After a surprise Verde Valley League tournament title last season, the West Sedona School baseball team will be the favorite heading into the postseason tournament Friday, April 24.
A 17-16 comeback win April 9 over the Clarkdale-Jerome School that clinched the top seed for the Wildcats had a surprise hero. With eighth-graders Angel Betancourt and Bradley Howard in scoring position, it was seventh-grader Trevor Zarlingo whose line drive ended the game with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Wildcats down a run.
“It was exciting for the last home game,” said Wildcats head coach Pedro Ortega Sr. “We were over our two-hour time limit. It was a kind of wild, kind of crazy game.”
Zarlingo’s two-RBI single came after shortstop Evan Favorite was intentionally walked by the Mingus Rams to load the bases.
“It surprised me a little that they walked Favorite,” Ortega said. “Maybe they were thinking double play? I don’t know.”
The comeback win came just two days after the Wildcats [9-1] avenged their only loss to Camp Verde Middle School, 9-0. Howard, son of WSS assistant coach Brad Howard, was in control on the mound April 7 after a 9-8 loss March 5 at CVMS.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, April 23, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
