The Salpointe Catholic High baseball team lost some aces from last year's pitching staff, but Tommy Garcia proved that the cupboard is far from bare this season.
Garcia went the distance for the Lancers on Thursday night as Salpointe beat Cholla 11-1 in five innings at the Cowboy Up Classic at Kino Sports Complex.
Garcia allowed one run, four hits, while striking out two and walking three.
“We threw strikes. That was the big thing,” said Salpointe coach Danny Preble. “We lost a lot on the mound last year that graduated. So to see these guys come out and throw strikes the way they did was awesome.”
Cholla got the scoring started in the top of the first inning after Jordan Quintero grounded out down the first base line, driving in Chris Orozco from third.
The Lancers responded in the bottom of the first as Robby Campillo knocked an RBI triple to deep center, scoring Alex Diaz. Diaz then hit a two-run single in the bottom of the second to give Salpointe a 3-1 lead.
Salpointe scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth when Adrian Martinez attempted to steal second base. The ball was thrown home to prevent Ryan Sweetman from scoring, but a wild throw allowed him to score. Another bad throw to third allowed Martinez to score on the same play, giving Salpointe a 5-1 lead.
“Pitching is definitely important this year, because we don’t have the vast pitching lineup,” Garcia said. “Other pitchers and myself will be going long into games and trying to get as much innings in as we can.”
The Lancers scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a two-run double from Jacob Landis. Cholla starting pitcher Chris Barraza pitched four innings, allowing five runs and four hits, while throwing six strikeouts and six walks.
Salpointe will play Sahuaro at 4 p.m. Friday while Cholla will face Gilbert Highland at 7.
