Baseball season may be over but the future is bright for the Sedona Scorpions. Sedona was heavily represented on the 2A Central all-regional team as four players earned spots.

Scorpions senior Ryan Farmer earned first-team honors, along with sophomore Nate Ross.

“As our only senior, Farmer did an outstanding job at leading the younger players,” coach Pedro Ortega Sr. said. “Ryan set the tone at practice and his teammates followed his lead.”

This year, Farmer ended the season ranked fourth in the region in batting average [.451] and in slugging percentage [.686].

After one player became sick with bronchitis, Farmer ended up as the Scorpions lone upperclassmen.

“It was kind of difficult being the only player with experience as we basically had a junior varsity team on varsity,” Farmer said. “For a team of sophomores, they did extremely well this season.”

Farmer lettered in baseball during all four years and earned 2A Central second-team honors during his sophomore and junior years.

“My four years at Sedona were a rollercoaster of emotions,” Farmer said. “I learned a lot about myself such as how to lead a team and how to approach life in general.

“I think my four years of baseball were pretty beneficial,” he added.

Farmer initially played on the Sedona golf team his junior year but reverted back to baseball midway through the season.

“I wanted to try it out because I always loved golf too but after a month or two, I did not really enjoy it,” Farmer said. “It was not a team sport like baseball, where you get to know all of your guys and actually have a bond.

To Farmer, lacing it up with his teammates is his favorite aspect of baseball.

“Golf is more of an individual sport, whereas in baseball you get to lead your team and have fun after a practice or game,” Farmer said. “There is something different about sharing the field with eight other players and having one goal in mind.”

Ross led Sedona with 47 strikeouts, good for fourth in the 2A Central.

Sophomores Matt Capozzi and Jaiah Grondin earned second-team honors.

“I did not get awarded that my freshman year, so it made me feel proud to get honored this year,” Grondin said. “I feel like I have shown a lot of growth from my freshman season to now.”

Grondin believes Farmer did a fantastic job at leading such a young squad.

“As the only senior, he was great at leading us and keeping his head cool when some of us made mistakes,” Grondin said.

To Farmer, leading a team of 15-year-olds was an interesting dynamic.

“Freshmen and sophomores are a special breed, they act a little differently and this year they loved memes,” Farmer said. “It is kind of nice being the older person as you get to boss around the younger players and have them clean the field.”

Capozzi’s 27 stolen bases led the entire region.

This season, Sedona stole 123 bases with eight different players recording at least eight stolen bases.

Sedona went 10-10 this season, good for a playoff berth.

“Making the playoffs with such a young team was my favorite part of this season,” Grondin said. “It sets a higher goal for us to accomplish next season.”

The Scorpions ended the year 7-7 in conference play, good for fourth in the 2A Central.

“We talked about how hard we had to work at the beginning of the season to compete against other teams,” Grondin said. “As the season progressed, I came to the realization that we could make the playoffs if we stuck together.”

“Our sophomore group has been playing together since t-ball so at this age we have become a family,”