SURPRISE — Following a break of almost two weeks, Catalina got back into the swing of things Friday in the first round of the Class 3A state baseball tournament.
The No. 8-seeded Trojans shook off the rust in time to come back and beat No. 9 Safford 4-2 at Surprise Sports Complex.
Even with a late start, senior Alex Phillips said he was happy for the playoff season, especially after not qualifying for the tournament last year.
“It feels good to get back into state,” Phillips said.
The Trojans allowed the Bulldogs to score a run in the first and then again in the second for an early 2-0 lead.
“They were a little nervous, I think, early on as we gave up a couple of runs,” Catalina coach Shane Folsom said. “But we played hard and came through.”
Catalina recovered in the third.
Aaron Folsom was able to score Jon Lerma to cut the deficit to 2-1, but was tagged out moments after the run scored. Folsom was contemplating taking second during the play and was thrown out as he scrambled back to first.
Charles Stewart followed with a double to left field. He scored when Jack MacDonald singled to tie the game.
In the fourth, a sacrifice fly by Lerma scored Vincent Rifici to give the Trojans the lead. Logan Johnson added an insurance run in the fifth with help from Jonah Lauten.
Folsom said he wasn’t concerned about the early deficit. He knew the team would battle back.
“We’ve kind of been that way all year long,” Folsom said. “We’ve been behind early. So we don’t panic, we come back.”
The Trojans used four pitchers to hold the Bulldogs at bay. Lerma got the start and pitched four complete innings to earn the win. Cameron Musser relieved Lerma and threw for 1º innings.
Lefty Frank Villalobos relieved Musser for the last out in the top of the sixth. Jo Paul Arbizo, Safford’s best hitter, ended up getting hit for the Bulldogs after all, but the Trojans got the last out at the next at-bat.
Phillips took the mound to pitch the last inning and close out the game for Catalina. The 6-foot-1-inch senior allowed one hit while striking out three.
“We have really good pitchers,” Folsom said. “We used four guys tonight that all came in and threw strikes.”
Catalina will play in the state quarterfinals Saturday at 1 p.m. against the No. 1 Sabino Sabercats, who blew by Yuma Catholic 6-1 on Friday night.
Sabino and Catalina are in the same region, so both schools are familiar with each other. The Trojans lost both regular season games to the Sabercats this season, 4-1 and 2-0.
Phillips said he expects it to be a great game, regardless of their previous records.
“We owe them one,” Phillips said.
