Ian King is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — High-caliber pitching and unwavering base running lifted Brophy Prep to a 4-1 win over Queen Creek in the 34th annual Adam Donnenfield preseason baseball tournament on Thursday afternoon. 

Bronco pitchers fanned 13 batters, 10 of which came from right-handed senior pitcher Ronan O’Brien, a Columbia commit. The Broncos pitching staff also limited the Bulldogs to just one hit. 

Junior shortstop and Miami commit Dreson Ethier went 2 for 3 at the plate. Senior outfielder Isaac Holder had two RBIs.

In the first inning, O’Brien quickly struck out the side.

“I was a little nervous,” O’Brien said about the start. “But as soon as the first pitch was thrown, I got into a rhythm.”

When Brophy stepped to the plate, two quick singles and a walk set up a sacrifice fly from Holder to get the Broncos on the board first.

O’Brien followed up with another three strikeouts in the second inning.

“(Ronan’s) always lights out,” senior catcher and St. Mary’s commit Jonah Castle said. “Always holding guys to one run max; we have full confidence in him.” 

On an 0-2 count in the third inning, the Broncos’ only surrendered hit came from a home run to left by Queen Creek senior Diego Armenta to even the score.

“He has the home run hit off him, punches the next guy out,” Brophy coach Josh Garcia said. "That's a huge sign of mental toughness. He missed on the 0-2 pitch, (Armenta) made him pay, but then he punched out the next (batter) in four pitches.”

The score stayed silent until Brophy flipped the script in the fifth inning, where Holder whacked a one-run single to give the Broncos the advantage. A groundout by senior Ryan Fesperman allowed senior Nico Lara to slide home and create a 3-1 lead as the fifth closed.

O’Brien emphasized the team’s ability to hit the ground running once the momentum is laid out for them.

Junior Arizona commit Chris Sinacori made sure that statement lived up to its standard, as he added a one-run single of his own to give the Broncos a three-point lead. Two consecutive walks saw the bases load for Brophy, but the Broncos were unable to capitalize.

Senior Air Force commit Owen McGuire pitched the final two frames for Brophy, where he tallied a final statline of three strikeouts and one walk with no hits over the final two innings.

O’Brien and Garcia had heavy praise for Castle after the bout concluded, O’Brien dubbing him as the “best catcher (he’s) ever played with.”

“He really showed me how good of a pitch caller he is,” O’Brien said. “I fully trust him back there.”

“We’re giving him a lot more responsibility in knowing the scouting report, reading hitters and making his own decisions,” Garcia said about Castle.

“Everybody’s been working and contributing,” Castle said. “These first two wins really show how much we worked in the fall and how much chemistry we have. The team culture right now is off the charts.”