John Johnson added.
Other seventh-graders like Micah Johnson, Matt Capuzzi and Carlos Parra-Landeverde also contributed hits and stolen bases in the victory over the Wildcats.
“I think it’s a special team for the fact that most of these kids have been playing together coming up through Little League — some since they were 4-year-olds in T-ball,” Johnson said. “I’m lucky enough to have been their coach through all that, so they understand each other’s tendencies, I understand theirs and they understand mine. That works to our benefit as a team.”
New West Sedona head coach Dustin Ross added that Big Park “may be the team to beat this year” in the Verde Valley Conference. Only Clarkdale-Jerome School has been able to prove otherwise, winning 7-5 March 3 at Big Park.
A four-run second inning led the Coyotes to an 8-6 win in four innings Tuesday, March 8, over Camp Verde Middle School.
“That was big,” Johnson said. “My eight- and nine-hole hitters were first up and got walks. Then, in the top of the lineup, we got four hits.”
West Sedona, prior to the no-hitter, was coming off a 12-2 win Feb. 25 over Mayer Elementary School.
“It was a slow game,” Ross said. “It’s definitely a rebuilding year.”
Heading into the Wildcats’ spring break, that remains the only victory for Ross since taking over for athletic director Pedro Ortega.
“We have mostly sixth-graders playing for us,” Ross said. “We’ve been just working on the basics again.”
The victory was powered by the Wildcats’ three returning seventh-graders — pitcher Nate Ross, catcher Caleb Jennings and infielder R.J. Edwards.
All four of Ross’ eighth-graders are in their first year playing baseball for the Wildcats. Two of them were ineligible March 8, which contributed to the Wildcats’ loss at Clarkdale.
For the rest of the West Sedona baseball schedule, please see the Friday, March 11, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
