Cade McGee came into the 4A state semifinal game Thursday night with Canyon del Oro with only one win in five appearances, for a total of only 12 innings, on the mound. McGee was asked to do something almost unheard of - stop the top-ranked team in the state from beating Salpointe for the third time this year with the stakes at their highest in a game played at HoHoKam Stadium in Mesa.

Salpointe won the 2019 state championship over Mesquite so one would think the Lancers would be the favorites again this year but the Dorados earned the top seed in the state tournament on the field this spring with an 18-1 record including a 5-1 win over Salpointe on the road and a 5-0 win over Salpointe at home to win the Kino Region with ease. The Lancers were limited to four hits in the first game and three hits in the second while the Dorados pounded out 20 hits combined.

Dante Schindler was 9-0 coming in with two of those wins coming over the Lancers but it gets increasingly difficult to face good hitters multiple times and the Lancers came alive at the plate in the third outing, allowing McGee the freedom he needed on the mound.

“It’s been a process,” Salpointe head coach Danny Preble said. “We missed 2020 like everyone so we never had a fall season or a summer season so our kids couldn’t learn from the seniors from last year. We were learning things on the fly, step by step and it started after the second loss to CDO. They bought it and now they are playing with confidence and a little bit of swag and our bench deserves a lot of credit.”

Still, Canyon del Oro hit home first with a single from Schindler in the bottom of the first that was followed by two walks. A wild pitch scored Schindler later in the inning to give Canyon del Oro a 1-0 lead and it looked like the Dorados had figured out another win against Salpointe but McGee’s arm got stronger as the night went on. He finished with 10 strikeouts and he only allowed two walks and two hits the rest of the way until Liam O'Brien took over in the seventh. One runner was erased in a double play and another was thrown out on a steal attempt.

Danny Preble with Mason White at third base. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

RJ Molina got the Lancer bats moving in the second on a double and Mason White brought him in to tie the game up 1-1. An RBI triple from McGee put Salpointe up 2-1 in the top of the third for what would ultimately be the winning run. Omar Monreal singled in another run in the inning to make it 3-1.

The game was still in reach but a triple from White in the sixth was followed by an RBI single from Dawson McHughes and then Gabe Preble brought in the fifth run and the game was now an almost impossible task with only two innings left for the Dorados. O’Brien shut the door with two more strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh.

In all, the Lancers collected 13 hits with Luis Garcia going 3 for 4 and McGee, Monreal White and McHughes collecting two hits each. Dominic Felix saw some pitching time for Canyon del Oro and he collected two strikeouts in relief. Schindler, Jayden Bracy and Blake Lehmbeck picked up hits for the Dorados. Isaiah Pintor reached base three times with two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

“Salpointe made some really good adjustments and they earned this win,” Canyon del Oro head coach Jason Hisey said. “I came in with a lot of these players when they were part of the sophomore class and it would have been nice to continue with them but I am very proud of them. There is nothing more I could have asked of them.”

Canyon del Oro finished the year with a 20-2 record with the other loss coming at No. 3 Poston Butte in early April. Poston Butte lost to No. 2 Mesquite 8-5 in the other 4A semifinal game at HoHoKam Stadium to set up a rematch between No. 4 Salpointe (20-3) and Mesquite (22-1) in the state final on Monday night at Diablo Stadium in Tempe.

Dante Schindler (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)