SUNSET REGION: Lindsey, Cimarron shock Gorman

Mike Hubel searched for the right words to describe Cimarron-Memorial pitcher Sam Lindsey’s effort on Friday, but the Spartans baseball coach kept coming up blank.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Hubel said. “To do what he did is an amazing feat.”

Lindsey, a senior right-hander, limited Bishop Gorman to five hits and the Spartans routed the three-time defending 4A state champions 10-2 in the Sunset Region championship game at Sierra Vista.

With the win, Cimarron (31-5) advances to the state tournament while the Gaels (36-4), who saw their 35-game winning streak snapped, take on Las Vegas in the play-in game at noon today at Green Valley.

“They came with a lot of intensity and played a very good game, and we didn’t,” Gorman coach Chris Sheff said. “Now we have to dig ourselves out and try to win a game (today).”

Lindsey allowed three straight hits to begin the bottom of the first inning, including a run-scoring single by Gaels first baseman Jeff Malm. But after that, Lindsey retired 12 straight batters and 15 of 16 overall against a Gorman lineup that scored 10 or more runs in nine consecutive games.

Lindsey struck out four and threw exactly 100 pitches, 64 for strikes.

“All I was trying to do was locate,” Lindsey said. “I knew if I pitched instead of just throwing the ball we’d have a pretty decent chance to beat them. We can swing it, too, and we proved that.”

Gorman started lefty Joey Rickard against a Spartans lineup that featured six left-handed hitters, but Rickard struggled to find the strike zone. The senior walked seven and hit three more batters in 3 1/3 innings.

“That’s not typical of the way he throws,” Sheff said. “You’re not going to win games against quality teams when you put people on base.”

Cimarron senior shortstop Brad Oswald, one of those lefties, hit a three-run, opposite-field homer in the second inning to give the Spartans the lead.

Cimarron went ahead 5-1 in the third as Kaz Smith scored on a wild pitch and Oswald drew a bases-loaded walk. Another bases-loaded walk to John King and a run-scoring single by James Carraway gave Cimarron a 7-1 lead in the fourth.

Had Cimarron not left the bases loaded in the first, third and fourth innings, the margin of victoy might have been even bigger.

“Once we got ahead we kept chipping away and buried them,” Oswald said.

“We played them earlier in the season and we were a little hyped up. This time around we were more relaxed. Instead of playing our opponent we played Spartan baseball.”