A blast from the past hopes to help Sedona Red Rock High School do more than just win its first baseball title in 15 years.
Corbin Pulido’s first action in a month came Tuesday, April 26, just in time for the Scorpions’ first baseball title since 2001, a 15-5 run-ruling of Window Rock High School to win Division IV, Section I.
“We’re going to start Corbin in left field,” head coach Craig Eagle said of his team’s upcoming appearance in the Division IV state tournament, its second in a row. “He helps my lineup out, big-time, in the [No.] 7 hole. He’s got a good bat and is a proven outfielder as well.”
Pulido’s return from ineligibility means Justice Keane, whose inside-the-park home run highlighted the five-inning Senior Night win, will remain at first base when SRRHS [16-6] opens the postseason Friday, April 29, at the Goodyear Baseball Complex.
Their two other senior teammates, Derrick Johnson and Garrison Skornik, combined for four stolen bases, three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored as the Scorpions clinched their first-ever sectional title.
The late Doug Colletti coached SRRHS to four straight regional championships beginning in 1998, when the Scorpions were in Class 2A.
“Wow, this is really special,” Eagle said. “We’re not in a very easy section.”
Especially when more than half of its teams are playoff-bound and with a bench of one player, in Pulido’s absence.
“We’ve been through some adversity and been able to pull through with 11 guys who just held it together,” Eagle said. “That’s been miraculously hard. Each player makes a big contribution to the team.”
Michael Ortega added two RBIs in a three-for-three night, and fellow sophomore Wyatt Ross also singled in a run as the Scorpions jumped on the Scouts with a seven-run first inning.
They would add four in the second and three more in the fourth to ensure the Scouts would go home early
April 26.
Pulido’s return means Ryan Farmer, along with fellow freshman Jacob Wolff, can make his postseason contribution off the bench.
“He’s actually a pretty good contact hitter,” Eagle said. “Everything that’s been hit to him, he hasn’t dropped and has been able to make a play on.”
Pitcher Dawson Barber struck out seven and scattered four hits over four innings.
Fellow junior Randy Rodriguez got the save to go with a home run, a triple and three RBIs.
He will start April 29.
“If Randy pitches himself a gem Friday — which I’m hoping — we’ll line up Garrison,” Eagle said. “I’m feeling very confident in him.”
Skornik struck out 10 batters Saturday, April 23, in another five-inning run-ruling of Paradise Honors High School.
But Eagle’s primary goal of the postseason is to get past the first round — and that starts in its first inning.
“The first inning is the most crucial in the playoffs,” he said. “A scoreless inning improves your confidence, especially as a pitcher.”
The Scorpions set out at the beginning of the season to surpass last year’s 15-8 overall record.
Having done that, the entire SRRHS starting lineup has sighted its next goal from the beginning of the season: A win that wipes out the memory of its five-inning, 12-0 loss to Walden Grove High School in the first round of the 2015 state playoffs.
“Now, we’ve got a second chance,” Eagle said. “We know what we’re going to be getting into. All these guys, except for Ryan and Jacob, were there last year.
“We’ve played most of the lower seeds; I’m hoping we play a team we know.”
