Charlie Goldring is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication student assigned to cover Red Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

QUEEN CREEK -- The Mountain Lions defeated the Queen Creek Bulldogs, 8-2, Thursday night as Red Mountain pitcher Drew Hanen went the distance. 

“They’re an aggressive team,” Mountain Lions coach Rob Gorrell said. “To throw strikes and get outs early in counts, keep your pitch count down — it’s the first complete game we’ve had this year.”

Hanen finished with 92 pitches and five strikeouts while allowing five hits and two walks in seven innings.

“I felt confident coming in,” Hanen said. “My changeup was working. My fastball wasn’t, but my changeup, slider and curveball were.” 

“He was mixing it up pretty well,” Queen Creek senior Jet Berry said. “He had a pattern that we should have done better on — a lot of breaking balls, a lot of changeups. He was just throwing strikes and getting ahead in counts and kept our whole team off balance the entire day.”

GAME SUMMARY

Beyond Hanen’s consistency — facing four or fewer hitters in every inning until the seventh, when he faced five — the Mountain Lions strung together 14 hits and at least one runner on base in every inning. Five batters recorded at least two hits, four coming from hitters in the 5-9 spots in the lineup. 

“We’re catching our stride right now,” junior center fielder Derek Wilson said. “We struggled with our approach, but the last couple of games we’ve been a pretty good offensive team.”

KEY INNINGS

Top 2: After singles from seniors Carter Macanas and Cyrus Ellington and a passed ball from Bulldogs senior catcher Manny Hoyos, No. 9 hitter Caius Wilson made it 1-0 with a sacrifice fly to right-center.

Top 3: With two runners on and two outs, Macanas hit an RBI single to bring home Jacob Gabbel. No. 7 hitter Luke Ritchie was then hit by a pitch to load the bases, followed by a two-RBI single from Ellington to make it 4-0. 

Bottom 3: Junior Tosh Schneider led off with a double, followed by an RBI single from Bulldogs leadoff hitter Berry, who reached third on a throwing error from sophomore left fielder Simeon Johnson, making the score 4-1. Johnson got his revenge two batters later when senior Jordan Ransom flew out to shallow left field and Johnson threw out Berry at the plate as he attempted to tag up. 

“He’s a very aggressive runner,” Johnson said, “so I was ready to throw him out.”

“If our on-deck batter was doing his job,” Queen Creek coach Mikel Moreno said, “and tells him to hook slide, he’s safe.”

Top 6: Caius Wilson reached base on a one-out single. Johnson then hit a two-run home run over the right-center field fence to extend Red Mountain’s lead to 6-1. 

“The connection off the bat felt amazing,” Johnson said. “Not trying to do too much and just playing team ball. That was my first home run with Red Mountain.”

“Simeon was a freshman that played most of the games last year,” Gorrell said. “I don’t think he had a double. He got busy in the weight room, came back a little bit stronger, so it was good to see him pop that one.” 

Top 7: Ritchie and Caius Wilson both doubled after a single from senior catcher Keith Price to extend the lead to 8-1. 

Bottom 7: Hanen finished the game by getting Schneider to fly out to center after allowing a single to Hoyos, his advancement to third on fielder’s indifference and an RBI single from senior David Howard, cementing the score at 8-2. 

CONTEXT

Red Mountain entered the game ranked No. 2 in Arizona, according to MaxPreps, suffering its first loss of the season — a 10-9 defeat at No. 5 Pinnacle last Friday. Before Thursday’s matchup with Queen Creek, the Mountain Lions scored 62 runs in their first six games.

Queen Creek came in ranked No. 4 in Arizona, with its only loss coming to No. 1 Brophy, 4-1, in the second game of the season. The Bulldogs scored 70 runs in their first nine games while allowing just 21.

These two teams matched up last year for the first time since 2017-18. Queen Creek defeated Red Mountain, 3-2, with Berry hitting a decisive solo home run. 

“I do remember that game,” Gorrell said. “That was a tough one. They did a little more than us and got the win at our place. It was tough to come here today, but we got a performance on the mound that basically kept us in the game.”

INCOMING STANDOUTS 

The Mountain Lions hit .393 as a team through their first six games this year, led by Price and Derek Wilson. Price was hitting .636 with 14 RBIs, while Wilson was batting .625 with five doubles and 13 runs scored. Both had at least one hit in each game. 

Price had two hits against Queen Creek, while Wilson finished with three flyouts, a walk and a stolen base.

“I’ve been a guy who changes his swing a lot,” Wilson said. “This is the first year where I feel really good and honestly just not thinking at all.”

Through 10 innings this season, Hanen had allowed two earned runs. He continued that success Thursday, allowing just two earned runs against the Bulldogs in seven innings.

The Bulldogs feature a loaded senior class with seven preseason college commitments, according to Prep Baseball Report, highlighted by future Arizona State Sun Devils Berry and Ransom. Both had one hit in three at-bats Thursday night, with Berry driving in one run. 

THURSDAY’S STANDOUTS

Beyond Johnson and Hanen’s performances, the Mountain Lions benefitted from a three-hit day from Macanas in four at bats, including a run scored and an RBI. 

“I used to play Queen Creek a lot when I was at Desert Ridge,” Macanas said. “I’m familiar with the field — a lot of visualization. When I got to the box, I felt super relaxed.”

OTHER NOTES

The Bulldogs were held to three hits during the first six innings. Thursday marked their third game in four days. 

“The next few days, just resting and recovering,” Berry said. “We’ve been going at it pretty hard the last week, so we’re going to get the minds right, get the bodies right and get ready to go. 

UP NEXT

Red Mountain (6-1) will play at Brophy (9-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a top-ranked nonconference matchup.

Queen Creek (8-2) next plays Horizon (4-5) in the Boras Baseball Classic on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Corona del Sol High School.