Sedona Red Rock High School’s baseball team is heading into the season knowing that depth is not a particular asset. Despite that, the SRRHS Boys of Spring are entering the season with a lot of optimism.
The optimism stems from the fact that the team is comprised almost entirely of players with ample varsity experience. That experience creates a confidence among the players and coaches that the Sedona team can take a big step forward from its .500 season a year ago.
“We have the end goal — obviously we’d like to win state,” said junior Matt Capozzi, the team’s starting catcher who also figures to get some work on the pitching staff. “And as long as we progress, get better and do our jobs, I see no reason that we can’t meet that goal.”
A potential setback for the Scorpions is their lack of depth. Heading into the Cougar Classic [which will be held at Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29], the team has only 12 players. Capozzi noted that a typical program will have about 30 and while that number may decrease at 2A schools, 12 is low.
On the positive end of things, most of the better high school teams are experienced. That works in Sedona’s favor. While the Scorpions do have only two seniors, most of the team’s remaining players are juniors, many of whom are entering their third year starting on the varsity team. Furthermore, a good portion of the players have experienc playing baseball with each other dating back to their days in Little League.
“We’re a little short on dudes but I think we’ll get along just fine,” said junior Nate Ross, the team’s ace who’s expected to be the Opening Day starting pitcher. “We’ve got a bunch of upperclassmen and we’re going to see how it goes. I think it’s going to be a really fun season.”
“A lot of us have played varsity since freshman year, so we’ve gotten a lot of varsity game time,” junior Jaiah Grondin said. “Especially last year, getting all of the playing time on varsity. So we’re a team that kind of knows what to expect coming up this year. It’s good to have that experience.”
Among those upperclassmen is senior Cooper Barber, who’s in his fourth year on the varsity team.
Four returning juniors topped the .300 mark last year. Grondin, who is one of the team’s top pitchers and will play shortstop in games he’s not pitching, is looking to build off of a season in which he hit .431. Capozzi and Ross hit .380 and .333, respectively, while outfielder/pitcher James Alagna hit .311.
Junior Joey Johnson also returns after seeing limited action last year. Recovery from Tommy John Surgery prevents him from pitching, but he’ll be in the lineup and play first base.
“You can see right now they’re getting stronger,” coach Pedro Ortega said. “We’re hitting the ball harder. We’re running faster. We get our principles down on defense. Our strengths will be our defense and our speed. Our bats are going to come alive because most of the guys are coming back. I feel pretty confident about it.”
Following the Cougar Classic, the Scorpions will have a home game every day from Tuesday, March 3 to Thursday, March 5, all starting at 3:45 p.m., when they’ll host Mayer, Glendale Prep and Joseph City.
The Scorpions promise that anyone who comes out to watch them will see a hard working team.
“They’re going to see a fun team who comes out, works their [butts] off and does their job,” Capozzi said. “Hopefully they enjoy watching the game.”
