Joana Cano is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy College Preparatory for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX– Brophy College Preparatory beat Queen Creek 4-1 at Opus Field on Thursday, winning their second game of the preseason.

Senior pitcher Ronan O’Brien pitched five innings. He allowed one earned run, with one hit allowed, 10 strikeouts and two walks.

“Once it started, got into a rhythm and got six straight K’s,” O’Brien said. “And there’s not much more I could ask out of that.”

The atmosphere at Opus Field was very welcoming, with both sides being supportive of each other. 

“There was a lot of hype coming into this game,” O’Brien said. “I was super excited to get out there and also a little nervous." 

O’Brien mentioned that once he threw the first ball, he found his rhythm. 

Coach Josh Garcia mentioned that the team did a great job at locating every possible play that the opposing team was looking to do.

“We started to make some adjustments depending on their swings and what they are trying to do,” Garcia said. 

These adjustments were evident in the second inning, when things started looking rough for Queen Creek.

In the second inning, when O’Brien was pitching, he threw various strike balls that ended up striking out three back-to-back players for the Bulldogs. 

Catcher Jonah Castle mentioned that the team took advantage of the mistakes of the pitcher to get the results they were looking for. 

“We had a lot of stolen bases,” Castle said. “We just knew that it was going to come down to the bats, and it was gonna be a pitching duel.”˛

Pitcher for Queen Creek, Kobe Gomez, pitched for about four innings and threw one strikeout, with four base on balls, three earned runs and three runs allowed. 

O’Brien mentioned that Castle made his pitching easier, as they have a connection with each other.

“Jonah is the best catcher I’ve ever played with,” O’Brien said. “I have full confidence when I’m throwing to him.”

Once they read each other’s plays, it becomes easier to get that connection that is seen with O’Brien and Castle. Both players attribute the easy connection on and off the field to all the things they do in the offseason.

“We have a varsity retreat right before the season, and that is one thing that we do,” Castle said. “We’re with each other all the time, after practice, on the weekends, we’re always hanging out with each other.”

Garcia also sees the connection between O’Brien and Castle. 

“They do an outstanding job just competing pitch by pitch,” Garcia said. 

Before the game started, the Broncos had Charlie Borchard pray before the first ball was thrown, in honor of Adam Donnenfield.

Donnenfield attended Brophy College, but was killed in a car accident in 1991. Since then, the Adam Donnenfield Preseason Tournament started.

Brophy's game information said this tournament is one of the largest high school baseball tournaments in Arizona history, featuring 47 teams and more than 90 games.