Jesenia Mackey-Tarango is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover high school baseball for AZPreps365.com

FLAGSTAFF — The Flagstaff Eagles mercy-ruled the Bradshaw Mountain Bears 11-1 in a battle of the top two teams in the Grand Canyon Region on April 7.

At the top of the first inning, the Eagles played defense with junior pitcher Jace Adams on the mound and senior catcher Cullen “Tuffy” Callander behind the plate.

Senior shortstop Sammy Villafana led off for the Bears. After two strikes and a hit-by-pitch, he advanced to first base.

Junior outfielder Dylan Lockwood batted next and grounded to second base. Eagles sophomore second baseman Teyan Clerry fielded and tagged out Villafana, then threw to senior first baseman Trey Parker for the double play.

In the bottom of the first inning, Bears junior shortstop Nitesh Patel took the role of pitcher. Clerry was up first to bat and sent the ball between second base and the shortstop to get him on first base.

Senior shortstop Will Carpenter was next to bat and at first showed to bunt, but a wild pitch ended with a ball and Clerry stealing second base. Patel ended up throwing three more balls to put Carpenter on first.

Flagstaff senior shortstop Will Carpenter (14) runs to first base during the region game against Bradshaw Mountain on April 7. (Landon Johnson/AZPreps365)Third to bat was Callander, who, after a foul ball, sent a hit out to center field for an RBI single. Clerry made it home, and Carpenter advanced to third base to put the Eagles up 1-0.

Adams then drove in Carpenter to bring the score to 2-0.

Junior outfielder Aeneyas Clerry stepped up to the plate next and, off the first pitch, brought Callander and Adams home with a double.

After a double play, Parker clubbed a double to score Aeneyas Clerry for the fifth Flagstaff run of the first inning.

At the top of the second, the Eagles dashed any hope of the Bears mounting a comeback.

 

Adams made quick work of the Bears in the second, getting two groundouts to second before fielding a bunt himself for the third out.

“We just work as a team and go as a team really quick,” Teyan Clerry said.

Sophomore second baseman Teyan Clerry (4) and senior first baseman Trey Parker (18) run back to the dugout during the region game against Bradshaw Mountain on April 7. (Landon Johnson/AZPreps365)

Senior Donovan Bayard finished the first half of the second by grounding to Adams, who threw to Parker for the out.

In the bottom of the second, two walks and an infield hit by Callander leaded the bases for Adams, who plated two with a single through the left side. Aeneyas Clerry followed with an RBI single to make it 8-0.

The Eagles added two more runs in the third when Carpenter plated DJ Faust with a two-out triple and Callander followed with an RBI single.

The Bears got run in the top of the fourth when Patel led off with a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice bunt by Braydin Golden.

Eagles senior center fielder Brody Johnson capped the scoring with a solo home run to right-center in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Senior center fielder Brody Johnson (13) celebrates with his team after his home run during the region game against Bradshaw Mountain on April 7. (Landon Johnson/AZPreps365)

“I just had to do something for the team to get that run back that we just lost, right there,” Johnson said. “Definitely did that one for my mom.”

Senior center fielder Brody Johnson (13) signs a heart to his mom after he hit a home run during the region game against Bradshaw Mountain on April 7. (Landon Johnson/AZPreps365)

Adams closed out the game with a perfect fifth inning.

The Eagles travel to the Bear Den to again face Bradshaw Mountain on April 9.

“We’ve got to go do the same thing we did today,” said Eagles head coach Kenny Macias. “Be aggressive with the plate. Hit a lot of line drives. It’s a tough environment over there to play.”

Players from Flagstaff High School shake hands with players from Bradshaw Mountain after the region game on April 7. (Landon Johnson/AZPreps365)