By Richard Smith
Centennial's Andy Kupec (#6) fields a ground ball against Apollo Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Centennial High School in Peoria. (Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps)
Centennial baseball was ready to write its comeback story trailing Apollo 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and one out.
But senior pitcher Sammy Serrano muted the celebration, getting a crucial strike out before inducing a fly ball to preserve the win and send a large contingent of Hawks fans home cheering.
Coach Jerod Aker said there wasn't much debate when ace Channy Ortiz was spent after five innings. He sent his No. 2 starter out there to get the No. 10 seed into the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will and will figure out the rest against No. 2 Scottsdale Chaparral Monday.
"Those two guys have been our 1A and 1B all year. We were going with them till the end. There was no one getting loose in the bullpen," Coach Aker said. "Channy has a heart bigger than the city of Phoenix. He never complains, and that's a tribute to his family. We've been there and these guys enjoy the moment."
Coyotes interim coach Vince Castaldo said the only other thing he could have asked his team for was one more hit. After falling behind 5-3 in the top of the fifth, Centennial led off the fifth and sixth innings with two runners but could not bring them home.
But the No. 7 seed will lament its last turn at bat the most. Junior David Donohew, senior Nick Rogers and freshman Michael Keevins hit singles to load the bases with one out.
Donohew scored when Serrano walked junior Daniel Gamboa. Serrano handled the top of the order to end the Centennial (14-12-1) season.
"As much as you hate losing, I'm okay with that game. We made some physical mistakes but we already said these guys were going to make a couple. We made a few too many in the wrong spots. They hit us at the wrong time," Coach Castaldo said. "The way we competed, I have no problem with that. I'm pretty satisfied with how it went. We just came out on the wrong end. To get the bases loaded with one out, that's outstanding."
The coach's son gave the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the second inning after an error and two walked loaded the bases. Senior Jake Castaldo drove in two with an infield single that bounced off a diving Hawk's glove.
Ortiz hit Donohew and walked junior Kevin Whalen with one out in the third. Both moved up a base on a wild pitch but Donohew was tagged out at home after Manny Macias hustled to pick up a passed ball.
Kevin dropped an RBI single to short center and all seemed well with a 3-0 lead and senior pitcher Aaron Forrest cruising.
Apollo (23-8) didn't figure out Forrest until there were two outs in the fourth. But once the Hawks locked in, the floodgates opened.
"(Our kids) were talking amongst themselves. We had a good plan coming in. The thing I love about this group is they don't get too excited or too low. They had a good game plan and they stuck to it. It eventually paid off for us," Coach Aker said.
Macias reached on an error, stole second and came home on junior Abraham Garcia's single to short right.
Another error allowed Guillermo Rivera on to lead off the fifth and Centennial would quickly rue its missed opportunity for an early out. Ortiz singled to right and junior Fernando Leal sent Rivera home with a single to left.
Junior Jesus Moreno laid down a textbook bunt that died short of third and loaded the bases. And senior Rafael Nieblas promptly unloaded them, driving a pitch over the left fielder's head for a three-run double and 5-3 Apollo advantage.
"We didn't strike out that much (early) and we were hitting balls in play. We were getting closer and closer to that big hit, that big inning," Nieblas said. "It was a fastball high and inside and I just took it for a ride."
Forrest picked up a fly ball out then gave way to Rogers. He walked his first batter but picked up two quick outs to stop the bleeding.
Though it scrapped the rest of the way, Centennial could not extend its season and late-season momentum. After bottoming out at 3-9-1, the Coyotes won 11 of their final 13 regular season games to land a first round bye and home game.
Castaldo watched many of these kids grow up along with his son. He said he's proud of how this team grew in his only season as a high school head coach.
"I knew some of these guys since they were 5, 6 or 7 years old. To watch them play and grow ... I think they got better through this year from a development standpoint. As a coach, that's obviously very satisfying," he said. "It was a tale of two seasons, the struggles we had at the beginning but then turning it around. To finish as the 7 seed out of 43 teams says a lot about these guys and their toughness."
