Matthew Legere is a Master’s Student at ASU Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

TEMPE — Friday’s semifinals of the Boras Baseball Classic of Arizona featured four nationally ranked opponents: Bishop Gorman, Nevada’s 2021 5A South State champions; Reno, Nevada’s 2021 5A North State Champions; American Fork, Utah’s 2021 6A State Champions; and Hamilton. 

Though Hamilton did not claim title status in last year’s Arizona 6A state tournament, the Huskies still remain as a top team in the country and proved once again that they can hang with the best, defeating American Fork 6-3 in Friday’s matinee matchup at Corona del Sol. 

Day three of the Boras Classic revealed what was a bit of a déjà vu moment for the Huskies, who–for the second straight day–saw their starting pitcher contribute with at least six innings on the mound and two home runs at the plate. 

“I mean, coach Parris did say that pitchers can hit,” Hamilton starting pitcher Josh Tiedemann said. 

Tiedemann struck out eight in a complete-game effort, surrendering three runs on just four hits to an American Fork team that finished with a 30-1 record a year ago. 

The Cavemen returned three 1st-team All-State players from last year’s championship roster, including TCU commit and Utah 6A Player of the Year, Fisher Ingersoll, whom Tiedemann held to 1-for-3 on the day with an RBI single and two strikeouts. 

Tiedemann, a fellow TCU commit normally known for his bat, showcased a commanding fastball at 88-91 mph, topping out at 93; a changeup at 80-81 mph, and a curveball at 69-72 mph. With the win, Tiedemann improved to 3-0 on the mound.

At the plate, Tiedemann showcased power to all fields with a two-run home run to left-center in the fourth inning and an opposite-field solo home run to right-center in the sixth. The three-hole hitter finished 3-for-4 with a single and a run scored in the first inning as well. 

“[Their starter] was funky,” Tiedemann said. “He kept trying to work me away, so I was just looking for anything down the plate. Eventually he hung a slider and I just had to make sure that I didn’t miss.”

As a sophomore a year ago, Tiedemann finished as the 6A Premier Player of the Year, posting a .423 batting average with 22 RBI, 23 runs scored, and a 5-0 record on the mound. Now, through just nine games played (including the Boras Classic) in 2022, the junior is 3-0 on the mound with a .536 batting average, four home runs, 11 RBI, and 14 runs scored.

Rounding out Friday’s offensive attack, cleanup hitter Ryan Kucherak finished 3-for-3 with an RBI single, two doubles, and a run scored.  Prince DeBoskiepicked up an RBI for the Huskies with a gap-shot double to right-center in the third.

With just one day remaining in the Boras Classic, Hamilton advances to face Reno at 6 p.m. in Saturday night’s championship matchup at Arcadia High School. Reno has gone 58-9 over the past three seasons and features four 1st-team All-League selections. 

“Our goal has always been to win,” Tiedemann said. “We knew we were going to have a shot at making it far into this tournament and now it’s time to go out there, compete, and win it for Arizona.”