COTTONWOOD — Will Carpenter continued his stellar senior season on the mound, throwing five innings of one-run baseball to lead Flagstaff past rival Mingus 14-1 on Monday afternoon.

It is the fourth straight victory for the Eagles (8-4-1, 3-0 4A Grand Canyon), which have outscored their opponents 79-2 during that stretch.

Flagstaff used a nine-run first-inning rally to put the Marauders (9-8, 2-2 4A Grand Canyon) away early, capped by a three-run homer from Carpenter to seal the deal.

“It has to be pretty deflating to them [Mingus], and just the opposite for us,” Carpenter said about the nine-run outburst. “It felt great to come out and be swinging a hot bat, and just putting pressure on them early. It was against their No. 1, also, so it feels good and it helped me on the mound.”

Carpenter allowed three hits and struck out five while throwing only 62 pitches as the game ended early due to the 10-run rule. He was 2 for 4 at the plate with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored.

“He’s always amazing,” Flagstaff coach Kenny Macias said about his senior. “He’s a gamer through and through. … He prepares all week and gets it done. He works very hard to be successful.”

Flagstaff collected 12 hits overall, including Teyan Clerry’s effort, who went 3 for 3 with an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. Aeneyas Clerry and Tobyn Phillips collected two hits apiece. Phillips also had a home run and collected two RBIs.

For Mingus, Derrick Alvarez had an RBI double in the fourth inning, scoring Carter Wacker. It was the only frame Carpenter struggled Monday.

STATE ASPIRATIONS

After the Eagles shocked the 4A world last season by making it all the way to the state championship as a No. 14 seed before falling to No. 1 Salpointe Catholic 8-0 in the finale, expectations were certainly heightened in 2026, especially after losing only three players to graduation.

“The main thing is we need to stay consistent at the plate. We need to clean up our pitching and make sure we’re throwing a lot more strikes, and based on these things improving, that’s going to get us [where we want to go],” Macias said.

Flagstaff beat Prescott (7-6), Deer Valley (5-4) and Saguaro (6-3) to advance to the title game last May.

The AIA officially releases the initial 4A state power point rankings at noon on March 31.

UP NEXT

The Marauders had won three straight entering Monday’s matchup with Flagstaff, so they’ll look to get back on track when they travel to Flagstaff on Wednesday, April 1. Mingus will return home against Mohave on April 7. First pitch for both games is set for 3:45 p.m.

As for Flagstaff and a rematch with Mingus this week, the Eagles could turn to senior D.J. Faust on the mound, who threw three innings and allowed one hit in a 22-1 win over Mohave back on March 28.

After Mingus, the Eagles will play a doubleheader at Lee Williams on April 4. First pitch in game one is set for 11 a.m. in Kingman.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.