A week after winning its first Division IV, Section I title, Sedona Red Rock High School’s season is done.

That is how quick an exit the Scorpions had Saturday, April 30, less than 24 hours after winning their first postseason game.

Pitcher Garrison Skornik’s final outing was not a memorable one. A six-run first inning by seventh-seeded Pueblo High School told the whole tale of a 7-1 loss, as Scorpion bats mustered just two hits.

“They were just hitting the ball well,” said senior first baseman Corbin Pulido, who was one of 10 strikeouts by the No. 10 seed Scorpions. “They just played better.”

Although the Warriors left the door open for a comeback with three errors, only senior Derrick Johnson could take advantage, singling home sophomore catcher Wyatt Ross in the seventh inning.

By then, though, it was too little, too late.

“It was a tough game,” Johnson said. “The team had a good season. If we had made some more plays in the first inning, it would definitely have been a lot closer.”

Seniors like Johnson, Pulido and Skornik had precious little time to celebrate their first state playoff win Friday,
April 29.

But two players who had reason to celebrate an 8-3 first-round win over No. 23 seed Horizon Honors High School were next year’s starting battery: Ross and No. 1 starting pitcher Randy Rodriguez.

“It feels great to win, especially in the playoffs,” said Rodriguez, a junior, after scattering six hits, striking out eight and allowing just one earned run and one walk. “It’s been a while since Sedona won a game.”

Ross’ RBI single sparked a four-run sixth inning that put the game away.

“Nice pitch to hit, so I just took it the other way,” he said. “The pitch was thrown hard, and was a little up. I was blessed by that pitch, honestly.”

Before then, the Scorpions struggled to gain separation from the Eagles, who led, 1-0, through the first two innings.

The Eagles would also rally to tie the score, 3-3, in the top of the fifth inning after two singles up the middle by the Scorpions had just staked them to a two-run lead.

Pulido was thrown out at home trying to add to it following junior Sam Serrano.

“We never let ourselves down,” Rodriguez said. “We knew we could win this by having fun. Just put the ball in play, make the plays they give us. I think that was the whole point.”

Ross would score the go-ahead run on a Serrano groundout after the Scorpions had loaded the bases for the second time in the fifth inning.

“We played like champions out there,” Ross said. “It was a team victory.”

Senior Justice Keane, whose double was the only other hit the next day against the Warriors, also had an RBI for the Scorpions.

While Skornik and Ross would score thanks to the only triple of the game by Johnson to open the floodgates, the roles would be reversed against the Warriors, as Johnson would single home Ross after his triple.

“I give it to my team. They put runs on the board,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what made me settle down and think I had a good chance of winning this game. They made plays; I just pitched the ball.”

The return of Serrano and freshman Ryan Farmer to the outfield, along with sophomore third baseman Michael Ortega, means that the second straight postseason trip by SRRHS is just the beginning, Rodriguez said.

“It feels a lot better,” he added. “I’m kind of new to this, [but] I feel a lot more confident that we can win more games — and, hopefully, we do.”

For more photos, please see the Wednesday, May 4, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.