Scottsdale Notre Dame was on its way to an easy run-rule victory, it seemed, on Wednesday, May 13, before Horizon dominated the last three innings of their 5A high school baseball playoff game.
The 10 runs Horizon put up between the fifth and seventh innings still weren’t enough, as Notre Dame survived for a 13-11 victory at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium. That forces a rematch between the teams on Thursday, May 14, to see who advances to the May 19 5A state baseball championship game.
Sam Jenkins, a junior right-hander, was in command with a 12-1 lead Wednesday after the Saints scored seven runs in the fourth inning.
Jenkins gave up three hits and one run, striking out three and walking two. Coach Joe Muecke, realizing it was a hot day and with Jenkins having to wait a long time to get back on the mound during that fourth inning, decided to lift his pitcher.
“It was a kind of a combination,” Muecke said. “Pitch count, heat, long inning in there. It was more of telltale when we put up a seven-spot in the fourth. It was like, man, he’s been sitting there and it’s hot outside. He looked really good. We also had guys we thought we could get outs with. But credit them for battling. We found a way to navigate a lot of chaos.”
Notre Dame used three more pitchers after Jenkins left to finally record the last out, as Horizon (15-17) scored two runs in the fifth to prevent the 10-run rule from ending the game, before adding six more in the sixth and two in the seventh.
“It was kind of a kitchen sink mentality, but we’re going to be ready for what’s like a Game 7,” Muecke said. “That’s what it’s all about. Just be ready to play some good high school baseball.”
In this double-elimination tournament, this was Horizon’s first loss, after beating Gilbert Campo Verde (3-0), Notre Dame (8-4) and Tucson Catalina Foothills (18-8) in the first three rounds. Notre Dame fought through the losers’ bracket to force a deciding game that determines a spot in the 5A final at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Thursday’s rematch is at 4 p.m., at Hohokam, after which Chandler Arizona College Prep and Oro Valley Canyon del Oro will play at 6:30 p.m. to decide the other team that will advance to the 5A final. ACP, which had lost earlier in the tournament to Canyon del Oro 9-3, avenged that with a 2-0 win on Wednesday, behind Clayton Nachman’s three-hit, complete-game shutout.
Notre Dame (23-9) scored four runs in the top of the first on just one hit and four Horizon errors. Layne Henry helped break the game open in the seven-run fourth with a two-run triple. The Saints took advantage of four walks and three batters who got hit by pitches in the inning.
Then, Horizon refused to go down quietly with the six-run sixth inning. Kanon Faseler had a two-run single in the inning. Ben Patton and Hunter Walker also drove in runs with hits.
Jenkins said he hopes to pitch some more in the playoffs, especially if the Saints reach the final.
“They’re a tough team,” Jenkins said of Horizon. “We put the foot off the gas a little bit. They can hit, they can play. At the end of the day, it’s one step, it’s one win and it’s on to tomorrow.”
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. Please sign up for Azcentral Preps Now newsletter. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Notre Dame downs Horizon, forces baseball playoff rematch