Diamondbacks rally, then hold on to beat Gators
Green Valley’s baseball team has won six state championships. Desert Oasis has made one playoff appearance.
But Thursday, it was the team without the pedigree that kept on rolling.
The Diamondbacks rallied for four runs in the sixth inning and then held on for a 6-5 home victory over the Gators to move to 7-0 this season.
“It’s a great feeling being the underdog and coming in and surprising people,” Desert Oasis senior Cody Schmidt said. “We knew the whole season that we were supposed to be not very good. So we worked at it all year, and we got better. We wanted to show people that we can play.”
Green Valley (5-2) scored three unearned runs in the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. But the Diamondbacks answered right away with the help of two errors.
Joel Lewis fouled off two 3-and-2 pitches before drawing a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, and Schmidt brought in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.
Jordyn Compehos drove in a run with an infield single, and another scored on a throwing error.
“When we lose the lead, we’re never really too down on ourselves because we know our offense can carry us back,” Schmidt said. “With our offense, we can produce a couple runs in a hurry.”
Green Valley made things scary in the seventh, getting RBI singles from Jarrett Perns and Michael Hillcoat to pull within a run. The Gators had the bases loaded with one out, but Zach Rickard struck out Bradon Rogers and got Ryan Jackson to pop out to short to end the game.
Schmidt finished 2-for-3 with a triple, a double and two RBIs.
“From day one, Cody’s been a leader of this team,” first-year Desert Oasis coach Paul Buboltz said. “He came out today and had a big double and an RBI in the last inning. He’s been a gamer.”
Freshman Tyler Oscarson turned in a strong start for the Diamondbacks, allowing three hits and no earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He was nearly out of the sixth, but an error on a potential double-play grounder helped the Gators rally for the lead.
“This is our fourth game of the week so far, so we were a little thin,” Buboltz said. “But the freshman came up big today.”
And that’s the kind of performance Schmidt and the team’s other veterans have come to expect.
“It’s a great feeling knowing we can have young people carry us and help us,” Schmidt said. “It’s not just the older guys. A lot of the younger people are stepping up and producing, so that’s nice that it doesn’t just fall on the older guys’ shoulders.”