For the boys that have made up the nucleus of Sedona Red Rock High School’s baseball team over the last few seasons, the 2021 season definitely has a one-last-ride feel.
The Scorpions have only 11 players on the team. Of that group, seven are seniors. It’s a group that entered the 2020 season with high expectations and generally met those during the season, going 3-0 before COVID-19 caused the remainder of the year to be canceled. Now with the season here, the Sedona players are ready to make up for lost time.
“I think that our team has a lot of potential coming in,” senior Jaiah Grondin said. “I’m really excited to see where the season takes us. I’m really excited to finish the year out strong. I think we’ve got the potential to go really far this year — assuming nothing happens and we don’t have to get quarantined or get hurt.”
While there is a lot of talent on the team, depth is a potential issue. With only 11 players on the roster, a successful season will depend very much on how well the Scorpions stay healthy.
And with a roster that thin, the players are versatile. Coach Pedro Ortega Sr. expects the pitching staff to feature seniors Nate Ross, Joey Johnson, Grondin, Dakota Farrar and Jamie Alagna. All have other positions. When not pitching, Ross will play either third base or shortstop, Johnson will play first base, Grondin will be the shortstop, Farrar will play third base and Alagna will handle center field duties.
They have an assignment and two, maybe three positions,” Ortega said. “If you’re not pitching, you’re playing a position. We’ll have to mix and match with what we do there. They’re going to be rotating. If you’re not on the mound, you’re going to be in a different position. But I think we have a good group. I’m excited about this group. It’s going to be fun.”
Of course, even if the numbers are small, there is a sense of relief to be having a season at all after what happened a year ago.
And given that many of the seniors on the team also played basketball, which had the end of its season canceled, there’s an extra sense of relief for the guys on the team to get to play one more season with each other for the school.
“It’s good,” Johnson said. “It’s our last chance to play ball as a team for the school.”
“I’m pretty excited,” Ross said. “It’s the only sport I’ve played throughout high school. It will be the only senior night and senior season that I get. I want to make the most of it. Hopefully we take it a long way. We’ve been playing together since we were knee high. Just make the most of it. This is the last one.”
And beyond having a fun senior season, the Scorpions do hope to not only make the state tournament but go on a deep run once there. Senior catcher Matt Capozzi said that making it to the final four in the state tournament is his personal goal.
The players on the team also hope that they’ll get some support from the community now that the Arizona Interscholastic Association is allowing fans at games, as long as they wear masks and adhere to social distancing protocols.
The Scorpions say that anyone who does watch them play will see a team that plays hard regardless of the score. An example of that was a win over Glendale Prep during the abbreviated 2020 season, which came despite the fact that Sedona trailed by eight runs on two separate occasions.
Beyond the talent, they’ll also see a team of boys who truly enjoy playing baseball with each other making the most of the final opportunity.
“They’d see a team with a lot of character,” Capozzi said. “We’re seniors, we’re disciplined. They’re going to see a lot of us who have been playing together for a while. We love to play the game. We love each other. It’s going to be fun.”
The first home game is scheduled for Thursday, March 25, at 3:45 p.m, against Northland Prep. The most up-to-date schedule information can be found at AZpreps365.com.
