Seeded at No. 14, Sedona Red Rock High School’s baseball team defeated No. 20 Kingman Academy 14-4, in the 2A State Play-In Game on Monday, May 3. When the rest of the games were completed the following day, the Scorpions’ victory over the Tigers was the only upset in an otherwise chalk group of play-in games. That meant SRRHS would have to face No. 1 Scottsdale Christian in the first round game on Saturday, May 8.
Unfortunately for the Scorpions, that didn’t go nearly as well. The Eagles pounced early, scoring seven runs in the second inning to open up a 9-1 lead. The Sedona offense couldn’t respond. Scottsdale then added 10 more runs in the fourth inning to go up 19-1. After the Scorpions went scoreless in the fifth, the game was called via the 10-run rule — ending the SRRHS season.
While the game ended ugly, it actually started reasonably well for the Scorpions. They drew first blood in the top of the first inning when senior Jamie Alagna drove in senior Matt Capozzi to put Sedona up 1-0. The Eagles answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, though, and never looked back.
Capozzi, Alagna and fellow seniors Jaiah Grondin and Nate Ross each recorded a hit for the Scorpions, the only four they’d get on the day. Scottsdale Prep pitchers also issued no walks. The Eagles, meanwhile, pounded out 15 hits, including two home runs.
Throughout the season, Sedona’s baseball team had a goal of at least reaching the state tournament — which was accomplished. But one other underlying question lingered. Would this be the final season for baseball at SRRHS? Now that the season is over, the new goal is to find enough players to ensure that won’t be the case and that the Scorpions will field a team in 2022.
It will require a lot of new blood.
Seven of the players on this year’s team — Alagna, Capozzi, Grondin, Ross, Dakota Farrar, Joey Johnson and Caleb Jennings — are seniors. Anyone interested in playing next season would likely not only make the team, but would probably get significant playing time, as well. With a roster that had only 10 players at the end of the season, freshmen Leo Wesley and Benji Cook as well as sophomore Alex Molina are the only players that can return.
Without any kind of feeder system like Little League, a Junior High team or a Junior Varsity team, rounding out the roster will be a potential challenge.
Playing in his final high school season, Capozzi led Sedona in most offensive categories on the year — including a .591 batting average, 26 hits and two home runs. His seven doubles and three triples also tied Ross for the team lead. The Scorpions were quite active on the basepaths, stealing 96 bases on the year. Ross led the way with 17. Ross was the top SRRHS pitcher in most categories. He led the team with nine appearances, four wins and 37 strikeouts.
Sedona finished the season with a 7-4 record in the 2A Conference and a 7-3 mark in the 2A Central Region, good enough for third place. Including the play-in game victory and the first round loss, the Scorpions were 8-8 overall on the year.
